As Jews, we say Shema, the declaration of our acceptance as G-d as the one and only Almighty being that created and sustains the universe, twice a day. To most people, the words probably come out robotically- who could blame them? The words are said so often that they take no thought or awareness to get out of one’s mouth!- but for those willing to open up their minds a bit, they will find powerful truths within the prayer.
Parshat Eikev contains the second paragraph of Shema within it. The paragraph discusses the great rewards in store for the Jewish nation should they keep the Mitzvot and live in the Spirit of the Torah: rain for crops, grass for cattle, food to sustain oneself, within Eretz Yisrael. However the paragraph continues, warning the Jews of the sure punishments in the event of their abandoning of G-d for idol worship: draught, famine and exile from the Land of Israel. One of the Psukim commands us:
פרק י"א פסוק י"ח: ושמתם את דברי אלה על לבבכם ועל נפשכם וקשרתם אותם לאות על ידכם והיו לטוטפות בין עיניכם"
Perek 11 Pasuk 18: You shall place these words of Mine upon your heart and upon your soul; you shall bind them for a sign upon your arm and let them be an ornament between your eyes.
Rashi comments on the words “Visamtem et divarai,” You shall place these words of Mine, and says something that seems to be extremely problematic:
אף לאחר שתגלו היו מצויינים במצוות, הניחו תפילין עשו מזוזות, כדי שלא יהיו לכם חדשים כשתחזרו....
Even after you are exiled, you must distinguish yourselves by performing Mitzvot, set the Tefilin in place, affix the Mezuzot, so that they do not seem novel when you return.
Rashi takes this Pasuk as a commandment to continue with the Mitzvot of Tefilin and Mezuzot during the exile for the purpose of remembering them for when we return to Eretz Yisrael. This is the problem: All Mitzvot can be divided into 2 categories- Chovot HaGuf and Chovot HaAretz- Mitzvot done always, regardless of a person’s location, and Mitzvot only done when one is in Eretz Yisrael. Tefilin and Mezuza are both Chovot HaGuf- done regardless of location- yet Rashi’s rationale only makes sense if the Mitzvot are understood to be Chovot HaAretz- dependant upon being in Eretz Yisrael.
Other commentators try to grapple with this problem. Ramban, Nachmanidies, comments on this and says:
המצות האלו חובת הגוף ולא חובת הארץ. יש במדרש הזה סוד עמוק שאני כבר רימזתי עליו בויקרא.
These Mitzvot are done regardless of location and are not dependant upon being in Eretz Yisrael. This midrash contains within it a deep secret to which I already hinted in (sefer) Vayikra.
Ramban does not elaborate on the nature of this deep secret. Lucky for us, the Maharal MiPrague, in his sefer, Gur Aryeh, does. He first gives a very technical answer, which I will not discuss here, but then offers clarification to the words of the Ramban, and in doing so, sends us a very powerful message.
To understand the Maharal’s answer, we must first quickly learn the Midrash in Sifri that Ramban was talking about, and upon which Rashi based his comment. The Midrash gives us an allegory of a king who exiles his wife to her father’s home but commands her to continue wearing her royal jewelry so that she will not forget what that is like when he calls her to return to him as his queen. Now, the Maharal’s answer. The Maharal states that Ramban referred to the Torah as “Mishpat Elokei Ha’Aretz,” G-d’s laws for the Land (of Israel). This explains why the Avot only kept the Torah within the Land of Israel (The classic example of this being that Yaakov marries two sisters, Rachel and Leah, which is forbidden, outside of Israel. As soon as they return to Israel, Rachel dies in childbirth.). Now, every Mitzva that is Chovat HaGuf is still a commandment that Bnei Yisrael must uphold, even though it is not so proper to be doing Mitzvot outside of Israel, because the Torah is “Mishpat Elokei Ha’Aretz.” However, G-d had to command us in the upholding of these Mitzvot in Chutz La’Aretz because, otherwise, Bnei Yisrael will surely forget the Mitzvot and would need a second giving of them- a second Matan Torah- upon their return to Eretz Yisrael, which will never happen- there can never be a second giving of the Torah, the first one is always valid.
Now, let’s go back and answer everything. Rashi takes this Midrash and compares Bnei Yisrael to the exiled queen, the Mitzvot to her jewelry and of course, the king to G-d. The comparison would have fit if not for the fact that the Mitzvot Rashi uses, Mezuza and Tefilin, are Mitzvot we have to uphold everywhere we are, even in Galut. So the Maharal solves this problem by explaining to us that the Torah and her Mitzvot are ideally meant to be kept in the Land of Israel, and the only reason we have Mitzvot Chovot HaGuf is so that we will remember how to keep the Mitzvot when we return to the Land of Israel!
