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, Chana bat Sarah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Parashat Nitzavim contains a celebrated pasuk that is quite timely for these final days before Rosh Hashanah: “This day, I call upon the heaven and the earth as witnesses [that I have warned] you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. You shall choose life (u’vacharta ba’chayim), so that you and your offspring will live.” (Sefer Devarim 30:19, this, and all Bible and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Tanach Complete Tanach) As we look back upon the many challenges we have faced this past year, our thoughts naturally lead us to focus upon the meaning of the phrase: “u’vacharta ba’chayim.”
 
Rashi (1040-1105) suggests the following interpretation of this expression in his Commentary on the Torah on our verse:

I instruct you to choose the portion of life. It is like a man who says to his son,
“Choose for yourself a fine portion of my estate,” and then directs him to the best
portion, saying to him, “This [is the portion which] you should choose for yourself!”
 
Implicit in Rashi’s explanation is a crucial lesson regarding the relationship that obtains between Hashem’s instructions and the nature of our bechirah chafshite (free will); namely, even though the Almighty may urge us to follow a certain path, this does not prevent us from exercising our absolute freedom of choice. As such, in this short gloss, Rashi emphasizes the word, “choose,” no less than three times.
 
A century later, in his Commentary on the Torah, the Radak (Rabbi David Kimchi, 1160-1235) makes the transformative nature of bechirah chafshite explicit. In his analysis of Hashem’s statement to Cain following the rejection of his insufficient korban (Sefer Bereishit 4:7), he highlights how the same assertion, albeit in a different formulation, is once again given powerful voice in our pasuk:

And you can rule over it [the evil inclination]: He will rule over you and cause you to stumble if you do not remove [his power] from upon you. And if you so desire, you will rule over it and bring it low before you. And in so doing, the Almighty showed him the possibilities found within bechirah, just as Moshe Rabbeinu, may his memory be blessed, said to us: “Behold, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil… u’vacharta ba’chayim.” (Sefer Devarim 30:15 and 19, Radak translation and brackets my own)
 
Both Rashi and the Radak emphasize the essential role that bechirah chafshite plays within Judaism. Its greatest advocate among all Medieval Jewish thinkers, however, was the Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204), who devoted chapters five and six of Hilchot Teshuvah to its explication. Here is an example of the singular import bechirah chafshite held for him:
​
This principle is a fundamental concept and a pillar [on which rests the totality] of the Torah and mitzvot as [Sefer Devarim 30:15] states: “Behold, I have set before you today life [and good, death and evil].” Similarly, [Sefer Devarim 11:26] states, “Behold, I have set before you today [the blessing and the curse],” suggesting that the choice is in your hands. Any one of the deeds of men that a person desires to do, he may do, whether good or evil. Therefore, [Sefer Devarim 5:26] states: “If only their hearts would always remain this way.” From this, we can infer that the Creator does not compel or decree that people should do either good or bad. Rather, everything is left to their [own choice]. (5:3, translation, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger with my emendations)
 
As the Rambam makes quite clear, we are not compelled to behave in a particular manner. The choice to pursue that which is good and righteous or, G-d forbid, the opposite course, is totally within our control: “…the Creator does not compel or decree that people should do either good or bad.” We will surely make mistakes, yet, if we dedicate ourselves to studying and living according to the Torah, we will be well on our way to fulfilling the thrilling words, “u’vacharta ba’chayim!” 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. Kativah v’Chatimah Tovah to one and all.
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
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: The Rav zatzal
 
 

