​Parashat Shoftim 5786, 2026: "Be Tamim with Hashem"

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Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
Our parasha contains the pasuk: “Be tamim (wholehearted) with Hashem, your God.” (Sefer Devarim 18:13, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) This translation reflects Rashi’s (1040-1105) midrashically based comment on our verse: “Conduct yourself with Him with simplicity and depend on Him, and do not inquire of the future; rather, accept whatever happens to you with simplicity and then, you will be with Him and to His portion.”
 
In contrast to Rashi’s analysis, Onkelos’ (First Century C.E.) approach to our pasuk, and throughout the entirety of his Aramaic translation of the Torah, suggests a very different connotation for tamim, namely, she’lim, or perfect and complete. Moreover, while Rashi focuses upon a person being wholehearted with God, Onkelos emphasizes the proper manner that one must adopt in their approach toward Hashem: “Perfect and complete you shall be regarding the awe and fear you should have for Hashem your God.”
 
Whether we adopt Rashi’s or Onkelos’ exposition of our pasuk, we need to examine “tamim” in the context of the Taryag Mitzvot; namely, is it included or excluded from the 613 Torah mitzvot? Not too surprisingly, the major disputants regarding this issue are the Rambam (1135-1204) and the Ramban (1194-1270).
 
The Rambam does not include “Be tamim with Hashem, your God” as a mitzvah in his Sefer HaMitzvot. In his critical comments on this work, the Ramban offers this rationale for its exclusion:

Perhaps the master thought that [“Be tamim with Hashem, your God”] is a general command that incorporates all mitzvot regarding the proper manner that one is obligated to walk on the paths of the Torah. [As such,] this matter is like the verse, “Praiseworthy are those whose way is perfect (temimei derech), who walk with the Law of Hashem.” (Sefer Tehillim 119:1) Therefore, he did not include this verse in his accounting. (Critical Notes to the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Commandments Uncounted by the Rambam, number 8, translation and brackets my own)
 
The Ramban, however, rejects this approach and includes tamim in his listing of the Taryag Mitzvot:

The eighth mitzvah we are commanded is for our hearts to be perfectly aligned with Him may He be blessed. And this is as it is stated in the Torah: “Be tamim with Hashem, your God.” The essence of this command is that we should associate our hearts with Him alone, may He be blessed, and believe that He, and only He, performs all actions in the universe, and that He alone knows the truth as to what the future will bring. Moreover, it is solely from Him that we have permission to ascertain the nature of future events, through the vehicle of his prophets, or His men of mercy, namely, through the Urim v’Tumim. Consequently, we are prohibited from seeking out soothsayers and their ilk, and we must never believe their words will surely come to pass. (Critical Notes to the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Commandments Uncounted by the Rambam, number 8, translation my own)
 
In sum, the Ramban maintains that “Be tamim with Hashem, your God” is included in the Taryag Mitzvot. In his view, this mitzvah mandates that we turn solely to Hashem and His earthly representatives for knowledge of forthcoming events. Concomitantly, we must absolutely reject the words and visions of necromancers who pretend to foretell the future through their divinations. By turning solely to Hashem, and by consciously rejecting the so-called prophecies of human oracles, we demonstrate our complete allegiance to Hashem, and we become tamim with Him.
 
Rav Tzadok HaKohen Rabinowitz of Lublin (1823-1900) views our verse, “Be tamim with Hashem, your God,” in a different light than the previous commentators. Rather than discussing the substantive content of, “be tamim,” he underscores the expression, “with Hashem, your God,” as the primary modality through which one can attain temimut. Yet, how can we be “with Hashem, your God?” Rav Tzadok channels a pasuk from Sefer Shemot that addresses this concern: “And you shall worship Hashem, your God, and He will bless your food and your drink, and I will remove illness from your midst.” (23:25) He notes that the verse explicitly states, “I will remove illness from your midst,” and explains its import:
All of this [the removal of illness from our midst] does not take place by itself. Only Hashem, may He be blessed, has the ability to remove [illness]. This is similar in kind to a filthy garment, even though you soak it in water, the person who is washing it must scrub at it until he removes its grime. Nonetheless, without water the dirt will not be removed. (Likutei Mamarim, page 86, this and the subsequent passage, translation and brackets my own)
 
Chazal often note that water is a metaphor for Torah. One classic example is found in Sefer Bereishit 37:24: “And they [Yosef’s brothers] took him and cast him into the pit; now the pit was empty there was no water in it.” Rav Acha allegorically glosses the words “there was no water in it” as meaning there were no words of Torah. (Midrash Rabbah, Sefer Bereishit 24) Rav Tzadok follows this approach and states that Torah, and Torah alone, enables one to “be tamim with Hashem, your God:”
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The reference to “water” specifically refers to divrei Torah [halacha] and divrei aggadah [non-halachic Torah subjects]. This is so, since through them, one may recognize He who spoke and thereby created the world and bask in the light of “the face” of the living King. [As such,] the Torah states: “Be tamim with the Hashem, your God,” [this means,] when one is with Hashem and His followers [that is, Torah scholars], then he will be perfect and complete without any lack whatsoever.
 
When viewed from this perspective, “be tamim with Hashem, your God,” is a reiteration of the spiritual charge issued to Avraham Avinu so long ago: “I am the Almighty God; walk before Me and be perfect (tamim).” This message is particularly apropos for the month of Elul, as we prepare ourselves for the Yamim Noraim and the coming new year.
 
With Hashem’s help, may we ever be like Avraham Avinu and serve Him in authenticity and temimut. V’chane yihi ratzon.  
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
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