Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, and the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Moshe ben Itta Golda, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, Reuven Shmuel ben Leah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Our parasha begins with Moshe sending the tribal leaders of our people to Eretz Yisrael in order to discover the beauty and bounty of the land. He did this with great anticipation, coupled with the conviction that he would soon be leading our nation to the Promised Land. Had this happened, he would have been the Mashiach, the builder of the eternal Beit HaMikdash, and the entire world would have recognized the truth of monotheism, the greatness of the Almighty, and our special role as the am hanivchar.
 
What, then, took place, that nearly brought Hashem’s plans for our people to a screeching halt? The answer is starkly clear: We failed to live up to His expectations, and the goals He established for us. Rashi (1040-1105) teaches us that Moshe, with Hashem’s acceptance, sent forth the leaders of each tribe to undertake a thorough reconnaissance of the Land:

Send for yourself: According to your own understanding. I am not commanding you, but if you wish, you may send. Since the Israelites had come [to Moshe] and said, “Let us send men ahead of us,” as it says, “All of you approached me…” (Sefer Devarim 1:22, this and all Bible and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
These were mighty and prestigious men who seemed determined to carry out the task set before them. After all, the Torah calls the tribal princes “anashim” (“men”), a label Rashi suggests was an honorific appellation that bespoke their righteousness. These men were unquestionably the greatest leaders of the Dor Hamidbar (the Generation of the Desert). Their duty was defined as exploring, searching, examining, and discovering. This is borne out by pasukim 13:2, 13: 21, and 13:25, wherein we find the terms “v’yaturu,” “vayaturu,” and “meture” — all expressions of exploration and discovery.
 
Something, however, went terribly wrong. Inexplicably, with the exception of Yehoshua and Kalev, these great leaders ceased to be anashim and morphed into something else entirely, namely, meraglim (spies). This transformation is clearly portrayed in the first chapter of Sefer Devarim 22-24:

And all of you approached me and said, “Let us send men ahead of us so that they will search out the land for us and bring us back word by which route we shall go up, and to which cities we shall come.” And the matter pleased me; so I took twelve men from you, one man for each tribe. And they turned and went up to the mountain, and they came to the valley of Eshkol and spied it out (va’yi’raglu otah).
 
The Meraglim failed to maintain the proper spiritual perspective, which caused them to squander one of the greatest opportunities ever given to humankind. Instead of fulfilling their spiritual mission to discover the essence of Eretz Yisrael, they acted like mere spies on a “black-ops” military mission. Looking at everything through the lens of the laws of Nature, they seemed to forget that, as Hashem’s am hanivchar, our entire existence is solely dependent upon His hashgacha (Divine Providence). This resulted in their viewing their role solely in military terms, instead of as an opportunity to be mekadash shame shamayim (sanctify Hashem’s name) by wholeheartedly fulfilling Moshe’s mandate. Little wonder then, that the Meraglim returned to the people and issued a report that focused on “the facts on the ground,” rather than the potential of what might be. In short, their myopic vision prevented them from seeing a glorious, Hashem-suffused future.
 
Sadly, the people’s response to the Meraglim’s report changed the course of history:
The entire community raised their voices and shouted, and the people wept on that night. All the children of Israel complained against Moshe and Aharon, and the entire congregation said, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this desert. Why does the L-rd bring us to this land to fall by the sword; our wives and children will be as spoils. Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?” They said to each other, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt!” (Sefer Bamidbar 14:1-4)
 
Our forebears’ capitulation was met by swift and angry words from the Almighty:

The L-rd said to Moshe, “How long will this people provoke Me? How much longer will they not believe in Me after all the signs I have performed in their midst? I will strike them with a plague and annihilate them; then I will make you into a nation, greater and stronger than they.” (14:11-12)
 
Fortunately, just as he had done at the time of the Golden Calf debacle, Moshe interceded on our behalf and saved our nation from extermination:
​
Now, please, let the strength of the L-rd be increased, as You spoke, saying. “The L-rd is slow to anger and abundantly kind, forgiving iniquity and transgression...Please forgive the iniquity of this nation in accordance with your abounding kindness, as You have borne this people from Egypt until now.” And the L-rd said, “I have forgiven them in accordance with your word.” (14:17-20)
 
