Ki Savo

5781

The Kiddush this Shabbos was sponsored by Reb Aryeh Leib Reich for the upcoming Yahrzeit of his father.

Death Gives Meaning

The Jewish people tend to give more time to commemorating Yahrzeits than to celebrating births. The reason could be because death is really what qualifies living as the Gemara Brachos 5a says יצר הרע מתגבר עליו יזכיר לו יום המיתה. Remembering that life has an end encourages us us to focus on what’s important. If a person lived forever, then he would have less drive to fill every day with meaning. A person can enter this world and live his life never asking who he is, where he is, or why he is. But the idea of death makes a person more aware of the need to give life meaning. So by commemorating a Yahrzeit, it gives meaning to the meaning of life.

As it says in Tehillim 90:12 למנות ימינו כן הודע ונבא לבב חכמה. If a person counts his days, he realizes that they are numbered and therefore he will put thought to who he is and why he is and it’ll bring him to לבב חכמה. The less life has quantity, it gains more quality. As Jews we give more חשיבות to the quality.

This idea is connected with a Pasuk in the Parshah which says את ה' האמרת היום להיות לך לאלהים וללכת בדרכיו ולשמר חקיו ומצותיו ומשפטיו ולשמע בקלו (כו, יז). The Sforno writes the following: כשקבלת עליך להכנס בברית בשבועת האלה אשר בה אבדן כל טוב גשמי אם תעבור עליו האמרת ורוממת את האל יתברך בזה שיהיה יותר נכבד אצלך קיום רצונו מכל טוב גשמי

Jews understood that the service of Hashem is the only thing that is important and they are willing to compromise and give up all the good in this world in order to serve Hashem. And on the other hand, all the good in this world is worth nothing to them if they are not fulfilling Hashem’s will. We see life as a mission.

This idea also connects with the following Pasuk והותרך ה' לטובה בפרי בטנך (כח,יא).

The Chasam Sofer explains this Pasuk with a letter the Rambam wrote to his son.

י"ל עפ"י דברי הרמב"ם שכ' לבנו אשרי אדם שחתם ימיו במהרה שלכל אדם קצבה מה הוא צריך לתקן בתורת ובמצות ומי שגמר הקצבה ההיא השלים ימיו אמנם היינו אם הוא לעצמו אבל אם יש לו בנים או אחרים הפועל עליהם להטיבם אז אין קצבה לזה וע"ז אמר והותירך ה' שיתן לך מותרות חיים לטובה בפרי בטנך כדי שתוכל לפעול עליהם

He explains that each person has that which he needs to be מתקן in Torah and Mitzvos and a person who completes his quota will complete his living days. However, that is only if he lives for himself. But if he has children or others who he can act for their good, then there is no set amount for him to live for that purpose. This is the meaning of the Pasuk והותירך ה' that Hashem will give a person extra life לטובה בפרי בטנך, in order that he should be able to do good for them.

This idea brings to mind the story of חוני המעגל in Taanis 23a where he slept for seventy years. After he woke up, nobody believed him that he was חוני המעגל. He went to the Beis Medrash and answered all the question that were being asked and they still didn’t believe that he was חוני המעגל. The Gemara concludes לא עבדי ליה יקרא כדמבעי ליה, חלש דעתיה, בעי רחמי ומית. The question is why did he request to die after that incident? Based on the Chasam Sofer, the idea is because while a person is making an impact and influencing others, he serves a purpose. However, once he is no longer recognized and is not being listened to, then his time in this world is up.

How to be מכיר טוב

The Pasuk in the beginning of the Parshah of Bikurim says ובאת אל הכהן אשר יהיה בימים ההם ואמרת אליו הגדתי היום לה' אלהיך and Rashi says ואמרת אליו - שאינך כפוי טובה. Why does Rashi need to explain that the person is saying that he isn’t כפוי טוב? It would make more sense for the person to be saying that he is מכיר טוב, more directly as opposed to expressing his הכרת הטוב by saying he isn’t כפוי טובה?

One explanation could be that it’s clear from here that it’s against the human nature to feel a sense of gratitude to someone else. The Gemara Sotah says מאמתי יצר הרע נכנס באדם כשננער לצאת-when the baby pushes its way out. The fetus can’t live outside of its mother’s womb. However at the moment that it could, it pushes its way out. The reason is because Hashem created us to do and not to live off our beneficiaries as it says עני חשיב כמת and שונא מתנות יחיה that life is about not wanting to live off of others but wanting to be productive and accomplish on our own. However, this has a downside as well. As a result of this independence, we find it difficult to acknowledge our beneficiary. Therefore, by nature humans are a כפוי טובה. So when a person is מכיר טוב, he is going against his nature as a כפוי טובה. Therefore Rashi explains a person as שאינך כפוי טובה when describing him being מכיר טוב.

