פרשת דברים
The Book of Devarim opens with Moshe Rabbeinu delivering a veiled rebuke to the Jewish people. Rashi explains that each word Moshe uses is an allusion to a sin committed by the people in the desert. Moshe addresses the people in this way in order not to humiliate them with his rebuke, so that their sense of dignity can be maintained while they are being reminded of their sins.
Rashi’s explanation of the nature of Moshe’s rebuke is troubling, since Moshe does in fact deliver a lengthy rebuke later on for two of the seven sins. Specifically, in this parsha he rebukes them in detail for the spies’ evil report, and in Parshas Eikev he rebukes them about the golden calf. If Moshe is so concerned with protecting the dignity of the people, then why does he rebuke them at length for these two sins?
While interpreters of Rashi attempt to solve this difficulty, it seems that there is a major difference between the other five sins and the sins of the spies and the calf. The other five sins were completely forgiven by Hashem. Thus, a hint was enough of a rebuke. In contrast, we were never completely forgiven for the sin of the golden calf and we were not forgiven at all for the sin of the spies. Our punishment for every sin includes some punishment in retribution for the calf. To an even greater extent, we see that the sin of the spies was not forgiven at all, since the Torah never mentions forgiveness for this sin. The lack of forgiveness for these two sins shows how deep their roots run in the Jewish people. Indeed, the source of these sins has caused us to commit similar transgressions throughout history.
The Beis HaLevi comments that the destruction of both Temples was caused by these two sins.
Specifically, Chazal connect the events of the 17th of Tammuz to the sin of the golden calf and the events of the 9th of Av to the sin of the spies. The Beis HaLevi notes that the sin of the golden calf was the worst type of idol worship, and the Gemara in Yuma 9a states that one of the main causes of the destruction of Bayis Rishon was idol worship. Similarly, the spies’ sin was a lack of faith in Hashem, since they didn’t believe that the land could be conquered, and the destruction of Bayis Sheni was caused by a lack of faith. During that period, the Saducees demonstrated a complete lack of belief through their refusal to accept the truth of the Oral Torah. Concurrently, many distorted views of philosophy came into the world and the heretical notion that Hashem doesn’t maintain control over all existence flourished. The Beis HaLevi points to the destruction of both Temples as glaring examples that there are still remnants of the sins of idol worship and lack of emunah.
The Beis HaLevi asks which sin is the more severe transgression. It seems that the spies’ sin was worse, since Hashem partially forgave us for the sin of the calf. Furthermore, the greater severity of the spies’ sin is also reflected in our history. Idol worship caused the destruction of Bayis Rishon, yet the Jewish people were forgiven and Bayis Sheni was built. The lack of faith that caused the destruction of Bayis Sheni was never forgiven, as we see from the fact that we have yet to merit the coming of the third Beis Hamikdash.
We can learn from this that it’s easier for a Jew to completely return to Hashem through tshuvah shleimah for the sin of idol worship. Once he sees the foolishness of idol worship, he abandons his folly and returns to serving Hashem. Yet it is incredibly difficult to repair lack of emunah, since one cannot repair what is not there at all. One can only build faith, brick by brick, which the Beis HaLevi says requires an inordinate amount of toil and mesiras nefesh.
Rebbe Aharon Rotte authored many seforim, but he proclaimed that his most important work was the Sefer Shomer Emunim. In the introduction, the Rebbe says that a Jew’s main work is to strengthen his faith, based on the Gemara in Makos 24a in which Chavakuk states that our entire
avodah stands on emunah. Among other aytzas, the Shomer Emunim instructs us to daven intensely to Hashem for help building emunah, to come close to tzadikim, and to learn his sefer in any free time we have. Similarly, Rav Shach recommended contemplating the creation of the world, the exodus from Egypt, and the giving of Torah at Mount Sinai to build emunah. He was known to frequently review these parshas before shachris for this purpose. In short, we must always be working to strengthen our faith.
To inspire us, we should look to Avraham Avinu, whom the Rambam notes diligently worked on his faith from the age of three until 40, at which point he achieved emunah. He continued building his emunah his entire life, and he went against the entire world by proclaiming Hashem’s oneness. As the rosh hamaminim who brought emunah into the world, Avraham Avinu motivates us to continue working on our emunah with mesiras nefesh. Rav Shach points out that while Avraham spent years on this, in the end he had a slight lapse when he asked Hashem, “How will I know?” In this, we see that for even the greatest among us there is no end to our work building our emunah.
The Three Weeks is the time in which we daven to Hashem to remove all obstacles that prevent our growth in emunah. The Gemara in Sanhedrin 104b says that the Jewish people “cried that night” in the desert because of the episode of the spies. Since the Jewish people cried for “no reason,” Hashem promised that He would provide us with a real reason to lament. Rav Dessler explains that the Jewish people’s cry was from lack of emunah — they had witnessed many miracles in the desert and Hashem had taken care of every need, and yet they lacked faith and the desire to depend on Hashem. Rav Dessler notes that Hashem is not punishing us by giving us a “reason” to cry; rather He is giving us an opportunity to show Him that we want to be close to Him. We cry that we want the third Beis Hamikdash, a place in which we will see the Divine Presence revealed and in which we will come ever closer to Hashem. This cry shows our longing to transcend our current existence, in which Hashem’s presence is hidden, which can cause a lack of faith. We cry out of a desire to cleave to HaKodesh Baruch Hu without any barriers in our faith.
Each one of us has our own unique struggle in emunah. During this time, a person must cry to Hashem not only to bring the Third Beis Hamikdash, but also to help him with his personal attempts to build his emunah. A person must cry out, “When will I be zocheh to be complete in my emunah and bitachon?” Our lack of emunah and bitachon, has caused so much devastation throughout history. If we succeed in strengthening our emunah, we are accomplishing our main avodah and elevating the spiritual state of Klal Yisroel as a whole. When a person is mechazek his own emunah, he helps build the foundation for the future redemption. As Chazal say, in the merit of emunah, the ultimate redemption will come.
May we be zocheh to see the rebuilding of the Third Beis Hamikdash speedily in our days!