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Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech 5770: Tell It Like It Is
By Rabbi Joshua (introspectively known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
In Parshas Nitzavim, the Torah describes the process of teshuva, or repentance,
that the Jewish people will undergo in the future. After their repentance, the
Torah tell us, God will provide them with many blessings, and will rejoice over
them for good, as he rejoiced over their forefathers, "when you listen to
the voice of the Lord, your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes,
that are written in this Torah, when you will return to the Lord your God, with
all your heart and all your soul" (Devarim, 30:10). Why, asks Rav Meir
Simcha of Dvinsk in his Meshech Chochmah, is there a need to mention that God's
commandments and statutes are written in the Torah? Isn't that
self-understood? Moreover, we may ask, how does this verse relate to the
following verses, which tells us that this mitzvah, meaning either all of the
mitzvos, as the Ramban first suggests, or the mitzvah of repentance, which the
Ramban offers as his second, preferred explanation, "is not hidden from
you and is not distant…the matter is very near to you, in your mouth and in
your heart to perform it"? The Torah seems to be saying that this
closeness of the matter to our hearts is reason for what our return to God as
described in the preceding verse. How is this so?
Rav Meir Simcha explains that the Torah is telling us that once we repent, we
will be able to approach the Torah in an objective way and see the truth in
what it tells us, and in all of its commandments and statutes. While a person
is burdened by sins he has committed, he often justifies what he has done by
resorting to the Torah itself for self justification. As Rabbi Yehudah
Copperman, in his notes to the Meshech Chochmah, points out, there is a popular
observation that the devil himself quotes Scripture to justify his activities.
Once a person has repented, however, he will no longer engage in such
falsifications of the Torah, understand if for what it actually says, and
observe all its laws in a correct manner.
Based on Rav Meir Simcha's explanation of our initial verse, we can better
understand those that follow, as well. Rav Kook, in his Oros HaTeshuvah,
writes that the process of teshuvah involves man returning to God by returning
to his true inner self. When a person reconnects to his inner being, he
realizes that the Torah, given to us by God, is the true guide to actualizing
his inner essence. This is understandable since God created us and knows our
inner nature better than anyone. When a person understands this, he will
naturally want to observe all of the mitzvos in the Torah. The Torah is thus
telling us that when we repent and return to our true inner nature, we will
observe all of God's laws, as recorded in the Torah, because the Torah, and
repentance, are close to us, in our hearts and souls, as implanted in us by God
who created us.
Best wishes for a Kesivah Vechasimah Tovah - a wonderful new year - from all of
us here at Netvort International.
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