Rav Kook's Igrot Hare’aya: Progress on Rav Kook’s Yeshiva - #118

Date and Place: 25 Adar I 5668 (1908), Yafo

Recipient: Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Reines, the Rabbi of Lida and head of the Mizrachi Zionist Movement. Rav Reines had already founded a yeshiva that included secular studies, which was revolutionary in Eastern Europe.

Body: The letter I received from your greatness brought me happiness. I see that the horn of liberation steadily increases in our Desirable Land. Since Hashem has graciously enabled us to be the Land’s builders, we must exert and strengthen ourselves well. Thank G-d, Hashem has liberated His nation, and our Holy Land is in the process of being built and settled before our eyes. We just must pour a spirit of charm and supplication on the settlers of Judea and Jerusalem and connect the hearts of the dispersed, whether geographically or philosophically, to “the home of our lives.” This can bring the flowering of Israel in the light of the Divine Spirit that is upon us in the Holy Land.

I shall address the idea of merging the yeshiva [I am working on] with the beit medrash which Mizrachi plans to establish. This matter is very ready for fruition, for a few reasons. For one, my simple influence caused that many of the Holy Land’s great rabbis realize now that it is incumbent upon us to travel on a new path to strengthen the position of the Torah and belief, in the Holy Land especially, as well as throughout the Jewish world.

Originally, the Shomrei Torah schools planned to go to the extreme and forbid any changes that the times require. Now they have also realized that we need to acquire new strengths for Hashem and His nation. We can connect many people by taking the right steps, especially by the yeshiva’s approach to enlist some of the most talented to deeply investigate spiritual matters and study many areas of academic Jewish studies on a path of sanctity. When this is done, Jewish History, academic study of Tanach, philosophy, and liturgy will no longer be the domain of the destroyers of Torah and belief in Hashem. Rather those who “sit before Hashem” will take the opportunity to uncover secrets in these fields. This will be the greatest contribution to our times’ causes, making it a great salvation for Israel.

Therefore, we must begin preparations to build and prepare that which will be needed after receiving counsel from the wise and G-d fearing. Realize that there is a great obstacle in Eretz Yisrael regarding any innovation to improve the education of G-d-fearing children, especially boys. This is the strongly established, strict ban of the rabbis of the previous generation against any non-Torah study, including foreign languages. Those who know the background understand that at the time it was a necessary step. Our only complaint is that they did not put a time limit on the ban or authorize a beit din in a subsequent generation to end it based on the needs of the time and the rules of the Torah and fear of Hashem. Now people are concerned about complaints of “breaching the fences” by doing something impactful.

However, despite my humble status, I feel compelled because Hashem willed that I accept the hard work of helping guide the New Yishuv, and I have seen that it is critical to bring the remedy before the malady. Therefore, I am working on founding a yeshiva that is broad and great, to plant the tree of life in the heart of the New Yishuv. Then everything will be a blessing. Hopefully, great people will join us in this effort.

We must aspire to greatness, i.e., that the yeshiva will produce our time’s leading rabbis, men great enough to have the foremost impact on the Jewish People, in Israel and the world, through their thoughts and deeds. That requires students to delve deeply into the Torah’s spiritual elements and the knowledge of the ways of Hashem, using old and new methods, coming from the holy source of the Torah of the Land. We hope that it will have such a cultural impact that kings will come to see and bow down before them. There is no limit to what can be achieved within the air of Eretz Yisrael. 

Nitzavim – The Last Parsha of 5782

BS”D
Parashat Nitzavim 5782
By HaRav Nachman Kahana

Dear Friends;

This past Wednesday was the 25th of Elul, the anniversary of the onetime event when HaShem created ex nihilo – physical matter from nothing. The day when the Torah begins and HaShem proclaimed “Let there be light”. Six days later on the first of Tishrei year 2, HaShem brought forward the first man and woman.

From then on, all that exists was formed from the original matter that emerged on that first day – day one.

Was the creation of Man a good thing? In Pirkei Avot Hillel says it was not, but Shammai disagreed; the argument ending with both agreeing that from the point of view of mankind it was not such a great idea, but since it is a fait accompli, we must try to be sin free.

As we study the history of mankind and the potential horrors in the future, one tends to agree that HaShem knows what he is doing, but for us it’s a dilemma.

Over the last 20 years I have written variations on the theme of aliya. I have cajoled, threatened, put the fear of punishment into the hearts of good Jews. I have pleaded to people’s sense of history and belonging to HaShem’s Chosen Nation. Not always was the music in my words pleasant to the ear, for that I regret. However, my intentions were first and foremost to save Jewish lives from the degradation of galut, and to rebuild our holy land after 2000 years of anger for our sins of yesterday.

Despite it all, I love every Jew for the simple reason that HaShem loves every Jew. I wish for our small band of tzadikim, not more than 12-13 million men, women and children (much less than the 18 million before the holocaust), to be inscribed in the book of life for health, clarity of mind and good deeds. However, to end this year’s sequence of my traditional warning to come home now would be negligence on my part.

Russia is soon to begin drafting another 300 thousand troops. I believe that the US will have to follow suit and reinstate the selective service act. Your sons and daughters will be taken to military service – yes, daughters too. And when that happens youngsters from the age of 14 until 28 will not be permitted to leave the US, as was the law 60 years ago when I was denied permission to leave for Israel, and I appealed before having to take stronger measures.

Life doesn’t stand still; it is volatile and mercurial with the resha’im dictating the direction of world affairs.

As I have suggested many times in the past, if you cannot come on aliya then send your sons and daughters here. It is not an easy decision to take but it can mean the difference between life and death.

In closing for this year of 5782
On Rosh HaShana HaShem judges individuals and nations. Each individual has an intimate connection with the Creator, so, there are people who have what to be worried about, while others can feel assured of another great year.

Among nations there are those whose destiny is bleak and others who will squeak through one more year, however, Am Yisrael will ascend from strength to strength. How do I know?

The answer is in a little parable:

A passenger plane entered air turbulence and fear gripped the passengers. All aboard showed signs of desperation and fear except for one young girl who stayed calm. When she was asked how she was able to contain herself, she responded quietly, “My father is the pilot”.

Now you can understand why we in Eretz Yisrael can look forward to another great year, getting ever closer to the ge’ula.

Shabbat Shalom & K’tiva vachatima tova
Nachman Kahana
Copyright © 5782/2022 Nachman Kahana

Torahphobia

by Rabbi Steven Pruzansky

Torahphobia is real, prevalent and sweeping across significant parts of the Jewish world. In particular, it is threatening to collapse Modern Orthodoxy, but fortunately, its antidote is at hand. What is Torahphobia? An example will suffice.

A few days ago, the venerable Israeli radio presenter Aryeh Golan was interviewing (actually, as is his style, castigating) a Member of Knesset running for reelection for the Religious Zionist Party. His questions, such as they were, ran along the lines of: How can you be on the same list with so-and-so who years ago called for a “halachic state”? How can you be on the same list with so-and-so who is a “known homophobe”? The interviewee hesitated, stammered and didn’t offer a cogent answer. In fairness to him, these were not really questions as much as they were readings of counts in an indictment so no answer would have sufficed the interviewer. But this is what the MK could have said:

“Aryeh, you know it is wrong to cherry pick quotations in order to besmirch someone’s reputation, and it is repugnant to characterize a person’s entire life with the tendentious snapshot of “known homophobe.” The latter individual was an activist for Soviet Jewry, instrumental in gaining Natan Sharansky’s release from the gulag, a dedicated public servant for decades and possesses a host of other accomplishments. He is not a “known homophobe” but simply a faithful Jew who wants to strengthen the traditional Jewish family and thereby the Jewish state.”

“But you, Aryeh, present yourself consistently as a Torahphobe. You are afraid of the Torah and its value system. You are afraid that the Torah is true, that God gave the Torah and the land of Israel to the Jewish people, and the implications thereof. You are afraid that God exists, that He bequeathed His moral notions to the Jewish people for our benefit and the benefit of world, afraid that there are mitzvot (commandments, and not merely suggestions of pleasant pieties), afraid that there is such a thing as sin. You are afraid that it is all too real. You are a Torahphobe.”

There is no more grating insult that is lodged against traditional Jews today than that we are homophobes. Besides being false (I have never met anyone who actually fears homosexuals), the accusation is intended to stifle any reasonable discussion of the consequences of implementing the homosexual agenda. Anyone who opposes, for example, the legalization of same-sex marriage (or for that matter, a “pride” club at Yeshiva University) is a “homophobe” who should be scorned, if not tarred and feathered.

These accusers are Torahphobes and we should never hesitate to call them out on it, and repeatedly. Torahphobia is the fear of taking Torah seriously, the fear of perceiving its values as divine, eternal and superior to human values. Torahphobes assume that a national commitment to halachah is the equivalent of Iran. Besides, the fear and ignorance revealed by such a sentiment, they do not realize that brutal enforcement of halachah represents a failure of Jewish society, not its success.

Torahphobes do not really take the Torah seriously, or better said, they only take seriously the parts of Torah that appeal to them. They may observe some mitzvot but not the ones that challenge their secular based value system. They only observe those mitzvot that accord with secular progressive nostrums or the nice, ceremonial and cultural mitzvot that most Jews enjoy. In any clash between their values and Torah values, they fear that embracing the Torah will cause the progressive elites to reject them and so they jettison the Torah. They might sincerely believe that their modern values are the Torah’s values, even more pitiable. They fear that the Torah “might” be true, so they are trying to craft a new Torah for themselves that eliminates certain mitzvot and fabricates new ones, based on pleasant and cherished notions such as equality, inclusiveness, compassion, and the like, all esteemed ideas that nonetheless occasionally conflict with true Torah values.

Certainly, not everyone who holds these opinions is Torahphobic. Some simply do not know any better and assume this is the Torah but many, especially in the Modern Orthodox world do or should know better. We have reached the stage today when, sadly, in any conflict between Modern and Orthodox, the laity opt for Modern and renounce or, better, try to re-define Orthodox. The proponents rationalize these deviations from tradition by declaring that they are trying to prevent violence against certain vulnerable groups, suicides within the group (which itself obviously implicates a range of mental health issues that transcend clubs or societal approbation) or simply to show support for the family that is expressing its distress by staging elaborate same sex weddings and demanding their friends and family join the festivities. Whatever these contentions have, all are psychological manipulations and emotional blackmail. But for Modern Orthodoxy treading down this path is a short term formula for self-destruction.

