Parshat
VeEtChanan
Moses continues his discourse or remembrance and rebuke. The parsha
begins with Moses reminding the people how he pleaded with G-d to
let him enter the promised land with them. He was allowed to view
the land, but g-d would not relent. Joshua was appointed the successor
of Moses. Moses appeals to the people to adhere meticulously to the
statutes and ordinances commanded by G-d. If they did this, they will
prevail against much larger nations. If they fail to follow the commandments,
they will be exiled and scattered across the world. The “Ten
Commandments” are then repeated as well as one of the main passages
from the “Shema”: “And you shall love the Lord your
G-d with all of your might…”
The end of the parsha discusses the warning of Moses that the people should not becomes complacent once they have conquered Canaan. The commandments apply for all time and they should always remember how G-d brought out from the house of bondage. These reminders would be contained in the tefillin of the head and the arm, as well as in the mezuzah to be placed on the doorposts of their homes. The tzitzits on their garments would also serve as a visual reminder of all the mitzvos enumerated in the Torah.
Moses begins to recall how he pleaded with G-d for a personal gift. The word “va’eschanan” is translated as “besought”. It was a heartfelt prayer, a request, that was undeserved. This reminds us that everything we obtain in life, is a gift from G-d. Nothing is “owed” to us in life. The belief that G-d provides for all our needs is paramount in the development of spirituality. The gematria of the word “va’eschanan” is 515. If we add the gematria of the four-letter name of G-d (which equals 26) we get the sum of 541. This is the same gematria as the word “Yisroel”. The Torah, in verse 24, uses a double name for G-d. In English, the phrase is “Lord G-d…” but in Hebrew, we see the word “adonai” followed by the four-letter name. This is referring to G-d as a giver of both Justice and Mercy.
There has been much written and analyzed about the Shema and its accompanying blessings. The same holds true for the mezuzah and tefillin. Therefore, instead of discussing the whole concept, let us focus on one verse as a main thesis for analysis.
Chapter 6, verse 18 states: “V’asita ha’yashar v’hatov b’einei Hashem”. Which means, “And you shall do what is right and good in the eyes of the Lord.” Rashi interprets this verse to mean “Lifnim mi’shuras ha’din”, “Going beyond the letter of the law.” It would seem, after the exhortations of the Shema, that this statement in verse 18 is redundant. The sages, therefore, derived some important lessons from this.
Rashi’s direct comment on this verse is “this refers to compromise inside the line of the law (equity).” The Talmud devotes an enormous amount of time to emphasize
The lessons of “lifnim mi’shuras ha’din”. In fact, it would appear that this principle stands on an equal footing with “love your neighbor as yourself.” For example, when a discrepancy appears in analyzing a Torah law, the principle of “lifnim mi’shuras ha’din” is invoked to maintain peace between people. This, the masters of mussar (the concept of refining one’s behavior) maintain, is a reflection of a person’s great devotion to G-d. true, one will not be penalized for following the strict dictates of a law, but there may be times when one must go beyond what the law says. This is by no means a necessary legal fiction to evade responsibility. Instead, it is enhancing the responsibility, not minimizing it. Therefore, there are strict guidelines on its use, and only under the guidance of a Rabbi who serves as the “mara d’atra”, the master of the law, in a synagogue.
In the Torah, the law of “ayin tachas ayin”, or “an eye for an eye”, has been interpreted literally as meaning justice on an equal footing. Thus, if Reuben takes out Shimon’s eye, then Reuben must be punished, by having his eye taken out! But, what if Reuben were blind? How could the draconian “eye for an eye” compensate Shimon for the loss of his eye? The sages declared that what the Torah implied was that the punishment is monetary compensation and not reciprocity. This is what is meant by “you shall do what is right and good before the eyes of the Lord”.
Another example comes from the sale of land. In tractate Bava Metzia (108a), the gemara talks about the case of selling a tract of land. The sages rule that the neighbors of the owner should be given the first right of refusal (that is they should be asked first, if they want to buy the land, before anyone else), because this is what is good and right before the eyes of the Lord. In giving Tzedakah, the sages place great emphasis that even though there is a minimum that one must give, someone who gives more, is praiseworthy. In Bava Metzia 30b, the gemara states that Jerusalem was destroyed because its inhabitants failed to go beyond the letter of the law in their business dealings. As we approach the days of Awe (the Yomim Noraim), the month of Elul is an appropriate time to apply the lessons of “lifnim mi’shuras ha’din” as well as “v’asita ha’yashar v’hatov b’einei Hashem”.
