Parshat Bechukosai 5784
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in the beginning of this week’s parsha the reward for keeping the mitzvos of the Torah. The Torah speaks of rain in its time and plentiful bounty. While discussing the promised abundance, the pasuk reads (Chapter 26, Pasuk 4), ועץ השדה יתן פריו; the trees of the field shall produce its fruit. Rashi, quoting the Toras Kohanim, comments that this is referring to non-fruit-producing trees that will produce fruit in the future. Chazal learn that this blessing is of a miraculous nature. Why is the reward for keeping the mitzvos presented as being supernatural?
The Sfas Emes teaches that the ultimate goal of keeping the mitzvos, as the parsha begins אם בחקותי תלכו, is to return the world to its state prior to the sin of Adam Harishon. When Adam sinned and ate from the עץ הדעת טוב ורע, he became a mixture of good and evil. And since each person is a world to himself, as evidenced by the statement of Chazal in Sanhedrin 37Aכל המקיים נפש אחת בישראל כאילו קיים עולם מלא, the entire world became full of good and evil. This is why when Adam Harishon was punished, so was the land, as the pasuk says (Bereishis, Chapter 3, Pasuk 18), וקוץ ודרדר תצמיח לך. The land also became a mixture of good and bad; you will plant something good and you will receive something of an inferior nature.
Adam Harishon ate from the עץ הדעת טוב ורע. He wanted to be, as the Nachash described (Chapter 3, Pasuk 5), כאלקים ידעי טוב ורע. He wanted to be Divine-like, distinguishing between good and evil. Instead, he created a world filled with a confused mixture of good and evil.
The Tikkun for this is אם בחקותי תלכו. The antidote for this grandiose illusion of great knowledge is to keep the Chukim. It is precisely the devotion to those mitzvos which we don’t understand which is meant to rectify the damage of the sin of Adam Harishon. We need to acknowledge the limitations of our human intelligence and accept upon ourselves to faithfully keep the mitzvos of the Torah.
This is why Bnei Yisrael at Har Sinai said נעשה ונשמע. First, we accept upon ourselves to perform the mitzvos; only afterwards will we attempt to understand them. But to make our observance dependent upon our ability to understand the mitzvos is a very dangerous path to take. Rather our learning should be in order to perform the mitzvos; על מנת לעשות. We are a combination of good and evil; consequently, our logic is flawed and we need to make our understanding subservient to Divine Knowledge and the will of Hashem.
Rashi comments on the wordsאם בחקותי תלכו , שתהיו עמלים בתורה. You should work hard and toil in Torah. The Sfas Emes learns that this working hard is learning in order to keep mitzvos and not inserting one’s personal ideas and thinking. This is the עמלות of Torah. Accepting the Chukim and fulfilling them faithfully. And when we do this, we are able to pull out only the good and remove the confusion of the mixture. And then the land will produce only good, and even the trees which were barren from fruit will produce fruit.
There is a great tension when it comes to the human intellect. It is what makes us unique from all creations and Da’as is what enables us to learn Torah. We daven every day, three times a day, חונן הדעת. We are constantly praying for understanding. However, we must acknowledge the limitations of our intellect and our understanding. As the Medrash Rabbah (35, 1) on our parsha quotes the pasuk from sefer Tehillim (Chapter 119, Pasuk 59), חשבתי דרכי ואשיבה רגלי אל עדתיך. Dovid Hamelech said, I calculate my ways; I use my intellect and decide where to go. But ultimately, my legs return me to your statutes, i.e., אם בחקותי תלכו. I use my intellect, but it’s subservient to the Torah.
Our true desire ought to be to combine the two, and make the understanding of the Torah the same as ours. As Rashi teaches in parshat Ki Sisa (Chapter 31, Pasuk 3), דעת means רוח הקודש. Having the סייעתא דשמיא and the Divine Inspiration to think according to the ways of the Torah is the ultimate goal, and the result of making ourselves subservient to אם בחקותי תלכו.
Good Shabbos
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