Additionally, it could be that as much as we say, we can’t really properly express what needs to be expressed in terms of הכרת הטוב. But nevertheless, we at least shouldn’t be completely כפוי טוב and we therefore say something.

השקיפה and Birkas Kohanim

השקיפה ממעון קדשך מן השמים וברך את עמך את ישראל ואת האדמה אשר נתתה לנו כאשר נשבעת לאבתינו ארץ זבת חלב ודבש (כו,טו)

On this Pasuk, Rashi says that we as Klal Yisrael say עשינו מה שגזרת עלינו, עשה אתה מה שעליך לעשות. When Kohanim finish דוכנין, they say עשינו מה שגזרת עלינו וכו' and conclude with the Pasuk השקיפה ממעון קדשך וכו'. Why is connection between this Pasuk and Birkas Kohanim?

The Mishna in the end of Sotah 48a says מיום שחרב בהמ"ק - אין יום שאין בו קללה, ולא ירד הטל לברכה, וניטל טעם הפירות. The Gemara 49a says אמר רבא: בכל יום ויום מרובה קללתו משל חבירו that each day, there was more קללה than the previous day. The Yerushalmi Sotah 9:11 says מי מבטל (The Pnei Moshe explains ע"י דבר מה מתבטלין שלא יחרב העולם) to which the Gemara answers ברכת כהנים מבטלת. So Birkas Kohanim was מבטל the קללות, one of them being ניטל טעם הפירות that fruits didn’t taste the way they were supposed to.

According to this we could understand why the Kohanim say the Pasuk of השקיפה ממעון קדשך after they duchan. The Pasuk of השקיפה ממעון קדשך is asking Hashem for a Brachah for the fruits as it says וברך את עמך את ישראל ואת האדמה and this Pasuk is going on the Mitzvah of Bikurim (as the Rambam says in Yad). Therefore, since it was Birkas Kohanim that was מבטל the קללה of ניטל טעם הפירות, so it’s befitting of the Kohanim to say a Tefilah after they duchan with the Pasuk of השקיפה ממעון קדשך which contains a Brachah for the fruits of the land.

It’s interesting that the Kohanim are saying the Pasuk השקיפה ממעון קדשך on which Rashi writes עשינו מה שגזרת עלינו, עשה אתה מה שעליך לעשות with connotes that saying Birkas Kohanim is a גזרה. Being that its לברך את עמו ישראל באהבה, one would think that something that comes from the heart is not a גזרה. As opposed to מעשרות וביכורים which involve a חסרון כיס and is costly is understandable as a גזרה. But blessing with אהבה shouldn’t be something that is called a גזרה.

One explanation could be that the Kohanim have to love every person in the crowd while they are doing Birkas Kohanim. There is a possibility that there might be someone in the crowd who the Kohen doesn’t like but nevertheless must be מברך באהבה. So for that reason, doing Birkas Kohanim could be considered a גזרה.

Another explanation could be that since the expectation is for the Kohanim to bless the Jews with so much love, a level that is humanely difficult to achieve, therefore it’s referred to as a גזרה. (Although the question is better than the answers)

To Know, See, and Hear

ולא נתן ה' לכם לב לדעת ועינים לראות ואזנים לשמע עד היום הזה (כט,ג)

Rashi writes the following: שמעתי שאותו היום שנתן משה ספר התורה לבני לוי, כמו שכתוב (לקמן לא, ט) ויתנה אל הכהנים בני לוי באו כל ישראל לפני משה ואמרו לו משה רבינו אף אנו עמדנו בסיני וקבלנו את התורה ונתנה לנו, ומה אתה משליט את בני שבטך עליה, ויאמרו לנו יום מחר לא לכם נתנה, לנו נתנה. ושמח משה על הדבר, ועל זאת אמר להם היום הזה נהיית לעם וגו' (לעיל כז, ט), היום הזה הבנתי שאתם דבקים וחפצים במקו.

What does the Pasuk mean that Klal Yisrael didn’t have לב לדעת ועינים לראות ואזנים לשמע because this was referring to the דור דעה and regarding the דור דעה the Pasuk says וידעתם כי אני ה' indicating that they had a לב לדעת. Also there are multiple Psukim which say וירא ישראל seemingly indicating that they had עינים לראות. The same question can be asked on אזנים לשמע because the Pasuk says השמע עם קול אלקים וכו'. Therefore, how could it be said about the דור דעה that לא נתן ה' לכם לב לדעת ועינים לראות ואזנים לשמע עד היום הזה?