I believe that anyone who has paid attention will see that the Maharal is correct. When I am in Chutz La’Aretz, my tefilla is only half-there. I can close my eyes to try and shut out the world around me, but I am still too aware of myself and my surroundings to be totally absorbed in what I’m saying. Yet when I’m in Israel, I can connect to the words I’m saying in such a natural way- and my surroundings add to it! It’s an absolutely beautiful experience.
May we all soon see the day when we are all fulfilling the Mitzvot in their, and our, true home. Amen!
As Tisha B’Av approaches, I would like to think that Am Israel is stopping to catch its breath, on both national and individual levels, to take the time to attempt to rectify the sins that caused the destruction of the Bet HaMikdash and the Exile it still finds itself in today. We are told that the Bet HaMikdash was destroyed due to Sinat Chinam, “Baseless hatred,” and it is therefore logical to conclude that we must counteract that sin with Ahavat Chinam, “Baseless love.” Instead of having cold interpersonal relationships unless there is a motive to act nicely to one’s fellow, one should have kind interpersonal relationships unless there is truly a reason why this is impossible.
Nowadays, Am Israel is considered to be in Chevlei Mashiach, the days that are leading up to the imminent (respectively, on the timeline starting from creation) arrival of Mashiach, IY”H. However, the question must be raised, and addressed, as to why in this generation is there so much kfira, so much abandoning of G-d and religion and moral and ethical values. Today, Jews are attacked on universal levels, from both within and without. Why is this happening now?
The Galut we find ourselves in now is considered punishment for our ill deeds. However, our understanding of punishment is clearly flawed. We view punishment as something bad that happens to us in the event of our misbehaving. This clearly cannot be. For example, HaShem appears to Avraham Avinu and tells him that his children shall inherit the Land of Israel (Canaan), and Avraham responds by saying: Bame eda ki erashena? Show me a sign that shall prove that they will inherit the land. The Maharal MiPrague boils down the root of Avraham’s response to a lack of Emunah. As a result of this lack of Emunah, this flaw in Avraham’s character, his children are sentenced to 210 years as slaves. But, his children did nothing wrong! It was Avraham who displayed a startling lack of Emunah!
We must look at the situation in this light: Avraham displays his lack of Emunah, and HaShem says that Emunah is a key character trait needed in order to inherit the Land of Israel. Because Avraham has demonstrated a lack of faith, his descendants are brought down to Egypt, and the effort it will take for them to come up out of Egypt will fix the problem of the lack of Emunah. Meaning, a situation where one must go down in order to come up.
That is punishment: being put into a situation where the effort involved in coming out of that situation will repair the lack, the flaws, that landed you there.
In Rav Kook’s philosophy, there was a concept called Sod HaNesira, which, when coupled with the above views on punishment, should help us understand certain issues of the time we find ourselves in.
When HaShem created man, he first created Adam and Chava as one being, and then separated them. It cannot be due to loneliness on the part of man, for surely HaShem would have foreseen this! We must dig deeper to understand the profound idea here.
The best way to understand the idea is through examples. Thank G-d, we have the ability to eat. It is such a natural thing to us, one of the basic keys to our physical survival. Yet, to the sickly man who, for months and months could not eat and was forced to get his nutrients through tubes hooked up to his body, and can finally again eat, now healed, eating is an amazing thing, something not taken for granted. And, I cared very little about my bedroom, until I put in the hours (literally!) it took to clean it up. Until I cleaned my room, I cared nothing for it. Until the sick man couldn’t eat, he thought nothing of the matter. Until one has worked for something, or invested emotions in something, his connection to that thing is very little. After he has done so, his connection grows immeasurably.
This is Sod HaNesira- breaking away, or being taken away from something, for the sake of connecting with it on a higher, more active level, a level of greater awareness. HaShem, in his infinite wisdom, separated Adam and Chava physically, so that they could connect to one another spiritually, which is a much greater connection. Be separated from something, have something otherwise a given be taken away from you, and the effort required to reconnect with that thing will create a stronger, higher, connection between you and it.
That is why, according to Rav Kook, the generation preceding Mashiach is steeped so greatly in kfira. In order to build a nation deserving of redemption, we must have Emunah, a connection to each other and to our national and religious roots. If we had had that connection naturally, what worth would it have had? Because of all the kfira, we are forced to toil greatly to make these connections, so in the end they will be stronger ones, ones with greater merit in them. Only through this level of connection to its faith will Am Israel merit redemption.