​
 
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, Chana bat Sarah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The concluding section of our parasha begins with an appeal for national reminiscence: “And Moshe called all of Israel and said to them, ‘You have seen all that the L-rd did before your very eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to all his land; the great trials which your very eyes beheld and those great signs and wonders.’” (Sefer Devarim 29:1-2, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  Significantly, the following pasuk indicates a break with the continuity of the past: “Yet until this day (od hayom hazeh), the L-rd has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see and ears to hear.” (29:3) The phrase, “od hayom hazeh,” appears 12 times in four of the five books of the Torah, the exception being Sefer Vayikra. In some instances it may be understood at face value, that is, this day, and in other cases, it connotes for all time. Our pasuk follows the first approach, suggesting a sense of immediacy. In other words, on this very day, and not before, Hashem gave our forebears knowing hearts, seeing eyes and hearing ears. Since we had born witness to Hashem’s wonders and miracles against Pharaoh and his people in Egypt with our “very eyes,” how is it possible that, od hayom hazeh, we did not have hearts, eyes, and ears capable of perceiving Hashem’s manifold miracles?
 
In my view, Rashi (1040-1105) focuses upon this question when he brings an unsourced midrash, introduced by the term, “sha’mati” (“I have heard”), to explain od hayom hazeh in our verse:

I have heard that on the very day that Moshe gave the Torah scroll to the sons of Levi, as the verse says, “And he gave it to the kohanim, the sons of Levi,” (31:9) all Israel came before Moshe and said to him: “Moshe, our Teacher! We also stood at [Mount] Sinai and accepted the Torah, and it was [also] given to us! Why, then, are you giving the members of your tribe control over it, so that someday in the future they may claim, ‘It was not given to you, it was given only to us!’” Moshe rejoiced over this matter, and it was on account of this, that he said to them, “This day (hayom hazeh), you have become a people [to the L-rd your G-d]” (27:9). [This means:] “It is today (hayom hazeh) that I understand that you cleave to the Omnipresent and desire Him.”
 
I believe that this midrash is a “game changer” for understanding the relationship of the Jewish people to the Torah and Hashem. Herein, the entire nascent nation demands incontrovertible recognition of their inalienable claim to the Torah, and completely eschews the notion that the Torah should ever be the sole province of the kohanim. Moshe’s reaction is equally telling. With the realization that the entire people long for and seek to cleave to the Almighty, he rejoices in their words and recognizes that they are, hayom hazeh, truly Hashem’s people. 
 
Approximately 200 years after Rashi, we find a somewhat parallel midrash in Midrash Yalkut Shimoni:
​
“Moshe and the Levitic priests spoke to all Israel, saying,” [27:9] What words were spoken there? This comes to teach you that the Jewish people came and said to Moshe: “You have taken the Torah and given it to the kohanim, as the text states: ‘Then Moses wrote this Torah, and gave it to the priests, the descendants of Levi…’” [31:9] Then Moshe said to them: “Do you want me to establish a covenant (brit) that anyone who desires to learn Torah will never be prevented from doing so?” They said to him: “Yes!” They [Moshe and the Levitic priests] stood and took an oath that no one would ever be prevented from reading the Torah, as the text states: “to all Israel, saying.” Then Moshe said to them: “hayom hazeh you have become a people to the L-rd, your G-d [27:9].” (Parashat Ki Tavo, beginning of section 247, translation and brackets my own)
 
The message in both Rashi’s gloss and the Midrash Yalkut Shimoni is clear: Each of us has the right and privilege to study Torah, and to thereby come closer to our Creator. It is truly morasha kehilat Ya’akov (the eternal legacy of the entire Jewish people, 33:4).  
 
We are now on the cusp of encountering the Master of the Universe, during the Yamim Noraim. Let us hope and pray that, once again, He will judge us favorably, and we will be granted the opportunity to continue to demonstrate our commitment to His Torah as His holy people, forevermore. 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
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: The Rav zatzal
 

 
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.
 
