Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Parshas Va'Eschanan


This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have
a speedy and complete recovery.

A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write
for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I
see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are
encouraged to skip them.

If readers have any comments, especially critical ones, they would be
most appreciated.


Question:

Throughout the parshah, it says many times that if we keep the Torah,
it (whatever "it" exactly means) will be good for us in the land of
Israel. Why does the Torah need to tell us this so many times,
especially in the same parshah?


Internalizing and Changing


In last week's devar Torah about organization (available at
http://tamimah.blogspot.com/), we learned that with the incident of
the spies, the Jewish people's lack of organization caused them to
overlook the fact that G-d would fight for the Jewish people and
enable them to conquer the land of Israel (Deuteronomy 1:30),
resulting in a mass panic and rebellion. Ultimately however, they
issue was that they forgot the simple fact that G-d was running the
show.

What caused them to forget and what are the proper steps to resist
forgetfulness?

I believe the second question is addressed in this week's Parshah:

"Listen, Israel, Hashem is our Lord, Hashem is One and Only. Love
Hashem your Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all
your might. These words which I am commanding you today must remain on
your heart. Teach them to your children and speak of them when you are
at home, when traveling on the road, when you lie down and when you
get up. Bind [these words] as a sign on your hand, and let them be an
emblem in the center of your head. [Also] write them on [parchments
affixed to] the doorposts of your houses and gates" (Deuteronomy
6:4-6:9).

Rashi cites our Sages who tell us that a way to come to love Hashem is
to have the Torah on hearts. And I believe the next verse, "teach
(literally sharpen) them to your children" teaches us how to always
have Torah on our hearts.

Our Sages comment "'and you should sharpen them' that the words of
Torah should be sharp in your mouth that if a person asks you
something, you not stutter and reply but rather answer immediately…"
(Kiddushin 30a).

Rashi there comments:

They should be sharp in your mouth: Review them and examine their
depths, that if a person asks you, you will not need to stutter but
rather you will be able to immediately answer.

I believe Rashi is explaining that our Sages are telling us, the way
to have Torah on our hearts, to internalize it, is to know it well.
Knowing it well means having reviewed the material frequently and to
understanding it on a deep level. But why is this the way to
internalize Torah?

As an introduction, we should understand that evil is essentially
falsehood. On a practical level, giving in to anger, physical urges
and infatuations almost never leads to tangible benefits. On a deeper
level, all that exists, exists because G-d wills it to exist. Since
G-d does not want sin, when one sins, on a certain level, one is
ceasing to exist.

Rav Wolbe (Alei Shor, 89) cites the Ramchal who says that G-d created
us with an evil inclination. Additionally, He also gave us an
intellect, which, if fully utilized, has the power to utterly
annihilate our evil inclination. Our intellect allows us to discern
truth, allowing us to distance ourselves from evil – falsehood. Given
our intellects' tremendous power, in order for us to have free will,
G-d made it that our intellects begin in 'potential.' This means that
naturally, our intellects do not function even close to their full
strength, leaving room for the evil inclination to have power.

One may know something intellectually but not have internalized it.
For example, we know that speaking ill of others is evil. However,
this knowledge unfortunately does not restrain us from spreading
slander. Learning but not internalizing knowledge results from the
intellect operating only in its natural level. However, through
contemplation, one strengthens the intellect and develops it to its
full potential. When the intellect is functioning at such higher
levels, it means that one has internalized a certain piece of
knowledge.

The Ramchal illustrates this with a comparison. Frequently, the Torah
is compared to fire and light. The Ramchal says that when a person
first learns a piece of Torah, it is like a coal. When one
contemplates this piece of knowledge, he so to speak, fans the coal
and builds it up into a fire which provides warmth and light and
nullifies our evil inclination. If one neglects one's Torah knowledge,
meaning one does not contemplate it, the goal, will further dim.

Thus, getting back to the Rashi, by reviewing material and
understanding it at deep levels, one strengthens the intellect,
internalizes the Torah, and negates the evil inclination.

Food for further thought and discussion:

1. Compare Rashi on the Chumash to the Rashi on the Gemara

Gemara: Our Sages comment "'and you should sharpen them' that the
words of Torah should be sharp in your mouth that if a person asks you
something, you not stutter and reply but rather answer immediately…"
(Kiddushin 30a).

Rashi:
They should be sharp in your mouth: Review them and examine their
depths, that if a person asks you, you will not need to stutter but
rather you will be able to immediately answer.

Rashi on Chumash:
And you should sharpen them:
It is the language of sharpening, that they should be sharp in your
mouth, that if a person asks you something, there will be no need to
stutter but rather say (reply) immediately.

2. What steps can be taken to make oneself a more contemplative person?

Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai