פרשת נצבים
There is a very interesting verse in this week’s Parsha which immediately piques our interest. The verse says, “The commandments of the Torah which I am commanding you today, are not so distant from you, that they are located in the heavens in which case you would have to go up to the Heavens to retrieve it, or on the other side of the sea so that you would have to cross the sea to recover them, but rather they are very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart to perform them”. The great Tzadik, R’ Leib Chasman asks a question which any student in this particular Yeshiva might appreciate. He explains that usually, when a wise person is talking, his “הוה אמינא” is fairly close to the “מסקנא”. For example, the Torah may have told us that we shouldn’t think that the Torah is ten miles away, but rather it is located 5 miles away. But R’ Leib points out that here, that is not the case at all. The Torah tells us not to think that the Mitzvos are located in outer space, but rather they are located right in our hearts, and we don’t even have to go anywhere to acquire them. This conclusion seems extremely distant, and in fact, not even related to the original idea that the Torah considered. How can we reconcile the disparate nature between the starting position of the Torah and the conclusion?
R’ Leib answers by generating an interesting foundation. He explains that the truth of the matter is, before a person has reached the stage in which he is excited about his Mitzvah performance and his spiritual quest to draw close to his Creator, the commandments of the Torah are so distant from him, they may as well be located on the other side of the moon. But conversely, after a person has awakened himself to the importance of his task, he will be surprised to find that the Torah is, in fact, located right in front of him and he needn’t travel anywhere to acquire it.
We find ourselves in the month of Elul with Rosh Hashana rapidly approaching. We must be aware that Elul is a time in which the ability to “awaken” oneself to draw close to his Creator is abundantly clear. But as readily available as this incredible opportunity is, it does not happen on its own. The renowned Tzadik, R’ Dovid Shteinholtz used to say in the name of R’ Bunim from Pshischa, as great as the prospect of growth during this time is, Elul can come and go without leaving any mark on a person. The tremendous light that is available during this unique occasion is reserved for those people who truly want it. Although the chapter in Psalms begins, “לדוד ה’ אורי וישעי” – and this great light is accessible during the month of Elul, it ends off “אחת שאלתי מאת ה’, אותה אבקש…”. If we sincerely desire to grow in spirituality, Elul is a time that we can grow more then the entire year combined and reach this great light, all we have to do is express our genuine desire for that growth.
R’ Yisrael Salanter speaks about how in his time, all the Gabai had to do was announce that Elul was approaching, and the entire Shul’s congregants would start trembling with fear. In today’s times, perhaps we could suggest some practical advice in how to take advantage of this rare opportunity. Clearly, the best advice is for a person to sit down, and study the Mussar books that our predecessors have been gracious enough to lay out for us. By using these precious books to wake ourselves up to the importance of our service, and to determine where we are lacking, we are guaranteed to take full advantage of this special time and to succeed in coming close to Hashem and in properly performing His commandments.
R’ Chaim Freidlander suggests that sincere prayer to succeed in our spiritual endeavors is a powerful tool which can also be utilized. The word “Nefesh” in Hebrew is used by Avraham Avinu to describe a strong desire for something. And it is also used by Channa to indicate a genuine heartfelt prayer(Samuel I 1:15). When we pour out our “Nefesh” by praying for continued success in spirituality, we are demonstrating what is really important to us and what we want Hashem to help us with. When we do this, even if our desire for spirituality isn’t as strong as it should be, we will automatically increase it through heartfelt prayer. R’ Chaim adds, that when we pray for life on Rosh Hashana, and on the ten days of repentance, clearly we are not praying to merely continue breathing for another year, but rather we are beseeching the Master of the Universe to grant us a life which is worth living – namely – a life filled with spiritual growth and success and this authentic prayer should help drive home to a person what he should be focusing on in his life.
A second suggestion that the Mashgiach gives is to strengthen ourselves in our Mitzvah observance. Even things which we are not particular about during the rest of the year, such as bread baked by a non-Jew, the Shulchan Aruch suggests that during this time, we become particular about. One could ask, what is the point? Isn’t it silly to be particular about something that we know in a month’s time, we are just going to give up and revert to our old habits? Furthermore, it almost seems as if we are lying to God, trying to pretend we are something that we are not. The Mashgiach explains beautifully that Chazal are teaching us with this Halachic ruling that this is not so. By accepting additional stringencies upon ourselves, we are demonstrating who we truly want to be, and we hope that by performing the external stringencies, it will have some impact on our hearts and cause us to change. The Rambam (Teshuva 2:4) writes that if someone has stumbled with sin, he must distance himself from that sin and change his ways for the good. But R’ Chaim asks, if he already distances himself from sin, why should he change his ways? The order seems reversed. R’ Chaim answers that the Rambam in the second clause is not referring to stopping to sin, as he has already done this by distancing himself from those actions. Rather he is referring to the need to completely change his ways – to make sure that all of his actions are done with greater dedication to the Torah. By doing this, he will ensure that his repentance will transform him into a different person entirely, to the point that he wouldn’t even recognize his old “self”. By changing the way we act on the outside, even if we don’t feel it, we stimulate change on the inside.
May we all merit to fully take advantage of this precious opportunity, and return to our Source!