And, of course, only by being punished, by being thrown into Galut, will we have the opportunity to rectify our Sinat Chinam, and fix the flaws within us so that we will merit to see the day where we will dance together through the streets of Yerushalayim, in loving brotherhood, to the rebuilt Bet HaMikdash, bimhera biyamenu.
It’s been a year.
This time last year, I was in a Midrasha on a Kibbutz in Emek Bet She’an. This time last year, I was learning Torah in Eretz Yisrael. This time last year, I was home.
Right now, I am completely stuck in Galut, and my surroundings do not care to stop reminding me of that. I feel so alone, as if I am the only one not in Israel, I almost feel abandoned. Two of my friends left less than an hour ago on the El-Al flight that is taking them to their summer program, where they will learn Torah LiShmah in Israel for six weeks. For one of them, this is the first time in Israel in a very long time, and I am anxious to hear how the land will strike him, if she will reveal her ultimate beauty to him, as we are taught by Rav Kook zt”l, among other Rabbis, that she does so to those she chooses to. The other friend, he lives for Israel. He breathes the love and the longing for the land every day in everything he does, and this trip will be his first time there in four years. I am so jealous of him. I think of the last time I was in Israel, last summer, how I watched the screen on the airplane show the painfully slow approach to the dot marked “Tel Aviv,” the way the illustration of the plane seemed to be only inching along the screen. I remember looking out my window and finally, suddenly, out of the cover of the surrounding fog, seeing the jutting of tall buildings from shorelines beneath. Finally, home. I know this is how this friend of mine will be feeling, this overwhelming ache of the temporary end to suffering, an ultimate joy, as tears threaten the eyes and the soul feels the true emotion of the words “Vishavu Banim Ligvulum.” This is what my friend will be feeling in a matter of hours, as I sleep unaware in my bed. I know this, and for the past two days, a weight has been added to my heart, knowing that these friends of mine will be experiencing this purest of joys as I remain in America, trapped by my reality.
The magnitude of this sorrow has gotten so great that I feel I cannot keep it in; I must talk with someone. I pick up my cell phone to call the friend who would come over, take me out, try to distract me, and then I realize that my call will go unanswered. She, too, is in Israel, on a ten day tour with the Israel advocacy program she’s a member of, “Write-on for Israel.” I remember this with pain, like a slap in the face, as I remember the itinerary of her trip, which she showed me. Border checkpoints, archeological sites, government offices, Sderot…places immersed in our national history, and the history our nation is making now. We both despaired looking at her itinerary, she for fear that she will prove to be the least intelligent in her group, which will not be the case, and I for longing to be in her shoes.
I left on a walk to escape the chaos of my house, and saw the house of my neighbors, a family of seven children, thank G-d, who will be making Aliyah this summer. I sit in the park, and can see the house of one of my campers. Her family, as well, will be making Aliyah this summer, G-d willing. I rejoice for these families, for their devotion to Am Yisrael, despite the difficulties involved in the process. I rejoice most for the children: they are still so young, their childhood memories will be in Israel. Their culture, their thoughts will be in Hebrew. They will naturally speak the language of our land, our Torah, the same way I speak English. This is amazing. This also causes me to feel depressed. What all these children are gaining, it was almost mine. My parents packed us up and moved us to Israel in my infancy. This, however, was before the days of Nefesh B’Nefesh, and, to my perpetual sorrow, we had to move back to the States. The experience of growing up in Israel, of speaking the language with perfect fluency, was almost mine, but I lost it. I grew up dreaming of Israel. She is part of my essence: my heart and my mind are forever focused on her. Libi bamizrach vi’anochi basof ma’arav. Centuries later, the Riha”l’s statement rings true with me. The only consolations I can give myself are that my upbringing in Galut must be a part of G-d’s ultimate, divine plan. Gam zu litovah. This is how it is meant to be.
I have to remember that in a year’s time, G-d willing, I’ll have graduated from High School and have a lifetime of great potential for closeness to G-d in His eternal home for us, in Israel. This is the dream. This is worth the pain, the impatience that is not my fault, that is out of my control. After all, this suffering will add to the ultimate joy of reaching Israel permanently. And that thought fuels my desire for Israel, for the truth that she holds, for the layers of Torah that she can reveal, every day of my life.
Gam zu litovah.
Display Name: Avital
Gender: Female
Birthday: leil tet-zayin tishrei (second night of Sukkot)
Current City of Residence: Teaneck, NJ
Favorite City outside Jerusalem: Anywhere up in Northern Israel
Favorite Music: Moshav Band, Shai Gabso, Israeli Folk music
Favorite Book: A Separate Peace by John Steinbeck
Random Questions Have I ever drank my soda from a straw?
Is there any other way to drink my soda?
Your favorite planet?
Pluto. I always go for the underdog.
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