Parshat Ki Tavo
by Rabbi Avi Billet
The first time the Bnei Yisrael declared their unity, and their willingness to learn, was at the bottom of Har Sinai, when they said נעשה ונשמע – “We will do the commandments, and we will learn their details afterwards.” It is a tremendous leap of faith to accept a burden before completely understanding it. How often do we do that – sign a contract before reading it, or having our lawyer read it? Trust a person’s credentials without checking them out first? Marry someone the first time you meet? Agree to be financially responsible for all medical bills before we are treated? (… wait a minute…)
It is possible that Moshe used the same formula in our parsha to inspire the long-term commitment of the Jewish people to God, except that he adapted it a little, because maybe there’s a better method to learn than blind faith alone.
Our parsha is most noted for its Tochacha, the devastating rebuke that takes up 54 verses of Chapter 28. But the chapter begins with the opposite, a promise of good tidings to those who attached themselves to God’s word through commitment and deed.
Interestingly, the phrase which indicates the need to follow this path repeats itself several times, each time in a slightly different format.
(א) וְהָיָ֗ה אִם־שָׁמ֤וֹעַ תִּשְׁמַע֙ בְּקוֹל֙ יְקֹוָ֣ק אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לִשְׁמֹ֤ר לַעֲשׂוֹת֙ אֶת־כָּל־מִצְוֹתָ֔יו אֲשֶׁ֛ר אָנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיּ֑וֹם
“It will be that if you surely listen to the voice of God, to observe and to do all His commandment that I am commanding you Then God will make you the highest above all the nations of the world, as the blessings he wishes to heave upon us are spelled out – healthy children, animals, productive fields, etc.”
A few verses later
(ט) יְקִֽימְךָ֙ יְקֹוָ֥ק לוֹ֙ לְעַ֣ם קָד֔וֹשׁ כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר נִֽשְׁבַּֽע־לָ֑ךְ כִּ֣י תִשְׁמֹ֗ר אֶת־מִצְוֹת֙ יְקֹוָ֣ק אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ וְהָלַכְתָּ֖ בִּדְרָכָֽיו:
God should establish you as a special nation as He swore to you when you observe the commandments and go in His ways!
יג) וּנְתָֽנְךָ֙ יְקֹוָ֤ק לְרֹאשׁ֙ וְלֹ֣א לְזָנָ֔ב וְהָיִ֙יתָ֙ רַ֣ק לְמַ֔עְלָה וְלֹ֥א תִהְיֶ֖ה לְמָ֑טָּה כִּֽי־תִשְׁמַ֞ע אֶל־מִצְוֹ֣ת׀ יְקֹוָ֣ק אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ אֲשֶׁ֨ר אָנֹכִ֧י מְצַוְּךָ֛ הַיּ֖וֹם לִשְׁמֹ֥ר וְלַעֲשֽׂוֹת:
You will be a head and not a tail and you will only be on top and not on bottom, when you listen to the commandments of Hashem your God, that I am commanding you today to observe and to do.
(יד) וְלֹ֣א תָס֗וּר מִכָּל־הַדְּבָרִים֙ אֲשֶׁ֨ר אָנֹכִ֜י מְצַוֶּ֥ה אֶתְכֶ֛ם הַיּ֖וֹם יָמִ֣ין וּשְׂמֹ֑אול לָלֶ֗כֶת אַחֲרֵ֛י אֱלֹהִ֥ים אֲחֵרִ֖ים לְעָבְדָֽם:
And the concluding statement: Do not veer to the right or left from all the things I am commanding you, such as by following other gods and serving them.
The point is clear: Fulfill the Mitzvos, don’t turn away from God.
Some of the phrases repeated here are “תשמע” – if and when you Listen
And תשמר or לשמור ולעשות. – you should observe and do.
Clearly these are reminiscent of Sinai and נעשה ונשמע, as we have Moshe instructing both listening and doing. Perhaps נעשה ונשמע was more of an emotional response coming from a place of gratitude and an overwhelming moment of elation on account of the events of Revelation, in contrast to Moshe’s commandments here.
What is the difference between נעשה ונשמע and these instructions to listen and to observe and do, which lead to blessings? Firstly, they are reversed. There is no blind faith. There is method to the method.
Perhaps we can better understand the method through two midrashim which can give us pause to reflect on where we are and where we need to be in our Teshuvah and growth processes, and how proper hearing and doing can help us get there.
In Devarim Rabba, Rabbi Shimon ben Chalafta said, “anyone who learned Torah and does not fulfill it has a greater repercussion than one who did not learn.”
The Midrash proceeds to give an analogy – a king has two workers, one who plants trees and cuts them down, and one who hardly plants and doesn’t cut down anything. Which one, the Midrash Rabba asks rhetorically, do you think the king will be upset at? Clearly the one who is knowledgeable, but is nonetheless destructive. Or, to bring it back to the parsha, the one who knows, but ignores and disregards the Torah.
The second Midrash – from the Midrash Tanaim – says והיה אם שמוע תשמע – if a person can listen a little, he will be able to listen a lot. If he learns – he’ll be able to observe (לשמור). If he observes, he’ll be able to do, and therefore accomplish.
The method of listening and then doing should be easy for us, for we all have the capacity to listen, and we all have the ability to do. But it is how we use these skills that defines who we are. Do we exhibit good listening skills – learning from others perhaps – in figuring out the proper path for our choices, behaviors, actions and deeds? When we observe, do we do things correctly? Do we set a good example? Are we model Jews to all those we meet?
A message from these Midrashim can simply be that knowledge is very empowering. However, what one chooses to do with that knowledge determines where experience will bring the person.
The verses quoted above spoke of listening and of doing with reference to the Mitzvos of the Torah, and with reference to enhancing our relationship with God. This cannot be overstated. We have to become more knowledgeable, and we must use that knowledge to be even more committed to God and His Torah. Listening leads to understanding and proper action. And Moshe is saying it has to follow that order to achieve the best results.
Our two teachings from the Midrash are most important: The first: being knowledgeable isn’t enough. Even if we plant trees, as long as we cut them down, we upset the king. And the second: that the acquisition of knowledge, when applied correctly through the ability to listen, begets observance, which begets fundamentally significant achievement in fulfilling our duties in this world, answering the question of “why are we here?”
נעשה ונשמע is blind faith. But learning then doing leads to doing what’s right. It trains us to learn more. To have an open ear. To be open to new ideas. To be open to hearing from others. To be open to different perspectives. To be open to changing your mind. To be open to improving. To be open to committing. And to be open to sometimes thinking that “maybe maybe maybe I am wrong, and a change is in order”
And hopefully, if we can listen and do, we should be blessed to see the fulfillment of the blessings of the parsha come true – in which the inhabitants of Israel and all the world share in the bounty of God’s earth and work only to advance the human condition. May we, the Jewish people, be blessed with a holy relationship with God, with prosperity, with שלום בית, and with admirable relationships with our fellow Man.
No comments:
Post a Comment