Netzavim vayeilech

Normally when Moshe spoke to the people he would address the leaders and then the people. However, here he addresses the nation as a whole. אתם ניצבים היום כולכם לפני ה, "You are standing today, all of you before Hashem." The Alshich explains when we are all standing together before Hashem, everyone is equal. When we are before Hashem, Who knows everyone's true worth, there is no hiding behind titles or appearance. Only then are we all equal. No human being really knows the importance of anyone else for the way we measure and the way Hashem measures are totally different. The most prestigious person in our eyes can be less worthy in Hashem's eyes than the simplest person in our eyes for we cannot know a person's true worth. 

Rav Simcha Bunim of Pshischa proves this from a halacha. The Torah tells us that one who is threatened with death unless he kills someone else has to allow himself to be killed, as the Gemara explains, “Who says your blood is redder (more valuable), perhaps your friends blood is redder." Thus, if the leading Torah sage can save his life only by killing the most ignorant Jew, he must let himself be killed. Prestige and importance cannot always be counted as true greatness for we cannot know who is really more important to Hashem. The otzer hatorah explains with a story. A wealthy diamond merchant who was a follower of the Rashab of Lubavitch asked the Rebbi why he honored simple jews. The Rebbi responded because they have many positive qualities to them. To which the chassid replied, I don't see them. Later the Rebbi asked him if he brought his pouch of diamonds with him. Of course, he said. He opened the pouch and showed the Rebbi the stone and said, "Look, this one is dazzling." The Rebbi said, "I don't see anything special about it." "Rebbe," said the chassid, "excuse me for saying this but to really appreciate a diamond you have to be an expert." "Yes," retorted the Rebbi. "A Jew, any Jew is more brilliant and dazzling than the most precious jewel. But to perceive the beauty of a Jew one also needs to be an expert."

The next parsha we read this week has the mitzvah of הקהל, where everyone has to come, men women and children, to listen to the king read the Torah. The Gemara asks, I understand why the men have come and I understand why the woman have to come, but the children, why do they need to be there? The Gemara answers to bring reward to those that bring them. The chedushai harim asks, why is the Gemara asking why the kids have to come? If the mothers are coming and the fathers are coming, who's going to watch the kids? Of course they have to come! He answers that the Gemara is really asking why you even have to mention to bring the kids if they are obviously coming. He answers it is to give us reward, for the reward is much greater for one who is commanded to do something and they do it, then doing it just because, without a command.

Perhaps another reason is to reiterate the lesson that we don't know anyone's true value. Men, women and children all going to the same class, everyone being taught the same thing all together, from the greatest rabbi to the smallest child, shows Hashem that we are all together. As we approach Rosh Hashana and are going to be asking for Hashem to remember us and want Him to think that we're special, it's important to remember that every person is special and for us to treat each person like they are the most prestigious person. If we do this, all the more so Hashem will treat us that way and we will all merit a great new year! 

Rosh Hashana / haazinu

On Rosh Hashana we eat certain symbolic foods as a good omen for the year. One of the foods we eat is the pomegranate, for which we say the prayer that we should be full of mitzvos like a pomegranate, שנהיה מלאים מצוות כרימון. The Pri Chadash asks what kind of request is that? We know that chazal explain the posuk כפלך הרימון רקתח to mean that even the emptiest Jew is still full of mitzvos like a pomegranate. If that's the case, why do we ask for that as a sign for the year; that's practically a given; shouldn’t we ask for more?

The Ben Ish Chai takes the question a step further and asks if we say that these people are full of mitzvos like a pomegranate, then why do we call them empty ones? They are not empty. He explains that the mitzvah of tzedaka is referred to as mitzvos in the plural because there are times the giver can merit many mitzvos by his one act. For example, when a person gives someone charity, it can literally save his life, so if one does that, then he inherits all of that person's subsequent good deeds on his account.  With your one act of charity, one merits a lifetime of good deeds. Therefore, even one who is empty from Torah and mitzvos, but does one act of tzedaka can be full of mitzvos like the pomegranate.

He takes this a step further and explains what it means that even the empty ones are full of mitzvos. If someone inspires the public, then the merit of the public goes to him. Therefore if a person doesn't do much but takes one mitzvah and does it with excitement, then people will see and say, “look at him; he isn't the most meticulous mitzvah observer yet he's doing this mitzvah so nicely; we should do it too." So this one mitzvah that he did gets him credit for all those that were inspired by him.

Our prayer is that besides these other ways of indirectly getting mitzvos, we should be worthy of getting them directly by doing them ourselves.

At the end of the parsha, Hashem tells Moshe to go up the mountain where he is going to die.  וידבר ה’ אל משה בעצם היום הזה לאמר עלה אל הר העברים הזה, "Hashem spoke to Moshe in the middle of that day, saying, ascend to this mountain." Rashi says there are three times when the Torah says בעצם היום הזה, in the middle of the day. One was by Noach, the people said there is no way we will let him enter the ark and Hashem said I'll show you and brought him in right in the middle of the day. Also, when Hashem took us out of Egypt the Torah says the middle of the day, for the Egyptians had said that they would never let it happen, so again Hashem showed them and took us out right in the middle of the day. The third time is here by Moshe; when Hashem said that Moshe was to die, the Jews said we won't let him, so again Hashem did it in the middle of the day to show that no one can stop Him. How do we understand this? By the first two it makes sense that the Egyptians would try to stop us from leaving or the people would try to destroy the ark but how could the people think they could stop someone from dying? Is that in their control? 

Reb Chaim Shmulevitz says it means that the Jewish people would daven so much and beg Hashem not to take him, that He wouldn't be able to take him because the Jews davened so much for it. This shows us the awesome power of prayer. Even though it was Moshe's time to go, had the Jews been able to daven so sincerely that he be spared, he wouldn't have died. 