The laity is faltering and could use some sensitive but determined rabbinic guidance. On the other hand, Modern Orthodox institutions, to their credit, are still holding firm. Witness YU’s ongoing litigation amid the pressure opprobrium it is receiving from some of their own alumni and others. But their commitment is under relentless assault and they require public support to remain steadfast.

A “Pride” club subsidized by Yeshiva University is as sensible as a “Chilul Shabbat Club” that demands public activities on Shabbat or an “intermarriage dating club” that wants to expand the romantic options for the student body. We must have compassion for people’s personal plights and assist them in observing the Torah despite the hardships they feel. But we should reject the notion that they must be accommodated as a group or that, generally, support for traditional family values is somehow hateful. YU does not have to cater to or endorse every sin that people bring with them to college. Indeed, those who want to flaunt and celebrate their sins, whatever they are, can choose any other college in the United States. To want to be “Orthodox” on their terms is quite modern, even understandable, but is also a clear symptom of Torahphobia.

To be sure, we are all guilty of Torahphobia on some level. We are all somewhat afraid of letting go of our practices or beliefs that conflict with the Torah but which we mostly enjoy and sometimes perceive as our self-definition. Everyone has challenges in life. It is axiomatic that we cannot judge another person because we do not stand in their place (Avot 2:4). It is also axiomatic that another person’s challenges seem like a trifle to those who are not challenged in that area, leaving us to wonder why they cannot overcome them (see Masechet Succah 52a). Some are challenged in the realm of arayot in all forms, others in the realm of money, lashon hara, aggression, anger, haughtiness, kindness, love of all Jews and a host of other possibilities. Some people are naturally blessed with no temptation in one area but succumb in other areas. But we all struggle in some vein and it is self-defeating to seek a pass, a license, or public approval of our capitulation. And we were all given by God the gift of repentance that first requires recognition of sin, wrongdoing or shortcomings.

The other day, I was sitting in the Me’arat Hamachpelah (Cave of the Patriarchs) in Hebron, and my mind wandered to Avraham and how he would relate to these modern imbroglios. After all, Avraham lived in most decadent and depraved times and as an Ivri, he stood against the world, its cultural onslaught and moral depredation. He tried to pray for Sodom, or at least comprehend God’s justice in dealing with Sodom, but he didn’t live there, was disappointed when Lot moved there and did not endorse or subsidize their lifestyle because those were the modern mores in his era and the local custom.

We are his heirs and descendants. Avraham possessed not only a deep and abiding faith in God but also an indomitable strength of character that enabled him to stand against the tide of his times even when he was alone and without any public support. His genes – physical and spiritual – give us our foundation, direction and purpose in life. As we enter the Yerach Ha’eitanim, the “month of the mighty” in which our forefathers were born, it behooves us to recapture Avraham’s spirit and animate this generation. Then we will heal ourselves of the rampant, infectious Torahphobia and become passionate Torahphiles, faithful servants of Hashem, and hasten the redemption.

Ktiva va’chatima tova to all!

The Yishai Fleisher Israel Podcast: Time to Affirm the Covenant

SEASON 2022 EPISODE 38: Rabbi Yishai comes back from Florida and joins Malkah to get ready for Rosh Hashanah with a prayer for strong Jewish leadership. Then, on Table Torah: How Repentance leads to Resurrection - and which leads to Eternity!

What makes us Jewish?

by Rav Binny Freedman

The banging on the door was a shock, but everyone knew what it must mean.

There were three of them standing in the darkened stairwell when they opened the door, in their signature long leather coats. It was the summer of 1938; not an auspicious time to be Jewish in Berlin. Yet Hans was not Jewish; or at least he was not Jewish anymore. He had been named Joseph at birth but had long since forgotten the Jewish grandfather after whom he had been named. His mother had been Jewish but had married a Christian German businessman and had eventually converted to his faith, and Joseph, himself married to a non-Jewish woman had never really considered himself Jewish. But apparently the Nazis begged to differ.

Someone had informed the authorities that he had been born of a Jewish mother, and his presence was kindly requested at Police headquarters. He was told he need not bring any belongings; it was simply an invitation for routine questioning. But there was no mistaking the nature of this invitation; he was not being asked; he was being ordered. And seventy years later, his daughter still remembers the fear in his eyes and the tremble in his voice when he gave her a hug and told her to go back to sleep.

They never saw him again. From eyewitness accounts after the war, they know he was taken to Gestapo headquarters and beaten and tortured for two days, though it remains unclear what exactly they wanted of him. On the third day, he was sent to Dachau where he eventually died of exposure when a Nazi guard forced him to run and jump naked in the snow for an entire afternoon …

Fast forward some seventy years; again, the middle of the night. Surrounded by Arabs in the ancient city of Shechem (Nablus) a small group of Jews has come to pray at the ancient gravesite of … Joseph.

Although it is a somewhat dangerous proposition for Jews to enter the Arab city of Shechem deep in the heart of the Palestinian Authority, the army allows it under certain circumstances, once a month, in the middle of the night, when there are presumably no Arabs on the streets.

Yoseph, Yaakov’s beloved son in the Torah, has come to represent the Jew in exile, both for his ability to maintain his Jewish identity as a lone Jewish slave in the heart of ancient pagan Egypt, as well as for the fact that his sons, Menashe and Ephraim, were the first Jews born in exile.

And this night, no one is afraid, for this is a very special group of people. Known as the B’nei Menashe, they hail from India and Nepal, and believe they are descended of the lost tribe of Menashe son of Yosef.

Exiled as part of the great exile of the ten tribes twenty-seven hundred years ago, when Assyria conquered Northern Israel, they are fulfilling a twenty seven-hundred-year-old dream; this night they are re-uniting with their long lost ancestor Joseph after nearly three millennium of dreaming ….

What makes us Jewish? Is it a shared system of beliefs? What if someone chooses not to adopt or adhere to those beliefs? Can a person decide not to be Jewish? Twenty-five hundred years ago, seventy years deep into the Babylonian exile, the sage Ezra chastises the Jews for wanting to be more Babylonian than the Babylonians:

“What is in your mind will never happen: the thought: ‘Let us be like the Nations…’…”

It seems the Jews do not want to be Jews; they want to remain Babylonian. And that, says Ezra cannot, will not ever be. But why not? Maimonides makes it very clear (Hilchot Teshuva chap. 5) that one of the essential principals of Judaism is Free Will; despite G-d’s Omnipotence, we were created with the freedom to choose. And we are held accountable for those choices. And yet, it appears we cannot choose not to be Jewish.

The Gemara (Sanhedrin 44a) makes it quite clear that no matter what mistakes a Jew makes, and whatever his transgressions, he or she remains a Jew.

This week, our portion Nitzavim, makes reference to this question.

Moshe, in sharing his final words with the Jewish people reminds them of the Covenant they accepted at Sinai, renewing it for all time and for all Jews forever:

“It is not with you alone that I am making this Covenant, but with whoever is standing here today, and with whoever is not here with us today …” (Devarim 29:13-14)

And since the entire Jewish people at the time were present, the sages conclude it was a covenant made for every Jew that will ever be born! But how can we be held responsible for a promise made by our ancestors before we were ever born??

And why does G-d, as the great sage Ezra suggests, promise we will never be able to hide; we will always be the Jewish people?

Jewish tradition suggests that we actually were all at Sinai. The Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 28:6) tells us that the souls of every Jew yet to be born, were actually present at Sinai, thus, we actually did accept the covenant out of choice when we said (Exodus chap. 24) “Na’aseh ve’nishma”; “We will do and we will understand…”.

But what does this actually mean?

In fact, there are really two parts to who we are. There is the body, the physical reality we each occupy in this world. And then there is the soul; our spiritual reality. The definition of all things physical, is that they are limited. Hence, as Maimonides suggests, G-d cannot be physical, because G-d has no limits. Everything physical eventually ends, hence the body will eventually fail us, and will return to the ground from whence we were created, the phenomenon we call death.

Yet, there is also a spiritual essence to who we are; all the aspects of our selves which have no limits: the capacity to love and to give, to care and to share, which are endless. And there is no reason to assume this nonphysical endless part of our selves has to end.

Most people who share this belief think of this idea in terms of each person having a soul. But a person does not have a soul; a person is a soul. The essence of a soul is our will, or ratzon, and this will, cultivated properly, is what allows us all to be who we are meant to be. And it is the soul that we are, that drives the physical aspect of ourselves to make a difference in this world.

Perhaps there are two aspects to being a Jew. There is the system of beliefs and behaviors every individual Jew is responsible to uphold. But there is also the driving force that represents the wellspring of the Jewish people and the essence of our ability to change the world, and this, suggests Jewish tradition, will never cease. Because the world needs this will, and this message to become the place it was always meant to be.

A Jew can choose not to behave as a Jew and he or she can mask the physical role they play so that they are barely recognizable as a Jew. But no Jew will ever cease to be a Jew, any more than a person can cease to be artistic, or musical, or a child born in France. And recognizing that reality is what allows us to become a force for good and meaning in this world.

Indeed, this is at the heart of the days of awe that are soon upon us.

Rambam (Hilchot Tshuva 1:1) suggests that the central mitzvah of teshuva is Vidui: to be admit, or confess, before Hashem. But the word Modeh also means to be thankful. Sometimes people have a hard time saying thank you, because they do not want to be beholden; to owe.

But in truth we all are in debt, and we all owe. We owe all those who have given so much that we might live the lives we live, and we owe our creator the life we have been given. Which also means we owe ourselves; we owe the selves Hashem (G-d) has created us to be. We owe it to ourselves to become the best selves we can be, because the world needs us to do that.

May Hashem bless us all to live up to our selves so that this year can be filled with the peace and joy, love and harmony we all yearn for.

Wishing you all a sweet happy and healthy new year,

Best wishes for a Ktivah vechatimah Tovah.

Rabbi Ari Kahn on Parashat Nitzavim The Relationship

Yeshivat Machon Meir: Parshat Nitzavim - The "Brit" in Moav (video)

G-d “hears the sound of His People Israel’s shofar blowing with mercy

by HaRav Dov Begon
Rosh HaYeshiva, Machon Meir

Rosh Hashanah has the aspect of being the start of the entire year. As Rabbi Shneur Zalmen of Liadi explained, just as a person has a head and a brain that influence and sustain the entire body, so is Rosh Hashanah a sort of brain for the year, influencing the entire year. And just as one’s head, brain, and heart have to be pure and righteous, so must we on Rosh Hashanah purify ourselves by way of repentance and good deeds, good thoughts, and good speech. Through this, we influence the entire year, making it good and sweet. Especially important is the mitzvah of hearing the Shofar (whose very name recalls “improvement” [shipur]). The Shofar hints at and teaches us how we must relate properly and constructively to the Day of Judgment and to Strict Judgment.