Mishnah Ta’anit 4:6, and the subsequent discussion in the Babylonian Talmud, teach us that the Meraglim returned from their journey to Eretz Yisrael on the night of Tisha b’Av. Although the people were saved through Moshe’s pleading, their reaction to the Meraglim’s report led directly to the divine decree that forbade the Dor Hamidbar (Generation of the Desert) from entering the Promised Land: “b’Tisha b’Av nigzar al avotainu she’lo yichnasu l’aretz.” In pathos-packed prose, our Sages note that lail Tisha b’Av was set aside for destruction ever since that moment. Indeed, both batei mikdash (Holy Temples) were destroyed on this day (586 BCE and 70 CE respectively). Then, too, the Spanish Expulsion (1492), as well as World War I (1914-1919), which arguably laid the foundations for World War II and the Holocaust, began on this most ill-fated of days. Amidst uncountable tears and immeasurable rivers of blood, the monumental failure of the Meraglim, and the faithless behavior of our ancestors, continue to reverberate until our own day.
 
May the time come soon and in our days when we are finally free of the Meraglim, and the stirring words of Dovid HaMelech will be fulfilled: “Yisrael ba’tach b’Hashem ezram u’maginam Hu” (“The Jewish people trust in Hashem; He is their help and their shield, Sefer Tehillim 115:9)  V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom and may Hashem in His infinite mercy remove the pandemic from klal Yisrael and all the nations of the world.
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.

 
Rabbi David Etengoff

 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, and the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Moshe ben Itta Golda, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, Reuven Shmuel ben Leah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
This week’s haftorah begins with Zechariah’s famous words, “rani v’simchi bat Tzion” (“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Tzion”), and continues with the following pasukim:

…for, behold! I will come and dwell in your midst, says the L-rd. And many nations shall join the L-rd on that day, and they shall be My people; and I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the L-rd of Hosts sent me to you. And the L-rd shall inherit Yehudah as His share on the Holy Land, and He shall again choose Yerushalayim. (2:14-16, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
According to the Radak (Rabbi David Kimchi, 1160-1235), our pasuk is referring to the messianic era, when “v’nilvu goyim rabim el Hashem ba’yom hahu v’hayhu li l’am (“And many nations shall join the L-rd on that day, and they shall be My people.”)  This position is also maintained by the Abarbanel (1437-1508), who uses this interpretation as a springboard to differentiate between the temporary and incomplete redemption symbolized by the rebuilding of the Second Beit HaMikdash, and the geulah he’atida (complete future redemption) for which we all long:

Do not think that the geulah he’atida will be like the period of the Second Beit HaMikdash — this will not be the case. For the geulah he’atida will not be contingent upon the whims of people, such as Koresh or Darius the King of Persia; instead, I, Hashem, will come to you [and help you to create the Third Beit HaMikdash]. Moreover, during the Second Beit HaMikdash, My Shechinah (Divine Presence) did not come down [from Heaven,] nor was there any prophecy. In the geulah he’atida, however, I will come and be present therein as in times past. (Commentary on Zechariah 2:14, translation and brackets my own)

These incisive words of the Abarbanel focus upon two essential ideas: the origins of the Second and Third Batai Mikdash, and the differences that will obtain between them. His view was influenced, no doubt, by the court intrigues he witnessed during his years as financial advisor to King Alfonso V of Portugal and King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. In his interpretation, the Second Beit HaMikdash was the result of ancient Persian political caprice, rather than the direct outcome of the manifest involvement (hashgacha) of Hashem our people’s affairs. This, he asserts, will not be the case with the Third Beit HaMikdash, for, then, our entire nation will recognize Hashem’s palpable hashgacha in its very creation, and declare as Dovid HaMelech did so long ago, “me’ate Hashem hayitah zot he niphlat b’ayneinu” (“This was from the L-rd; it is wondrous in our eyes,” Sefer Tehillim 118:23).  Moreover, once Hashem is the causal agent in the building of the Third Beit HaMikdash, His Shechinah will be present therein and prophecy will blossom anew.
 
