פרשת ראה
In this week’s parsha Moshe continues to exort the Jewish people to stay strong and retain their commitment to G-d and to the Torah. It is obvious that ClallYisrael needed a lot of encouragement due to the challenge that persevering dedication to the Torah presents. The people who would settle EretzYisrael would be given the mission to drive out the Canaanite inhabitants and were also commanded to refrain from emulating the practices of those who lived in the land before them. It would take great moral courage to reject the influences of idolatry, sexual immorality, and hedonistic decadence that had plagued the country for so many generations and instead choose to be the kingdom of priests and holy nation that Hashem desired them to be. SeferDevarim is filled with Moshe constantly encouraging the people over the issues they would struggle with the most. However, in this week’s parsha Moshe gives the Jewish people some hizuk which is just fascinating. “Just be strong not to eat blood– for the blood is the soul…” Be strong Jewish people! Don’t eat blood! Of all things in the world, why would anyone eat blood? Why did Moshe feel that this was something that the Jewish people needed to “be strong” about?
The answer to this question is the subject of a Tannaic dispute in the Sifri between Rebbi Yehuda and Rebbi Shimon ben Yochai. Rebbi Yehuda says from here we can actually say that the Jewish people of that time did in fact have an addiction to eating blood! Although incomprehensible to us today, the need for Moshe Rabbeinu to tell them to be strong about not eating blood shows us that indeed there was a problem and blood-eating was an issue that had to be dealt with. However, Rebbi Shimon ben Yochai argues that this is an absurd deduction from the words of Moshe Rabbeinu. Rather Moshe was encouraging them even over a matter that they did not need to struggle over too much in order to overcome. The real lesson to be drawn from here is that if a person needs hizuk to not eat blood, an activity which is not very appealing, a person must really need a lot of hizuk for the forbidden activities which are generally alluring. However, Rebbi Shimon’s answer still demands an explanation. Why does a person need hizuk to keep a certain mitzvah when it is actually a very easy thing to do?
The gemara in Makkos 23b says that even though man is disgusted with the thought of digesting blood, he nevertheless is rewarded for abstaining from its consumption. The Yaavetz explains before the Torah was given and abstention from blood was not a mitzvah, this act would not be deserving of reward. However, now that the Torah has been given and to abstain from eating blood is a mitzvah, a mini yetzerhara is now born in a person that will try to find some way to create a more favorable image of blood to make one transgress. Specifically because it is a mitzvah, it is now actually harder to reject blood-consumption outright. Therefore, when a person does abstain he is worthy of reward. This also explains why Moshe Rabbeinu needed to give the Jews hizuk in this area. Now that ClallYisrael had received the Torah, life would never be the same. They needed hizuk even for the mitzvos that weren’t necessarily so hard to keep.
RavChaimShmuelevitz notes that we can gain a great insight into this unique dynamic in the human condition from a story recorded in Kings I. DovidHaMelech told Shlomo in his will that Shimi ben Geira had been a menace towards him during his reign and to allow to die at a ripe old age could have grave effects on the entire kingdom. Therefore, Dovid commanded Shlomo to find a way to dispose of Shimi. ShlomoHaMelech didn’t kill Shimi immediately. Instead, he made Shimi take an oath, swearing that he would never leave Jerusalem proper and if he did, it would be considered as if he were rebelling against the king, an offense punishable by death. One day, one of Shimi’s servants fled the city and Shimi decided to chase after him himself. Surely enough ShlomoHaMelech found out about the incident and Shimi was put to death. RavShmuelevitz poses the question: How did ShlomoHaMelech know that Shimi would end up breaking the oath? Maybe Shimi could have lived the rest of his life in Jerusalem and Shlomo would have not fulfilled his father’s request! However, the answer attests to the brilliant wisdom of ShlomoHaMelech and brings out an interesting point. It’s true that a person can live in a certain location and never move until the day he dies. However, when it becomes a mitzvah to stay in the same place and there is no freedom to choose otherwise, a person feels constrained and longs to break out until he finally does. Shlomo knew that Shimi wouldn’t be able to contain himself and therefore was certain that he would be able to fulfill his father’s wishes. In truth, this struggle in the human psyche exists in every mitzvah. Mitzvahs wouldn’t be so hard if they weren’t mitzvahs!!!
RavAharonKotler writes that of all the times of the year, Elul is the most important month for hizuk. Every minute is precious and a person must apply himself as much as he can to get the most out of this sacred time. Rav Yerucham Levovitz would often compare the month of Elul to going to a spa. When a person goes to a spa often his health is faltering or he just needs to feel refreshed. Similarly during the year, we often get entangled in all kinds of problems and our neshamos need refreshment and rejuvenation. Just as a person goes to a spa to detoxify himself from all kinds of physical maladies, so to the month of Elul detoxifies our neshamos from all the spiritual illnesses they contract such as aveiros, bad midos, etc. If a person uses the month of Elul to strengthen and renew his relationship with Hashem, even the elation and freshness a person feels after going to a spa can’t compare to the great feeling of spiritual renewal such an individual is capable of reaching after the period of Elul has passed!
The Alter of Slabodka was known to be one who took the month of Elul very seriously. The entire month he would be completely focused on spiritual pursuits to such a point that he wouldn’t even verbalize mundane subject matter even if they were his own personal needs. Whenever he would need something, he would either write it down on paper or hint to others what he needed. He would passionately learn mussar for one hour in the morning and one hour at night. Even when he would learn gemara he would apply its lessons to himself and sometimes burst out crying in the middle of seder. However, he wouldn’t only work on himself. As Rosh Yeshiva, he would encourage the talmidim in the yeshiva to follow his path and even gave special mussarshmuessim twice a week to strengthen everyone in their avodasHashem. People who saw how hard the Alter worked and pushed himself during Elul, were themselves greatly inspired and many said that just being in Slobodka for Elul gave them all the inspiration and hizuk they needed for the entire year.
May we all be zoche to strengthen ourselves as much as we possibly can in our avodasHashem and fully embrace the month of Elul!!!