And how is that? The shofar blasts fall into three categories, alluding to divine kindness, strict judgment, and mercy. The first blast, the teki’ah, alludes to kindness. It is a simple sound, and where kindness exists, all is simple. In the middle comes the teruah, consisting of broken blasts, the sound of loud sobbing, sighing, weeping, and wailing. These allude to strict judgment and to life’s hardships. In the end, comes another tekiah, a simple blast alluding to mercy and love. We hear how the blasts are joined together until one can hear the kindness within strict judgment, the light within the darkness, the sweetness within the bitter. We get a sense of how G-d really is “good to all, with His mercy governing all His works” (Tehilim 145:9). Pondering and listening to the sweet, remarkable shofar blasts arouses and strengthens within us the belief that despite everything, when all is said and done, “One higher than the high is watching over us” (Kohelet 5:7), and there is no one else but Him. The L-rd G-d of Israel is King, and His monarchy rules over all. By such means, a Jew purifies his mind and heart on Rosh Hashanah, and this day shines upon the entire year.

Today, let the old year and its curses end and let the new year and its blessings begin. This year has been hard and painful for the Jewish People. The sound of the “teruah”, the sound of weeping and sighing, was the lot of so many innocent Jews expelled from their homes. The pain and suffering, doubts, and worries were the lots of many other Jews as well, who felt the enormity of the pain. On Rosh Hashanah, we have to arouse ourselves and grow stronger through the shofar blasts. We have to hear the teki’ot preceding and following the teruah. We have to recognize that G-d, who hears our prayers, mercifully hears the sound of the teruah, as we note in the Rosh Hashanah Shemoneh Esreh: “Blessed be G-d… who hears the sound of the teruah of His people Israel, with mercy.”

With blessings for a good, sweet year, and a ketivah vechatimah tovah.
Looking forward to salvation,

With Love of Israel,

Shabbat Shalom.

Palestinians Cuddle up with Arabs Who Kill Palestinians

by Khaled Abu Toameh 

• A report published on September 18 revealed that 638 Palestinians have been tortured to death by Syrian intelligence officers in the past few years. The victims include 37 women.
• "What is happening inside the Syrian detention centers against the Palestinians is a war crime by all standards." — Action Group for Palestinians of Syria (AGPS), September 18, 2022.
• AGPS also revealed that 4,121 Palestinians have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the civil war there.
• The fate of 1,797 Palestinian detainees, including 110 women, remains unknown despite repeated appeals to the Syrian authorities.
• By rushing to embrace the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Hamas, whose leaders control the Gaza Strip from their luxurious villas, hotel suites and spas in Qatar and Turkey, has again shown its contempt for the Palestinians and other Arabs who have fallen victim to the atrocities committed by the Syrian authorities, especially over the past decade.
• Iran's mullahs want to make sure that their terrorist proxies and the Assad regime remain on good terms. The mullahs are hoping that the renewal of ties between Hamas and Syria will strengthen the Iranian-led "axis of resistance" in the Middle East. The "axis of resistance" refers to an anti-Western/anti-Israeli/anti-Saudi political and military alliance between Iran, the Palestinian terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the Syrian regime and Hezbollah.
• Hamas... apparently has no problem embracing an Arab regime that has so much Palestinian blood on its hands.
• The Hamas embrace of the Assad regime is yet another example of how Palestinian leaders care nothing about their own people, let alone the lives of other Arabs.
• The leaders of Hamas, who are living the good life in Qatar and Turkey, are much more interested in stuffing their coffers with money from the mullahs in Iran than in seeing the suffering of their people in the Gaza Strip or in any Arab country, including Syria.
• The leaders of the Palestinian Authority are not much different. They too are preoccupied with looking after their personal interests and making sure that they remain in power forever.
• Shortly, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will head to the United Nations General Assembly to spew yet more venom against Israel. The plight of his people in Syria and other Arab countries will be at the very bottom of his list of priorities, if at all. Like Hamas, Abbas too does not seem to care if his people are being slaughtered by an Arab dictatorship.

A report published on September 18 revealed that 638 Palestinians have been tortured to death by Syrian intelligence officers in the past few years. The victims include 37 women. The Action Group for Palestinians of Syria also revealed that 4,121 Palestinians have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the civil war there. The fate of 1,797 Palestinian detainees, including 110 women, remains unknown. Pictured: The Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp, near Damascus, on May 22, 2018, days after Assad regime forces regained control over the camp. (Photo by Louai Beshara/AFP via Getty Images)

A report published on September 18 revealed that 638 Palestinians have been tortured to death by Syrian intelligence officers in the past few years. The victims include 37 women, according to the report by the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria (AGPS), a human rights watchdog that monitors the situation of Palestinian refugees in war-torn Syria.

The group called on the Syrian authorities to disclose the status of hundreds of Palestinians who are being held in Syrian prisons and whose fate remains unknown. "What is happening inside the Syrian detention centers against the Palestinians is a war crime by all standards," it said.

AGPS also revealed that 4,121 Palestinians have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the civil war there.

"AGPS data indicates that 79% of the Palestinians of Syria killed since the outbreak of the conflict are civilians.

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“Welcome…to yourself!”

by Rabbi Pinchas Winston

In memory of Ya’akov ben Aharon HaKohen, zt”l, who went to his world at a very young age, but not before inspiring those who knew him with his devotion to God and His Torah. He accepted his situation and suffering with love, and his emunah never wavered. He will be a meilitz yoshar for Klal Yisroel.

Friday Night
This is not my story, but it could be anybody’s.

It was the first day of Selichos, Motzei Shabbos, 12:30 am. I never enjoyed being up so late, and I never looked forward to having to saying Selichos at that time of night. But there I was once again with everyone else in my minyan, saying Ashrei to kick off another year of many days of long dovening. It made me more tired just thinking about it.

But then something happened to me, and quite unexpectedly. I don’t remember during which verse of Ashrei, but something “touched” me inside, and all of a sudden, my whole mood changed. Within a moment this feeling welled up inside of me, and the next thing I knew I was fighting back tears, totally unexpected tears, and I hoped no one else noticed. Suddenly, I had this second wind and all of my tiredness just…vanished.

For three weeks I had dutifully listened to the shofar being blown after Shacharis, and said L’Dovid like everyone else. The shofar, if blown well, has its own power to get “inside” you. A trumpet sounds regal, ceremonious. A shofar sounds like a heart crying and personally, that gets to me, at least a little.

But not once did a shofar blowing ever make feel what I felt that first night of Selichos. It even happened a few more times that night, and by the time Selichos was over, I was charged up. I was definitely still tired, but another part of me was wide awake and feeling the serious of the time of year. It was over a week until Rosh Hashanah and I was already connected. I wondered how long that would last.

Normally I might have walked home with a neighbor, but I made a point of slipping out quickly to walk on my own. I was curious about the experience I had and wanted to figure it out. It was like there was this other side of me that I had never met, and I wanted to know more about him.

The next day I spoke about it with my chavrusa. He listened the entire time without saying a word, just smiling the whole time. When I finished, I asked him what his smile was about, and he told me something I have never forgotten, even decades later.

“That was no other side of you,” he told me. “That was your soul. Your body is like a hard stone mountain, and your soul is like the magma inside of it. When enough pressure builds up inside, the soul, like the magma, blows the top off the mountain…your body that is…and reveals the inside to the outside. That experience may have been new to you that night, but you’ve been carrying it around with you your entire life. It just finally made it out. You finally made it out.” And then, grinning once again, he said, “Welcome…to yourself!”

Shabbos Day
I THOUGHT ABOUT his words. “But why now?” I asked my chavrusa, “What triggered it all of a sudden?”

“I’m not sure,” he said. “Only you can really answer that question. Was there anything special that happened just before that?”

“Are you kidding?” I said. “I was so tired and just wanted to go to bed already.”

“That sure is spiritual,” he teased.

But as he did, something inside me caught my attention. I had asked the question to him, but seemed to be answering it myself, from the inside. I don’t even know what made me think of it, but once I did, it made sense to me. At the time of the incident, I had thought little of it, but I guess it left an impression on me, or rather, inside of me.

My wife and I had been guests for Shabbos lunch at our neighbor’s. It was Parashas Ki Savo, and the host, while talking about the curses found in the parsha, spoke about hester panim, the hiding of God’s face. He explained something that in all my years I had never heard, and used a moving story to make his point.

The story was about two brothers, and how the younger of the two liked to tag along with the older brother and his friends, especially on the day they decided to play hide-and-go-seek. The older brother would have said no, but their father insisted that the younger brother be allowed to join them.

As everyone ran to hide in one place or another, the younger brother did the same and waited to be found. But instead, his brother and friends used the opportunity to ditch the tag-along, who waited in vain to be found. When no one came looking for him for a long while and he could no longer hear any voices, he came out to investigate.

He didn’t understand at first what had happened, but it slowly dawned on him that while he had hidden, everyone else had left. Feeling abandoned, he began to cry and went home.

When he was close enough to his home, his father recognized his crying and came running out to see what had happened. The younger brother explained everything to his father in between his sobbing, after which his father began to cry as well. This distracted the son who then stopped crying as his father began to cry even harder.

Confused, the boy asked his father, “Abba, why are you crying? It happened to me, not to you!”

The tearful father said, “Because my son, until now I did not understand. You hid from the other boys, but not because you didn’t want to be found. You wanted the others to come looking for you, but was saddened when they didn’t. I realize now that the same can be said for God. He has hidden Himself, but not so we shouldn’t find Him, as many might think. But to see if care enough to go looking for Him…and yet so few do. How sad He must be!”

As the host finished his dvar Torah, my wife turned to look at me to see if I had enjoyed the analogy as much as she had, and was surprised to see a tear in my eye. What she did not know until later was that the story had happened to me with my older brother, several decades back. But my father had not heard me or come out to comfort me like in the story. Nevertheless, the story hit home and gave new meaning to an incident from my past. For a short while, I again felt the same pain, but this time I transferred it to God.

