Shabbat Shalom Folks! The Abbreviated Parsha Notes for Parshas NItzavim - Vayelech. Duet. 30:11-14 shows the nature of Torah Obsrevance. As seen in the commentaries of Rashi: Verse 11 is not concealed from you: לֹא-נִפְלֵאת. It is not concealed from you, just as it is said: כִּי יִפָּלֵא (Deut. 17:8), [which the Targum renders as:] אֲרִי יִתְכְּסֵי [lit.,“(If the matter) is concealed”]; similarly, the verse, וַתֵּרֶד פְּלָאִים (Lam. 1:9), [which means,] “she went down into concealment,” [i.e.,] she was covered and considered [as if] hidden. Verse 12 It is not in heaven: for if it were in heaven, you would have to climb up after it [in order] to learn it. - [Eruvin 55a] Verse 14 Rather, [this] thing is very close to you: The Torah was given to you in writing and [accompanied by an] oral [explanation]. The Chassidis Masters commmented a great deal on these verses as seen in the following commentary passages For this commandment is not remote from you; it is not far away…it is not beyond the sea…for this thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart so you can fulfill it: The fact that the Torah has to refute the supposition that following its commandments is “remote…far away…and beyond” implies that there is some substance to such a claim. In particular, it seems self-evident that inculcating the Torah’s values into our hearts—training ourselves to love the somewhat abstract notions of goodness and Godliness instead of the familiar material desires of this world—is anything but easy.12 Yet the fact that the Torah insists that it is nonetheless so indicates that all of us indeed have the power to easily train our hearts to become emotionally involved with God and His Torah, in place of the more accustomed objects of our love and fear. We possess this power in the form of an inherent, deep-seated love for God that is innate to our Divine soul. This love, although initially “hidden,” i.e., not conscious, can be easily accessed via a number of rather simple exercises in contemplation. We therefore do not have to create a love of God in our psyches or to force ourselves against our nature to love God. We already love Him; all we have to do is open ourselves up to this love, allowing it to manifest itself. As we have mentioned above,13 recalling our willingness to sacrifice our very lives for God if necessary summons our innate love of Him to the surface of our consciousness. But feeling this love is one thing; making it permeate our lives is another. It is all too easy to become emotionally aroused about God or Judaism, only for this ephemeral sentiment to dissipate as quickly as it appeared. We are then left more or less where we began, and have to arouse our innate love all over again. The goal, then, is to entrench this love in our daily lives so that it become a permanent fixture of our being. The indication of whether our hidden love has permeated our lives is if this love has affected our behavior—our way of thinking, talking, and acting. This is indeed a difficult task, since there are many obstacles in life to overcome before we can transform both our emotions and our behavior in a lasting way. Yet, as we have noted, the Torah insists that it is “close,” “in your mouth [speech] and in your heart [emotion] so you can fulfill it [action].” What, then, does the Torah mean? This may be understood by way of the following episode, recorded in the Talmud:14 Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananiah said: I was once on a journey when I noticed a little boy sitting at a crossroads. I asked him, “By what road can one go to the town?” He replied, “This one is short and long, and that one is long and short.” I took the “short and long” road. When I approached the town, I discovered that it was hedged in by gardens and orchards. Turning back, I said to him, “My son, did you not tell me that this road was short?” He replied, “And did I not also tell you: ‘and long?’” In other words, there is a route that is short, i.e., direct, but it leads to a dead end; there is another route that is long, i.e., roundabout, but it leads to the city gate. Similarly, in our spiritual quest, there is a short, easy way, but it proves in the final analysis to be long, since in the end we are left where we began and have to start all over again. But there is also a long, difficult way, but it proves in the final analysis to be the truly short way, since in the end we reach our goal and are spared the need for repeating the process. The short but long way is, as stated, arousing love of God directly by recalling our willingness to sacrifice our very lives for Him. This method relies on our innate belief in God. The long but short way, in contrast, requires harnessing the intellect—working through the particulars of God’s nature, providence, and how He manifests Himself in the world, in the Torah, and in our lives—to the maximum extent possible. As we have seen in other contexts, each of these approaches has its advantages and disadvantages. The “object” of pure faith is God Himself, His very essence; in contrast, the “object” of intellect can never be any more than what the intellect itself can conceive of, and for finite human beings, this means only God as He relates to creation (either immanently or transcendently). On the other hand, since pure faith does not involve the intellect, it cannot permeate our consciousness, and therefore transform us, the way intellect can. Faith affects us from “without” or “above” us, whereas using the intellect affects us from “within,” permeating us completely. There is therefore justification for taking the short but long way, for relying on pure faith is a quick and sure way to arouse love of God. However, we must remain cognizant of the inherent limitations of this approach and not rely on it exclusively. Rather, we should also take the long but short way, exerting our intellect to its utmost in order to comprehend as much as we can about God and His relation to the universe, thereby fashioning an enduring emotional involvement with Him and transforming our behavioral patterns accordingly. As King David said to his son Solomon, “Know the God of your