NOW MOSHE AND THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL

 COMMANDED THE PEOPLE, SAYING:

AND IT SHALL BE: AT THE TIME

THAT YOU CROSS THE JORDAN INTO THE LAND

THAT THE LORD YOUR GOD IS GIVING YOU,

YOU ARE TO SET UP FOR YOURSELF GREAT STONES

AND ARE TO PLASTER THEM WITH PLASTER;

YOU ARE TO WRITE ON THEM ALL THE WORDS OF

THIS INSTRUCTION, WHEN YOU CROSS OVER,

IN ORDER THAT YOU MAY ENTER THE LAND

 THAT

THE LORD YOUR GOD IS GIVING YOU,

A LAND FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY,

AS THE LORD, GOD OF YOUR FATHERS, PROMISED

YOU.

NOW IT SHALL BE, ON YOUR CROSSING THE JORDAN:

SET UP THESE STONES ABOUT WHICH I COMMAND YOU

TODAY

ON MOUNT EVAL AND PLASTER THEM WITH PLASTER.

YOU ARE TO BUILD THERE AN ALTAR TO THE LORD

YOUR GOD,

AN ALTAR OF STONES;

YOU ARE NOT TO SWING AGAINST THEM ANY IRON.

WITH COMPLETE STONES YOU ARE TO BUILD

 THE

ALTAR OF THE LORD YOUR GOD.

WHEN YOU SLAUGHTER SHALOM OFFERINGS,

YOU MAY EAT THEM THERE,

AND YOU ARE TO REJOICE

BEFORE THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD YOUR GOD.

AND YOU ARE TO WRITE ON THE STONES

ALL THE WORDS OF THIS INSTRUCTION, EXPLAINED

WELL.

(Devarim 27)

The Promise of the Land: End or Means

"You are to write on them all the words of this instruction . .

in order that you may enter the land" – said Rabbi Avraham: For the Lord will help

you when the mitzvoth become obligatory, for this is the first mitzvah

upon their entering the land. In my opinion, "in order that you may

enter" alludes to all the words of the Torah, this is to say,

you shall write on the stones all the words of this instruction immediately

upon crossing the Jordan in order to enter the land, because

it is for this Torah that you come there. Similarly, "Your servant and your maid may rest as one like

yourself, in order that you bear in mind the you were a serf" – your

servant and maid like you shall rest, so that you remember that you were a serf.. An alternate

reason, write upon them all the words of this Torah so that it be for you a

reminder, so that you will enter the land and conquer it, and inherit all those

nations thanks to your bearing in mind the Torah and observing all its

commandments.

(Ramban, Devarim 27)

For this Torah you are coming

into the land – this is the rationale for the mitzvah of setting up the

stones, for only by the merit of Torah did we merit inheriting the land.

(Rabeinu Bahayey, ibid.)

The Divine promise is always bound

up with presenting man with a demand. Perhaps it may be said that the

fulfillment of every mission is bound up with the fulfillment of the promise;

the two are bound together, without any possibility of separation.

(Y.

Leibowitz: Seven Years Of Discussion Of The Weekly Parasha, p. 898)

IN

JOY AND IN GLADNESS

Rami

Pinchover

Two

parashot in the Torah deal with tochecha –admonition: " Ki Tavo"

and "Bechukotai" at the end of the Book of Vayikra. These parashot

detail the reward and punishment which await those who follow or those who

reject the regulations and laws of the Lord. If we heed His voice, the

blessings of the Lord will rest everywhere; the rain will fall in its season,

the earth will yield its harvest, and there will be peace in the land. But if,

Heaven forbid, we do not heed His voice, we can expect famine, war, desolation,

and exile.