After all, my incident had experienced been an isolated incident, but it has been happening to God daily for thousands of years now. I was able to move on, but God has to deal with it every day. My brother and I eventually became the best of friends, but so much of mankind has turned its back on God. I found myself feeling very sad for Him.

We enjoyed the rest of seudah with our hosts and later returned home. The story, I had assumed, had simply become a memory.

Shalosh Seudot
WE ARE NOT always aware of the things that change us. Sometimes the subtlest of ideas can have the profoundest of impacts on a person, for good and unfortunately, for bad. Sometimes ideas can be planted as “seeds” in our minds, and take root and sprout on their own over time, changing us into better or, God forbid, worse people.

My neighbor may never know it, but his little story was such seed for good. It took a past sensitivity of mine that I had forgotten about and turned into one in the Present. But not for me this time, but for God. It enhanced my relationship with Him in a way I had not done before that.

What incredible hashgochah pratis—divine providence…that we were invited for a Shabbos seudah…the Shabbos of Parashas Ki Savo…which led to a dvar Torah with a story that seemed custom-designed for me. And it was amazing hashgochah that the first Selichos was later that night, while I was still impacted by the story. As a result, when I said Ashrei that Selichos night, I already felt a connection to God, and the sadness I had felt that afternoon once again moved me emotionally.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it wasn’t just sadness I was feeling for God. It was also love, a more intense love. I mean, I had wanted to believe that I had always loved God, but the “sympathy” I felt for Him somehow made Him seem less far away…more accessible.

Or maybe it was the other way around. Maybe it made me less far away…more accessible. Until that day, I lived my Judaism from day to day, trying to be sincere but often falling short. Life can be very tiring and very distracting, especially when it comes to do mitzvos properly. I always knew God was there, you know, “there.”

My chavrusa thought that was really going on was that God had reached out to me. He thought that, once God saw me reach out to Him, He reached out to me. As the Gemora says, “Someone who comes to sanctify themself a little, they sanctify him a lot” (Yoma 38b). I told him that I really liked that idea.

The story, and the idea behind it made God seem more here to me, more a part of my everyday life. It talked to my soul and kind of neutralized my body in the process. The feeling of love just automatically resulted, and it spilled over into the way I learned, prayed, and did the rest of my mitzvos.

Who would have thought it? But then I began learning the next parsha, Nitzavim, and even that seemed to talk directly to me now. And all the promises that God made about bringing all of us back to Eretz Yisroel seemed so much more real, as if they were being made now. But the verse that really made me stop and think was this one:

And God, your God, will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, [so that you may] love God your God with all your heart and with all your soul, for the sake of your life. (Devarim 30:6)

“Wow…” I said to myself softly, feeling all emotional again. I thought, “Did this not just happen to me?”

Though I had read that verse countless times before, it was always as if it was going to happen to some future generation, not mine. Not now. Now I felt blessed that it had happened to me, and wondered how many others it was happening to as well.

Ain Od Milvado, Part 19
IT ALSO GAVE me a new perspective on the following:

You have been shown, in order to know that God, He is God; ain od Milvado—there is none else besides Him. (Devarim 4:35)

I always had two questions about this. First of all, why does God have to show us anything to prove Himself? Humans are limited and have to prove they can do what they say. But God is unlimited, and by definition He can do anything He says.

Secondly, they were shown, not us. And just reading about it doesn’t do very much to fight back atheism and agnosticism, or to help with the lack of zealousness that results from not taking God seriously. Just as they needed to see to believe that God is the only one, we need to see it as well, probably now more than ever.

But we do. All around us is evidence of God and His providence…if we’re open to see it. It is amazing how we can look at something one moment and see it one way, and then have an experience that shows us the same thing the next moment in different, sometimes even an opposite way. The verse is telling us that God is showing us things so that we can know He is the only one. We just have to learn to see it.

As for the first question, He doesn’t need to prove Himself. We need to prove Him to ourselves because of our own fears and insecurities. We doubt God but not because God is doubtful, but because we don’t make enough effort to work out why He is not. The verse is telling us that God knows this and even accommodates us. “What a chesed!” I thought to myself, and that only made me love God more.

With Rosh Hashanah just a few days away, I never felt more ready. In fact, I even looked forward to all the dovening coming up, something new for me. I used to look at it as just something I had to do at this time of year. I was beginning to look at it as something I wanted to do at this time of year. I planned to use it as an opportunity to expand upon what I had experienced over the last week.

And if my chavrusa was correct, and the Gemora seems to say that he is, I can expect God to do the same. Rosh Hashanah is not a one-way street. It is the time that the Jewish people run towards God, and God runs towards the Jewish people. As God says, “I am to My beloved, and My beloved is to Me” (Shir HaShirim 6:3).

I can’t wait.

Thanks for another year of Perceptions reading. I hope you’ll keep reading in the new year, b”H.

Kesivah uChasimah Tovah.

Rav Kook on Elul and Parashat Netzavim: Teshuvah for the Generation of Rebirth

“For some time I have been struggling with an inner conflict, and a mighty force impels me to speak about teshuvah (penitence). All my thoughts are focused on this topic. Teshuvah holds a primary place in Torah and in life. All the hopes of the individual and of society depend on it.”

So begins Rav Kook’s introduction to Orot HaTeshuvah (Lights of Penitence), perhaps his most popular work, first published in 1925. The compact book was beloved by its author, and Rav Kook himself would study its teachings during the month of Elul after morning prayers.

One student reported hearing Rav Kook say, “I worked extensively on Orot HaTeshuvah. Whoever studies it properly will find light in every word.” He also declared: “Orot HaTeshuvah should be be studied endlessly.”

What is so special about the book’s outlook on teshuvah?

Teshuvah — a Return to Life
Orot HaTeshuvah illuminates the concepts of sin, punishment, and penitence. It explains that sin primarily harms the one who sinned, as it cuts him off from the roots of his very being, from the light of his soul. This estrangement is sin’s worst punishment. Teshuvah, on the other hand, redeems the sinner from this darkness. It rejuvenates him, restoring his previous state of life and joy.

The word teshuvah literally means “return.” It is not an escape from the world. On the contrary, it is “precisely through genuine, pure teshuvah that we return to the world and to life” (Orot HaTeshuvah 14:30).

Already in his introduction, Rav Kook described teshuvah as an underlying force that influences all aspects of life, not only the realm of the sacred: “Teshuvah holds a primary place in Torah and in life.” Thus one who frees himself from unhealthy habits – this is also a type of teshuvah.

Additionally, Rav Kook posited that this powerful force is not limited to the failings and triumphs of the individual. It also applies to failures and successes of the nation and the entire universe: “All hopes of the individual and society as a whole depend on it.”

National and Spiritual Revival
Rav Kook firmly believed that a secular national revival, the entire program of rebuilding the Land and the nation, could not succeed without a parallel revival in holiness, with lofty manifestations of this holiness expressed in both personal and public spheres.

But what path would lead the generation of rebirth to the gates of teshuvah? The routine approach is doomed to failure. One cannot reach out to the idealistic youth of such a generation, brimming with life, vigor, and creativity, with a severe demeanor and punctilious demands of small, everyday deeds — demands that they consider to be a sign of weakness and a feeble spirit.

No, the generation must be awakened via an optimistic spirit of greatness and courage. “Teshuvah comes not to embitter life,” Rav Kook taught, “but to make it pleasant” (15:6). “Teshuvah is essentially a return to our origins, to the source of supernal life and existence in their wholeness” (12:8).

In an article printed in HaYesod in 1934, he explained:

“Teshuvah is the great key to redemption. Many things inhibit teshuvah, but the major obstacle, particularly to collective teshuvah, is the misconception of Teshuvah as atrophy of the soul, as the enfeebling and debilitation of life. This false image also impairs the teshuvah of the individual. But more than anything, it hinders collective teshuvah, the teshuvah of the nation.

“We must disclose the secret that the genuine teshuvah of the entire nation of Israel is a mighty, powerful vision that provides reserves of might and strength, imbuing all of our spiritual and pragmatic values with a lofty spirit of vigorous, surging creative energy from the power of the Rock of Israel. This living teshuvah flows not from isolated, fragmented souls, but from the treasury of the nation’s collective soul, Knesset Yisrael .... In this way, the united soul of Israel is prepared to return to its former strength, as in days of old.”

(Sapphire from the Land of Israel. Adapted from Mo'adei HaRe’iyah, pp. 52,55; Celebration of the Soul, pp. 26, 28-29, by Rav Chanan Morrison)

Repentance and Redemption

by HaRav Mordechai Greenberg
Nasi HaYeshiva, Kerem B'Yavneh

In Masechet Sanhedrin (97b), the Tannaim dispute whether the Teshuva (repentance) of Am Yisrael is a precondition for redemption, or if the redemption is not dependent on Teshuva, and it will come in any case:

R. Eliezer says: If Israel do Teshuva they will be redeemed, and if not, they will not be redeemed.

R. Yehoshua said to him: If they do not do Teshuva, they will not be redeemed?! Rather, G-d will establish over them a king whose decrees are harsh like [those of] Haman, and Israel will do Teshuva.

Ramban and R. Chaim b. Atar (Ohr Hachaim) follow R. Yehoshua. Ramban in Parshat Ha'azinu (Devarim 32:40) writes, "In this Song [of Ha'azinu] there is no precondition of Teshuva and worship." Similarly, Ohr Hachaim writes, "There is a limit to the exile even if Israel will be completely wicked, Heaven forbid." (Vayikra 25:28) In contrast to this, Rambam follows R. Eliezer, and writes: "All the prophets commanded about Teshuva, and Israel will only be redeemed through Teshuva." (Hil. Teshuva 7:5)

R. Yehoshua's opinion requires explanation. First he says that the redemption will come even without Teshuva, yet he concludes that they will be forced to repent on account of harsh decrees.

It seems that the resolution to this apparent contradiction is hidden in our parsha. Our parsha begins with a process of Teshuva, "You will return unto ('ad) Hashem, your G-d." (Devarim 30:2) It then moves on to the beginning of redemption, "Then Hashem, your G-d, will bring back your captivity and have mercy on you, and He will gather you in from all the peoples." (30:3) It concludes, once again, with a process of Teshuva, "When you shall return to (el) Hashem, your G-d, with all your heart and all your soul." (30:10)

Chazal comment that "unto Hashem" means Teshuva not for its sake - out of fear, whereas, "to Hashem," means Teshuva for its sake - out of love. Similarly, Onkelos translates "You will return unto Hashem - You will return to the fear of Hashem," "When you shall return to Hashem - When you return before Hashem."

