Parashas Eikev
18 Av 5769
August 8, 2009
Daf Yomi: Bava Metsia 105
Guest Author:
Rabbi Shaul Gold
Associate Member, Young Israel Council of Rabbis
The second paragraph of Shema, which we read in today's Parsha, requires us to assume responsibility of fulfilling all of G-d's mitzvot and makes us aware of the rewards and consequences of their performance or lack thereof. The last of the rewards is Veachalta Visavatah, “and you will eat and you will be sated.” Rashi explains that the uniqueness of this blessing is that a minimal amount of food will elicit a maximum of satisfaction.
Immediately following this blessing, the Torah exhorts us, Hishamru luchem pen yifteh livavichem, "guard yourselves, lest your hearts be deceived and you will turn aside and serve other gods." Rashi points out that the juxtaposition of these two phrases "and you will eat and you will be sated" with "Guard yourselves" teaches us that when people rebel against G-d, it is generally an outgrowth of being too satisfied. A hungry person looks to HaShem for Divine assistance. A satisfied individual tends to forget the sources of his bounty.
To further bolster his theory, Rashi brings a proof from an earlier Posuk in the Parsha which states Pen Toechel Vesavatah, "Lest you eat and be satisfied," Virumm Livavichem Vishachact es HaShem Elokecha, "and your heart will become proud and you will forget HaShem, your G-d". It is clear from this earlier posuk that there is a definite correlation between being sated and rebelling against HaShem.
Rashi's explanation requires deeper understating. To begin with, when Rashi adds a proof to his thesis, he is telling us that the point would not be clear without the extra proof - yet the point Rashi made seems clear enough without the added boost from the earlier Posuk. No new insight is readily apparent with the addition of the second Posuk. Furthermore, Rashi taught us that the concept of Veachalta Vesavatah is a unique blessing. Yet it is that same blessing that sets the groundwork for man's temptation to rebel against the dominion of HaShem. To paraphrase a famous saying, with blessings like that, lehavdil, who needs curses?
Obviously, there is a component missing that will give us insight into the deep thought Rashi wishes to impart. Let us analyze the second text Rashi quotes and see if indeed there is a deeper message to be culled from that passage.
In the beginning of the Parsha, HaShem gives us much encouragement to prepare us for inheriting the Land of Israel. He reminds us of our servitude in Egypt, of our travels in the desert, of all that He did to care for us during the last forty years and He describes the beauty and the bounty of the Land of Israel. Then the Posuk tells us Veachalta Visavatah Uvarachta es HaShem Elockecha, and "you will eat, and you will be sated, and you will bless HaShem, your G-d, for the good land that He gave you."
HaShem, reminds us how important it is to appreciate what we have and what He has done for us. Man has an infinite capacity to forget what has been done for him and how much he needs to appreciate what he has. Perhaps the two hardest words in the English language to pronounce with utmost sincerity are the words "Thank You.”
When a person is taken ill and is unable to care for himself, he is struck by the awesome amount of Divine help he has in his life. I remember visiting a very prestigious Rav shortly after he suffered a stroke and receiving a lecture from him on the amount of nerves needed to bend his pinkie finger. Activities that had been taken for granted his entire life were now magnified and appreciated for the magnificent present from HaShem that they always were.
When my son spent his first summer in the Catskill Mountains, this city boy, who knows how to navigate his one city block on his bike, once freed of the confines of the city, was amazed at the expanse and the freedom in the bungalow colony where we were staying. The morning after we arrived he was up and about at the crack of dawn, out of the bungalow, onto his bike, eagerly exploring every inch of his new found freedom. He couldn't stop describing all the nuances of each new experience. It was literally, a new awakening.
A week later we couldn't get him out of bed at 8:30 a.m.; the novelty had worn off and newer adventures had to be found to challenge him.
The Torah tells us that when we arrive in Eretz Yisrael we will be much like my son. We will be excited by all that HaShem has done for us and we will sense it in every bone of our bodies. As a result, Veachalta, we will eat, Visavatah, we will be satisfied and Uverachta, we will be filled with gratitude to HaShem for all the bounty He bestowed upon us.
Yet therein lies the challenge that our Parsha charges us with. Can we sustain that level of newness and appreciate what HaShem gives us on a consistent basis?
Rashi is teaching us a profound lesson. It is truly a blessing to want for nothing, to be fully satisfied, to be completely cared for. Yet although, Veachalta Visavatah, is a great blessing - it will remain only as long as we recognize the blessing within it - and truly thank HaShem.
However, if we stop at Veachalta, Visavatah, as our Posuk does, and fail to include Uverachta, fail to appreciate HaShem's bounty and to express sincere gratitude for all He gives us, then Hishumru Luchem, watch out!! Pen Yifteh Livavichem, lest your hearts be deceived.
G-d's blessings are infinite. The lesson of our Parsha is that we need to be aware of the blessings bestowed upon us, to appreciate them, and to say “thank you” with utmost sincerity.
Good Shabbos!
* * * * *
Parashas Eikev
Guest Author:
Rabbi Moshe Taub
Young Israel of Greater Buffalo, NY
here are various versions of the following very American riddle: the genie is out of the bottle and you have but one wish, what do you ask for?