In his work, Chomat Anach on our pasukim, the Chida zatzal (Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806) notes that the first letter of each word in our phrase, “rani v’simchi bat Tzion,” when read in reverse, spells “tzibur” (tzadi-bet-vav-raysh, community). In general, this word connotes the idea of people united in pursuit of similar values and goals. This analysis leads the Chida to suggest another key difference that will obtain between the Second and Third Beit HaMikdash:

And it is possible to suggest that the geulah [he’atida] is contingent on when the Jewish people will [finally] be unified (b’achdut)…for, as we know, the destruction of the Second Beit HaMikdash took place as a result of sinat chinam (baseless hatred); and how is it possible, therefore, for there to be the geulah [he’atida] during the time of sinat chinam? As such, the words, “rani v’simchi,” are stated in the singular — representative of the time when the entire nation will be in achdut. (Translation and brackets my own)  
 
For the Chida, achdut is the antithesis of sinat chinam and a crucial component in achieving the geulah he’atida. Fortunately, there is a strong countermeasure to the pernicious sin of sinat chinam. Rabbi Yitzhak Avraham Kook zatzal (1865-1935), the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Palestine under the British Mandate, offers us a valuable insight. He proposes ahavat Yisrael (unconditional love for the Jewish people) as the antidote for sinat chinam, and conceptualizes it in the following poetic manner:

Listen to me, my people! I speak to you from my soul, from within my innermost soul. I call out to you from the living connection by which I am bound to all of you, and by which all of you are bound to me. I feel this more deeply than any other feeling: That only you, all of you, all of your souls, throughout all of your generations, you alone are the meaning of my life. In you I live. In the aggregation of all of you, my life has that content that is called life. (Shemonah Kevatzim 1:163, translation, Chanan Morrison)
 
Little wonder, then, that for Rav Kook, the opposite of sinat chinam was not ahavat chinam, baseless love. In his worldview, such a concept simply did not exist. Rather, this great and holy soul considered every Jew, by definition, to be worthy of love and respect. As such, he is famous for the following powerful statement (Malachim Kivnei Adam, pages 483-485): “There is no such thing as ahavat chinam (groundless love). Why groundless? He is a Jew, and I am obligated to love and respect him. There is only sinat chinam, but ahavat chinam? Never!” (Adapted by Chanan Morrison from Rav Kook’s work, Malachim Kivnei Adam, pages 483-485)
 
May the time come soon and, in our days, when the groundswell of ahavat Yisrael will nullify the sinat chinam of our age. Then, as we experience the achdut that will enable the geulah he’atida to be realized, may we sing as one: “rani v’simchi bat Tzion!” V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom and may Hashem in His infinite mercy remove the pandemic from klal Yisrael and all the nations of the world.
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.
 ​

Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, and the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Moshe ben Itta Golda, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, Reuven Shmuel ben Leah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Birkat Kohanim is one of the most dramatic moments of the Yom Tov experience. When we hear the words of the kohanim uttered in profound devotion, our thoughts are transported to a higher spiritual plane, and we yearn to draw closer to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. What is the role of the kohanim in this entire wondrous process? Do they bless us as active parties, or are they spiritual aqueducts through whom Hashem’s blessing mystically flows? In his interpretation of Bamidbar 6:27, Rashi zatzal (1040-1105) suggests that the kohanim actually bestow their bracha upon us: V’ani avarachem: “l’yisrael — v’askim im hakohanim” (“I will bless them — the Jewish people — and I will agree with the kohanim”). The Siftei Chachamim (Rabbi Shabbetai Bass, 1641-1718), in his clarification of Rashi’s interpretation, states: “One should not explain that Hashem will bless them on His own; if that were to be true, what value would the Priestly blessing have, since Hashem would [subsequently] bless them?” In other words, it seems that Rashi is asserting that the kohanim give the bracha directly to us, or at the very least, are partners with Hashem in this holy act.
 
The Rambam zatzal (Maimonides, 1135-1204) takes the polar opposite approach regarding the role of the kohanim in birkat kohanim:

Do not wonder: “What good will come from the blessing of this simple person?” for the reception of the blessings is not dependent on the kohanim, but on the Holy One, blessed be He, as [the text] states: “And they shall set My name upon the children of Israel, and I shall bless them.” The kohanim perform the mitzvah with which they were commanded, and G-d, in His mercies, will bless Israel as He desires. (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Tefilah and Birkat Kohanim, 15:7, translation, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger)
 
For the Rambam, the bracha originates from Hashem and not from the kohanim: “for the reception of the blessings is not dependent on the priests, but on the Holy One, blessed be He.” In addition, the kohanim, at Hashem’s command, are merely the viaducts for Hashem’s bracha: “[as it is He who,] in His mercies, will bless Israel as He desires.”
 