According to R. Yehoshua, the first stage of Teshuva will occur out of fear, not for its own sake, when the king that G-d will establish over Israel will pass harsh decrees against them. This will force them to repent. The coercion of the troubles, the pogroms, the anti-Semitism, and other tragedies will arouse the people to Teshuva. This will also be considered Teshuva, even though it is not Teshuva for its own sake.

How will this Teshuva be expressed? Through aliya to Israel! After all, the original sin that caused all of the exiles was, "They despised the desirable land." (Tehillim 106:24) Therefore, Teshuva will be through love of the Land; the exiled Jews will love the Land and will come back to redemption. Thus, the verses that say: "You will return unto Hashem, your G-d ... Then Hashem, your G-d, will bring back your captivity and have mercy on you, and He will gather you in from all the peoples" - deal with the first stage of return to the Land of the forefathers, with aliya to Israel. It will be done by coercion and not willingly; not for its own sake but out of fear. Similarly, Rav Teichtel in "Eim Habanim Semeicha" (p. 109) writes, "Aliya itself is certainly considered Teshuva." Similarly, Yehuda Alkelai writes, "The overall Teshuva ... is that Israel will return to the Land."

Only after the first stage of Teshuva, not for its sake, that Israel will come to Eretz Yisrael, will full Teshuva come: "When you shall return to (el) Hashem, your G-d, with all your heart and all your soul." This, indeed, is the order in the Book of Yechezkel (36:24-26):

I will take you from [among] the nations and gather you from all the lands, and I will bring you to your own soil.

Then I will sprinkle pure water upon you, that you may become cleansed...

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.

Rav Kook zt"l alludes to the process in Orot Hateshuva (17:2):

The arousal of the desire of the nation as a whole to return to its Land, to its essence, to its spirit and its innate characteristic - in fact, has the light of Teshuva in it. In truth, this matter is clearly expressed in the Torah's expression: "You will return unto ('ad) Hashem, your G-d," "When you shall return to (el) Hashem, your G-d."

The return to Israel will draw after it a strengthening of the nationalistic feelings, the first of which is the sense of unity. Therefore, the Torah preceded the portion of Teshuva with the factor of unity - "You are standing today, all of you ... to pass into the covenant of Hashem. Sefat Emet writes:

"You are standing today, all of you" - Because Klal Yisrael are always standing before Hashem, and the worship of each and every individual is to submit himself to the community. This is "today;' it is each and every day ... Based on this all the wicked people could repent, because sin only removes from the wholeness of Israel, and therefore he can return to his roots, as it says, "I am returning to the inheritance of my father."

And, in our times:

Near the footsteps of Messiah, the concept of unity in the nation will increase. (Orot p. 17)

Just as we are assured that all of the destinies will be fulfilled, and not one of them will fail, so, too, we are assured that the last generation - just as it began to repent for the sin of "they despised the cherished Land," and after thousands of years of wandering in the exile, they remembered Yerushalayim and Zion and its callings, and with all the might and enthusiasm they leave the lands of the exile and go up to Zion, and with self-sacrifice they build our holy land - so, too, will arise a fresh and living generation, who will fight also to revive the sacred ... That generation will put on trial its teachers and educators, who led him astray and removed from their mouth their holy food, and will force their ancestors to repent fully. This is what it says: "He will return the heart of fathers on their sons," that through the sons the fathers will repent. We hope that our young generation will be that generation that will shake off its dust and will go spearheading for the observance of Torah and complete Teshuva. (Ma'aynei Yehoshua, Rav Y. M. Charlop zt"l)

The revival of the heart of the fathers on the sons and the heart of the son on their father is impossible to be other than through the air of Eretz Yisrael (B'Ikvi Hatzon, Rav Kook zt"l, p. 114)

Shedding Light on Teshuva

by HaRav Zalman Baruch Melamed
Rosh HaYeshiva, Beit El

Repentance - Fact or Obligation?
With regard to the section of the Torah dealing with Teshuva , or repentance, we ask ourselves, "Is the Torah describing for us a fact - that eventually we will return to God; or are we dealing here with a positive commandment, an obligation to return to Him through Teshuva.

On the verse, "This mandate that I am prescribing to you today is not too concealed or remote from you," Ramban (Nahmanides), in his classic Torah commentary, explains that we are dealing here with both a commandment and a promise. The Torah promises that the People of Israel will repent, in addition the Torah commands us to return to God through Teshuva.

Something Very Close to You
Regarding the commandment to return to God though Teshuva the Torah declares that it, "is not too concealed or remote from you... It is not in heaven... it is not over the sea." The Sefer HaIkkarim explains that this can be compared to a man who had a son who was severely sick. The father thought that for such a serious illness his son would certainly need special treatments and expensive medicines costing him, no doubt, a fortune. He took his son to a specialist who said that for this sickness there is no need for any expensive or hard-to-find medicine - "It is not remote from you." "Everybody," says the doctor, "can find it in his own back yard. You simply take certain herbs which grow in your yard, cook them up, and allow the sick boy to drink the broth. It won't cost you a thing - you can make it on your own." So, too, says the Torah with regard to Teshuva: It's simple to do, just: "Take with you words, and return, and return to God." (Hoshea 14:3)

In fact, Teshuva is so simple that it appears implausible. Everybody knows how serious sins are and how much damage they do. Everybody knows that when there a lot of sins they accumulate and become, "Like," in the words of Isaiah, "the ropes of a wagon." How is it possible that with such ease one can erase all that has been done. Do not the Scriptures themselves teach, "That which is crooked cannot be made straight"?! Why, every transgression which a person performs leaves a blemish on his soul and taints his moral capacities. How is it conceivable that through a person's doing Teshuva he instantly repairs all the damage which has been done?

Yet this is God's will, that man be allowed to return to Him through Teshuva. God forgives anybody who wholeheartedly repents.

Levels of Teshuva
True, there are different levels of Teshuva and of the spiritual elevation which Teshuva brings about, yet as far as casting off the sin is concerned it's enough that man regrets his actions and does not wish to repeat them. This, in itself, is Teshuva.

The Sages teach that even in a case where a man sinned his entire life and then, in his old age, sensing his day of judgement approaching, decided to do Teshuva, his repentance is accepted. The fact that there is no great difficulty in repenting at an old age, when the urge to sin has waned and there is no longer any attraction to the pleasures of the world, does not detract from a persons Teshuva - his sins are nonetheless forgiven.

There are, as we have said, levels in depth and in greatness of Teshuva. The supreme Teshuva is epitomized by the verse in Kohelet, "Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the onset of old age." When man is still at the height of his potency, his Teshuva is of a more complete nature. The famed Mishnaic Sage Rabbi Yehudah taught that perfect Teshuva is demonstrated in a case where a man finds himself in the same situation, in the same city, same place, and same woman, possessing the same desires and the same urges, yet does not repeat his sin. His standing the test proves that he is a true Ba'al Teshuva.

Who exactly is a Ba'al Teshuva? The Rambam writes that the one who repents has "the 'Knower-of-Secrets' (i.e. God) testify to the fact that he will never return to his sin." Yet is not man's Teshuva dependent upon the one repenting and his personal decision, not upon the testimony or witness of God, the "Knower-of-Secrets". The commentators answer that man takes for himself God as witness to the fact that he will not repeat his sin. Rabbi Aaron Soloveitchik explains that there are people who return to God through Teshuva saying, "I hope, from now on, never to repeat my transgression," "I'll try," or "I'll do my best." But that is not complete Teshuva, and the one repenting cannot be termed a Ba'al Teshuva. True Teshuva calls for a promise to the Almighty, that the 'Knower-of-Secrts' testify to the repenter's sincerity: "Now, God, you are my witness - that I won't repeat this transgression." A firm decision. Absolute. Final. "That's it, I've detached myself from that transgression."

Intellectual Teshuva and Emotional Teshuva
Teshuva is composed of two elements: rational intellectual understanding, and healthy instinct. Man may come to Teshuva as a result of the realization that what he did was wrong, while harboring a desire to do it again. From an intellectual-rational point of view he understands that it is wrong and therefore wishes to separate himself from the weakness, from the transgression he performed. Yet his desire has not yet abated and his craving is still strong. On the other hand, there is a sort of Teshuva where the sin simply disgusts the sinner. He is repulsed by the rut of desire in which he had once been stuck, by the environment of lust, competition, esteem-seeking, and impression-making. He simply can no longer stand it.

You might say that there is Teshuva which is characterized by a desire to flee from evil. " Sur MeRah ," in Hebrew. The repenter, in this case, doesn't even know where he wants to go - yet he knows where he doesn't want to go. Then, there is a Teshuva in which man is drawn to the good. "Aseh Tov." Complete and perfect Teshuva is composed, of course, of both of them together.

With the approaching New Year, let us merit a good "inscribing and sealing," all of us and all of the People of Israel, Amen.

Two Creations

by HaRav Shaul Yisraeli, zt"l
Rosh HaYeshiva, Mercaz HaRav
Rosh Kollel, Eretz Hemdat
Chaver, Beit Din HaGadol Yerushalayim

from Aroch Siach, p. 8-9

The world was created twice – one that was preceded by a state of pre-creation, and another time after the world was already created. The first creation happened in the first month and the second one was in the seventh month. The first one was done based on chesed (kindness), the second one based on din (strict law). The first one was created by Hashem on His own; in the second, he included man as a partner. The second creation was the greater one. "This is the day of the beginning of Your actions."

"The world shall be built with chesed (kindness)" (Tehillim 89:3). There is no ability for man or the whole world to survive without Hashem’s kindness. The word of Hashem, Who is in the Heavens but influences every living thing, all depends on chesed. However, there are two forms of chesed – a chesed that is connected to din and a chesed that is connected to rachamim (mercy). The chesed of din is greater than the chesed of rachamim. The latter does not elevate the recipient of the chesed. He remains a recipient, and the part of one who only receives is lowly. It is a tragedy for a person to have to "hold out his hand" to receive. Therefore, the kindness of this type of chesed is incomplete, as the recipient pays by being branded a recipient.

Chesed that is related to din comes to change a person from a recipient to a giver, from one who is influenced to one who influences, and from a creation to a creator. It is there to make a person a master over himself and for the whole world, to give man full autonomy and the ability to define himself.

