From: Netvort@aol.com
Sent: Friday, August 11, 2006 3:32 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort : parshas Eikev, 5766





                                                   Finishing the Job
                        
                         By Rabbi Joshua (thoroughly known as The Hoffer) Hoffman


  Parshas Eikev begins with the verse, "And it will be because of your hearkening to these ordinances, and your observing and performing them, that the Lord your God will safeguard for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your forefathers" (Devorim 7:12). The Hebrew word used here for because, 'eikev,' means, literally, 'heel,' and its use led the midrash, as cited by Rashi, to explain that the Torah is referring to the observance of mitzvos that are likened to the heel of the foot. As Rashi explains, the verse then means that we will receive special reward for observing mitzvos that are generally considered of minor importance, which people symbolically trample on with their heels. Rav Dovid Feinstein, in his commentary Kol Dodi, offers a different explanation. He says that the verse, by using the word for heel, the lower extremity of the body, is hinting to the extremities of the mitzvoh. While each mitzvoh entails certain basic requirements, the observant Jew is really called upon to perform not only all the details of the mitzvoh, but also the extremities, which go beyond the strict requirements. These extremities are what are known as ‘lifnim mishuras ha-din,’ or inside the letter of the law. Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski, in his work Twerski on Chumash, focuses on the first word of the verse, 'vehayah,' and it shall be, noting that the midrash often points out that this word denotes simcha, or joy. Curiously, Rabbi Twerski goes on to explain that one can experience simcha when he is future-oriented, looking forward to the 'what shall be' that is implied in the word 'vehaya,' but offers no explanation of why that word is employed by the Torah specifically in this verse. I would, therefore, like to explain why simcha, joy, does play an important role here, both according to Rashi's explanation of the word 'eikev,' and according to Rav Dovid Feinstein's explanation.


  I once heard Rav Chaim Dovid HaLevi, zt"l, former chief rabbi of Tel Aviv, describe the difficulty he had in teaching the details of halacha to laymen. He said that, for example, when you speak about the general concept of sukkah, living in a temporary dwelling in the beginning of the fall season, people become intrigued, but when you then try to teach the details involved in building a sukkah, you lose their attention. The challenge to the rabbi is to make these details interesting to his audience, as well. According to Rabbi Halevi, this challenge was the genesis of his series of books on halacha, Mekor Chaim, in which he tried to teach the details of halacha along with their homiletic meaning, in a way that appealed to a general audience. I believe, however, based on the first two words of our parsha that there is another way to get people interested in the halachic details of mitzvos, and in the totality of the mitzvos of the Torah, as well.


  We have mentioned in the past the approach of Rabbi Yosef Albo, in his Sefer Ikkarim, to the meaning of simcha. He writes that a person is happy when he acts in accordance with the nature of his soul. The soul of the Jew is formed by the mitzvos of the Torah. This is the meaning, according to Rabbi Avrohom Yitzchok Bloch, of the midrash which says that God looked into the Torah and created the world. The soul of the Jew, explained Rav Bloch, is formed in accordance with the laws of the Torah.  Thus, when a Jew observes the mitzvos of the Torah, he is acting according to the nature of his soul, and experiences simcha. A similar idea is mentioned by the Rambam in his Laws of Divorce, 2:20, in discussing a case in which the beis din, or rabbinic court, forces a recalcitrant husband to give his wife a get, or contract of divorce. Rambam explains that even though the halacha is that a get must be given of the husband’s own free will, a Jew, by nature, wants to keep the mitzvos and, therefore, when the court forces him to give his wife a bill of divorce, it is really bringing out his true inner will will and desire. Rav Avrohom Yitzchok HaKohein  Kook, zt"l, wrote, in a letter about the process of repentance, that one of the elements that must accompany this process is that of simcha, since through repentance one restores his relationship with God, as set out in the Torah, and imprinted on his soul. With this understanding of simcha, we can now better understand the first verse in our parsha.



The Torah, in saying 'vehaya eikev', is telling us that the way to assure that we observe even those mitzvos that some tend to view as of little significance, and that we observe all the details of each mitzvoh, even to the extent of those aspects which are ‘lifnim mishuras ha-din,’ or the extremities of their observance, is to have a sense of simcha in our observance of them. When a person realizes that the mitzvos that God has given us constitute the essence of our soul, and make us who we really are, he will make sure to observe all of them, exactly as God has given them, realizing that this is the way to achieve true happiness in life. Approaching the mitzvos in this way, a person will be able to attain the level of understanding expressed by the rabbis when they said that 'sechar mitzvoh mitzvoh,’which means literally, that the reward for of a mitzvoh is the mitzvoh itself. The Rambam, in his commentary to Avos, explains that the reward for a mitzvoh is the ability to do more mitzvos.



  In his Laws of Repentance, 9:1, he elaborates on the idea of ‘sechar mitzvoh mitzvoh.’ He writes that the actual reward one receives for a mitzvoh does not come in this world, but in the next. When the Torah promises certain rewards for mitzvoh observance, it is telling us that when a person performs mitzvos, God in turn facilitates his further observance of them by giving him the means to do so, lifting from him possible burdens that may interfere with it. As the Rambam puts it there, "We were promised in the Torah that if we will observe it in joy and goodness of soul, and constantly meditate in its wisdom, He (God) will remove from us all such things which prevent us from observing it, such as sickness, war, famine and the like. He will also bestow upon us all good which sustains our hands to observe the Torah, such as plenty peace, and an increase in silver and gold…"  Note that the Rambam, in describing a faithful Jew’s observance of the mitzvos, writes that he performs them with joy. This can be seen as conforming to his remarks in his Laws of Divorce, that a Jew by nature wants to observe the mitzvos, as we explained, based on the Sefer HaIkkarim, that acting according to one’s inner nature brings joy. It is, then, this kind of observance of the mitzvos that is hinted at in the first two words of our parsha - ‘vehaya eikev.’ As we explained these words, they indicate  complete observance of  all the mitzvos, in all their details, with joy, out of an awareness that they constitute our true inner nature. The Torah then assures us that this kind of observance carries with it the assurance of God’s blessings to enable us to continue on that path.



  Please address all correspondence to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com.

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