by Rabbi Avi Billet
Chapter 27 of Devarim begins with Moshe’s instruction for the ritual that is to take place on Mt Gerizim and Mt Eival under Yehoshua’s leadership. It is an interesting study, comparing what is instructed and what actually takes place, so if one is so inclined, open up the book of Yehoshua to chapter 8:30-35 and compare it to Devarim 27:1-8. There are other important details of that time period which can be found at the crossing of the Jordan in chapter 4.
Immediately following these instructions, Moshe makes the following proclamation:
דברים פרק כז
הַסְכֵּ֤ת׀ וּשְׁמַע֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הַיּ֤וֹם הַזֶּה֙ נִהְיֵ֣יתָֽ לְעָ֔ם לַיקֹוָ֖ק אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ:
וְשָׁ֣מַעְתָּ֔ בְּק֖וֹל יְקֹוָ֣ק אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ וְעָשִׂ֤יתָ אֶת־מִצְוֹתָו֙ וְאֶת־חֻקָּ֔יו אֲשֶׁ֛ר אָנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיּֽוֹם:
… Pay attention and listen, Israel. On this day you have become a nation to God your Lord. You must therefore obey God your Lord and keep His commandments and decrees, as I am prescribing them to you today.
As he notes in others places, Rashi notes that “this day” refers to every day, essentially arguing that we should always feel a sense of renewal in our commitment to and relationship with the Almighty, most specifically in the covenant we have with Him.
For us, we can certainly think of other meanings of “this day” as suggesting that there are specific days in our calendar year which might actually be viewed as “This Day” (with a capital T and capital D). The verse we are familiar with (see the next line) argues that Shabbos is a special “This Day” which is specifically focused on being a covenantal day with God. וְשָׁמְר֥וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּ֑ת לַעֲשׂ֧וֹת אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּ֛ת לְדֹרֹתָ֖ם בְּרִ֥ית עוֹלָֽם: (Shmot 31:16) The idea of renewing the covenant of Shabbos with God on a weekly basis is clearly a goal we ought to be undertaking each week.
But perhaps “This Day” can be taken a step further when we consider the story of Elisha and the Shunamite woman.
The Zohar indicates that the day when Elisha came to visit her (Melachim II 4:11) “And it was on That Day and Elisha came there...” – that day was Rosh Hashana. Furthermore, when Elisha asked her, “Shall I speak to the king on your behalf, or to the commanding officer?” (4:13) he was asking her if he should put in a good word for her with The King – namely with the Master of the World.
Her response was “I live among my nation.”
There is so much to be learned from this response, about what it means to be part of a community, of what it means to see merit in a kehillah, and of what it means to not be looking for special favors.
Elisha may have had inroads with the highest echelons of both political and spiritual leadership. But in the end of the day, the Shunamite woman was content with her lot, wanted to do her part to help the Man of God, and truly wanted nothing in return. Her connection with the Almighty was one of faith. When she went to seek out Elisha after her son (that Elisha had blessed her to have) died, she even says, “Did I ask for a child?” (verse 28) Once she was gifted the child she felt it unfair to have him taken away so suddenly, so she indicated to Elisha to right the wrong. But she had been content before the child was even born. What an amazing blessing – to be happy with one’s portion. That is what Ben Zoma refers to as being wealthy in Pirkei Avot chapter 4!
Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk noted that this passage (Devarim 27:9-10) was spoken by Moshe along with the Kohanim and Leviim. He argues, based on a Midrash Tanchuma, that God forged 3 covenants with the Bnei Yisrael: upon leaving Egypt, in Chorev, and this one. The one from Chorev was cancelled with Israel on account of their involvement with the Golden Calf, which indicates that it was not cancelled with those who were not involved with the Golden Calf, namely the Tribe of Levi. Therefore they are the ones who can present it to everyone else, because they were never cancelled from being attached to this covenant.
This is a simple reminder that those who are the holiest of Jews maintain the connection with God, perhaps we might call it a lifeline, for the rest of us. They, our greatest leaders, keep us united as Jews and with God even when other indications suggest we are losing a sense of oneness that has always defined our people.
Netziv writes that “becoming a nation” is usually understood to mean creating an army who support the king, while the phrase also needs to be understood in the context of how it is presented. In our verse, it refers to being in “God’s army to represent His kingship to the world.” He goes on to say that this instruction is given specifically to Israel, because “only the great ones of Israel (gedolei Yisrael) and the Torah scholars can truly enlighten all people…”
“Listening to Hashem” (verse 10) means to listen and be precise in understanding the written Torah, which has in it hints to all matters of wisdom in the world, to the point that its knowledge could be translated and transmitted to all nations.”
We are on the precipice that leads up to Rosh Hashana. In exactly two weeks, Shabbos and Rosh Hashana will coincide and we will be embracing a new year like no other in recent memory. How many of us have had a Rosh Hashana where we were uncomfortable going to shul? There are no arguments or data points that will likely help change what is our anticipated reality for this year’s High Holidays – but hopefully we will see better times very soon!
The Slonimer Rebbe notes that looking at This Day of which Moshe speaks as Rosh Hashana reminds us that what our lives are lived for is our relationship with God. When we cry out to God on Rosh Hashana asking Him to remove any bad decree, we are accepting ourselves as His people. We are not to see ourselves as asking for life, for food, for health, for our children, for parnassah as means for our own happiness.
We are to look at all of these blessings as means to help fulfill our task as Jews. When we hear phrases of שמע ישראל and ושמעת בקול ה' א-לקיך, what do they remind us of, if not our most fundamental instructions of what our relationship with God is supposed to be all about?
Rosh Hashana is a day in which we crown God king, and it is also a day in which we renew any covenant we have with the Almighty.
We know very little about the Shunamite woman. But we know at the very least she was a woman of faith who trusted in God, wanted to do right for the man she saw as representing God, and was willing to literally put her money where her heart was in designating a space/loft for Elisha to rest from his travels.
Her indication, to Elisha’s Rosh Hashana request to her offering to put in a good word witht the King was, “I need nothing. I am content to be part of my people.”
How do we view Rosh Hashana? Is it a time of renewed commitment? Strengthened commitment? Taking our covenant with God more seriously? Do we seek out the wisdom of our great leaders and scholars?
It is never too late to take more upon ourselves. We would do well to look beyond simply seeing Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur as days we need to get through. They are “This Day.” They are “EveryDay.” They are days that serve as models for us for all year round of how to truly return to the Almighty, especially after we’ve veered and found a need to get back on track.
This Day is before us. Are we ready?
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