The answer could be because throughout the forty years in the Midbar, the Jews were surrounded by the ענני הכבוד, they ate the מן, drank water from the באר. Therefore, even though they were ידעו, ראו, ושמעו, it was all super imposed on to them, but wasn’t internalized. But now that Klal Yisrael came on their own to Moshe to be תובע him for a Sefer Torah, שמח משה על הדבר because now Moshe Rabbeinu understood that Klal Yisrael had לב לדעת ועינים לראות ואזנים לשמע that now they had the כלים of the גוף to know, see, and hear and it wasn’t just placed on to them but rather they were able to internalize it.

Go the extra step

In the end of the Parshah, the Pasuk says ונעלך לא בלתה מעל רגליך. But in Parshas Eikev, the Pasuk says ורגליך לא בצקה which Rashi explains means that their feet didn’t swell like the feet of people who walk barefoot. The question is where they wearing shoes or where they not wearing shoes? (The Rishonim deal with this issue.)

An explanation could be that when it comes to Hakaras HaTov, a person must go the extra step and be thankful for what’s not obvious. Therefore “thank you” goes further than just that their shoes never wore out, but even if they weren’t wearing shoes, they were thankful for the fact that their feet didn’t get swollen.

Haftorah

The last Pasuk in the Haftorah says הקטן יהיה לאלף והצעיר לגוי עצום אני ה' בעתה אחישנה which means “the smallest shall increase a thousand fold etc; I am Hashem, in its time I will hasten.” The end of the Pasuk is referring to the final redemption. What does the first part of the Pasuk, describing an increase in population, have to do with the final redemption?

The Gemara in Nidah 13b says א"ר יוסי אין בן דוד בא עד שיכלו כל הנשמות שבגוף. The simple explanation is that the Geulah won’t come until all the נשמות come down to this world from the אוצר הנשמות. However Tosfos asks that the Gemara in Shabbos 118b saysאילמלי שמרו ישראל ב' שבתות מיד היו נגאלים. How could that be if not all the נשמות have come down into this world? Tosfos answers וי"ל דהרבה היו יולדות בכרס אחד that multiple babies will be born with each pregnancy.

According to this Tosfos, it could be understood why the Pasuk first says הקטן יהיה לאלף and then concludes בעתה אחישנה because in order for the Geulah to come quickly, the small amount people need to have many. It’s interesting that in the past few decades, there have been more people have twins and triples in comparison to previous generations. Maybe it has something to do with the coming of Mashiach.

5780

Bikurim and Remembering Amalek

The Parshah begins with the Mitzvah of Bikurim. Last week’s Parshah concludes with remembering Amalek. There is a Machlokes in Yevamos 4a as to whether or not we are דורש סמוכין. But even according to the one who holds we don’t דרשין סמוכין, he agrees that in Mishneh Torah, we are דורש סמוכין. This being the case, what is the connection between the Mitzvah of Bikurim and the Mitzvah of remembering of Amalek?

At the end of Parshas Beshalach, the Jews are attacked by Amalek. The Pasuk preceding this event says ויקרא שם המקום מסה ומריבה על ריב בני ישראל ועל נסתם את ד' לאמר היש ד' בקרבנו אם אין (יז, ז) and then immediately follows ויבא עמלק וכו'. On this Pasuk, Rashi explains the connection as follows:

סמך פרשה זו למקרא זה, לומר תמיד אני ביניכם ומזומן לכל צרכיכם, ואתם אומרים (פסוק ז) היש ה' בקרבנו אם אין, חייכם שהכלב בא ונושך אתכם ואתם צועקים אלי ותדעון היכן אני. משל לאדם שהרכיב בנו על כתפו ויצא לדרך, היה אותו הבן רואה חפץ ואומר, אבא טול חפץ זה ותן לי, והוא נותן לו, וכן שניה וכן שלישית, פגעו באדם אחד, אמר לו אותו הבן ראית את אבא. אמר לו אביו אינך יודע היכן אני, השליכו מעליו ובא הכלב ונשכו

Amalek attacks when we have a lack of recognition and thanks to Hashem for everything he does for us. Amalek represents haughtiness and thinking that all one’s success comes from himself. When a person thinks this way, that’s Amalek. The essence of the Mitzvah of Bikruim is הכרת הטוב. As Rashi says on the Pasuk ואמרת אליו-שאינך כפוי טובה. Therefore, the Mitzvah of Bikurim is placed immediately after the Mitzvah of remembering Amalek to teach us that we are supposed to have HaKaras HaTov for all the good that Hashem does for us. Because when we feel unworthy, then we are thankful and are filled with gratitude. As opposed to if we have a sense of entitlement and feel that we are worthy, then we won’t be thankful and will not be filled with any gratitude.

