Reply To: YWN Coffee Room Nightly D’Var Torah

I almost forgot…

*************Jax’s Tuesday D’Var Torah – Parshas Ki Savo***************

“Hashem has not given you a heart to recognize, and eyes to see, and ears to hear until this day.” (Deut.29:3)

Moshe gave a special sefer Torah to the Sheivet of Levi. The other shevatim complained, “If you give the sefer Torah to Levi, their descendants will claim that the Torah was only given to them and not to all the shevatim. This could lead to the Torah being lost from Klal Yisroel.”

Moshe had a very unexpected reaction to this complaint – he rejoiced! “I was never sure if your devotion to Hashem was complete. Now that I see your concern, I realize your devotion is whole hearted (Rashi).

This nation had such a strong devotion to Hashem, that they kept their beliefs throughout the long, bitter, back breaking slavery in Mitzraim. They plunged into the Yom Suf on the faith that their beloved Hashem would surely save them [by parting the waters]. Out of unconditional love and trust in Hashem, they committed themselves to obeying the laws of the Torah sight unseen. Yet despite their powerful displays of devotion, Moshe was not convinced until today. It was only what he witnessed today that assured him of their commitment – their concern for the perpetuation of Torah in the future generations. This is the supreme litmus test of faith and closeness to Hashem. Personal piety is essential, but it is not enough; one can not say he truly values Torah if he does not appreciate the need to safeguard it for future generations.

When Hashem commanded Avraham to perform the bris milah on himself, Avraham went to consult the sage Mamre concerning the bris. Avraham was not concerned about the painful operation he was about to undergo; rather, he was very concerned that others in his household would not want to perform this physically difficult mitzvah for themselves. He sought Mamre’s advice on how to assure that others would do this mitzvah. We see from here that Avraham was not satisfied to simply do the mitzvah himself and increase his own personal piety, he also wanted to spread the mitzvah to others. This made the mitzvah more complete. Mamre advised him, “First do the mitzvah for yourself, then others they will follow.”

There was an older man who lived in Brooklyn, New York. Every morning he attended Shul and every morning, after leaving shul he would stand on a certain busy Brooklyn street corner, peering at the intersection for qround an hour, till he would finally walk home. The Rabbi asked him why he did this. He replied, “Rabbi, I went through the concentration camps and experienced the nazi’s demonic devastation. After the war, things looked very bleak and depressing for the Jewish people and there were those who wondered if Judaism would simply peter out. I once figured out that if I stand at this street corner in the mornings, I can see 30 different school buses taking children to various Yeshivos. When I see this, I realize that Hitler did not succeed. Torah still flourishes and the Jewish people thrive. Until I count all 30 buses, I just cannot start my day. This is why I stand here.”

Personal piety is essential, but it is not enough: one can not say he truley values Torah if he does not appeciate the neet to safeguard it for future generation!