Din is a matter of reality. When one gets something from Hashem based on din (i.e., deserving it), he becomes elevated to the point of being a creator. His actions are able to "fix worlds" or destroy worlds. Man’s actions take on special importance. "If he performed a mitzva, he moved himself and the whole world over to the side of merit" (Kiddushin 40b), and the same is true in the negative. "If the righteous wanted to, they could create a world" (Sanhedrin 65b). A person becomes free to act and responsible for his actions’ repercussions. All of creation becomes dependent on man. This chesed of din is more elusive and therefore more elevated. "Hashem was elevated with justice" (Yeshayahu 5:16).

"Say before me malchuyot so that you will make me King over you" (Rosh Hashana 34b). To the extent we can say this, Hashem’s kingdom depends on our words, for without our involvement, His Kingdom is incomplete. The foundation of chesed in the world does not shine as it could. When we do not act properly, we limit the Divine Presence in the world. The world is then not able to succeed based on din and becomes more dependent on rachamim, making man increasingly a recipient. He does not build and destroy worlds, and he loses his role in creation. Even during his life, he is considered like the dead (Devarim Rabba, V’zot Haberacha). He stops being a master of his own life and certainly for others, but he becomes like a slave. Only when we are connected to din can we invigorate the world with our actions, show the divine chesed, and give Hashem the most complete Kingdom we can.

Jewish Covenants

by Rabbi Dov Berel Wein

Towards the conclusion of his long final oration to the Jewish people, our teacher Moshe refers once more to the covenant between God and Israel. A covenant is much more than a relationship or an agreement. Covenants, in the Jewish sense of the word, are not altered by changing times and differing circumstances. A covenant has the ring of eternity, not only in time but also in content.

Covenants are immutable and unchangeable. They have a binding quality that ordinary agreements or even contracts do not possess. And this is true from the beginning of the story of the Jewish people, and maybe even from the beginning of history and God's relationship to human beings as Creator. We find in the story of the flood and the rainbow, that the relationship is always based on a binding and unchangeable covenant.

The Jewish people have always sensed the gravity of the covenantal relationship with God. It is the sole explanation for all the events and patterns of Jewish history from the time of Abraham until today. We are a covenantal people and are bound by restrictions and fueled by prophetic vision and utopian hope.

Only a people who feel themselves part of and bound by an eternal covenant, would have the strength and the ability to survive and even prosper under the circumstances of persecution and enmity that have surrounded the Jewish world from time immemorial. It is no cause for wonder why the circumcision ceremony in Jewish life is always called the covenant, for it represents in a physical manifestation, this binding covenant between God and the Jewish people.

It is well understood why Moshe fills this final oration to the Jewish people with references and lessons, explicit and implicit, to the covenant and to Sinai as the basis of Jewish existence. Only the power of a covenant is strong and mighty enough to guarantee the survival and resilience of the Jewish people. But the shepherd knows very well the weaknesses and strengths of his flock. The 40-year sojourn in the desert has been a learning experience for Moshe, and through his example, for all future leaders of the Jewish people in all times and under all circumstances.

The one thing that Moshe feels is deeply implanted within his people is this idea of a covenant. It is this covenant that creates within us the feeling of being special, chosen and bound by a mission that is far greater than the mundane activities of even life itself. The covenant contains many harsh conditions and predictions. It also portrays an exalted future and a continual message of productivity and influence, that will permeate Jewish society. The vital behavior of the Jewish people, its ability to rise to all occasions, is based on our appreciation of the covenantal relationship between God and Israel. Individually, there are many Jews that may not feel bound or even be aware of the existence of this covenant. But within the Jewish soul, as part of our DNA so to speak, we know that we are a covenantal people, and we are charged to think and behave accordingly.

Rav Kook's Igrot Hare’aya: Two Complaints about Workers’ Chillul Shabbat - #115-116

1. Date and Place: 14 Adar I 5668 (1908), Yafo

Recipient: Mr. Zev Gluskin, chairman of Carmel Wines

Body: Today I heard that two workers from the winery are suspected, in a manner that has a strong basis, of having desecrated the holy Shabbat in an obtrusive manner. I tasked the kashrut supervisor with sending them away from the winery until the matter can be clarified before me with witnesses and until the matter can be remedied for the future.

I will bring to your considered attention that it is proper to announce formally, in the name of the office of the winery’s administration, the great weight of the concern about chillul Shabbat, from the commercial perspective and for the reputation of the winery in general. The wound in our heart is deep and dangerous. For the soul of the life of our nation, here in the Land of our Fathers, we need strength from all sides to enforce its value to us. The echo of the “voice of Hashem” of the covenant and the sign for all of the future generations is not heard because of the coarse and disrespectful tumult of ignorance and disgusting apostasy. True, my downtrodden soul will be consoled, for the period of drunkenness will not last long, and quickly our nation, especially the young generation, will return to sanctify the Holy One of Israel and that which is sacred to Him. The spirit of Hashem will lead us, as His Face will light the way for us to plant us in the Land He set out for us, with the dew of life which comes from the sanctum.

2. Date and Place: 25 Adar I 5668 (1908), Yafo

Recipient: The Council of Rishon L’tzion

Body: Today I was shocked by the rumor that some individual workers had the gall to desecrate Shabbat openly in a painful manner in the middle of the day in town, with work done to prepare a theatre. The flame that is burning in the depths of the wound of my soul from such reports, I cannot, my dear friends, give over to you in writing. I will rightfully beseech you not to allow this deed to pass quietly without your public scolding and an official protest.

I was happy to hear that within the town, this disgusting deed caused a stirring within the population. It is a sign of a Jewish soul that lives in their midst and the light of Hashem that shines in their hearts, which will still become more elevated, to our happiness and the consolation of hope on the holy soil and the home of our lives. However, it is not enough that there just be some agitation expressed in non-impactful speech, when we need to protect the entire soul of the nation, in regard to the day of sanctity and rest. When people without feelings or wisdom stand up to destroy our nation in the midst of the town in front of our eyes, the crown of Hashem that is on our heads [requires us to do more].

The obligation of the council is to protect the honor of the sanctity of the Holy Land and the honor of the nation, so that the Name of Heaven not be desecrated. To the extent possible, it should take a firm stand against those who desecrated Shabbat. Please use this event, as a lesson how low a spiritual deterioration could be and how damaging it could be if we will remain quiet and not take notice of the need to make a public protest of the council against every case [of chillul Shabbat done on behalf of the community]. This is especially true regarding that which was done publicly. You are an active group, whose job it is to protect the most important matters of the nation as they relate to its heritage.

May we be strong on behalf of our nation and the honor of Hashem, who led us to the land of our fathers, in which we dwell. We are full of brave hope to be liberated in its midst with the seed of Hashem as it was in times of old.

Crowning the King. Theirs and Ours

By Rabbi Pinchas Winston

Friday Night
WHILE DISCUSSING THE death of Queen Elizabeth II with someone the other day, they being 92 mentioned that they never thought they would see another king reign in their lifetime. The last king of England was King George VI who ruled from 1936–1952. It was his daughter, Elizabeth who inherited the crown from him. It is her son, Charles, formerly the Prince of Wales, who has just inherited the throne from her.

Everything that happens in history and when it happens is always hashgochah pratis—divine providence. God runs the world and decides what will happen and when, so all that happens must be hashgochah pratis. But there is hashgochah pratis that goes unnoticed or seems insignificant, and there is hashgochah pratis that stands out and makes you think.

The death of a monarch, even if only a figurehead, is significant, or it wouldn’t catch the attention of so many people around the world. Out of respect and protocol, the world will mourn for the loss of the queen as if she really was a powerful leader.

But think about what? That will depend upon the person. For me, it made me think about Rosh Hashanah and what were supposed to be doing. As someone I know has pointed out to me year after year, we do not coronate our king because He already is a king, the King of Kings, and always has been. Charles was not king before and will have to be coronated to make it official. But God has always been king, though it only really had meaning since Creation. After all, what is a king without subjects?

So what do we do each Rosh Hashanah if God is already king? We accept upon ourselves to be His loyal subjects, which technically we do every day when we say the Shema. But it is one thing to pledge loyalty to the king, and something very different to do it in His Presence. It’s just a far more awesome and inspiring experience.

That’s a major component of the entire experience, awe. Any king can inspire fear just by exercising the power of his office. But it takes a special kind of king to inspire awe. The pomp and pageantry help, but at the end of the day it is the leader themself that the people see. If there isn’t anything remarkable about how they execute their leadership role, they won’t capture the hearts and loyalty of the people.

That’s why they’re call the Days of Awe. The point of the 10 days from the beginning of Rosh Hashanah until the end of Yom Kippur is for developing awe of God. We don’t make Him king and we certainly do not coronate Him. What we do instead is work on developing a sense of awe of Him as our king, and as the King of Kings, so that we can live up to our role as His loyal subjects. Not for His benefit, but for ours.

Because unlike, with respect to human kings, you can’t just pick up and move to another kingdom if you’re unhappy with God’s kingdom. The entire world is His kingdom. The good news, though, is that any problems that we have with God or His kingdom stem from us, and that is something we can choose to work on.

Shabbos Day
PARASHAS KI SAVO is famous because of its curses. It starts off with blessings, but the section of curses is long and scary, especially since they have come true over history.

But what it is really saying to us, what God is really saying to us is, “Will you be My loyal subject? If yes, here’s how you do it. If not, this is what happens if you don’t.” If you rebel against your government, you are a traitor. If you rebel against your captain, you are a mutineer. If you rebel against God, you are… What are you, besides in trouble?

If a person rebels against God, then they rebel against truth, because the seal of God is truth (Yoma 69b). That makes them a liar. If they rebel against God, then they rebel against their Creator, Sustainer, and Maintainer, and that makes them a denier of good. If someone rebels against God, then they rebel against the Source of their security, as it says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in God; God will be his trust” (Yirmiyahu 17:7). That makes them very vulnerable.

A human king would send his soldiers out to find and execute the traitor, and a captain may make mutineers walk the plank. But God? He doesn’t have to do anything. All the punishments listed in this week’s parsha? They’re built into Creation, like tooth decay if you don’t brush your teeth, or germs if you do not keep a place clean. They are automatic realities that result from not doing things.

As the Chovos LeVovos says in Sha’ar Bitachon, the “punishment” for not trusting in God is being left in the trust of what you are willing to rely upon. And anything else other than God can never be 100 percent reliable, and usually not even close.

