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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