Chodesh Elul is the preeminent period of the year to properly prepare ourselves to encounter Hashem during the upcoming Yamim Noraim. Since this is the case, with what thoughts should we be occupied at this time? The great Chasidic master, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Halevi Epstein zatzal, (1751-1823) suggests the following:

In these holy days from Rosh Chodesh Elul and onward, when the gates of teshuvah are open more than any other time of the year … it is fitting for all thinking people to bestir (l’hitorare) themselves from the stupor of a year of [spiritual] laziness. Moreover, they should open their “blind eyes,” and prepare themselves to encounter the Almighty. (Sefer Maor v’Shemesh, Parashat Ki Tetze, translation and brackets my own)
 
Elul has a two-fold purpose for Rav Epstein: to awaken us from our spiritual lethargy and to prepare us to meet Hashem on the Yamim Noraim. His thoughts are reminiscent of the Rambam’s (Maimonides, 1135-1204) famous words describing the power and purpose of the mitzvah of shofar on Rosh Hashanah:

Wake up you sleepy ones from your sleep and you who slumber, arise. Inspect your deeds, repent (v’chizru bi’teshuvah), remember your Creator. Those who forget the truth in the vanities of time and throughout the entire year, [and who] devote their energies to vanity and emptiness which will not benefit or save: Look to your souls. Improve your ways and your deeds and let every one of you abandon his evil path and thoughts. (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Teshuvah 3:4, translation, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger, brackets my own)
 
At first glance, it may seem difficult to see a connection between our parasha and the concepts presented by Rav Epstein and the Rambam. Our first pasuk, however, has captured the attention of a number of Torah sages in this regard: “If you go out to war against your enemies, and the L-rd, your G-d, will deliver him into your hands, and you take his captives.” (Sefer Devarim 21:10, translation, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  One of the first expositorsto demonstrate such a link was the Shelah HaKadosh (Rabbi Yeshayahu ben Avraham Ha-Levi Horowitz, 1555-1630):

[On a certain level,] this verse is speaking about the war against the yetzer [hara, in consonance with the statement of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, Talmud Bavli, Berachot 5a]: “A person should always incite the yetzer tov to fight against the yetzer hara.” [Therefore,] the phrase, “if you go out to war against your enemies,” is referring to the time an individual chooses to go to battle against their yetzer hara. Moreover, the next section of the pasuk, “and the L-rd, your G-d, will deliver him into your hands,” [is teaching us that such a person will be successful, as our Sages state in Talmud Bavli, Yoma 38b] “if one comes to purify themself [from sin,] they will assist him.” (Sefer Itturei Torah, vol. V, page 129, translation and brackets my own)
 
Approximately 200 years later, the renowned rebbe, Rav Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, (1765-1827) scaled these ideas into a direct promise that Hashem will guarantee success to anyone who truly fights their yetzer hara:

Chazal state: “If it was not for the Holy One blessed be He’s help, no one would be able to stand against it [the yetzer hara].” (Talmud Bavli, Kiddushin 30b)  We find, therefore, that essence of the outcome [in the battle against the evil inclination,] is from the Holy One blessed be He. [Crucially,] a person needs only to fortify themself and go to war with him [that is, the yetzer hara]. This, then, is the meaning of “if you go” (ki tetze), namely, it is a promise that when you go to war against the yetzer hara, then you can be certain (muvtach) that Hashem will place him into your hand, for He will surely help you…” (Sefer Siach Sarfei Kodesh, Parashat Ki Tetze, translation and brackets my own)
 
The Chatam Sofer (Rabbi Moshe Schreiber, 1762-1839) lived at approximately the same time as Rav Simcha Bunim, and was widely considered to be the gadol hador, the Rabbinic leader of his generation. In his Torah commentary on our parasha, Torat Moshe, he quotes the same two Talmudic statements as the Shelah HaKadosh and Rav Simcha Bunim and conceptualizes our pasuk as referring to the war against the yetzer hara. Moreover, he stresses that Hashem’s help in this endeavor is contingent upon our taking an active role in achieving victory over this powerful and perpetual enemy:
​
The Sages said: “If it was not for the Holy One blessed be He’s help, no one would be able to stand against it [the yetzer hara].” Based upon this statement, one might think that he need not go out to war against the yetzer hara in order to conquer his inclination, as this entails the necessity of power and heroism…As such, he might think, as well, that he does not to perform any action whatsoever to achieve this outcome, and that it is sufficient to passively sit back and trust that Hashem will help him and fight this great war on his behalf. The truth, however, is not like this, for one who thinks in this manner will never be able to conquer their enemy. Instead, a person must ceaselessly be at war with their evil inclination with all their strength in order to conquer it in accord with their limits and nature — and the rest they will achieve through the help of Heaven. As our Sages have already stated, “if one comes to purify themself [from sin,] they will assist him.” At first, however, a person must begin the purification process, and only then will they be supported [in their task]. (Translation and brackets my own)
 