(Side note, the Sifsei Chachamim deal with the exact translation of the word כפוי. It’s not from the lashon of כופר because then the word shouldn’t be כפוי. The Rav explained that there are two meanings to Hakara in Hakaras HaTov. One is to recognize that good is good and the second is recognition to a persons benefactor. If one lacks that recognition, then whatever is being bestowed upon him is like really being forced upon him because he doen’t understand that it’s good. Therefore it could be it comes from the lashon of כופין אותו, as if to say that the good is being forced on the person. When a person is כפוי טוב and doesn’t recognize what’s happening to him as good and he doesn’t recognize the good that is being bestowed upon him, so the good is being forced on him. That’s how כפוי טוב could come from the word כופין like in the context of כופין אותו.)

Someone that is a Baal Gavah and has a sense of entitlement, he is not thankful for what he gets and he is constantly upset about what he doesn’t have. Amalek who is רם על כל גוים, and the Medrash says about him זד יהיר, so he isn’t thankful for anything because he feels he is deserving of everything. However, the Anav who doesn’t have a sense of entitlement is always thankful. Yitzchak Avinu is the Midah of Gevurah, the Midah of Yirah. But what is so funny about Yitzchak that his name is על שם צחוק because one would think that a person who embodies the Midah of Yirah is very serious and not funny at all? But really a person who is the Midah of Yirah feels that he is worthy of nothing and therefore every minute of life to him is a pleasant surprise and therefore he is always overcome with happiness and joy and is constantly thankful. It brings him to laughter every minute Hashem grants him with life.

Psukim of Bikurim at the Seder

At the seder, we say over these Psukim in the Parshah of Bikurim and we are דורש them. Why is it that we are דורש these Psukim as opposed to just reading the more explicit Psukim in Sefer Shemos?

The Gemara in Pesachim 36a says Matzah is called לחם עוני because לחם שעונין עליו דברים הרבה. Since the only Parshah in the Torah which says וענית which is a lashon of עניה, is in the Parshah of Bikurim, therefore this Parshah was chosen to be said at the Seder because this way לחם שעונין עליו דברים הרבה could be נתקיים.

According to this we could explain some of the particular requirements that we have in the Hagadah at the Seder. For example, there is a special method of giving it over with question and answers and the requirement of מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח. Also in the Ritvas Hagadah, he writes that a person should say the Hagadah בנעימה ובקול רם כפי כחו. The particular requirement for all these things is because we now use the Parshah of Bikurim for the Seder, and these things are found in that Parshah. As the Ibn Ezra writes on the Pasuk וענית that it’s possible that the Kohen asked the individual what it was he was bringing and therefore it says וענית that the person answered him. Also Rashi says on וענית ואמרת that it’s a lashon of הרמת קול and the source is in Sotah 32. Therefore it makes sense that the Ritvah says the Hagada should be said בקול רם.

Also, a reason why we are דורש the Psukim and we don’t just read the more explicit Psukim is because when it comes to הכרת הטוב, it’s not enough just to say thank you on the obvious but one must be דורש all the good that has happened to him, even the not so obvious. Like it says in the end of the Parshah ונעלך לא בלתה מעל רגליך. But in Parshas Eikev, the Pasuk says ורגליך לא בצקה which Rashi explains means that their feet didn’t swell like the feet of people who walk barefoot. The question is where they wearing shoes or where they not wearing shoes? (The Rishonim deal with this issue.) But maybe an explanation is that being that when it comes to Hakaras HaTov, a person must be דורש, so the thank you goes further than just that their shoes never wore out, but even if they weren’t wearing shoes, they were thankful for the fact that their feet didn’t get swollen.

There was a story with a Bochur in the Mir that Reb Yerucham did him a favor and a few days later, he noticed that Reb Yerucham stopped talking to him. He went over to Reb Yerucham and asked him if he had done something to the Mashigach. So the Mashgiach answered him didn’t I do you a favor? To which the boy responded yes and I thanked you for it. To which Reb Yerucham responded that when it comes to Hakaras HaTov, you have to say it like a איידנה (a Jewish woman). Meaning ט' קבין of דיבור came down for women as if to say that for Hakara HaTov, one must really be דורש and go over and over.