As we are entering the days of judgment when our prayers are of utmost importance, we must know that no matter who we are or what our year has been like, now is the opportunity to change it. Even if we aren't the most pious, but now we pray with devotion, other people will look at us and be inspired and they'll pray better too adding to our merits and theirs. Together we can grow until we are full of mitzvos like the pomegranate on our own merit to enter us into a year of only blessing, health and happiness!

Ki Savo

Amidst the multitude of curses that we are told will happen and have happened throughout our history when we didn't listen to the Torah, there are also the blessings that we are told will come to us if we do listen to the Torah. The posuk states if we will listen to Hashem and keep all His commandments, then He will make us supreme over the nations of the Earth. ובאו עליך כל הברכות האלה והשיגך כי תשמע בקול ה אלקיך, "All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you listen to the voice of Hashem."

The Ben Ish Chai says that if one looks at this bracha, it seems to be greater and incomparable to any other bracha. Normally, if one is worthy of a bracha, he has to do something to make it happen; he has to put in some effort, some action to make the bracha come about. He'll have to go to work so that Hashem will make him be successful. Or, as we see nowadays, when people ask Reb Chaim for a bracha he asks the people to do something to make the bracha work. He tells some people to grow a beard while he tells others to do other small things so that the bracha has something to attach itself to. However, our quoted posuk says if we listen to all the mitzvos of Hashem, then, not only will we get all the brachos, but ,והשיגוך, they will overtake us. We won't have to do anything; they will just chase us and come to us without our doing anything.

There's a story told about a simple man. One day, a rumor circulated in his town that since there was an abundance of fish that day in the market, there was high quality fish to be had at low prices. His wife heard about it and asked him to go get one of the good fish. He procrastinated, but she kept asking, so he got up and went. He went to one of the stores that was selling this good fish, but which also had some not so good fish. The merchant, seeing that this guy wasn't so bright, showed him a big fish that he couldn't sell and convinced him to get that. On his way home, he started thinking, “oh, man; what did I do? My wife wanted the good fish and I bought this one. I'm going to be in trouble. That merchant is a bad guy; I can't believe I let myself get taken." So, he figured the only way to save himself would be to take the fish into the shed, clean it up and cut it up so that she wouldn't realize that he got the wrong fish. Even if she did, it would be too late. So, he went and cleaned it. As he was cutting it up, he found a precious stone inside the belly of the fish, which he promptly took to the jeweler and sold for a fortune and became a very rich man.  

This is what the posuk tells us: if we get to this level of תשמע בקול ה אלוקיך, listening to the voice of Hashem. In every situation we're in, we should think that this is what Hashem wants me to do. If we don't deviate from what Hashem wants, then we will get the brachos without having to do anything. They will just come to us. When it's our turn to have wealth, Hashem will see to it that it finds us and there is nothing more that we must do. As the דגל מחנה אפרים explains, we don't always know what's best for us. Sometimes we are running away from the very thing that is good for us, so the Torah promises us that, even if we run from it, if it's in our best interest, Hashem will make sure it chases us until we have what's absolutely best!

Ki seitzei

One of the numerous mitzvos in this week's parsha is the mitzvah of שילוח הקן, sending away the mother bird when you want to take her eggs. It's a relatively simple mitzvah, yet its reward is great, as the posuk says, שלח תשלח את האם ואת הבנים תקח לך, “You shall surely send away the mother and take the young for yourself, למען ייטב לך והארכת ימים, so that it will be good for you and you will prolong your days." The Ksav Sofer asks, “What is so special about this mitzvah that we are promised goodness and long life?” 

He explains, based on the Ramban, that the mitzvah of sending away the mother bird is given to us in order for us to get used to having mercy even on animals so that we act merciful to one another. Chazal tell us that there are three types of people who don't have a life; one of them is the merciful person, because he is always troubled by everyone else's problems. Especially when he can't help, he's bothered even more. However, after the Torah commands us to have mercy on the mother bird in order that we become more merciful, it guarantees us that we won't always be upset and depressed like the usual merciful person, thereby shortening our days. Rather, it will be good for us because we will be able to help our friends, and we will have long life which won't be shortened because of our merciful nature. 

We see a similar concept a little later in the parsha. ארבעים יכנו , “You shall hit him forty times." The Gemara tells us that even though the Torah says that you get forty lashes, the chachamim explain it to mean only thirty-nine. Once, during a conversation between two rabbis, one of them said a very novel interpretation of some Torah concepts. The other one was impressed and said, “I see that you are a great man because you are able to expound the Torah so beautifully.” The rabbi said, “Not true; we see that a Torah scholar is called a great man because of only one teaching. When the Torah said to give someone forty lashes and the chachamim interpreted it to mean only thirty-nine is the only place we see that the rabbi is called great."

What's so special about this teaching? We have a similar teaching by sefiras haomer, when we count the days until we bring the omer. The Torah says, count fifty days and the chachamim say to only count forty-nine days. It's the same type of teaching, yet it's only by the teaching of the lashes that we call the rabbis great; what's the difference?

He answered that a person who can expound the Torah and even come up with his own novel interpretations is not considered great. However, one who could expound the Torah to take away even a little pain from a fellow Jew, like the rabbis who reduced the lashes by one, he is considered great.

Since we are in the days of Elul, which is a preparation for the days of judgment, and we know that Hashem works מידה כנגד מידה, "how we act towards others, Hashem acts towards us," the more we should follow this concept. Try to help others and take away some pain from our fellow Jew, so that Hashem will help us and take away our pain. Let's use this opportunity to pay more attention to the people around us and what they need, to merit Hashem’s attention to our needs and giving us a long and peaceful life!