The words of the Shelah HaKadosh, Rav Simcha Bunim and the Chatam Sofer are comforting indeed. They teach us that we must never give up hope in our battle against the yetzer hara, regardless of how low we may have fallen, or the seemingly insurmountable challenges we face in our desire to reconcile with Hashem. As Yirmiyahu promised us so long ago in the penultimate verse of Megillat Eicha: “Cause us to return to You, Hashem, and we will return! Renew our days as of old.” 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
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: The Rav zatzal
 

​
 
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.
 
The opening phrase of our parasha, “you shall appoint judges (shoftim) and bailiffs (shotrim) for yourself (lecha) in all your gates that Hashem, your G-d, is giving you,” has been interpreted in multiple ways by our Sages. In his Commentary on the Torah, Rashi (1040-1105) explains these words in their classic juridical sense: “Shoftim are judges who decide the verdict, and shotrim are those who chastise the people in compliance with their order.” (Translation, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  This approach is followed, as well, by the Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204):

It is a positive Scriptural commandment to appoint judges and bailiffs in every city and in every region, as the Torah states: “you shall appoint shoftim and shotrim for yourself (lecha) in all your gates that Hashem, your G-d, is giving you.” “Shoftim” refers to magistrates whose attendance is fixed in court before whom the litigants appear. “Shotrim” refers to those …who stand before the judges and patrol the marketplaces and the streets to inspect the stores and to regulate the prices and the measures [in accord with the orders of the court]. (Mishneh Torah, Sefer Shoftim, Hilchot Sanhedrin 1:1, translation, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger, brackets my own)
 
Both Rashi and the Rambam focus upon the meaning of the terms shoftim and shotrim. Defining them in a practical manner is a constitutive element of establishing a functioning judicial system. In contrast, in his classic work, Toldot Ya’akov Yosef, the great Chasidic rebbe, Rabbi Ya’akov Yosef HaKohen of Polonne (1710-1784), analyzes our phrase in a decidedly homiletic manner, placing particular emphasis upon the word, “lecha.” In so doing, he interprets our phrase as delineating the obligation of every Jew to undergo cheshbon hanefesh (introspective self-analysis), and to use this newfound understanding when judging others:

[To what does] “lecha” refer [?] — to yourself (l’atzmecha). Before anything else, judge yourself, remedy yourself [that is, your own errors] first, [before you find fault in others.] Moreover, in the same manner that you judge yourself, you should judge others. You should not be easy on yourself and tough on others. Then, too, you should not rationalize your behaviors, while at the same time act with exactitude to a measure of a hairsbreadth with others, and thereby require of them what you do not demand of yourself. (Translation and brackets my own)
 
This passage is highly reminiscent of Yehoshua ben Perachia’s statement in Pirkei Avot 6:1: “And judge every person on the side of merit.” Rabbeinu Yonah (1200-1263), in his Commentary on Pirkei Avot, explains this approach toward others:
​
This refers to a person whose nature is unknown to us as to whether they are a righteous (tzaddik) or evil individual (rasha). And if we [come] to realize that this being is [like most of us], someone in the middle (beinoni) [neither wholly good or evil], who sometimes acts negatively and sometimes acts positively, then if they do something wherein we could judge their action to be one of guilt or one of merit — even if at first glance they appear guilty — if there is any way to judge them in a positive manner we should do so, and say that they [always] intended to do good. (Translation and brackets my own)
 