The Tanchuma says that when Moshe Rabbeinu saw that the Beis Hamikdash was going to be destroyed, he asked what will be a substitute for the Bikurim to which Hashem answered the three tefilos every day will be its substitute. The question is that Tefilah primarily is בקשת צרכים and Bikurim is about Hakaras HaTov so how could Tefilah be its substitute?

The Prishah in Ohr Hachaim Siman 6 says that all the ברכות ההודאה are in the sense of מודה על האמת. Because when a person is thankful, he is admitting that everything that he has and all his accomplishments are all because of Hashem’s chessed. Therefore when a person says אתה חונן or any other Brachah in Shmoneh Esrei, he is admitting to the fact that Hashem has all these things and that he is the ultimate provider and source of everything we need. So although we are asking Hashem for all these things, the request comes with the recognition and admitting that Hashem is the sole provider of everything that we need.

Confessing by Bikurim

In the Parshah of Bikurim, there is וידוי. Now וידוי is usually a confession of sins so what is a person confessing when it comes to Bikurim? (It’s really not such a question because the word וידוי doesn’t really mean confessing rather it just means saying)

The Sforno writes the following when the Pasuk says the person says the וידוי and says בערתי הקדש מן הבית:

בחטאינו ובעונות אבותינו הוסרה העבודה מהבכורות אשר להם היו ראויות תרומות ומעשרות כאמרו ואטמא אותם במתנותם בהעביר כל פטר רחם (יחזקאל כ, כו) וזהו וידוי מעשר שהזכירו רז"ל.

According to this, it’s understandable why there is וידוי meaning a confession of sins by the Bikurim because we are saying that it’s because of our sins that the Avodah was taken away from the Bechorim to who these תרומות ומעשרות were really supposed to go to.

Kedushas Levi

The Pasuk by וידוי says לא עברתי ממצותיך ולא שכחתי. The Kedushas Levi explains that we say in the davening כי זוכר כל הנשכחות אתה הוא מעולם that Hashem remembers everything we forget. Meaning, if we forget the good things that we did, then Hashem remembers them but if we remember them, then Hashem forgets them. And if we remember the bad things that we did, then Hashem forgets them but if we forget them, then Hashem remembers them. Hashem wants us to do Mitzvos but forget about them and not take credit for them because then he will remember them.

על דרך דרוש, the above Pasuk could be explained that the individual is confessingלא עברתי ממצותיך that he did all the Mitzvos but his sin is ולא שכחתי that he didn’t forget that he did them. The Viduy is that he’s confessing that he remembered his Mitzvos.

Fulfilling Hashem’s Will

The Pasuk says את ה' האמרת היום להיות לך לאלהים וללכת בדרכיו ולשמר חקיו ומצותיו ומשפטיו ולשמע בקלו (כו, יז). On this, the Sforno writes the following:

כשקבלת עליך להכנס בברית בשבועת האלה אשר בה אבדן כל טוב גשמי אם תעבור עליו האמרת ורוממת את האל יתברך בזה שיהיה יותר נכבד אצלך קיום רצונו מכל טוב גשמי

Jews understood that the service of Hashem is the only thing that is important and they are willing to compromise and give up all the good in this world in order to serve Hashem. And on the other hand, all the good in this world is worth nothing to them if they are not fulfilling Hashem’s will.

This idea can be expressed as well in another Sforno. At the end of the תוכחה the Pasuk says אלה דברי הברית. In what way is the תוכחה a Bris, a covenant? The Sforno in the beginning of Parshas Re’eh says the following:

הביטה וראה שלא יהיה ענינך על אופן בינוני כמו שהוא המנהג בשאר האומות. כי אמנם אנכי נותן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה והם שני הקצוות כי הברכה היא הצלחה יותר מן המספיק על צד היותר טוב. והקללה היא מארה מחסרת שלא יושג המספיק ושניהם לפניכם להשיג כפי מה שתבחרו

The idea of a Bris is that we are never going to be left alone. Rather Hashem will always be dealing with us, and it will either be very good or very bad. But never will Hashem let the Jews be left alone. That’s the idea of a Bris, that there is constant involvement. Therefore, although we don’t get involved in theological debates regarding the proof of Hashem and us being the chosen people, but the תוכחה is an obvious proof. Every part of the תוכחה has been fulfilled throughout Jewish History as we are always persecuted. But one should nonetheless look at it as an honor and a זכות. To the point where when a person comes to convert, we tell him but don’t you know that we are a hated and disgraced people who suffer so much, to which the convert must say איני כדאי. Because to be in such a relationship with Hashem is an honor and a זכות.

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