RABBI DAVID ETENGOFF: PARASHAT HASHAVUAH
  • Blog: Rabbi David Etengoff: Parashat HaShavuah
  • Sefer Bereishit 5782&5783
  • Sefer Shemot 5782&5783
  • Sefer Vayikra 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5782&5783
  • Sefer Devarim 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bereishit 5780& 5781
  • Sefer Shemot 5780&5781
  • Sefer Vayikra 5780&5781
  • Sefer Bamidbar 578&5781
  • Sefer Devarim 578&5781
  • Sefer Bereishit 5778&5779
  • Sefer Shemot 5778&5779
  • Sefer Vayikra 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5778&5779
  • Sefer Devarim 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bereishit 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bereishit 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bereishit 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bereishit 5771&5770
  • Sefer Shemot 5776&5777
  • Sefer Shemot 5774&5775
  • Sefer Shemot 5772&5773
  • Sefer Shemot 5771&5770
  • Sefer Vayikra 5776&5777
  • Sefer Vayikra 5774&5775
  • Sefer Vayikra 5772&5773
  • Sefer Vayikra 5771&5770
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5771&5770
  • Sefer Devarim 5776&5777
  • Sefer Devarim 5774&5775
  • Sefer Devarim 5772&5773
  • Sefer Devarim 5771&5770

9/13/2015

Parashat Vayelech - Shabbat Shuvah 5776, 2015: "Return, O Israel, to the L-rd your G-d"

0 Comments

Read Now
 
Picture

Rabbi David Etengoff

Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chaim Mordechai Hakohen ben Natan Yitzchak, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, HaRav Yosef Shemuel ben HaRav Reuven Aharon, the refuah shlaimah of Devorah bat Chana, and Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.

Return, O Israel, to the L-rd your G-d, for you have stumbled in your iniquity. Take words with yourselves and return to the L-rd. Say, “You shall forgive all iniquity and teach us [the] good [way]…” (Sefer Hosheah 14:2-3, this and all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)

The opening phrase of this week’s haftarah, “Return, O Israel, to the L-rd your G-d,” contains some of the most famous words of the Nevi’im (Prophets). Little wonder, then, that this Shabbat is named, “Shuvah” (Return), after the first word of the haftarah. Moreover, on a conceptual level, it is a very appropriate appellation for this Shabbat, since Shabbat Shuvah serves as the nexus between the judgment of Rosh Hashanah and the atonement of Yom Kippur.

In order to obtain a deeper level of understanding of Hosheah’s expression, “Return, O Israel, to the L-rd your G-d, for you have stumbled in your iniquity,” let us turn to two luminaries of the Chasidic tradition, Rabbis Yisrael of Koznitz zatzal (1740-1814) and Menachem Mendel of Kotzk zatzal (1787-1859). Rav Yisrael of Koznitz was given two popular names, “the Maggid (Preacher) of Koznitz,” and the “Avodat Yisrael,” after the title of his most beloved work. In this sefer (book), Rav Yisrael interprets Hosheah’s words in the following manner: “‘Return O Israel’ - until [you acknowledge] that Hashem exists and that He is the Creator of the Universe. ‘To the L-rd your G-d,’ – [in order that He will be] your G-d.” (Translation and brackets my own) This analysis focuses upon two fundamental ideas of Judaism, emunah (belief) and bitachon (trust). According to this understanding, returning to Hashem is first and foremost a cognitive act and experience, wherein we acknowledge that Hashem exists and that He created the world. Once we accept these two theological principles, we are ready to forge a truly personal relationship with the Almighty. In so doing, each of us can emulate our forebears at the Sea of Reeds and wholeheartedly declare: “The Eternal’s strength and His vengeance were my salvation; this is my G-d, and I will make Him a habitation, the G-d of my father, and I will ascribe to Him exaltation.” (Sefer Shemot 15:2, underlining my own)

Rav Menachem Mendel of Kotzk is known as “the Kotzker Rebbe.” He is famous for his deeply incisive Torah exegesis that often revealed deep psychological and spiritual insights into the human condition. He begins his exploration of Hosheah’s prophetic proclamation with a fascinating Midrash that focuses upon Reuven’s behavior when he disheveled his father Yaakov’s bed that had been placed in Bilhah the concubine’s tent:

