Parsha Paragraphs
Rabbi Naftali Kassorla
Parshat Nitzavim - Vayelech
Appreciating the Climb
The D’var Torah for this week is dedicated in memory of ר׳ אלחנן יעקב זצ״ל בן מורי וחמי ר׳ שמואל פנחס
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This week’s parsha comes on the heels of the previous portion where the Nation heard all the stern curses that will befall them if they fail to heed G-d’s word.
Moshe says: “You are standing today, before Hashem your G-d: the heads of your tribes, your elders and your officers – all the men of Israel.” (Devarim 29:9)
Rashi (ibid. 12), quoting the Midrash Tanchuma, says that after the people heard the curses they “turned green” ie. they became queasy from fear. They exclaimed “Who can withstand these curses!?” Moshe, noticing their consternation, tries to pacify them saying: “Look you are standing today – אתם נצבים היום!”
Rav Yechezkel Weinfeld שליט״א asks: why is Moshe effectively discrediting the curses? For by saying אתם נצבים היום, isn’t he is telling them not to take the warnings so seriously? Surely the curses are a serious matter, and seemingly the nation is to be praised for responding so intensely.
Rav Weinfeld explains that by the nation becoming sick at the thought of the curses, Moshe saw that now that the Jewish people had clearly reached a high spiritual level – one on which the mere thought of the curses brought them to fear. Once Moshe recognized this, he knew that now was just the right moment to allay their fear. The very fact that they were scared was the reason to let-up. Now was the time to remind them that they were indeed worthy.
This idea can be a path towards a very deep lesson for us. So often we find ourselves feeling down about our spiritual level, our failings, our deeply ingrained deficiencies. But we don't take a minute to realize that the very fact that we feel so down about our spirituality is in itself a reason to rejoice; to take pride in the fact that spirituality is so central to our lives that it even gets us down!
There are billions of people who inhabit this earth, going about their lives – work, eat, sleep and eventually die – all without giving a second thought to G-d and spiritual matters, let alone allow those thoughts to affect their temperament. The fact that these lofty matters even bother us is a testament to our core value system. It shows that we actively care about the will of G-d in this world, and that we want to see it carried out. Why would we belittle ourselves for that? Surely G-d Himself does not!
I once had an eye-opening experience when I was tutoring at the Yeshiva Aish Hatorah. I was reading a Gemara together with one of the students, when in the middle he blurted out, “It's so frustrating, I'm never going to learn to read a Gemara as well as you! I'll never be as fluid as you.” When I heard this, I laughed out loud. This student arrived to the yeshiva just less than a year-and-a-half ago, barely knowing the Alef-Bet. And now he was sitting in the yeshiva program studying some of the hardest talmudical texts in the Jewish corpus. If anything, I was jealous of him! To grow such leaps and bounds in such a short time is a feat to be lauded. Moreover, he was frustrated with himself that he wasn't reading as well as he would like to, without giving it a moment’s thought that in order to even read non-fluidly, one must know how to read (let alone understand it)! When I pointed this out, it was like an epiphany for him, as if he never thought about it this way, and he gained a deeper recognition of his hard-won skills as well as an appreciation for himself.
This taught me a valuable lesson: sometimes we just need to slow down and take an “outsider perspective” of ourselves, to truly value our accomplishments. We are so quickly jumping to the next rung on the ladder that we do not allow ourselves to savor how much we have achieved. And furthermore, we don't appreciate that feeling “down” about our placement actually means we are moving up. Our values are clearly in the right place and we can certainly grow from there.
There is a famous letter of Rav Yitzchak Hutner זצ״ל responding to a student struggling with his spirituality. Rav Hutner offers support and attempts to remind the student that he really has grown, despite the students attitude, and that he shouldn't give up. The Rosh Yeshiva quoting the verse in Mishlei (24:16) ״כי שבע יפול צדיק וקם״ expounds:
"Seven times the righteous man falls and gets up.” The fools think that they explain this is in a grand manner: that even though righteous fall seven times, he rises. But the wise know well that the true meaning is that the essence of the tzaddik's rising up is in his "seven falls".
Rav Hutner is telling us a guiding principle, that the falls, the failings, and the defeats are part and parcel of the ultimate victory. Not in spite of the fall, but because of it. In order for one to have fallen, he must have been upright to begin with!
This is was what Moshe saw. He beheld a nation with a value system so in tune with the will of G-d, and after seeing their fear of the curses, he knew now was the time to remind them of their newly gained status. The mission had been accomplished. Now, when they felt low, was the time to lift the nation's spirit, and remind them that they are beloved to Hashem, specifically for the fact that they felt so low!
This message should give us solace whenever we are feeling down about our spiritual failings. When we realize our weaknesses, that is only a proof to how strong we are, and it is the very first step in a process of change that will make us even stronger.
Shabbat Shalom
