From: JoshHoff@aol.com
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 5:58 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Cc: TorahWorld@gmail.com
Subject: Netvort:parshas Ha'azinu,5769
We've Just Gotten Started
By Rabbi Joshua ( universally known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
The story is
told of Rabbi Menchem Mendel Schneersohn, before he became the seventh
Lubavitcher Rebbe, visiting his father-in-law,Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak
Schneersohn,who was then serving as the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe,after Yom
Kippur.The Rebbe told him that now we must really start doing teshuvah (
repenting).what did the Rebbe mean by this? One possible explanation can be
given based on the Sefas Emes,who writes that on Yom Kippur,we repent out of
fear of God,while on Sukkos we repent out of love of God,which is a higher
level. Rabbi Tzvi ( Heshy) Reichman of Yeshiva University's Rabbbi Isaac
Elchanan Teological Seminary (RIETS)suggested that when we do teshuvah on Yom
Kippur,we are in a different time zone. Throughout Yom Kippur,we remove
ourselves as much as possible from our physical needs,fasting the entire
day,not wearing leather shoes,etc.In this way we become similar to
angels,and are thereby able to come very close to God,and achieve true
repentance.The challenge after Yom Kippur is to apply that high level we have
reached to our everyday lives,and that is the real work of teshuvah that the
Rebbe referred to. I would like to suggest yet a third explanation,based on a
teaching of the Ramban in this week's parsha.
In parshas
Ha'azinu,Moshe presents a shir,or song, in which he portrays the history of the
Jewish peole,both past and future.The shir tells of God's loving-kindness
toward the people,and their failure to act accordingly in response. Moshe
tells them that they will worship idols to the extent that God, of right
will,say that they deserve to be annihilated: " I said 'I would
scatter them, I would make their memory cease from among men'-were it not that
the anger of the enemy was pent up,lest they say ...it was not the Lord who
accomplished all this"( Devarim,32: 27-28).Ramban wonders why God is so
concerned that the non-Jews will interpret the events improperly,and not
realize that it is God Who is punishing His people for their sins.Why should
that make a difference to Him? He answers that God created the world for all
peoples,and that He desires everyone to eventually recognize His sovereignty.
Therefore,their reaction to the punishment of Yisroel is crucially important.
his teaching of the Ramban is reflected in the fact that we read the book of
Yonah on Yom Kippur.That book deals with the repentance achieved by the people
of Nineveh,who deserved to be annihilated for their sins.God sends the prophet
Yonah to warn them of their coming destruction,and bring them to repentance. In
the end,this is what happens.Here,too,God is concerned enough about non-Jewish
people to send a prophet to them in order to prevent their deserved punishment.
Although God has a special relationship with the Jewish people,He cares about
all people in the world,and does not wish to destroy them..
Based on the
Ramban's teaching,we can offer another explanation of what the Rebbe meant when
he said,immediately after the end of Yom Kippur,that this is when the
work of teshuvah really begins. Rav Kook,in his Orot HaTeshuvah, chapter one,
writes that the highest level of teshuvah is that which comes from a
consideration and understanding of the universe as a whole. A person comes to
appreciate the unity of all existence,as a product of God,and commits himself
to remain true to his mission in that universe. During the holiday of
Sukkos,the Jewish people offers a series of sacrifices on behalf of the nations
of the world,and the prophet Zechariah speaks of the fact that these nations
will,eventually,come to the Temple jn Yerushalayim on Sukkos.The Netziv writes
that the reason Koheles is read on Sukkos is because these nations come to the
Temple then,and the book of Koheles contains messages that are relevant for all
people. Thus, on Ssukkos,part of our focus is on the universal aspect of God's
sovereignty, and our attempt to influence all nations to recognize that
sovereignty.By doing teshuvah out of a recognition of the essential unity of
the entire universe,,as a product of God's act of creation, we will become more
capable of influencing all people to recognize His sovereignty,and bring
them to repentance, as well.
A joyous Sukkos to all
from the Netvort conglomerate.
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