The Talmud, in Bava Metzia 83a, tells a story about the sage Rabbah: Some employees negligently broke a barrel of wine belonging to Rabbah, the son of Rav Huna. To ensure their paying him for the damage, Rabbah seized their garments as security. They went before the sage Rav and related the incident to him. Rav then ordered Rabbah to return their garments. “Is that the law?”,Rabbah asked. “Yes”, replied Rav. “As it is stated, ‘That you walk in the way of good men’ (Mishlei 2:20).” The employees then said to Rav, “We are poor. We worked all day and are in need. Are we to receive nothing for a day’s work?” “Go and pay them”, Rav said to Rabbah. “Is that the law?”, asked Rabbah. “Yes”, replied Rav, “As the latter part of the previous verse states, And keep the path of the righteous.” In Jewish law, the employees should have to pay for the damage they caused and could have been refused pay. But, in applying the principle of “lifnim mi’shuras ha’din” and “v’asita ha’yashar v’hatov b’neinei Hashem”, Rav felt that keeping the workers garments and holding onto their pay (because they were poor), was too much in excess under these circumstances.
Here is another story. The story is told of a man who came to the Brisker Rav before Pesach. “Can I use milk instead of wine for the arba kosos (the four cups)?” The Brisker Rav did not reply. Instead, he removed five rubles from his pocket (a lot of money in those days in Russia), and gave the money to the man. The Rav’s wife was puzzled and asked him, “Wouldn’t one ruble have been enough to buy wine for the seder?” “Perhaps”, said the Rav, “but from his question, I understood that he didn’t have enough money to buy meat either since one cannot mix milk with meat. I therefore decided to give him enough money to buy both.”
The Chofetz Chaim used to run a grocery store to earn a living with his wife in Radin, Poland. He was very pious and a firm adherent to the laws against loshen hara. He was recognized both by Jews and gentiles as being very honest in business. When he noticed that his store was getting most of the business, he made his wife close down early. This may seem foolish, but to the Chofetz Chaim, once they had earned enough money to live on, the principle of “lifnim mi’shuras ha’din” took priority. If he could help someone else earn a living, even though he wasn’t obligated to do so, so much the better in fulfilling the mitzvos of Hashem!
The words of our verse are “do what is right and good…” Doesn’t this concept involves a redundancy? The word “yashar” means “upright”. In fact, one can interpret the word “Yisroel” to means “Yishar El”, which means “Upright with G-d”. Yaakov (Jacob) earned that name because of his devotion to honesty and goodness. It implies not just performing the correct legal action, but performing it with an inner devotion (kavanah). A mitzvah is performed as not merely a “good deed”, but as a commandment form G-d. We should follow the mitzvah whether we feel good about or not. The sages say that the verse in the shema, which appears in our parsha, implies that one should love the Lord your G-d, with all of your might and all of your soul, even if he takes your soul. As Rabbi Akiva lay dying, he is reported to have stated that all of his life he never understood the meaning of this verse until now. The Romans had flayed his flesh with hot combs or iron. Nevertheless, he continued to teach and utter words of Torah until the end.
How does one “love G-d”. In Mesillas Yesharim (The Path of the Just), the Ramchal (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato) writes that to love G-d, one must have “Ahavas Yisroel”, that is love for his fellow Jews. By identifying with the two precepts discussed above, one comes closer to G-d (Yichud), through interacting with others. By enhancing the performance of a mitzvah, by doing deeds of lovingkindness (gemilut chassidim),a nd performing “avodah”, service to G-d, we will learn to love G-d.
The word used in the “v’ahavta” blessing for heart is “le’vavecha” with a double letter beis. This implies that we must love G-d with both our good heart (yetzer tov) and our evil heart (yetzer hara). These two inclinations are in constant battle for supremecy in our heart and mind. We need both. The yetzer hara gives us compassion and mercy, while the yetzer hara gives us strength, courage, and ambition. We need both to survive and the righteous person will not do away with the yetzer hara, but control it to be master to the yetzer tov.
