​
​Rabbi David Etengoff

ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל, בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
If I were to ask which one of the 248 Mitzvot Aseh requires the greatest amount of rigor and exactitude in its observance, I am sure there would be many different answers. Some would respond Brit Milah and Korban Pesach, as these are the only two positive mitzvot that have karet (excision) as their punishment if not fulfilled at a time when it is possible to do so. Others may suggest Talmud Torah, since Chazal famously declared, “v’talmud Torah k’neged kulam—and the act of Talmud Torah supersedes them all.” (Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 127a)  Then, too, some might propose Kriat Shema or Tefilah, since the first declares the absolute unity of the Master of the Universe and the prohibition of idol worship, and the second allows us to speak to Him as if He was standing “physically before us,” as we find in the celebrated statement: “da lifnei Mi atah omed—know before Whom you stand.” (Based on Rabbi Eliezer’s statement, Talmud Bavli, Berachot 28b)
 
The Rambam (1135-1204), however, suggests a different mitzvah that is found in our parasha (15:7-8, 11): “Chayavine anu l’hizaher b’mitzvat Tzedakah yotare m’kol mitzvot aseh—We are obligated to be punctilious in the mitzvah of Tzedakah more so than in any other Positive Commandment.” (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Matnot Aniyim 10:1)  He bases his p’sak on Talmud Bavli, Bava Batra 9a and the following line of reasoning:

[This is the case, since] the act of Tzedakah is a sign of a righteous person, and one who is a descendant of Avraham Avinu. As the Torah states: “For I [Hashem] have known him [Avraham] in order that he will command his children after him la’asot Tzedakah--to perform acts of Tzedakah. (Sefer Bereishit 18:19)  And neither will the throne of the Jewish people be established nor the true faith stand [that is, remain forever] except through Tzedakah. As the text states: “In Tzedakah you shall be established.” (Sefer Yeshayahu 54:14)  [Moreover,] the Jewish people will not be [finally] redeemed except through Tzedakah. As the text states: “Tziyon will be redeemed through judgment, and those who return to her through Tzedakah.” (Sefer Yeshayahu 1:27, translations and brackets my own)
 
In sum, the Rambam focuses on several different aspects “la’asot Tzedakah”: Giving Tzedakah is the sign of a righteous individual and descendant of Avraham Avinu, the throne of the Jewish people will be established and our faith in Hashem will last forever through Tzedakah, and finally, the Jewish people will be redeemed as a result of our performance of Tzedakah.
 
Based on the Rambam’s opening words in this halacha, “chayavine anu l’hizaher b’mitzvat Tzedakah yotare m’kol mitzvot aseh,” I might have thought that if and only if one performs this mitzvah l’shame shamayim (with the intention of serving Hashem and for no other purpose), then he or she will fulfill this commandment. While this is certainly a very high level of giving Tzedakah, in practice, failure to perform this mitzvah l’shame shamayim does not prevent its fulfillment. This position is presented in the Sefer Ba’al Shem Tov in the name of HaRav Shmuel Kaminker zatzal who presented this idea before the holy Ba’al Shem Tov zatzal (1698-1760):

The giving of Tzedakah is accepted completely, and in a pleasing manner, even when the funds are not given l’shame shamayim. [Tzedakah is an outcome-driven concept, as such, we must realize] before anything else, [even when the money is not given in the ideal fashion,] the poor person will be able to eat as the result of the distributed funds. Then, too, [on the psychological level,] the poor person’s very soul is enlivened through receiving Tzedakah… Clearly, then, it is permissible to give Tzedakah even if it is not given l’shame shamayim. [Perhaps this is so, since] the one receiving money will always receive the sum [as if it were given] l’shame shamayim. This is the case, as the poor person is not accepting the money for the purpose of becoming enriched, chas v’shalom, but rather, he is only going [to ask for and receive] that which is necessary to keep both he and his family alive according to their actual needs. (Parashat Terumah, s.v. dabare el b’nai Yisrael v’yikachu li terumah, translation and brackets my own)
 
The Ba’al Shem Tov accepted this idea as torat emet. As such, let us remember that even if we cannot reach the level of performing the mitzvah l’shame shamayim, our fulfillment is not diminished, since in the heart of the recipient, it will be accepted l’shame shamayim.
 
