Netvort Parshas Ki Savo 5711:            Nation Building

By Rabbi Joshua (constructionally known as The Hoffer) Hoffman

Parshas Ki Savo begins with the mitzvah of Bikkurim, orthe bringing ofone'sfirst fruits to the Temple, followed by some other mitzvos that are observed in Eretz Yisroel, and goes on to the blessings and curses delivered at Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Eivel and then the section of rebuke. The rabbis tell us that observing the mitzvah of Bikkurim enables the Jewish people to settle in Eretz Yisroel. The section of rebuke culminates with the land lying desolate after the people are exiled fromit. How does the nation fall from being rooted in the land to being exiled from it and leaving it desolate, or, in other words, how are the beginning and the end of the Parsha connected?  I would like to mention two possible factors, which will help explain how the parsha of Bikkurim is a fitting prelude to whatis described at the end of it.

The Mishnah in Bikkurim describes the procession orchestrated by the people bringing Bikkurim from their homes to the Beis Hamikdash. As they near the Temple, the craftsmen interrupt their work and stand up for the farmers bringing their crop.  The basic reason for doing this is to show honor to people performing a mitzvah. On a wider level, Rav Kook, in his commentary Ayn Ayh to the aggadic sections of the Talmud, says that this show of respect is a means of bringing the different segments of the nation, the farmers and the professionals, together, thereby forging national unity.It is important to note that thisis done within the context of a mitzvah, which in its own right is a unifying factor.  Bikkurim, then, performs the function of unifying the nation. The Ramban writes that thesection of rebuke in Parshas Ki Savo refers to the destruction ofthe second Beis Hamikdash and the exile that occurred in its aftermath.With his comprehensive knowledge of Jewish history, the Ramban brings several historical incidents from that period to illustrate how they reflect what is said in the Parsha. In any case, the Talmud in Yoma tells us that the second Beis Hamikdash was destroyed due to causeless hatred, which signified a lack of unity among the varioussegments of the nation. This situation constituted the opposite of what is described in the Mishnah in Bikkurimin which a national unit is being forged through the performance of a mitzvah.We thus see how the two parts of the Parsha are tied together through the importance of national unity in assuring our continued presence in the land.

At the end of Parshas Ha'azinu (Devarim, 32:45), as a kind of culmination of the different sections of blessings and curses over the previous few parshas, and immediately before being told by God to ascend Har Nevo, where he will die, Moshe tells the people to apply their hearts towards the observance of the Torah. Rav Moshe Sternbuch, in his Ta'am Va Da'as, points out that it would, ostensibly, have been more appropriate for Moshe to tell the people toapply their heads, or minds, to the Torah, why is the heart emphasized? Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that, as we have shown, the Parsha begins and ends with a focus on Eretz Yisroel, and, in regard to Eretz Yisroel, it is the heart that must be emphasized. My teacher, Rav Aharon Soloveichik, zt”l, often said that there are two kinds oflogic, that of the heart andthat of the mind. In Tanach we find wisdom associated with both the mind andthe heart. These two references refer to two different kinds of relationships, intellectual and emotional.In every situation, both kinds oflogic must be employed. The only question is, which of them must be emphasizedandthe answer depends on what we are dealing with.In regard to Eretz Yisroel, which king David refers to, in Tehillim, as Eretz Chemdah, or a desired land, our main emphasis must be on the emotional aspect. This, said Rav Aharon, was themistake of the spies. They sought to search out the land to find out how best to conquer it, and they came back with a cold, strategic analysis of what they learned. Had the emotional connection to the land been emphasized, they would have come back with amuch different report. Rav Avraham Korman, in his HaParsha Ledoroseiha, points out that the parsha of Bikkurim begins with the word v'ehaya, which, the rabbis tell us, connotes simcha, or joy. The use of this term herereflects the fact that true joy comes only in Eretz Yisroel. This is the attitude we need to have in order to successfully settle the land. The Ari, in fact, teaches that the mitzvah of Bikkurim serves asa rectification for the sin of the spies. Perhaps that is why, after the section of rebuke, Moshe tells us the nation to apply their hearts to the observance of the Torah, since the optimalplace for keeping the Torah is in Eretz Yisroel, and we need to approach the land from the point of view of the heart in order to assure the perpetuation of our settlement there.