Looking

back over 3000 years of history, it may be said that we have before us a

theological interpretation of Jewish history, for throughout history, we have

gone through all that is described in these parashot, and even more. For me,

there is no verse in our parasha more hair-raising in its description of God's

anger than: "And it shall be: as God once delighted in you by doing

that you are entering to possess" (Devarim 28:63), and the awesomely majestic expression of Yirmiyahu's fury, in the

Haftara of Parashat "Bechukotai": "For you have kindled the

flame of my wrath, which will burn for all time" (Yirmiyahu 17:4)

Chazal

and various commentators noted the differences between the two versions of the tochecha.

But one difference unnoticed (to the best of my knowledge) by the commentators

is the nature of the sin. In "Bechukotai", the reason for the

castigation is clear and unequivocal: "Because my regulations they

spurned, and my laws they repelled" (Vayikra 26:43). In our parasha, however, all that is said is "Because you

abundance of everything" (Devarim

28:47). In Vayikra, the punishment

comes on the heels of failure to observe the mitzvoth, primarily the mitzvoth

of Shabbat Haaretz—of letting the land lie fallow in the seventh year. In

our parasha, however, the problem is of a totally different nature. The subject

is the observance of mitzvoth, albeit in an inappropriate manner,

observance without delight, without desire, without simcha— joy.

A

number of questions are in order: Where did we ever learn that mitzvoth

must be observed in joy? And if we are indeed so charged, how does one

observe mitzvoth in joy? And an even more difficult question: How is it possible to command

someone to be happy? [A similar question is raised regarding "You shall love the

Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your might (Devarim 6:5) -a command ostensibly of an emotional nature].

At

the end of the Bikkurim [Offering of the First Fruits] ceremony, which appears

at the beginning our parasha, there is an allusion to the simcha

requirement: "You are to rejoice in all the good things that the Lord

that is In your midst" (Devarim

26:11). The person who brings

the first fruits is commanded to rejoice in the good of the land. Ibn Ezra

explains: "The reason [for the inclusion] of 'you and the Levite and

the sojourner' is that you are obligated to make them happy with the fruits of your land."

In

the midrash Vayikra Rabba, R' Yitzchak bar Merion expounds: "The Torah

taught you proper behavior, that when a person performs a mitzvah, he should do

it with a happy heart. (Parasha 34 [8])

In

Chazal's view, it is most praiseworthy for one to perform the mitzvoth

joyfully (See also the book of my teacher

and uncle, Prof. E. E. Urbach: Chazal: Emunot Ve'deot, p. 341,

et. al.)

In

contrast to these allusions, Rambam detects davka in our verse the

source for the demand to perform mitzvoth joyfully, and also shows the way to be joyful:

The joy [stated in the Torah] is that man should rejoice in the performance of mitzvoth and whoever disallows himself this

joy is deserving of

punishment, as is written: "Because you did not serve the Lord your God

in joy and in good feeling of heart out of the abundance of everything"

and whoever is haughty and honors himself in these places is a sinner and a

fool, and this was the subject of Shlomo's warning: "Do not exalt

yourself in the king's presence"

(Proverbs 26:6), and he who

lowers himself, and is humble in these place, he is the great and respected one

who serves out of love, and so spoke David, King of Israel: "and

dishonor myself even more, and be low in my own esteem" (II Samuel 6:22), and there is nothing greater and more honorable than to rejoice before the Lords, as is written: "David

whirled with all his might before the Lord" (ibid.). (Laws of Shofar and Lulav and Ethrog, 8:16)

Ramban,

on the other hand, learns the obligation to perform mitzvoth joyfully from the following verse: 'There He imposed

for them law and

judgment, and there he tested them' (Shemot 15:25):

In

Marra He gave them some matters to be studied, indicating that He informed them

of those laws and taught them: 'In the future, The Holy One, Blessed Be He,

will command you to observe these'; such was the way our father Avraham taught

the Torah, he got them used to the mitzvoth to determine whether they

receive them with joy and a happy heart, and this is the test, as is written, 'And

there He tested them' and told them that He would impose more mitzvoth,

as is written: 'If you will hearken, yes, hearken to the voice of the Lord

your God… giving ear to His commandments' with which He commands

you.'