Culture tells us that eternal life is the proper request to make. Others, taking their cue from King Solomon perhaps, may ask for Divine wisdom. Still others may ask for wealth, fame or maybe even love.
However, ask a child this same question, put an adolescent in this same predicament and the answer they give will be that same about 85% of the time. “I will ask for one thousand more wishes”, the child will no doubt say.
_______________________________
e are taught in this week’s Parsha that the A-mighty has but one wish. He pleads with us for a single aspiration, “What does G-d ask from you but to fear G-d your L-rd, to go in His ways and to love Him and serve G-d your L-rd with all your heart and all your soul; to guard the G-dly Mitzvos and statutes which I command of you today, for your good.(10:12)”
Oh. Is that all?!
G-d, through his conduit Moshe, takes the one wish and asks, ostensibly, for a thousand more, for to abide by the dictum as set out in the verses above is to keep all of the Torah with a full heart and complete faith.
The reaction from the commentators is unified bewilderment; how could G-d require of us this emotion? How does was attain this perfect outlook and pristine approach to Torah? How do we fulfill this one request for a thousand more?
____________________________
seemingly unrelated difficulty:
Last week, as I rushed through the words of the extended Shabbos Pesukei D’zimra, I noticed a sentence that although I had read hundreds of times had seemed to escape my eye. It is a peculiar verse from Psalms 90.
Psalms 90 was composed, according to some and as implied by its commencement, by Moshe Rabeinu. According to others it was taken form a secret scroll that King David found authored by Moshe (Radak. See however Rasag).
Verse 15 ad loc reads as follows: “Gladden me like the days of my affliction…”
Now, we need not articulate the difficulty with this request. Nostalgia for days of pain, a yearning back for our salad days of discomfort seems not just morbid but self inflicting to the point of seeming as a call from a troubled soul.
However in this weeks Parsha we find a simerler idea:
“I fed you Manna in the desert…in order to afflict you…(8:16)”; “And I afflicted you and caused you hunger by giving you the Manna (8:3).
Artscroll translates the latter to say “I afflicted you and caused you hunger and then gave you Manna…your clothing”.
The Ramban (in his second reading) and most others, however, understand the verse as referring to the Manna itself as an affliction. They explain that tasting food alone without feeling and seeing it is lacking, as the Talmud itself teaches.
Must we ask, then, the obvious, that lacking in general and absence of the touch of food in particular is a far cry from affliction?
__________________________________________
Both of our seemingly unrelated questions (from 10:12 and from 8:6) can perhaps be answered through the following recent event:
There is a young couple in Buffalo, a wonderful, Frum and charitable family whose newborn has been ill. After aimlessly going from specialist to specialist they finally discovered the cause of all the seemingly disjointed symptoms – a diagnosis was given.
Wisely, and knowing that so many care deeply for them, this family called a meeting for all their close friends to explain what the disease is and to answer all questions.
We learnt that night that their daughter suffers from a genetic disease carried almost exclusively by Ashkenazi Jews R”L. Its name is Familial Dysautonomia, or F.D. The most surreptitious and dangerous symptom of this syndrome is an insensitivity to pain.
At first blush one’s reaction may be, “Oh, that seems wonderful. No pain.” After a few more seconds of thought we begin to appreciate the serious dangers this can bring. Is there anything taken for granted as much as pain? It tells us what to do and what to avoid (is the water hot or cold, etc.). It guides us and tells us how to live. It helps us grow, both physically and spiritually.
_________________
or 40 years in the Midbar we had it all. We never had sweat drip from our eyebrow nor the need to toil for bread. Our clothing, too, was always laundered.
This Rabbosei was the “affliction”! For there is no greater affliction then having it all, then to suffer no pain. In fact, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein suggests (in Sefer Bamidbar), that the Mann would not have even been needed if not for our complaints. I would suggest further: Mann was a punishment.
The Kotzker Rebbe explains the punishment of the snake in the aftermath of the sin of Adam and Chava this same way:
How was the snake punished? By being told that his food will always be beneath his nose? Is that not a gift?! Explained the Kotzker, there is no greater castigation then when G-d tells one, “Here is all you need, I do not want hear from you or your Prayers no more.”
This was the Mann. Hashem was ostensibly saying “Here is everything you need Klal Yisroel, I need not your prayers”. This is why they are termed “affliction”.
We see this idea in the Talmud where Rebbe Akiva sees the source of our sitting in Sukkot once a year as stemming from the fact that we sat in “Sukkos Mammesh” in the Desert. Although a difficult explanation for an eternal Holiday – after all, what miracle, then, would we be celebrating? - it would seem that he is teaching us that the after some thought it would seem that the one physical thing we had to do on our own and for ourselves in the Midbar was building these huts, and, in Rebbe Akiva’s view, the need for self reliance amidst a sea of “free gifts” was something to celebrate.
Now, in Parshas Eikev, as we were about to enter the Land and leave all the miracles of survival behind, when the era of “affliction” and “free rides” would end that G-d felt we could reach the lofty levels of his “one” wish. Now that we were leaving the misleading comfort of the desert – a 40 year punishment – and entering the real world was it possible to channel the challenges of natural life to fear and love of G-d.