So basically, this week’s parsha is God saying, “If you join My malchus, I will assure you of the blessings you need and want in life. If you don’t, I will back away from you, and you will be on your own. But before you choose that option, let Me first warn you of how history and Creation will go for you. It might sound appealing and at first and seem like a good choice. But tooth decay doesn’t happen overnight, nor will bacteria immediately overrun a sterile environment. It happens over time, but once it does, it will make you regret your decision.”

It’s the way of the world since leaving Gan Aiden. If you do not maintain your health, then it will deteriorate. If you do not maintain your money, it will dwindle away. If you do not maintain relationships, they will weaken over time. As Kabbalah explains, this is a world of doing, which is why it is called Asiyah, from the word that means to do. The world of resting is the next one in Olam HaBa.

And because the changes do not happen overnight, we might get fooled into thinking that they are not happening at all, or not significantly. But how many small water leaks left unchecked ended up doing phenomenal damage over time? How many times have we left a cavity a bit too long only to need an “emergency” appointment because of all the pain? How many times have people ignored minor infractions only to see them became major ones at some point?

You might ask, “How could the Jewish people have ever let the situation get so bad as to see the fulfillment of the curses?” It’s the same answer. It didn’t happen overnight, and perhaps not even over a single lifetime. The roots of the Holocaust have been traced back hundreds of years by secular historians.

It’s also the same reason why we’re allowing another such situation develop in our time. Sitting here today we barely notice how much things have changed over the last two decades. Sitting here today, we have little idea of how they’ll develop over the next few years. So this week’s parsha says that if you don’t get up and consciously improve the situation, then you can bank on the negative outcome. It’s that built in.

Shalosh Seudot
WHAT ARE WE really trying to do? The answer is actually the same on both a Pshat (simple) and Sod (Kabbalistic) level. We are here to create the Malchus Shamayim on earth. It’s the depth of explanation that differentiates the two.

It happens on two levels. The obvious level is what the Torah refers to here:

And you shall keep [them] and do [them], for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the eyes of the peoples, who will hear all these statutes and say, “Only this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” (Devarim 4:6)

Through this you will be considered wise and understanding in the eyes of the peoples. (Rashi)

Last I checked, we weren’t doing so well with this. We weren’t very high on the international respect meter. If millions of Jews do not believe Torah is from God, then how can we expect billions of gentiles to believe that it is? And if even those who do believe it is from God don’t always act as if it is from God, then how can we change any of this?

The other way is deeper and doesn’t need others to acknowledge what we have done. Every time a person does a mitzvah as a mitzvah, they learn Torah as Torah, it draws the light of God into the world. It doesn’t matter if it is in public or in the privacy of your own home, because it has the same effect. The light is drawn down and enters the world, and another spiritual brick is placed in the wall of God’s malchus.

Over time, when enough “bricks” are in place, a “wall” will eventually become visible to everyone. All of a sudden, the reality of God will become more real to more people, as if something was put into the air to make people think differently. And when all such walls have gone up, the Kingdom of God will be over the entire land, and all of mankind will accept Him as their king too, as it says:

God will be King over the entire land. On that day, God will be One and His Name will be One. (Zechariah 14:9)

In a sense, that is what the Heavenly Court is going to look at on Rosh Hashanah, how many “bricks” each of us made and put in place during the previous year, or the opposite because of our sins. We are spiritual bricklayers in the building of the malchus of God on earth, from the moment we get up in the morning until we go to sleep at night.

In Moshe Rabbeinu’s generation, “Whoever is for God, come to me,” was a cry to rally the troops against the perpetrators of the golden calf. In subsequent generations, God asks, “Who is ready to help Me build My kingdom on earth and achieve My plan for Creation?”

The way we live each day is our answer to that question. How we perform a mitzvah answers this question. How we pray answers this question. How we spend our time answers this question. Are we most interested in sanctifying God’s name, or our own?

We should be asking ourselves every morning, “How can I bring more of God’s light into the world today? What can I add to His malchus?” Develop this kind of consciousness and the rest will follow quite naturally.

Ain Od Milvado, Part 18
ONCE UPON A time, you could deal with anti-Semitism in the United States by writing to your senator. It didn’t matter that you were Jewish, or even an Orthodox Jew, or which group of Jews you were a part of. If you were an American citizen who paid taxes, you were treated equally and usually got results.

But history has changed and so has the United States of America. Anti-Semitism is very high once again, and many of the attitudes of today’s secular society do not align with Torah values as they once did. Certainly, the influence of the Arab world on the American mentality has been a big cause of the shift as well.

We could look for additional reasons, and they are probably real. But the most “real” reason of them all is that God has changed the direction of history to change the direction of the Jewish people. He thinks only in terms of exile and redemption, and if we’re not moving in the direction of one, then we have to be moving in the direction of the other.

So if a major newspaper has decided to publish an Op-Ed about Chassidish Jewry that makes Jews look bad, it is time to pay attention, not write to your senator. This is not a message from the newspaper, and not even from the US government. This is a message from God…a warning from Heaven of where things are going so that we can make arrangements accordingly now, while it is still possible. Fighting for fairness and equality at this stage of exile is not only futile, it is a negation of Ain od Milvado.

The Jewish people have gone into many exiles, and they have all come to an end. Part of anticipating the arrival of Moshiach is living daily with the reality that the current exile will also end. Part of being loyal to God is being loyal to redemption, and that means anticipating it at every turn of history, and between each turn as well.

It has often been said that the best time to leave a party is at its height. If you wait for things to quiet down, it will dampen the entire experience. If you leave while the party is still quite lively, you will leave with that memory instead.

Why is it that we insist on living in exile until we can’t any longer? Because we stop seeing exile as a function of the will of God, and therefore subject to His timeline. If exile is just a random reality, then who says it has to end? But if exile is God controlled, then you have to know that it has to end, and will the moment God says so. And when major newspapers start looking for ways to reduce the respect of Jews, it is a clear sign that the divine will is bringing an exile to an end.

The Yishai Fleisher Israel Podcast: From the Highest High to the Lowest Low

SEASON 2022 EPISODE 37: Rabbi Yishai is driving down the highway in Florida and thinking about the Torah portion of Ki Tavo which gives the joyous blessings of entering the Land of Israel - and the darkest curses of enduring a Holocaust.

A Torah Mensch

by Rav Binny Freedman

I remember the first Mishnah I ever learned. (The Mishnah is the basic text of the oral tradition, as codified and edited by Rabbi Yehuda Ha’Nasi circa 200C.E. and represents the sum total of the oral tradition handed down from student to teacher in an unbroken chain from Sinai, over three thousand years ago. It is the foundation of Jewish tradition.) As a child I attended a Jewish Yeshiva Day School, but it was not in the school classroom that I was first introduced to the Mishnah; it was in Synagogue.

The Synagogue we attended when I was five years old, had a strict decorum, and I seem to recall or imagine the challenges this presented to my parents (She’yibadlu Le’Chaim Tovim) who had their hands full, I suppose, keeping track of my elder brother and me. Vague images of my red-faced and embarrassed father carrying me out of synagogue kicking and screaming to stop me from jumping up and down on the podium in front of the entire congregation seem to support my perception that I was a handful, to say the least.

Although I do not recall the exact circumstances leading up to this moment, I remember I had succeeded in escaping from the seat next to my father near the rear and running up to the front of the synagogue. The conversation I had with Rabbi Dr. Simon Greenberg, however, is ingrained in my memory. An eminent Torah scholar (Talmid Chacham), he had an honored place in the front row, and I can still remember his piercing eyes and warm smile. He had the largest hands I had ever seen, and somehow, he succeeded in getting hold of me and hoisting me up to sit on his lap.

Most of us have little recollection of the events that filled our early years, and there isn’t much we remember from when we were five years old. But this conversation I remember in its entirety. I recall the sefer (book) he was holding, and his query as to whether I knew what it was. And I even remember the text of the Mishnah, which he proceeded to teach me in its entirety. Most people, catching hold of a rambunctious five-year-old shouting and yelling in Synagogue, usually head for either their parents, or the door. But he chose instead to teach me the entire first Mishnah of the Talmud in its entirety, right there on his knees.

Most of all, I still remember how important I felt as a five-year-old, to be sitting on this great rabbi’s lap, all the way in the front of the Synagogue with, so it seemed to me, nothing more important to him than our conversation. Looking back, those few moments must have had a strong impact on me, as I still remember not only the text he taught me, but the entire conversation as well. The beginnings of my relationship with Torah, aside, of course, from my parents, and the first stirrings of the love for Torah I still have today, began not with scholarship, but with mentschlechkeit. True Torah scholarship is not only the erudition and familiarity with large amounts of text; it is, as well, the ability, and more importantly the desire to spend time on that text even with a noisy five-year-old boy.

‘Mentsch’ is a hard word to translate. It refers not to a person’s wisdom, or brilliance, but to the pure human decency such wisdom is meant to produce. It would be safe to say that my path to teaching began not from some brilliant insight full of wisdom from an eminent Torah scholar, but rather from a simple moment filled with the sterling character and caring of a Torah mentsch.

We are in the midst of preparing for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, known also as the Yamim Noraim, the ‘Days of Awe’. And we spend much time wondering how we can become better human beings, living up to the myriad of laws and challenges, the mitzvoth, that the Torah seems to desire of us. On Yom Kippur we will beat our breast and cry out our regrets over the missed opportunities and mistakes of the last year. Most people spend time considering the actions we regret, but very little focus on whether our character needs refining as well.

We attempt to make the food we eat, and hopefully the speech we impart as Kosher as the Torah scrolls from which we read. But what of the less specific question and certainly less measurable challenge of being, generally, a fine human being? Is there a mitzvah to be a mentsch?

This week’s portion, Ki Tavoh, begins with a series of blessings which we will merit as a people if, collectively, we adhere to the path Hashem (G-d) has given us to embrace.

“Ve’Haya, Im Shamoah’ Tishmah Be’Kol Hashem Elokechah’ Lishmor La’asot Et Kol Mitzvotav Asher Anochi Metzav’chah’ HaYom… U’va’u’ Alechah’ Kol Ha’Berachot Ha’Eileh’ Ve’Hisiguchah’.”

“And it will come to pass, if you will listen to the voice of Hashem your G-d, to guard (cherish) and fulfill all His Mitzvoth (Commandments) which I Command you this day… then all these blessings will come upon you and catch you up.” (Devarim 28:1-2)

It would seem that all the collective blessing we dream of, and hope to experience as a people, depends on our willingness to adhere to Hashem’s mitzvoth, the opportunities we are given to live a committed Jewish life.