Approximately 700 years later, Rabbeinu Shimshon Raphael Hirsch zatzal (1808-1888) echoed the Rambam’s words in his commentary on birkat kohanim:

According to this, our priests in pronouncing the blessing, are a completely passive instrument. Only in reply to the summons of the congregation and only in the blessing dictated to them by the representative of the congregation do they pronounce it. So that, in truth, it is the congregation which has the blessing prescribed by G-d pronounced over itself through their mouths. (Isaac Levy translation, second edition, London, 1964, page 100)
 
In Rav Hirsch’s view, the entire purpose of the kohanim during birkat kohanim is to serve as the conduits through which the congregation receives its blessing. As such, the function of the kohanim, as commanded and defined by the Torah, is to give voice to the spiritual hopes and desires of the congregation.
 
Closer to our own time, my rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as the Rav by his students and followers, provides us with a deep insight into the very nature of birkat kohanim:

Birkas Kohanim is unique because it requires heartfelt love for its fulfillment. The blessing requires that the love of the kohen for the whole of Israel should flow spontaneously. The kohen’s blessing is a reflection of the divine love that the Almighty has for His own creatures, as the Shechinah [Divine Presence] dwells between the kohen’s fingertips. Maimonides (Hilchot Tefilah u’Nesiat Kapayim 14:3) indicates that the kohanim hold their fingers closed until beginning the blessing, and then open them…During the priestly blessing, these fingers of the hand are spread apart, the open fingers serving as a conduit for blessing. (Teshuva Lecture, 1970, cited in, Chumash Mesoras HaRav, Sefer Bamidbar, page 47)
 
The Rav builds upon the Rambam’s idea that “the kohanim perform the mitzvah with which they were commanded, and G-d, in His mercies, will bless Israel as He desires,” noting that “the Shechinah [Divine Presence] dwells between the kohen’s fingertips…the open fingers serving as a conduit for blessing.” Moreover, the Rav emphasizes that, even though Hashem is, indeed, the mevorach (He who blesses), the act of birkat kohanim “requires that the love of the kohen for the whole of Israel should flow spontaneously,” since his blessing “is a reflection of the divine love that the Almighty has for His own creatures.” This enables us to better comprehend why, prior to beginning birkat kohanim, the kohanim recite, “Blessed are You Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with the holiness of Aharon, and has commanded us to bless His people with love.” (Translation, The Complete ArtScroll Siddur)
 
“May the L-rd bless you and watch over you. May the L-rd cause His countenance to shine to you and favor you. May the L-rd raise His countenance toward you and grant you peace.” May these words ever resonate in our hearts and souls, and may they remind us of the love He has for our people. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom and may Hashem in His infinite mercy remove the pandemic from klal Yisrael and all the nations of the world.
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.
​

​ Rabbi David Etengoff
  
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, and the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Moshe ben Itta Golda, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, Reuven Shmuel ben Leah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The first mishnah in Pirkei Avot cites a statement from the Anshei Kenesset HaGadolah, a group of sixth century BCE jurists that constitute one of the crucial links in shalshelet hakabbalah (the great chain of Jewish being and tradition). Even though nearly all its members remain anonymous, it is universally recognized as one of the singular institutions in the storied history of our nation. One of their greatest accomplishments was the formalization of the liturgy so that all members of our people, regardless of their level of education, would have an equal opportunity to stand before the Almighty and pour out their hearts in soulful prayer.
 
When we study the tefilah of Shavuot, we notice that the Anshei Kenesset HaGadolah labelled it z’man matan Torateinu (the time of the giving of our Torah). In considering this phrase, our focus is immediately drawn to the first set of the Luchot HaBrit (Tablets of the Covenant): “Now the tablets were G-d’s work, and the inscription was G-d’s inscription, engraved on the tablets (charut al haluchot).” (Sefer Shemot 31:16, this and all Bible translations translation, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach, underlining my own)
 
The original Hebrew words in Tanach are written without vowels; therefore, they can be pronounced in a variety of ways that differ significantly from the Masoretic vocalized versions found in our standard texts. Chazal often utilize one of these alternative readings in order to underscore a fundamental concept or idea. The reinterpretation of our pasuk’s words, “charut al haluchot,” is a well-known example of this approach that appears in many diverse sources: “Do not read the word ‘charut’ (‘engraved’) as ‘charut,’ instead, read it as ‘cheirut’ (‘freedom’).” Rather than “engraved on the tablets,” the reading, therefore, becomes “freedom on the tablets.”
 