We can learn a lot from this parsha. Not only must we love G-d, but we must constantly keep in mind the concepts of “v’asita ha’yashar v’hatov b’einei Hashem” and “lifnim mi’shuras ha’din” as we meet and interact people in our synagogue and community. Sometimes, you may not have all the facts before you jump to a conclusion. Always assume the best in a person and then seek out more information. With these ideas, we can enhance the spirituality of our synagogue and greater Jewish community.
The end of the parsha discusses the warning of Moses that the people should not becomes complacent once they have conquered Canaan. The commandments apply for all time and they should always remember how G-d brought out from the house of bondage. These reminders would be contained in the tefillin of the head and the arm, as well as in the mezuzah to be placed on the doorposts of their homes. The tzitzits on their garments would also serve as a visual reminder of all the mitzvos enumerated in the Torah.
Moses begins to recall how he pleaded with G-d for a personal gift. The word “va’eschanan” is translated as “besought”. It was a heartfelt prayer, a request, that was undeserved. This reminds us that everything we obtain in life, is a gift from G-d. Nothing is “owed” to us in life. The belief that G-d provides for all our needs is paramount in the development of spirituality. The gematria of the word “va’eschanan” is 515. If we add the gematria of the four-letter name of G-d (which equals 26) we get the sum of 541. This is the same gematria as the word “Yisroel”. The Torah, in verse 24, uses a double name for G-d. In English, the phrase is “Lord G-d…” but in Hebrew, we see the word “adonai” followed by the four-letter name. This is referring to G-d as a giver of both Justice and Mercy.
There has been much written and analyzed about the Shema and its accompanying blessings. The same holds true for the mezuzah and tefillin. Therefore, instead of discussing the whole concept, let us focus on one verse as a main thesis for analysis.
Chapter 6, verse 18 states: “V’asita ha’yashar v’hatov b’einei Hashem”. Which means, “And you shall do what is right and good in the eyes of the Lord.” Rashi interprets this verse to mean “Lifnim mi’shuras ha’din”, “Going beyond the letter of the law.” It would seem, after the exhortations of the Shema, that this statement in verse 18 is redundant. The sages, therefore, derived some important lessons from this.
Rashi’s direct comment on this verse is “this refers to compromise inside the line of the law (equity).” The Talmud devotes an enormous amount of time to emphasize
The lessons of “lifnim mi’shuras ha’din”. In fact, it would appear that this principle stands on an equal footing with “love your neighbor as yourself.” For example, when a discrepancy appears in analyzing a Torah law, the principle of “lifnim mi’shuras ha’din” is invoked to maintain peace between people. This, the masters of mussar (the concept of refining one’s behavior) maintain, is a reflection of a person’s great devotion to G-d. true, one will not be penalized for following the strict dictates of a law, but there may be times when one must go beyond what the law says. This is by no means a necessary legal fiction to evade responsibility. Instead, it is enhancing the responsibility, not minimizing it. Therefore, there are strict guidelines on its use, and only under the guidance of a Rabbi who serves as the “mara d’atra”, the master of the law, in a synagogue.
In the Torah, the law of “ayin tachas ayin”, or “an eye for an eye”, has been interpreted literally as meaning justice on an equal footing. Thus, if Reuben takes out Shimon’s eye, then Reuben must be punished, by having his eye taken out! But, what if Reuben were blind? How could the draconian “eye for an eye” compensate Shimon for the loss of his eye? The sages declared that what the Torah implied was that the punishment is monetary compensation and not reciprocity. This is what is meant by “you shall do what is right and good before the eyes of the Lord”.
Another example comes from the sale of land. In tractate Bava Metzia (108a), the gemara talks about the case of selling a tract of land. The sages rule that the neighbors of the owner should be given the first right of refusal (that is they should be asked first, if they want to buy the land, before anyone else), because this is what is good and right before the eyes of the Lord. In giving Tzedakah, the sages place great emphasis that even though there is a minimum that one must give, someone who gives more, is praiseworthy. In Bava Metzia 30b, the gemara states that Jerusalem was destroyed because its inhabitants failed to go beyond the letter of the law in their business dealings. As we approach the days of Awe (the Yomim Noraim), the month of Elul is an appropriate time to apply the lessons of “lifnim mi’shuras ha’din” as well as “v’asita ha’yashar v’hatov b’einei Hashem”.