But this verse is not quite as simple as it seems. It is worth noting that this verse speaks to us not as a collective people, as we might expect, but rather to each of us as individuals. The entire verse, and indeed both the blessings and the curses that follow, are given in first person singular, implying that I, as an individual, bear responsibility for the fate and merit of the entire Jewish people, a challenging idea at best.

One might imagine this to mean that every individual is responsible for the entire Jewish people, and that until we learn to value and respect every Jew, we will never achieve our goal as a light unto the Nations, and thus the blessings of peace and prosperity will forever elude us, and this is certainly true. But one wonders if there is some deeper message hidden in the choice of addressee.

Further, if indeed these verses are speaking to the individual, then there is something that seems to make no sense. How can we be enjoined “Lishmor La’asot Et Kol Mitzvotav”, to “fulfill all His Mitzvoth”? (28:1)

Are all of these blessings dependent on our (or even my) fulfilling every last mitzvah? If I live a complete Jewish life, but have never had the chance to fulfill, as an example, the mitzvah of Pe’ah, setting aside a corner of my field for the poor, are the blessings due the entire Jewish people withheld? Indeed, it is not actually possible for any Jew to fulfill all of the Mitzvoth! If you are not a Kohen (priest), you cannot fulfill the mitzvah of a Kohen, and if you do not have a firstborn son, you cannot fulfill the mitzvah of redeeming the firstborn, etc. In fact, there are mitzvoth I hope please G-d never to fulfill, such as the mitzvah of giving a Get, a divorce document in the event of the dissolution of a marriage.

And even if one assumes this verse to mean that we must take care not to transgress any of the commandments (i.e. if you have a field, then set aside a corner for the poor) it is still challenging, for who can say he or she has not transgressed any of the commandments? Can it be that for one sentence of gossip, the Jewish people will remain in exile forever? What is the deeper implication hidden in these words?

And there is more: The Torah does not suffice with this explanation of the basis for these blessings. In 28:9, we read:

“Ye’kimchah’ Hashem Lo’ Le’Am Kadosh, Ka’asher Nishba’ Lach, Ki’ Tishmor Et Mitzvoth Hashem Elokechah’ Ve’Halachta’ Be’Deracahav.”

“Hashem will raise you to Him as a holy nation, as He has promised, when (because) you will fulfill the mitzvoth of Hashem your G-d, and walk in His ways.” (28:9)

Notice that in this verse it does not say all (Kol) the mitzvoth, but rather we are given the normal enjoinder to fulfill Hashem’s commandments. Why here are we not told to fulfill all the mitzvoth? And equally interesting, what is the additional clause of “Ve’Halachta’ Be’Deracahav” (“and walk in His ways”)?

Perhaps this imperative to walk in the ways or pathways of Hashem, is the key to this entire question.

One might assume this phrase to simply be a repetition, in different format of Hashem’s desire for us to follow the path of Torah laid out for us.

Rambam, however, lists this particular phrase as a separate mitzvah, in his Sefer HaMitzvoth, implying that there is a very specific mitzvah we are expected to fulfill. But what is this mitzvah on which, it seems, everything depends? And why is this mitzvah specifically associated with all of the blessings and rewards we hope to achieve as a people?

Even more challenging is the fact that the Rambam’s inclusion of “Ve’Halachta’ Be’Deracahav” as a separate mitzvah seems to go against his own parameters for what does and does not constitute a mitzvah.

In his introduction to the book of Mitzvoth, Rambam explains that there are certain fundamental principles on which the list of mitzvoth is dependent. The fourth such principle is that any mitzvah which includes all the mitzvoth (or on which all the mitzvoth depend) is not included in the list of mitzvoth.

Thus, for example, Rambam does not include as one of the 613 mitzvoth any obligation to believe in G-d, because without belief in G-d, none of the mitzvoth make sense. And this is the source of the debate as to why the Rambam did not include the mitzvah to live in Israel, in as much as none of the mitzvoth are complete unless they are fulfilled in the land of Israel.

So how can the mitzvah of walking in the ways of Hashem be one of Rambam’s list of the 613 mitzvoth? Isn’t this a general principle, which includes all the mitzvoth? (Hence, for example, there is to mitzvah to “listen to the voice of Hashem”, because this principal includes and pertains to all the mitzvoth.)

What then, according to Rambam, is the specific mitzvah of “Ve’Halachta’ Be’Deracahav”, to “Walk in Hashem’s ways”?

The answer is to be found in Rambam’s Hilchot Deot, the laws of character development. In his magnum opus, the Mishneh Torah, where the Rambam delineates and organizes the entirety of Jewish law (halacha), the second set of laws, right at the beginning of the first of his fourteen books concern the Jewish recipe for becoming a mentsch. Second only to the laws of the foundations of Torah (Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah, the basic principles of faith in Judaism), Rambam believed Judaism begins and ends with the challenge of becoming a mentsch.

And the basis for his insistence that adherence to a Torah lifestyle begins with the obligation to become a good person is our verse: of “Ve’Halachta’ Be’Deracahav”. (Deot 1:5).

In other words, it is not just commendable, when a person becomes a mentsch; it is an obligation, without which we are not fulfilling one of the basic ingredients of Judaism. A closer look at Rambam’s Hilchot Deot reveals that a person who is too angry or too stingy, too greedy or too lazy, is transgressing (or at least not fulfilling) one of Judaism’s basic mitzvoth. In fact, the context in which this mitzvah appears here in the Torah, suggests that it is a far more important mitzvah to develop one’s character than putting on tefillin, or even refraining from eating pork!

All of the blessings of the entire Jewish people depend on the ability of any given individual learning to behave like a mentsch. All the Torah a person may ever teach is not as worthwhile, as the way in which he or she teaches it. It took me a long time to understand that my first Mishnah was not about how incredible it was that a great Torah scholar took the time and had the sensitivity to teach a Mishnah to a wild little five-year-old. Rather, it was because he took the time and had the sensitivity to teach a Mishnah to a wild little five-year-old, that Rabbi Greenberg was a true Torah scholar.

Indeed, the Rambam points out, that not only are we obligated to refine our character, but also indeed we have to do Teshuvah (repentance) for our lacking in these areas. The Teshuvah process we seek to achieve in the days leading up to Rosh Hashanah is not just about our mistaken actions, but our incomplete character traits as well! (Hilchot Teshuvah 7:3) We have to do Teshuvah, says the Rambam, for every moment of anger, jealousy, hatred, greed, arrogance and pride as well!

In fact, this is the true meaning of the verse in Isaiah read on the afternoon of community fast days:

“Ya’azov rasha Darko, Ve’ish Aven Machshevotav….”
“Let the wicked leave his path, and the man of iniquity is thoughts…”. (Yishayahu 55:7)

Indeed, this may well be the true meaning of the beginning of the above-quoted verse:

“Ve’Haya, Im Shamoah’ Tishmah Be’Kol Hashem Elokechah’ Lishmor La’asot Et Kol Mitzvotav

“And it will come to pass, if you will listen to the voice of Hashem your G-d to guard (cherish) and fulfill all His Mitzvoth (Commandments). (Devarim 28:1)

What exactly does it mean to listen to G-d? Each of us has an inner voice, which really is a manifestation of Hashem inside each and every one of us. Do we hear that voice? Do we listen to it? And even more, do we hear the voice that cries out from inside every human being? After all, if I cannot see a little bit of G-d inside the person standing next to me, I will never find G-d anywhere else….

And maybe this is why the Torah speaks in first person singular, because it is precisely the development of ourselves as individuals that the Torah is speaking of here. We often spend a lot of time considering what everyone else is doing wrong, and we speak in lofty ringing tones of the need for the Jewish people to ‘come together’. We sigh and nod when we recognize how much work we have to do as a people to become the collective role model we are meant to be. But that goal is not about telling anyone else what to do. It begins with our determination to make ourselves into better human beings.

Rav Kook (in his Arpelei Tohar) suggests that all of a person’s problems and all the baggage we carry in life stem from one’s relationship with Hashem. If my relationship with and perception of G-d is skewered, then I will be skewered as well. That is how a human being who believes in G-d can walk into a pizzeria or café’ on a beautiful afternoon strapped with explosives, and murder innocent women and children in the name of that same G-d.

If my G-d is an angry G-d, then on a certain level, I will be an angry person, and if my G-d is only a G-d of judgment, then I will be a person filled with judgment. But even more, if I cannot see the piece of G-d inside every human being, beginning with myself, then I have an incomplete and skewered perception of G-d. If I can kill, whether by bomb or by character assassination, another human being, then it must be because I do not fully see the image of Hashem inside them. And that is the source of all the pain, and all the curses, as well as the vehicle to achieving all the blessings we so long for in this world.

I remember, during one of my stints in Lebanon, sharing a base in Marja’oun, with some Lebanese Christians, who were allied with Israel. Israel was training and assisting the S.L.A., the South Lebanese Army, in its battle against the P.L.O. in Soutrhern Lebanon.

While we did not do patrols together we would run into them on the base from time to time. As some spoke excellent English I got friendly with a few of them and we would sometimes get together in the canteen and swap stories.

One Sunday afternoon I got back from patrol in time to catch a priest who had come to visit them for mass. It transpired he was an English Priest visiting the Middle East on a large Christian Mission, and he, along with a few of the higher- ups on the mission had been given a special V.I.P. helicopter ride by some officials from the Ministry of Tourism. Someone had come up with the bright idea of bringing the Christians to visit our Christian allies who were fighting alongside Israel.

When the photo opportunities and sound bytes were over, I got into a conversation with this priest, about the sad state of affairs in Lebanon in general, and in the Lebanese Christian Community in particular. It took me a moment to realize that he was actually clueless to what was really going on in the Lebanese Christian community, which shocked me. Because no matter how deep our relationship with G-d may seem, if it gets in the way of our relationship with our fellow human beings, then we are missing the entire point.

When we will truly ‘hear’; the voice of Hashem emanating from every human being, and when that will drive each of us to become the refined and sterling human being we are meant to be, then truly:

“U’va’u’ Alechah’ Kol Ha’Berachopt Ha’Eileh’ Ve’Hisiguchah’.”
“…Then all these blessings will come upon you and catch you up.” (Devarim 28:1-2)

Shabbat Shalom.