Shabbat Shalom
​
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 would like to be added, please 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
​
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל, בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
The mitzvah of cleaving to Hashem (hadvakute b’Hashem) appears in our parasha, as well as two other times in Sefer Devarim:

For if you keep all these commandments which I command you to do them, to love Hashem your G-d, to walk in all His ways, and to cleave to Him (u’l’davka bo). (11:22)

You shall hold Hashem, your G-d in awe, worship Him, and cleave to Him and swear by His Name. (10:20)

But you who cleave to Hashem, your G-d, are alive all of you this day. (4:4, all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
A celebrated statement of Chazal suggests that hadvakute b’Hashem is well-nigh impossible, since Sefer Devarim 4:26 states: “For Hashem, your G-d, is a consuming fire…” (Talmud Bavli, Ketubot 111b)  In his Torah commentary, Torah Temimah, on Sefer Devarim 11:22, Rabbi Baruch HaLevi Epstein (1860-1941) asks why our Sages presented this position, since:

It is plausible to explain the [concept of hadvakute b’Hashem] in a direct language-based manner, namely, it is referring to devekut hanefesh m’ahavah v’chibah yitarah—the soul cleaving to Hashem from abundant love and affection. As Dovid HaMelech writes, “davka nafshi acharecha—my soul has clung after You…” (Sefer Tehillim 63:9) 
 
Why did Chazal refrain from a soul-based approach? Rav Epstein’s answer gives voice to the incredibly high level of spirituality that devekut hanefesh m’ahavah v’chibah yitarah represents and the difficulty of attaining this goal: “We can answer that this middah [that Dovid HaMelech was able to reach] is the highest possible level of love of Hashem, and thereby set aside solely for unique individuals and people who have reached the loftiest peak of spirituality. As such, it is impossible to demand this from general members (hamon ha’am) of the Jewish people…” If this level of hadvakute b’Hashem is beyond the grasp of the hamon ha’am, what kind of devekut is available to one and all?
 
In his Torah commentary, Biur al HaTorah, Rabbi Ovadiah ben Ya’akov Sforno (1475-1549) answers this question through his interpretation of the phrase “u’l’davka bo” (Sefer Devarim 11:22): “All of your actions should be undertaken with the intention to perform His will, as it is said: ‘In all your ways know Him, and He will direct your paths.’” (Sefer Mishle 3:6)  In my view, the Sforno’s analysis coupled with this pasuk evens the spiritual playing field and makes hadvakute b’Hashem accessible to the entire Jewish people. Little wonder then, that the great Tanna, Bar Kappara, taught: “Which is a brief passage upon which all fundamental principles of Torah are dependent? ‘In all your ways know Him, and He will direct your paths.’” (Talmud Bavli, Berachot 63a, translation, The Koren Talmud Bavli) 
 
Shabbat Shalom
​
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 would like to be added, please 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

ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל, בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
Kriat Shema is one of the best-known mitzvot in Parashat Va’etchanan. The Rambam zatzal (1135-12-04) rules that “Shema Yisrael,” the first pasuk of this mitzvah, has singular halachic status: “One who recites the first verse of Kriat Shema, that is, ‘Shema Yisrael,’ without intention--v’lo kivane libo—does not fulfill his obligation. [However, one who recites] the rest without intention fulfills his obligation.” (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Kriat Shema 2:1, translation, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger)  Rav Yosef Karo zatzal (1488-1575) follows this opinion nearly verbatim in his Shulchan Aruch (Orech Chaim 60:5). 

​The words, “v’lo kivane libo,” are difficult to understand, as neither the Rambam nor Rav Karo elucidate their meaning. Fortunately, Rav Yisrael Meir Kagan zatzal (1838-1933) explains this elusive phrase:

The [type of] kavanah (intentionality) that is required in this matter [the recitation of the pasuk, “Shema Yisrael,”] is for one to intensely think about and focus upon (l’hitbonane u’lasum al libo) what he is saying. Failure to do so in the reading of the first verse prevents one from fulfilling the mitzvah [of Kriat Shema], since it contains the essence of kabbalat ol malchut Shamayim (accepting the yoke of Heaven) and His Unity may He be blessed. (Mishnah Berurah, Orech Chaim 60:5, subsection 11)
 
In sum, for Rav Kagan, the kavanah that is required in the first pasuk of Kriat Shema is l’hitbonane u’lasum al libo the words one is reciting in order to attain the requisite level of kabbalat ol malchut Shamayim. Moreover, failure to do so renders the mitzvah null and void.
 