Rabbeinu Yonah’s words are a “game changer” for our time; and particularly apropos for Chodesh Elul. In a world rife with the kind of sinat chinam (groundless hatred) that destroyed the Beit HaMikdash, they contain wisdom that should be publicized, discussed, and analyzed in every shul, beit midrash, yeshiva, and Jewish neighborhood. With Hashem’s help, may we hear his profound message, endeavor to judge people “on the side of merit,” and thereby become better people tomorrow than we are today. 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
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: The Rav zatzal
 

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 contains a pasuk that summarizes the nature of a life dedicated to serving Hashem: “Keep and hearken to all these words that I command you, that it may benefit you and your children after you, forever, when you do what is good (tov) and proper (yashar) in the eyes of the L-rd, your G-d.” (Sefer Devarim 12:28, this and all Bible translations, The Judaic Press Complete Tanach)  A straightforward reading of this pasuk spotlights two words, tov and yashar. A fundamental principle of Torah exegesis is the concept of verbal non-redundancy. Therefore, since the Torah utilizes two different terms, they must definitionally connote two distinct meanings. We find this approach in the Sifrei, the halachic midrash to Sefer Devarim:

“… when you do what is good and proper in the eyes of the L-rd, your G-d.” Rabbi Akiva interpreted this phrase in this manner: The good (tov) in the eyes of Heaven, and that which is proper (yashar) in the eyes of man… Rabbi Yishmael said: “That which is proper (yashar) in the eyes of Heaven, and the good (tov) in the eyes of man.” (Translation and underlining my own)
 
Intriguingly, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yishmael take polar opposite positions: Rabbi Akiva states that tov refers to “the eyes of Heaven,” whereas yashar refers to the “eyes of man.” In contrast, Rabbi Yishmael opines that tov refers to the “eyes of man,” and yashar refers to the “eyes of Heaven.”
 
Rabbi Yishmael’s interpretation initially appears to be the more compelling, since cognate Biblical texts that employ the term “yashar” most often refer to the Almighty (“in the eyes of Heaven”). As such, the explicit referent for our term in Sefer Devarim 12:24, 13:19, and 21:8, is “in the eyes of G-d.” If so, why did Rabbi Akiva interpret yashar as referring to man, and tov as referring to Hashem? 
 
I believe that the Malbim (Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yechiel Michel,1809-1879) provides a convincing case for the conceptual cogency of Rabbi Akiva’s analysis:
​
Tov is exceedingly relevant regarding commandments between man and Hashem, as we do not perform them based upon their perceived righteousness, rather, we fulfill them because of the Divine Wisdom (chachmah haeloyonah)… In addition, man is incapable of ascertaining on his own what is good and what is evil, as this can only be done through the study of Divine Wisdom and Hashem’s Torah… In contrast, commandments between man and his fellow man, whose propriety are manifestly evident to one and all, rightfully deserve the appellation of yashar, since man can apprehend them through his own intellectual gifts. (Translation my own)
 
The Malbim provides us with a solid assessment of Rabbi Akiva’s understanding of tov and yashar: Tov refers to matters of G-d’s Divine Wisdom, whereas yashar is based upon humanly perceivable moral actions.
 
In my estimation, Michah the prophet offers further proof for understanding tov as Divine Wisdom: “He has told you, O man, what is good (tov), and what the L-rd demands of you; but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your G-d.” (Sefer Michah 6:8) In Michah’s view, Hashem alone is He who determines that which is authentically good. 
 
May each of us seek to do that which is tov and yashar in Hashem’s eyes, and in those of our fellow man. With Michah’s stirring words as our guiding light, may we strive to act with justice and loving-kindness, and walk ever humbly with our Creator. 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
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: The Rav zatzal