Rabbinic literature views the Torah’s concept of freedom as being comprised of two aspects: negative (freedom from) and positive (freedom to). The Midrash Rabbah on Sefer Shemot (32:1 and 41:7) and Sefer Vayikra (18:3) focus upon the freedom from element of the Torah, in the sense that we will ultimately be free from exile (Rabbi Yehudah), the Angel of Death (Rabbi Nechemiah), the hegemony of other nations (Rabbi Nachman) and the trials and tribulations we face on an ongoing basis (the Rabbis). In contrast, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi’s statement in Pirkei Avot 6:2 underscores the positive freedom that is a hallmark of the Torah:

It says in Sefer Shemot 32:16: “And the tablets were the work of G-d, and the writing was the writing of G-d (charut) engraved upon the tablets.” Do not read the [non-vocalized] word as charut (engraved); instead read it as cheirut (freedom). [This is so] since there is no one who is truly free except for one who engages in Torah study.
 
In Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi’s view, engaging in talmud Torah is the paradigm of freedom, since it enables us to understand and fulfill Hashem’s Torah. He therefore concludes with the celebrated words, “there is no one who is truly free except for one who engages in Torah study.”
 
My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, expands upon Chazal’s many statements regarding freedom in his analysis of the Exodus and the Haggadah. He notes that the Haggadah states, “vayotzi’einu Hashem E-lokeinu mi-sham” (and Hashem, our G-d, took us out from there), rather than “vayotzi’einu Hashem mi-sham” alone. For the Rav, the significance of adding the word, “E-lokeinu,” cannot be overestimated:

If the Haggadah had said simply Vayotzi’einu Hashem mi-sham, it would have referred only to the fact that God has mercy on us, that He does not tolerate injustice and iniquity, that when we pray to Him, He hearkens to our voice…God intervenes in the process of nature, in history and society, saving the persecuted and protecting them against their persecutors. But we understand freedom at a different level than others. When we say that God has taken us out of the house of bondage and granted us freedom, we add that freedom consists in serving God, abiding by His will and conforming to His mitzvot… (This and the following quote, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Festival of Freedom: Essays on Pesah and the Haggadah, pages 50-51)
 
This passage contains an implicit reference to a recurrent idea in the Rav’s thought, that the purpose of yetziat mitzrayim (Pesach) was to receive the Torah and its mitzvot at Mount Sinai (Shavuot), for only then could we be free:
​
If we had been taken out of Egypt without E-lokeinu, without accepting His code, without surrendering to His authority, without reaching a covenant with Him, without obligating ourselves to surrender freedom in order to gain a higher form of freedom — then we would have been in bondage again. Instead of bondage to Pharoah, it would have been bondage to our own fears, to our own phobias, to nature, to society, to slogans.
 
With the Hashem’s help and our fervent desire, may this Shavuot be the time when we, as individuals and as a people, rededicate ourselves to renewing our covenant with the Almighty and to fulfilling His mitzvot, for then, we will be truly free. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach and may Hashem in His infinite mercy remove the pandemic from klal Yisrael and all the nations of the world.
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 

 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, and the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Moshe ben Itta Golda, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, Reuven Shmuel ben Leah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The second verse of Parashat Behar contains the well-known words, “When you come to the Land that I [Hashem] am giving you,” that serve as a prologue to the mitzvah of smittah (the Sabbatical year). Many brachot found in Parashat Bechuchotai also have a pronounced Eretz Yisrael-centered focus:

If you follow My statutes and observe My commandments and perform them, I will give your rains in their time, the Land will yield its produce, and the tree of the field will give forth its fruit. Your threshing will last until the vintage, and the vintage will last until the sowing; you will eat your food to satiety, and you will live in security in your land. And I will grant peace in the Land, and you will lie down with no one to frighten [you]; I will remove wild beasts from the Land, and no army will pass through your land. (Sefer Vayikra 26:4-6, all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
These pasukim, like so many others throughout Tanach, teach us that Eretz Yisrael is the place of and for, the Jewish people. Yet, while almost seven million Jews live in Israel today, the remainder of the world’s nearly 15 million Jews live outside of Israel. It seems that although many of us are familiar with Rabbi Yehudah Halevi’s (1075-1141) famous words, “Libi b’mizrach v’anochi b’sof ma’a’rav” (“My heart is in the East, and I am in the uttermost West”), we have not yet heeded their message.
 