My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, defines kabbalat ol malchut Shamayim as “hichnayah lifnei Hashem—submission to Hashem’s authority.” (This and the following quotations, Al HaTefilah, Rabbi Reuven Grodner shlita, editor, page 73, translation and brackets my own)  Basing himself on one of Rashi’s glosses (1040-1105) in Talmud Bavli, Berachot 12a (s.v. sh’ne’emar l’hagide ba’boker chasdecha), the Rav maintains there are actually two distinct types of kabbalat ol malchut Shamayim: kabbalat ol malchut Shamayim shel boker (of the morning), as depicted in the tefilah, emet v’yatziv and kabbalat ol malchut Shamayim shel erev (of the evening) as found in the prayer, emet v’emunah.

According to the Rav, kabbalat ol malchut Shamayim shel boker is an active process of hichnayah lifnei Hashem that is performed through the “recognition of the good and [giving] thanks to the Holy One blessed be He” that he describes in this fashion:

A person realizes that he is not independent, the opposite is the case, as he is dependent upon others, and most of all, he is dependent on the Holy One blessed be He. He begins by recognizing the good bestowed upon him by his parents and his teachers and in the end, recognition of all the good from the Holy One blessed be He. [As Dovid Hamelech said:] “l’hagide ba’boker chasdecha—to declare your kindness in the morning.” (Sefer Tehillim 92:3)
 
In contrast, for the Rav, kabbalat ol malchut Shamayim shel erev is a combination of our trust (bitachon) and faith (emunah) in the Holy One blessed be He, that leads to recognizing our dependence upon Him. This degree of faith encapsulates more than the present moment, as it is “emunah b’atid mitoch tikvah--faith in the future that is based upon hope.” [As Dovid Hamelech said:] “v’emunatcha ba’lailot—and Your faith at night.” (Sefer Tehillim 92:3)

With Hashem’s help, and the Rav’s thoughts as our guide, may our recitation of Kriat Shema ever be one of authentic kabbalat ol malchut Shamayim, and may we thereby give voice to Dovid HaMelech’s stirring words: “l’hagide ba’boker chasdecha v’emunatcha ba’lailot.” V’chane yihi ratzon.

Shabbat Shalom
​
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 would like to be added, please 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

ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל, בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
“Hashiveinu Hashem alecha v’nashuvah, chadeish yameinu k’kedem—Cause us to return to you Hashem and we will return, renew our days as in days of old.” This verse at the end of Megillat Eichah is a well-known pasuk in Tanach, as it is the concluding verse of hachnasat sefer Torah. The Targum Ketuvim suggests it refers to teshuvah: “Bring us back to You and we will return to You in complete teshuvah, renew our days to be good, once again, as they were in the good times of the past.” In contrast, the Ibn Ezra (12th century) interprets hashiveinu in a physical sense, as a plea to Hashem to return us to Yerushalayim. As such, v’nashuvah is an appeal to Hashem to enable us to worship Him in the rebuilt Beit HaMikdash. These very different analyses led the contemporary Israeli scholar Dr. Yael Ziegler to opine:

Whatever its precise meaning, this verse features striking mutuality between God and Israel. Though the community petitions God to initiate reconciliation (“Return us to You”), it continues with a promise to mirror God’s action (“and we will return). Without God’s initiative, reconciliation seems impossible, but Israel assumes its share of responsibility for the reestablishment of the relationship. (Lamentations: Faith in a Turbulent World, page 465)
 
Dr. Ziegler opines that the first part of our pasuk gives voice to the “striking mutuality between God and Israel,” our overture to Hashem to “initiate reconciliation” and our willingness to share in the “responsibility for the reestablishment of the relationship.” These crucial themes bespeak the depth of loneliness we endure when we feel divorced from the Almighty and our consequent longing to bridge the gaping chasm between us. In her general observations on the second part of our verse, Dr. Ziegler notes that it summarizes the way we have always viewed history:

The request [for reconciliation] simultaneously looks forward and backward, encapsulating a timeless Jewish perception of history. Steeped in an unbearable present, the beleaguered community yearns for a glorious past (kedem), anticipating the reinstatement of that glory in a revitalized future.
 
What historical moment is being referenced by the term, “kedem?” Midrash Eichah Rabbati on our pasuk suggests its meaning parallels that which we find in Sefer Malachi 3:14: “kimei olam uchshanim kadmoniot—as in past days and former years,” namely, “like the years of Shlomo HaMelech.” In his commentary on Megillat Eichah, Rabbi Baruch HaLevi Epstein zatzal (1860-1941) describes the years of Shlomo HaMelech in this manner: “The glory of Hashem filled the Beit HaMikdash, Yehudah and Yisrael were as numerous as the sand on the seashore, and every man sat under his grapevine and fig tree.” (Translation my own)  With Hashem’s help, may the realization of this vision, come soon, and in our days. V’chane yihi ratzon.

Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org

The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. To be added, please contact me at: 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.