Our first question is really our question: how, in today’s economy, with bills, tuition, mortgages et al. can one find in his/her heart to accomplish the goals as set out in 10:12 “What does G-d ask …but to fear G-d …”?
However if we remember that G-d made this request as our training wheels were coming off, if we cling to the idea that challenges, although not wished on anyone, is the time to grip the Atzai Chaim of our faith and find true love of the A-mighty, then perhaps we can pass this rough patch with something great to show for it.
Good Shabbos.
* * * * *
THE WEEKLY SIDRA- AIKEV
Rabbi Moshe Greebel
Several times within these mailings, it has been pointed out that certain snippets of the current Girsa (syntax) of our Rabbanim of blessed memory, have been inaccurately published over the years. Clinically technical as this discussion of Girsa may be, several heretofore incomprehensible phrases, do wind up making perfect sense after the Girsa is corrected. In this week’s Sidra, we have yet another example of this principle, from the second Parsha (paragraph) of the Kriyas Sh’ma:
“Therefore shall you lay up these My words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.” (D’varim 11:18)
The Mitzvah discussed in this Passuk (verse) is obviously T’fillin. Another Mitzvah which requires Safrus (calligraphy) is Mezuzah, which is found two P’sukim (verses) later:
“And you shall write them upon the door posts of your house, and upon your gates.” (ibid. 11:20)
Now then, if we read the Rashi on the First Passuk, we see:
“Therefore shall you lay up these My words…..even after you are exiled, you shall be led by Mitzvos. That is, don T’fillin and produce Mezuzos, in order that this not be new to you, when you return (to the land). So it is said, ‘Set up road marks for yourself, make signposts; set your heart towards the road…..’ (Yirmiyahu 31:20)”
Rashi here, is stressing the importance of fulfilling Mitzvos in Galus (exile), so that when the Galus concludes, and we re-enter the land, the Mitzvos will not be new concepts to us. Hence, during this most confusing time of the current Galus, we must create road marks and signposts that lead us always to the fulfillment of Mitzvos, such as T’fillin and Mezuzah.
While all this seems at first to make perfect sense, the Vilna Gaon (Rabbeinu Eliyahu Kramer 1720- 1797) of blessed memory, in Divrei Eliyahu, posed the following difficulty on this Rashi, from the Mishna at the bottom of Kiddushin 36b:
“Every Mitzvah which is dependent on the land, is practiced only in the land. And, that which is not dependent on the land, is practiced both within and without the land…..”
That is, Mitzvos such as separating T’ruma (for Kohanim) or Ma’aser (for L’vi’im) from one’s grain, wine, or oil, are totally dependent on being in Eretz Yisroel. Outside the land, there is no obligation to separate such offerings.
However, Mitzvos such as T’fillin and Mezuzah, are certainly not dependent on the land at all- and, in fact, have diligently been practiced by Jews over the ages, regardless of their international residence. Yet, asked the Gra (Vilna Gaon), when it comes to these two Mitzvos of T’fillin and Mezuzah, the earlier Rashi stated, ‘That is, don T’fillin and produce Mezuzos, in order that this not be new to you, when you return (to the land).’
It would appear then, that Rashi is saying that T’fillin and Mezuzah are not an obligation during the Galus. But, we should practice them anyway, so they will not be new to us, when we re-enter the land. How indeed, could Rashi have considered T’fillin and Mezuzah to be Mitzvos that were dependent on the land? An explanation of this is certainly needed.
The Gra answered that this particular section of the Rashi was published inaccurately. For, in the original Girsa of Rashi, there appeared an abbreviation:
“…..You are exiled, you shall be led by Mitzvos. That is, Hey, Tess, Ayin, Mem…..”
At some historical juncture of publishing, it was decided to replace the abbreviation with its actual words, which the publisher of that time thought to be ‘Hanichu T’fillin Asu Mezuzos’ (don T’fillin and produce Mezuzos).
Yet, that particular publisher (or printer?) did not truly comprehend the abbreviation. For, in fact, the abbreviation of Hey, Tess, Ayin, Mem more accurately stands for ‘Hafrishu T’rumos Isru Ma’asros’ (separate T’ruma, tithe Ma’aser) in the Rashi, which are Mitzvos that are fully dependent on the land.
Therefore, concluded the Gra, even though we cannot fulfill Mitzvos such as T’ruma and Ma’aser outside the land, it is still our obligation to be academically competent in the understanding of such Mitzvos, so that when we re-enter the land- speedily- such concepts will be familiar to us.
While this Galus rapidly approaches two millennia in length (1941 years at the time of this writing), we must never give up the hope of our ultimate G’ulah (redemption). And, it is the accomplishment of the Mitzvos of the Torah which keep us fixed on the straight path to that G’ulah. Let us keep that always in mind.
May we soon see the G’ulah Sh’laimah in its complete resplendency- and in our times. Good Shabbos.
To receive a free e-mail subscription to NCYI�s weekly Torah Bulletin, send an email to:
YI_Torah@lb.bcentral.com