What is necessary for kibbutz galyuot (ingathering of the exiles) and permanent resettlement in our land? Perhaps Rabbi Yehudah Halevi said it best in his classic work, HaKuzari:

When people become aroused to love this holy place and to press for the anticipated event this, too, generates great reward. Therefore, it says, “You shall arise and have mercy upon Zion, for it is time to be gracious to it, for the appointed time has arrived. For your servants have desired its stones, and they favor its dust.” (Sefer Tehillim 102:14-15) This means that Jerusalem will be rebuilt when the Jewish people yearn for it to the ultimate degree. (Chapter 5:28, translation, Rabbi Daniel Korobkin)
 
These words are congruent with the celebrated statement in Midrash Bereishit Rabbah: “It is better to live in the deserts of Eretz Yisrael than to live in palaces in the diaspora (Parashat Lech Lecha, 39:8)  Based upon these sources, it appears that kibbutz galyuot will take place when the Jewish people sincerely yearn for the very dust and stones of Eretz Yisrael, for then, our love for the land will be truly manifest.
 
One of the essential sources wherein Chazal present the Land’s central theological significance is Tosefta Avodah Zarah 4:5:

Dovid HaMelech suggested a homiletic interpretation and said: “Anyone who abandons the Land at a time of peace, and travels to the diaspora is as if he is worshipping idols, as the text states: ‘And I will rejoice over them to do good to them, and I will plant them in this land truly with all My heart and with all My soul.’ (Sefer Yirmiyahu 32:41).  [That is,] during the entire time they are upon it [the Land,] it is as if they are planted thereupon before Me in truth, with all My heart and with My entire soul, but, if they are not [living] on it, it is as if they are not planted thereupon before Me in truth, with all My heart and with My entire soul.’” (Translation my own)
 
A stirring analysis of this passage was authored by Rabbi Yisachar Shlomo Teichtal zatzal (1885-1945), in his celebrated work on Religious Zionism entitled, “Eim HaBanim Semeicha:”

“…but, if they are not [living] on it, it is as if they are not planted thereupon before Me in truth, with all My heart and with My entire soul.” This is an amazing statement, for the Holy One blessed be He is saying to us that when the Jewish people are not in Eretz Yisrael, they are not cleaving to His heart and soul. As such, what is being done to us at this time [1943], and the diminished level of hashgacha (Divine Providence) that is upon us, should not be surprising in our eyes, precisely since we are not cleaving to Him within His entire heart and soul, as we are in the land of the nations of the world [that is galut]. (From the Second Introduction, this and the following translations my own).
 
For Rav Teichtal, who was murdered on a transport train by the Nazis (yemach sheman v’zichram) during the closing days of WWII, the unspeakable horrors of the Shoah and the palpable lack of Hashem’s hashgacha at that time were direct results of our living in galut, rather than in Eretz Yisrael. These are dour words, indeed, that seem to leave little room for anyone to live in the diaspora. Nonetheless, his following words offer a ray of hope for those of us who have not yet made the commitment to begin the aliyah process:
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But as soon as we try to return to it [the Land], then we will immediately be cleaving to Him within His entire heart and soul…that is to say that one whose eyes and heart yearn to go up to Eretz Yisrael is considered as if he is already in Eretz Yisrael. As such, it is clear that if we focus our thoughts on the idea of returning to our holy land, then we will immediately be cleaving to Him within His entire heart and soul, and His hashgacha will rest upon us with the totality of His soul, may He be blessed, so that He [once again] will protect us with an open eye that will never close. [Moreover,] He will never cease to save us from our enemies, and He will enable us to be successful in everything that we will do, for then, we will go up to Tzion in joy, and the Jewish people will go out with an upraised hand from their physical and spiritual exile...that will reach completion with the fulfillment of the Torah and the mitzvot…
 
May the time come soon, and in our days, when our entire people will be dedicated to implementing kibbutz galyuot, when we will leave our physical and spiritual exile behind, return to Eretz Yisrael in joy, and fulfill the Torah and mitzvot in their entirety. With Hashem’s help and our heartfelt desire, may this be so. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom, and may Hashem in His infinite mercy remove the pandemic from klal Yisrael and all the nations of the world.
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
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*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.