The Talmud, in Bava Metzia 83a, tells a story about the sage Rabbah: Some employees negligently broke a barrel of wine belonging to Rabbah, the son of Rav Huna. To ensure their paying him for the damage, Rabbah seized their garments as security. They went before the sage Rav and related the incident to him. Rav then ordered Rabbah to return their garments. “Is that the law?”,Rabbah asked. “Yes”, replied Rav. “As it is stated, ‘That you walk in the way of good men’ (Mishlei 2:20).” The employees then said to Rav, “We are poor. We worked all day and are in need. Are we to receive nothing for a day’s work?” “Go and pay them”, Rav said to Rabbah. “Is that the law?”, asked Rabbah. “Yes”, replied Rav, “As the latter part of the previous verse states, And keep the path of the righteous.” In Jewish law, the employees should have to pay for the damage they caused and could have been refused pay. But, in applying the principle of “lifnim mi’shuras ha’din” and “v’asita ha’yashar v’hatov b’neinei Hashem”, Rav felt that keeping the workers garments and holding onto their pay (because they were poor), was too much in excess under these circumstances.
Here is another story. The story is told of a man who came to the Brisker Rav before Pesach. “Can I use milk instead of wine for the arba kosos (the four cups)?” The Brisker Rav did not reply. Instead, he removed five rubles from his pocket (a lot of money in those days in Russia), and gave the money to the man. The Rav’s wife was puzzled and asked him, “Wouldn’t one ruble have been enough to buy wine for the seder?” “Perhaps”, said the Rav, “but from his question, I understood that he didn’t have enough money to buy meat either since one cannot mix milk with meat. I therefore decided to give him enough money to buy both.”
The Chofetz Chaim used to run a grocery store to earn a living with his wife in Radin, Poland. He was very pious and a firm adherent to the laws against loshen hara. He was recognized both by Jews and gentiles as being very honest in business. When he noticed that his store was getting most of the business, he made his wife close down early. This may seem foolish, but to the Chofetz Chaim, once they had earned enough money to live on, the principle of “lifnim mi’shuras ha’din” took priority. If he could help someone else earn a living, even though he wasn’t obligated to do so, so much the better in fulfilling the mitzvos of Hashem!
The words of our verse are “do what is right and good…” Doesn’t this concept involves a redundancy? The word “yashar” means “upright”. In fact, one can interpret the word “Yisroel” to means “Yishar El”, which means “Upright with G-d”. Yaakov (Jacob) earned that name because of his devotion to honesty and goodness. It implies not just performing the correct legal action, but performing it with an inner devotion (kavanah). A mitzvah is performed as not merely a “good deed”, but as a commandment form G-d. We should follow the mitzvah whether we feel good about or not. The sages say that the verse in the shema, which appears in our parsha, implies that one should love the Lord your G-d, with all of your might and all of your soul, even if he takes your soul. As Rabbi Akiva lay dying, he is reported to have stated that all of his life he never understood the meaning of this verse until now. The Romans had flayed his flesh with hot combs or iron. Nevertheless, he continued to teach and utter words of Torah until the end.
How does one “love G-d”. In Mesillas Yesharim (The Path of the Just), the Ramchal (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato) writes that to love G-d, one must have “Ahavas Yisroel”, that is love for his fellow Jews. By identifying with the two precepts discussed above, one comes closer to G-d (Yichud), through interacting with others. By enhancing the performance of a mitzvah, by doing deeds of lovingkindness (gemilut chassidim),a nd performing “avodah”, service to G-d, we will learn to love G-d.
The word used in the “v’ahavta” blessing for heart is “le’vavecha” with a double letter beis. This implies that we must love G-d with both our good heart (yetzer tov) and our evil heart (yetzer hara). These two inclinations are in constant battle for supremecy in our heart and mind. We need both. The yetzer hara gives us compassion and mercy, while the yetzer hara gives us strength, courage, and ambition. We need both to survive and the righteous person will not do away with the yetzer hara, but control it to be master to the yetzer tov.
We can learn a lot from this parsha. Not only must we love G-d, but we must constantly keep in mind the concepts of “v’asita ha’yashar v’hatov b’einei Hashem” and “lifnim mi’shuras ha’din” as we meet and interact people in our synagogue and community. Sometimes, you may not have all the facts before you jump to a conclusion. Always assume the best in a person and then seek out more information. With these ideas, we can enhance the spirituality of our synagogue and greater Jewish community.