The Holy One blessed be He said: There has never been an instance when an individual has sinned before me and has done teshuvah; [yet,] you [Reuven,] are the first to have enacted the repentance process. As a result, I [Hashem] hereby take an oath that one of your future offspring will arise and will be the first [in his time] to undertake the teshuvah process. Who was this? This was Hosheah, as the text states: “Return, O Israel, to the L-rd your G-d.” (Midrash Bereishit Rabbah, chapter 84, translation and brackets my own)

The Kotzker Rebbe notes that this Midrash, by stating that no one else had done teshuvah until Reuven, seemingly contradicts the widely held opinion that both Adam, and his son, Cain, had repented for their respective sins. If so, how could the Midrash state that Reuven was the first to have undertaken the teshuvah process? Rav Menachem Mendel answers this question by identifying the nature of the sins that Adam, Cain and Reuven had done. In this process, he illustrates the key difference that obtained between Adam and Cain’s sins, and that of Reuven:

In reality, [there is a significant dissimilarity between Adam and Cain’s sins and that of Reuven’s sin]. Adam and Cain knew at the time of their sins that they were violating the commandments of the Omnipresent One, therefore, there is nothing new (ain rebuta) in their having done teshuvah. Reuven, however, created the brand new concept that even a prohibition that was violated in an effort to serve Hashem (l’shame shamayim) needed teshuvah [to rebuild one’s relationship with Hashem]. This is the case, since Reuven’s intention for forcefully disarranging his father’s bed [See Rashi’s commentary to Sefer Bereishit 35:22] was purely l’shame shamayim. As the Midrash and Talmud state: “The embarrassment of his mother required a proper response.” (Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 98:4, Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 54b) Nonetheless, Reuven did teshuvah.  

At this juncture, the Kotzker Rebbe directly links Reuven’s repenting for a sin that was l’shame shamayim to Hosheah’s future pronouncement:

So, too, did Hosheah, Reuven’s future [spiritual] heir, say: “Return, O Israel, to the L-rd your G-d, for you have stumbled in your iniquity.” This hints at the notion that even though the Jewish people’s sin was on account of a mikshol (a stumbling block) [and, therefore, close to unintentional in nature,] nonetheless, [Hosheah] urges them to repent. [This, then, is the meaning of] “ to the L-rd your G-d” – even if you have stumbled in a sin that you did l’shame shamayim – do teshuvah. (All translations and brackets my own)

The Kotzker Rebbe has taught us all a crucial lesson, namely, every chet (sin), even ones associated with mikshol, require heartfelt teshuvah in order to repair our relationship with the Almighty. As such, may it be Hashem’s will and our fervent desire that each one of us will return to Him in sincere teshuvah so that we may achieve complete reconciliation with Him. Then, once again, we will be, “… children of the L-rd, your G-d” (Sefer Devarim 14:1) V’chane yihi ratzon.  

Shabbat Shalom, kativah v’chatimah tovah and tizku l’shanim rabot.

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 rdbe718@gmail.com.

*** My audio shiurim for Women on “Tefilah: Haskafah and Analysis,” 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. They are available here: http://tinyurl.com/82pgvfn.

**Follow new postings on my Twitter accounts: @theRavZatzal and @Torahtech613.


Share

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

Details

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Author

    Talmid of Rabbi Soloveitchik zatzal

    Categories

    All
    Parashat Hashavuah

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Blog: Rabbi David Etengoff: Parashat HaShavuah
  • Sefer Bereishit 5782&5783
  • Sefer Shemot 5782&5783
  • Sefer Vayikra 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5782&5783
  • Sefer Devarim 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bereishit 5780& 5781
  • Sefer Shemot 5780&5781
  • Sefer Vayikra 5780&5781
  • Sefer Bamidbar 578&5781
  • Sefer Devarim 578&5781
  • Sefer Bereishit 5778&5779
  • Sefer Shemot 5778&5779
  • Sefer Vayikra 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5778&5779
  • Sefer Devarim 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bereishit 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bereishit 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bereishit 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bereishit 5771&5770
  • Sefer Shemot 5776&5777
  • Sefer Shemot 5774&5775
  • Sefer Shemot 5772&5773
  • Sefer Shemot 5771&5770
  • Sefer Vayikra 5776&5777
  • Sefer Vayikra 5774&5775
  • Sefer Vayikra 5772&5773
  • Sefer Vayikra 5771&5770
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5771&5770
  • Sefer Devarim 5776&5777
  • Sefer Devarim 5774&5775
  • Sefer Devarim 5772&5773
  • Sefer Devarim 5771&5770