Parshat
Ki Tavo
18 Elul 5767
September 1, 2007
Daf Yomi: Yevamos 121
Guest
Rabbi:
Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum
Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst, NY
As soon as the
Jewish people arrived in Eretz Yisrael, indeed, on the very day
we crossed the Jordan river, we marched through the Tirtzah
Valley to Har Grizim and Har Ayvol. The Shevatim (tribes) of
Shimon and Yosef, Yisochor, Yehuda, Levi and Benyamin stood on
the green, verdant slopes of Har Grizim, while those of Naftali,
Dan, Zevulun, Asher, Gad and Reuven were on the barren, rocky
terrain of Har Ayvol. There we heard the Levi`im invoke the
Klalot (curses) of the covenant we entered into in Arvos Moav,
supporting the moral and ethical behavior of Am Yisrael in areas
of both Mitzvos Bain Adam LaMakom (between Man and G-d) and Bain
Adam LaChaveiro (between Man and Man).
In Masechet
Sotah (37a) Rebbe Eliezer ben Yakov shows that the Ziknei
Kohanim and Levi`im were lower-most on the mountain, while the
other Shevatim were positioned above them.
Why this unnatural configuration? If the voices of Bnei Levi had
to be heard by everyone in Klal Yisrael, then the Levi`im should
have been on higher ground in order for their voices to carry?
It's illogical for them to call out from below. We recognize
that the Brit (covenant) on Har Grizim was to be expressed and
sealed in a manner totally different from the Brit at Sinai. At
Sinai the voice of HaShem came from above: "Vayered HaShem al
Har Sinai el rosh Ha`har." But not at Har Grizim. The voices of
the Levi`im had to speak to us from below.
It's justifiably so - for two reasons. Only HaShem Al-Mighty can
address us from a plane of existence that is beyond and above
us, too far away and exalted for us to hear and comprehend as we
would hearing words spoken to us face to face. Only HaShem. When
people speak to us, even the message of Torah, it must be served
or presented upward. It has to be presented in a way which tells
us, "we are speaking up to you, not down to you", with a message
that lifts the Jewish people and manifests our worth and esteem.
HaShem wants us to speak up to the people in order to lift the
people. "Ha`al es ha`am hazeh."
The minhag of holding a cup for Kiddush or Kos Shel Bracha is to
lift it from underneath rather than to hold it by our fingers
from above. The reason is because we are lifted by the Shabbos,
lifted by the Mitzva to an exalted place rather than dragged
there from above. So too we speak to each other from a more
modest and respectful position - "below" - and lift Klal Yisrael,
with our message, even higher.
That's the first reason why, unlike at Sinai, the Levi`im spoke
from below.
The second reason is, that standing at the foot of the mountain
at Sinai, "b`tachtit ha`har," meant that HaShem really gave us
no choice. "If you accept Torah, good and well with you. If not,
you will not live another day. I will crush you all beneath the
mountain", HaShem said. So we had no choice but to receive the
Torah and choose to accept it and observe its comandments.
But when we speak to each other - even if it is a Rebbe or great
scholar, or when Shevet Levi pronounced words of the Brit on Har
Grizim, we still have a choice. We are not "b`tachtit ha`har".
Even when HaShem says we have no choice, we find it hard to hear
the message. So, between and amongst us, we certainly need to be
afforded the dignity of making freely chosen, if well informed
decisions concerning how we should live our lives. And,
therefore, respect and understanding toward the listener is the
most vital prerequisite to the successful reception of a message
of Torah and Halacha that we may wish to share.
The tragedy of the schism between the Torah-observant community
and the secular community has been not only the lack of
communication but also the ineffectiveness of a message often
spoken down by the Torah-community instead of up. Spoken in
words of "you have to" and of coercion, and political power,
instead of by persuasive love in the context of respect and
accord, free of judgment, labeling and finger-pointing.
Laws of Torah and Hashkafa of all kinds must be conveyed in a
manner that lifts us, without talking down to anyone. Direction
in all areas of Jewish life has to be offered in a warm,
positive, supportive, fashion that expresses dignity and a
distinct respect for the listener. It must be free of coercive
pressures. Only then will the eternal message of Torat HaShem be
heard and appreciated in all its truth so it can be realized in
our lives in all of its beauty. That is how the message of Torah
was shared at Har Grizim and Har Ayvol on our first day in Eretz
Yisrael.
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