Chassidut on the Torah

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This week's Dvar Torah is dedicated in honor of the marriage of Yussie and Kayla Horowitz and also to the Rosenwald and Sidelsky families in honor of the Bar Mitzvahs of their sons. MAZAL TOV! Overview Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8) opens with the laws of bringing first fruits and tithes. The Jews are reminded that if they keep the commandments, G-d will reward them. The Jews are told that on the day they cross over the Jordan River into Israel, they should inscribe the Torah in 70 languages onto stones. The stones are to be brought to Mt. Eval and an altar is to be erected with sacrifices offered upon it. Certain tribes are to stand on Mt. Eval and some on Mt. Grizim. The Levites are to stand between the two mountains and announce the blessings and curses for fulfilling G-d's commandments or not. Moshe then makes a covenant between G-d and the Jews, listing in detail the rewards for fulfilling G-d's will and the consequences for not doing so. Ki Tavo concludes with Moshe reminding the Jews of the miracles and victories wrought for them by G-d, and that by keeping this covenant, G-d will grant them success. Insights The parsha begins with the words, "Ki tavo el ha'aretz..."-'When you come to the Land that the Lord your G-d has given you as a portion, and you inherit it and settle it'. The Lubavitcher Rebbe teaches that especially now, with Moshiach at our doorstep, a Jew cannot be satisfied with sitting in an ivory tower, preoccupied with personal attainments! A Jew must go out and change his or her portion of the world and thereby affect the whole world. The Jews completed their 40 year sojourn in the desert, where they were nurtured and protected, and then entered the Israel, where they had to take their talents and use them to transform the land. So too, with the redemption so close, we must utilize our powers for the good of others and especially for the good of the Holy Land! This does not necessarily mean to pick up and move, but rather each of us has the power to make WHEREVER we are into Israel, a place where more spiritual energy is felt. How are we to do this? Different people have different ways of going about dealing with an issue. Some people like to do things step by step, and some like to jump right in headfirst. We actually see this variation concerning the first mitzvah mentioned in the parsha, to bring first fruits to the priest. The Talmud (Kedushin 37/b) says that these are to be brought when the Jews completely 'inherited and settled' Israel; the Medrash (Sifre) disagrees saying that the word "Vehaya"-'and behold'-means immediately upon entering Israel the Jews were to bring first fruits grown there. Practically, we can't simultaneously fulfill both halachic opinions. Spiritually, however, we activate both opinions in our Divine service. As soon as a Jews wakes up in the morning, he immediately says the words, "Modeh Ani"-'Thank you, living King, that You have returned my soul to me...', to show that sometimes you have to just jump in and get started. Nevertheless, the order of the day afterwards is to get up, wash hands according to halacha, say morning blessings, put on tefillin, and recite morning prayers before starting our daily work. This shows how sometimes we have to move in an orderly step-by-step way. This is the practical lesson, that our work has both dimensions: immediate and progressive. In both ways, Parshas Ki Tavo is a reminder to get moving! Over the last 2,000 years, Jewish scholars have made slightly varying lists of distinguishing the 613 commandments. Maimonidies lists "And you must walk in His ways" (26/17) as a separate mitzvah requiring us to emulate G-d: just as G-d is kind so must we be kind, etc. This is very interesting because none of the other general commandments such as 'be holy' or 'keep my commandments' are counted by Maimonides. What is special here? The word 'walk'. Commandments must be done in a way of walking. Sometimes when a person does a commandment he or she is left in the same place that he or she began-no change, no elevation. The command here is the requirement to 'walk'; performing this mitzvah should cause a Jew to leave his or her previous situation and move on to a higher place. Close to the end of the parsha is the oft quoted verse (28/47)"... since you did not serve the L-rd your G-d with happiness and a good heart from it all". Rashi explains that as this verse follows a long line of curses, it refers to the Jewish people not having served G-d while their lives were easy, so now they will be forced to serve amidst hardship. The Ari suggests an alternate interpretation: punishment for failing to serve G-d happily-that happiness is one of the requirements in performing the commandments. This is obviously a very tall order. Can it be that we truly deserve all of these punishments just because we did not serve G-d with joy?! The Rebbe of Kotzk reads the verse differently. "Since you did not serve G-d with happiness." Not only was Divine service neglected, but they did it happily! Any way you look at it, during this month of Elul, a word to the wise should be sufficient. Rebbe Michael of Zlotshuv had an analogy of doing t'shuvah (repentance) successfully. It is not enough just to do it, you have to also distance yourself from the place and situation that caused your downfall. This is like a person who stumbled into a pit and was hurt. Forever after, even after being healed from the injury, whenever this person would encounter an open pit, he or she would make certain to give it a wide berth. Similarly, each of us must examine what are our personal spiritually dangerous situations and avoid them to the best of our ability. May each of us be signed and sealed for a good and sweet year. Shabbat Shalom, Shaul

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