From the Torah, the Mishna,

the Midrash, Rambam, Ibn Ezra, and Ramban we have learned that the performance

of a mitzvah without joy and without making others happy blemishes the

essence of the mitzvah, and perhaps even more than that. The question is

asked: How do we express joy? How do we perform the mitzvoth joyfully?

The Mishna (Maaser Sheini 5:12) answers through its exposition

and commentary on the verse at the end of the of Viduy maaserot – the proclamation

made upon completion of tithing: "I have hearkened to the voice of the

Lord my God" – I have brought it to the Chosen Place, "I

have done according to all that you have commanded me" – I was happy, and I made others happy with it. "The Rambam also

issued the same ruling. (Laws of Maaser Sheini and Neta Revai 11:15)

Observance of

the mitzvah of bringing tithes is imperfect without rejoicing and

causing others to rejoice. Simcha is incomplete without the

participation of the weak of society. The path of joint and egalitarian eating

and drinking, the path of concern for the weak, this is the way we are required

to fulfill the mitzvah. According to the above-mentioned Ibn Ezra, we

have an obligation to share with the weak and the needy. Joy is

the essence of mitzvah observance. Joy cannot be solitary; in

order to rejoice, one must share his joy with others. He is obligated to

share with the sad, the needy, those who lack the wherewithal to rejoice, those

hungering for bread. Therefore, an indispensable part of the Viduy maaserot

includes the proclamation regarding the farmer in Eretz Yisrael fulfilling his

social obligations towards society, as is written: "I have also given

to all your command that you have commanded me." There is no need to

explain that the Torah refers also to the ger toshav, the gentile who

dwells in Eretz Yisrael. (It should be noted that having society's weak

share in the crops is one of the foundations of the mitzvoth dependenat

upon the Land (See, for example, Vayikra 19:9; 23:22; 25:6; Devarim 12:12;

14:29, in general and the mitzvah of Shemitta in particular. Thus the

punishment predicted in Parashat Bechukotai, which results from the

transgression of non-observance of the Shmitta year with all its social

ramifications, is tied to the punishment for observing the mitzvoth while

ignoring concern for the weak. The punishment in both admonitions is a

consequence of ignoring the weak members of society.)

The joy motif passes like a

scarlet thread throughout our parashah's tochecha, and the verse which

with we opened our words above may be seen as a 'measure for measure' -": "Because you did not serve the Lord your God

in joy and in good feeling of heart" – "Thus will God

pulled up from the soil that you are entering to possess."

We have learned how to fulfill those mitzvoth related

to eating in joy, but how does one fulfill the mitzvoth of simcha in other contexts?

This midrash says: "R' Matana said: "Because

you did not serve the Lord your God in joy and in good feeling of heart"

– what is that service which is marked by "joy and good feeling of heart"? Say: this is poetry; from here we derive that song is

a Torah obligation." (Yalkut

Shimoni, Ki Tavo 939)

A story is told about the Baal Shem Tov, who came to a

town before Rosh Hashanah and asked the inhabitants "Who will be the

cantor for the Days of Awe?" They replied: "The town rabbi."

Asked the Besht: "In what fashion does he pray?" They replied: "He

sings all the confessions of Yom Kippur with joyous melodies." The Besht called for him and asked: "Why does he

sing the confessions in joy?"

Replied the rabbi: "A servant who cleans the filth from the king's

courtyard, if he loves the king, he is very happy as he cleans the filth from the courtyard and sings songs of joy, for he is giving the king satisfaction." Said

the Besht: "May my portion be with you."

(Agnon, Sipurei HaBesht, p. 32)

From all the

things worse) to gentiles who dwell among us.

Only if we know how to fulfill the mitzvoth with

joy, sharing our joy with all who live among us, only then

will be fulfilled that wonderful verse which concludes the ceremonies of

Bikkurim and Viduy Maaser: "Look down from your holy abode, from

you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey." (Devarim 26:15)

For additional study see Prof. Yochanan Mops, Love And

Sages, Magnes Publication, Hebrew University.

