A Universal Message

By Rabbi Joshua (testimonially known as The Hoffer) Hoffman

The last mitzvah of the Torah, following the Rambam’s count, appears at the end of parshas Vayeilech (Devorim 31:19). This mitzvah is the requirement of every Jew to write a sefer Torah. God tells Moshe, “And now write for yourself this shirah (song or poem).” Rashi explains that the shirah refers to parshas Ha’azinu, but, as the Rambam explains, this implies the entire Torah, because it is forbidden to write the Torah as separate sections (Laws of Sefer Torah, 7:1). The mitzvah then, is to write a sefer Torah which includes the shirah of Ha’azinu. Others say that, in fact, the entire Torah is considered a shirah, as elaborated upon by the Netziv.

The shirah of Ha’azinu, writes the Ramban, contains, in encapsulated form, all of Jewish history, and foretells the punishment that will befall the people if they do not follow God’s commands. The words of the Torah in parshas Vayeilech will serve as a testimony that God knew their rebellious nature from the start (Devorim 31:26-27). Rav Aharon Kahn, in a recent shiur delivered in Yeshiva Rabbeinu Yitzchok Elchonon, pointed out that in the Rambam’s formulation, this testimony is a message for the entire world (Laws of Sefer Torah, 10:1). In what way is the shirah of Ha’azinu a message for the entire world?

Actually, if one studies the shirah, he will see that it describes the dynamic relationship of the Jewish nation and the other nations of the world. Thus, we are told, “When the Supreme One gave nations their portion, when He separated the children of man, he set the borders of people according to the Children of Israel” (Devorim 28:8-9). Rashi explains that the seventy nations correspond to the seventy children of Israel who descended to Egypt with Ya’akov. Rav Kook, in an essay in his work Oros, gives an elaborate explanation of the symbiotic relationship between Israel and the rest of the nations. Each nation has a certain national essence, a particular talent that constitutes its contribution to humanity at large. The Jewish people reflect in a miniature way each one of these features, but takes them through the prism of its own national essence, which is its connection to God. Through this process, all the nations will learn to bring out their essence in a way that reflects spirituality and serves a divine purpose.

In this context, we can understand why the source for the mitzvah of making a blessing before studying Torah is found, according to the Talmud (Berachos 21a) in parshas Ha’azinu (Devarim 32:3). Although the Rambam does not count it in his list of the six hundred thirteen mitzvos – perhaps because he views it as part of the mitzvah of studying Torah, the Ramban does count it. The Talmud (Nedarim 88) says that the reason that Eretz Yisroel lay desolate after the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash and the Jewish people’s exile from it is because they did not recite the blessing over the Torah before studying it. Rav Tzvi Yehudah Kook explained that the Talmud is referring to the blessing, “Who chose us from among all the nations and gave us the Torah.” Reciting this bracha articulates the idea that the Torah constitutes the spiritual essence of the Jew, and that when a Jew studies Torah, he should do so in order to shed more light on the nation’s spiritual essence, and mission in the world. Someone who studies Torah without making this blessing first studies it for his own personal benefit, rather than to help bring out the Jewish people’s essence. This attitude leads to the desolation of the land, which, as Rav Kook says in the beginning of Oros, is part of the essence of the Jewish people, as well.

Wishing a great Shabbos Shuva and a meaningful and productive Yom Kippur to all denizens of Netvortland.