father, and [then you will be able to] serve Him with a complete heart.”15 The self-refinement and transformation accomplished via the intellect defuses the obstacles that life in this world poses to Divine living. Instead of encountering “hedges” blocking our entrance to our desired goal, we find a wide open gate. This commandment is not remote from you; it is not far away…it is not beyond the sea…for this thing is very close to you: On a deeper level—inasmuch as the Jewish people had been studying the Torah for nearly 40 years when Moses said these words, and therefore knew firsthand that it was not “remote,” “far away,” or “beyond”—the claim that Moses was refuting was that the dimension of the Torah that is indeed “remote, far away, and beyond” is not “remote, far away, or beyond” from you. Inasmuch as the Jewish people are rooted in God’s essence, which transcends the Torah, even the most recondite aspects of the Torah are not beyond them. This commandment is not remote…not far away: Allegorically, “this commandment” refers to the commandment to repent. “Remote” (נפלאת) refers to Atik Yomin, the inner dimension of keter. This level of the supra-conscious is indeed remote from our normative consciousness, which is why it is termed Atik (עתיק), which means “removed.” “Far away,” in contrast, refers to Arich Anpin, the external dimension of keter, which serves as the source of the ten sefirot and is thus much closer to our normative consciousness. However, inasmuch as we also possess a Divine soul, which in turn possesses innate Divine consciousness, these levels are not remote and not far away from us. Through repentance (teshuvah), we can reach, elicit, and influence God’s goodwill toward us (Arich Anpin) and delight in us (Atik Yomin), inducing Him to overlook our faulty past and renew His connection with us. The Chassidic commentaries show an interesting parallel to what Rav Shaul writes in Romans 9:30 - 10:11. You stand upright this day, all of you, before the L-rd your G-d (29:9) This day is a reference to Rosh Hashanah, the day on which we all stand in judgment before G-d (the Torah reading of Nitzavim is always read on the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah). (Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov) In light of Rosh Hoshana and the Smittah Year, Chassidic commentaries show a very interesting insights on these two themes that are hinted. You must read from this Torah before all Israel: The sabbatical year teaches us three primary lessons: • God is master over us; this is expressed by His command that we refrain from certain types of work during the sabbatical year. • God is master over nature; this is expressed by His command that the earth rest during the sabbatical year. • God is master over our possessions; this is expressed by His command that the produce of the sabbatical year, even if it grows on our property, be ownerless and available to all equally. The passages that the king reads during the septennial assembly ceremony reflect these specific lessons, which this ceremony is meant to carry from the sabbatical year into our mundane lives: • The beginning of the Book of Deuteronomy serves as an introduction to the following passages, exhorting the listeners to internalize them properly. • The first paragraph of the Shema expresses God’s mastery over us, which frees us from the world’s materiality, enabling us to devote ourselves to Him, His Torah, and His commandments. • The second paragraph of the Shema expresses God’s mastery over nature, which He manipulates in accordance with our behavior (rewarding us with rain in the proper time if we fulfill His commandments, etc.), teaching us that our livelihood depends primarily on His blessing and only secondarily on our own efforts. • The passages about tithes express God’s mastery over our wealth; as its owner, He commands us to give part of it to the poor. • The passages containing the blessings and curses express our covenantal bond with God, elevating the previous three notions from the components of a relationship between two entities (us and God) to expressions of our inseparable oneness with God. • Concluding with the passage about the king (and having these passages read by the king) emphasizes how we must subjugate ourselves and all aspects of our lives to God, for the purpose of the king is to inspire and imbue us, his subjects, with true devotion to God.26 You must read from this Torah before all Israel: We saw above27 that we are all required to appoint a metaphorical “king” over ourselves, i.e., a spiritual counselor responsible for ensuring that we stay firmly on the path of spiritual growth. This king’s primary responsibility is to “read to us”—i.e., inculcate us with—the passages from the Torah that the real king reads to the people at the septennial assembly. The primary lesson is contained in the first paragraph of the Shema, which focuses on accepting “the yoke of the kingdom of heaven,” i.e., submitting to God’s authority. This is followed by the second paragraph of the Shema, which teaches us that material success is dependent upon heeding God’s commands. We find this to be very parallel to what King Messiah Yeshua said in Mattiyahu 6:25-34. We find Deut. 30:11-14 hinted in Romans 10:8, yet often folks tend to see a supposed contradiction with the context of the Brit Chadashah Portion. Rav Shaul is stating the Righteousness must be based on receiving the Spirit of King Messiah Yeshua for the restoration of the righteousness of the soul and application of that righteousness is application of Emunah - Faith. The twice mentioned application is only possible withe the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) as the enabler to apply the Torah in the Spirit of King Messiah Yeshua. Have a Blessed Shabbat Folks! Sarah Jacobs-Chandler Jennifer Wittkopp Donna Hogg Margarita Peralta de Sanchez Hannah Bat Abraham Janice Frame Christopher Walter Fredrickson Gerald Murasky Pauline Tikvah Gregory Kauffman Sr. Krysondra Maria Willms Lisa Brown Thomas Bridgman
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 16:01:11 +0000
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