Rami Pinchover is an engineer and a student

"You

Social Challenge

R' Yehoshua of Sakhnin said

in the name of R' Levi: In the merit of two things Israel purifies itself

before the Omnipresent, in the merit of the Shabbat and in the merit of tithes.

>From where the merit of Shabbat? "If you refrain from trampling the

Shabbat" (Isaiah 58:13), and what follows? "Then I will set you aside the heights of the

earth" (Ibid. 14). From where the merit of tithes? "You are to rejoice in all the

good things that the Lord your God has given you and your household, you and the Levite and sojourner that is in your

midst" (Devarim 26:11)

 (Pesikta D'Rav Kahanah, Mandelboim ed.,

Parasha 10)

"You shall rejoice

on your festival" (Devarim 16:14) You find three references to

joy in regard to the [Sukkoth] festival: "You shall rejoice on your

festival"

(Devarim 16:14), "And you shall be,

oh so joyful!" (Ibid., ibid. 15), and "And you are to rejoice before

the presence of the Lord your God for seven days" (Vayikra 23:40). But with regard to Pessach,

joy is mentioned not even once. Why not? Because on Pessach, the grain crop is

standing in judgment, and no one knows if it will succeed this year or not,

therefore there is no mention of joy. An alternate explanation as to why joy is

not mentioned: because of the death of the Egyptians.                          

 (Psikta D'Rav Kahana (Mandelboim), Addenda,

Parasha 2)

How to Rejoice…

When You Are Sad

If you do not feel happy,

pretend.

Even if you are caught up in

depression, try to smile, act as if you are happy.

And the true joy… will

certainly come.

 (From Discussions of R' Nachman of Breslav)

The Connection

Between Song and Joy

Get used to singing a tune,

This will give you new life

and will fill you with joy.

(Anthology

of Advice by R' Nachman of Breslav)

Gentiles Who

Are Gathered Beneath the Wings of the Shechina Are the Children of Avraham

The ger brings [Bikkurim] and recites, for Avraham was told "For I will

make you a Father of a Throng of Nations"; he is the father of all the world who gather beneath the wings of the Shechina,

and Avraham was first to receive the promise that his descendents would inherit

the land; Kohanim, Levites also bring and recite, because they have [land in]

unenclosed cities.

(Rambam,

Mishneh Torah, Laws of Bikkurim 4:3)

I received queries from the

master and teacher Ovadia, the enlightened and the understanding, a true

convert, may God repay his actions and may his reward be complete from the

Lord, God of Israel, under whose wings he came to find refuge.

Your question regarding the

matter of blessing and prayers, when you pray alone or when you pray with the

public, should you say: "Our God and God of our

fathers",

"Who sanctified us with His mitzvoth and commanded us", "Who

set us aside", "Who chose us", and all similar instances.

You are to recite all as formulated, change nothing; just as every member of Israel prays, so are you to

bless and pray, whether you pray in private or whether you are a sh'liach

tzibbur – a cantor representing the congregation. The basis for this is

that Avraham our Father taught the entire people, and enlightened them, and

informed them of the true faith, and The Holy One, Blessed Be He, chose him,

and he rebelled against idolatry, and he annulled its service, and he gathered

many sons beneath the wings of the Shechina and he taught them and he instructed

them, and he commanded his children and the members of his household after him

to keep the way of the Lord… Therefore, whoever converts, until the end of

all generations, and whoever unifies the name of The Holy One, Blessed Be He,

as is written in the Torah, is considered a disciple of Avraham our Father, may

he rest in peace, and they are all members of his household.

                         (From the Rambam's Response to Ovadia the Convert)

Editorial Board: Pinchas Leiser (Editor), Miriam Fine (Coordinator), Itzhak Frankenthal and Dr. Menachem Klein

Translation: Kadish Goldberg

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