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Elul 4 R' Yisroel Salanter would gather his community together during Ellul and speak of the importance of repentance and preparation for the coming days. A member of the community once approached him and said, "Rebbe, you are wasting your time. What goes in one ear goes out the other." Answered R' Yisroel, "At least it goes in. I was always concerned that it never entered the ears of those listening. If it went in something will surely stick!!" And it shall be, when you come into the land...and you shall take of all the fruit of the earth...and put it in a basket... and you shall go to the priest (Deut. 26:1-3) Fourteen years elapsed after the Jewish people entered the land of Israel until they were able to fulfill the second half of the verse-the bringing of their first fruits to Jerusalem. Seven years were spent in conquering the entire land from its inhabitants; seven more years were spent dividing the land among the 12 tribes. Our generation, which will very soon enter the promised land with the coming of Moshiach, will not need to wait any period of time before we are able to bring our first fruits to the Holy Temple. Not only will there be no need to conquer and distribute the land, but the fruits themselves will grow with such rapidity that their harvesting will take place simultaneously with their planting. (The Lubavitcher Rebbe Zt"l,) The L-rd has avouched you this day to be a people for His own possession...that you should keep all His commandments (Deut. 26:18) The greatness of the Jewish people lies in their the observance of the commandments. The other nations of the world are not only not required to observe them, but are actually forbidden to do so. (Haketav Vehakabala) And G-d shall make you plentiful for good, in the fruit of your body (Deut. 28:11) The Torah promises length of days and good years - even beyond what is truly deserved - in the merit of children who are raised and educated according to Torah. (Torat Moshe) And you shall go to the place which the L-rd your G-d will choose to place His name there (26:2) A Jew does not travel the face of the earth of his own volition; Divine Providence leads him from location to location for the sole purpose of "placing His name there"-to sanctify the name of G-d in that particular place. (Hayom Yom) The "Reproof Section" (Deut. 28: 15-68) Each year before Rosh HaShanah we read the Tochachah found in Sedrah Ki Sovo and before Shavuos we read the Tochachah found in Sedrah BeChukosai. However, there are always one or two Sedros in between to create a gap between the Tochachah and the Yom Tov. We might understand this by considering the Tochachah not as punishment or retribution but rather as a purification and cleansing of the Jewish people. Before we use a physical vessel we must rinse and clean it. So too spiritually, before we can appreciate and participate in the joys of the Yom Tov we must purify and cleanse ourselves. In truth, all the curses that are mentioned in this section are directed against the enemies of the Jewish people, as it states, "And G-d will place these curses upon your enemies and upon those who hate you." This prophecy will ultimately be fulfilled in the Messianic era, when G-d will cause "the spirit of impurity to depart from the earth." (Ohr HaTorah) You will be mad from the sight of your eyes which you will see (Deut. 28:34) Coveting everything one sees is indeed a terrible curse, for it is the root cause of all the other punishments that are mentioned in this portion, eventually leading to "you will be only oppressed and crushed always." (Ohr HaTorah) Because you would not serve the L-rd your G-d with joy and with gladness of heart...therefore, you will serve your enemies (Deut. 29:47) We see from this that joy is such an important part of the Jew's service of G-d that the harshest punishment of "you will serve your enemies" is not meted out for a deficiency in the service itself, but for worshipping G-d without joy and vitality. When the Jew is happy, G-d is happy, as it were, and even the harshest decrees are annulled-analogous to an earthly king granting amnesty to his prisoners when he is in a cheerful mood. |
