Parashat Devarim

7/31/2019 Parashat Devarim

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Parashah Insightsby

Rabbi Yaakov HillelRosh Yeshivat Ahavat Shalom

Parashat Devarim

The Lessons of Mishneh Torah

The Book of RebukeThese are the words which Moshe spoke to all of Israel on the opposite bank of

the Jordan, in the desert of Aravah opposite Suf, between Paran and Tafel, and

between Hatzerot and Di Zahav (Devarim 1:1).

The Book ofDevarim is calledMishneh Torah, literally a review of the Torah. TheArizal explains that the Torah consists of four humashim, followed byHumash

Devarim, where all the words (devarim) of the Torah itself were reviewed (nishnu)

and repeated (Shaar Hakavanot,Derushe Hag HaSukkot,Derush 6).

Our Sages point out that the Book ofBamidbarconcludes withand these are

the commandments (Bamidbar 36:13), while the Book ofDevarim begins with

and these are the words. Similar terms are used in presenting both Hashems

commandments and Moshes reproof, teaching us that Moshes reproof was as

precious to the Al-mighty as His Own commandments (Yalkut Shimoni, Devarim

793). The midrash also tells us that the first four humashim explain the mitzvot,

while Devarim, the fifth humash, contains reproof and rebuke, making these are

the commandments a fitting conclusion forBamidbar, and these are the words a

fitting opening forDevarim.

Our Sages discuss the special importance of the reproof inHumash Devarim.

The Holy One, blessed be He, said, Moshes rebuke to Israel is as important toMe as the Ten Commandments (Midrash HaGadol). It specifically compares the

rebuke to the Ten Commandments, in order to highlight the importance of rebuke.

The Ten Commandments are the crown of the six hundred and thirteen mitzvot. If

rebuke is even more important than the Ten Commandments, it is certainly greater

than all the other mitzvot.


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Rabbi Shimon said, the righteous are fortunate in that that they do not leavethe world before they command their sons after them concerning the teachings of

the Torah... So too, Moshe Rabbenu did not leave the world until he had rebuked

the people of Israel for the sins they had committed, and commanded them to keep

Hashems mitzvot, as it says, and these are the words (ibid.)

What is the significance of and these are the words? Rabbi Yishmael said,these words (devarim) are equivalent to the Ten Commandments (dibros) which the

people of Israel received from Mt. Sinai. What is more, [concerning] the Ten

Commandments, even after they said we will do and we will hear, it did not take

long before they rebelled against them and said [of the Golden Calf], this is your

god, Israel (Shmot 32:4; ibid.).

These words [of Moshes rebuke] brought Israel back to the proper path andcaused them to cleave to the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Torah, as it says,And you who cleave to Hashem your G-d (Devarim 4:4). The Holy One, blessed be

He, said to Moshe, Because Israel cleaved to your words, they will be recalled only

by your name, as it says, These are the words which Moshe spoke to all of Israel.

The verse does not say which Hashem spoke, but rather which Moshe spoke

(ibid.)

What maintains the teachings of the Torah which are above? The rebuke whichis below... Rabbi Yudan, the son of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, said, how precious is

rebuke, which is equivalent to words of Torah. Rabbi Levi, the son of Rabbi Hiyya,

said, how do we know that rebuke is equivalent to words of Torah? Concerning theTen Commandments the Torah says, and these are the words, (Shmot 19:6), and

concerning [Moshes] rebuke it says and these are the words (Devarim Rabbah 6,

Leiberman ed.).

Our Sages define theMishneh Torah as a book of rebuke, and the Arizal defines it

as a book which repeats and reviews all the laws of the Torah. This is not a

contradiction;Devarim is both. InHumash Devarim, we find Moshes review of the

various commandments taught in the earlier humashim along with new insights,

explanations and reasons for each one, as well as relevant words of reproof. The

Torah begins with the story of Creation, and goes on to record the genealogy of the

nations starting with Adam and his descendents, the lives of our Forefathers and

their families, the people of Israels descent to Egypt and their subsequent

enslavement there, followed by the Exodus from Egypt, the Splitting of the Red Sea,

the Revelation at Mt. Sinai, and the events of their forty-year sojourn in the desert

with all its trials, until the nation enteredEretz Yisrael. Alongside the narrative of the

nations history, the Torah also teaches Hashems commandments to His people. In

Mishneh Torah, Moshe Rabbenu reviews both the events and the commandments,

together with additional words of rebuke and guidance in the service of Hashem.


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Moshes MethodsCareful study of Moshes method of reproof teaches us an important lesson,

applicable even today, about the proper way to impart rebuke. Moshe did not at first

confront the people with outright words of rebuke. Our Sages tell us that every word

in the first verse ofDevarim alludes to an issue deserving of rebuke. Later on in the

humash, Moshe spoke about some of these issues in greater detail, explaining the

nature of each sin and rebuking the nation at length (Yalkut Shimoni, Devarim

790). The correct way to reprove is by reconstructing the incident, pointing out the

weak spots and where and how the fall came about, and explaining the root of the

error and how to correct it, whether by reinforcing our faith and trust in Hashem or

in other ways. This is what distinguishes the Book ofDevarim from the other

humashim. In the main, they relate events which took place and teach us the laws of

the Torah, while in Devarim, the narrative is accompanied by detailed rebuke and

reproof.

With this in mind, we can understand the way our Sages arranged the Babylonian

and Jerusalem Talmuds. The main purpose of the Gemara is to explain and expand

on the halachot recorded in the Mishnah. At the same time, however, the Sages

also interspersed aggadic material and ethical teachings together with the halachot.

Their purpose was to combine the study of halachah with the study of ethical

teachings, a crucial element in maintaining and supporting the fulfillment of

halachah.

It is interesting to note that the Maharsha followed this principle in the publicationof his classic commentary on the halachic and aggadic sections of the Talmud. The

earliest edition was published as two separate works. He later decided to have them

published together, using different typefaces to distinguish between the commentary

on halachah and that on aggadah. These two parts of our Torah belong together;

they are inseparable.

With this in mind, we can understand why our Sages consider the Book of

Devarim to be the sustaining element of the entire Torah. Without the linchpin of

ethics and reproof, we will easily succumb to the temptations of sin.

Middot and MitzvotOur Sages words teach us the great importance of combining our study of

Talmud and the works of the great halachic authorities with the study ofmussar, the

Torahs ethical teachings. Every serious student of Torah must develop a Torah-

based outlook and attitudes, and familiarize himself with the broad range of

teachings related to ethics and good character. Halachah cannot stand on its own,

without the accompanying support of ethics and rebuke; What maintains the

teachings of the Torah which are above? The rebuke which is below. This is why

our Sages tell us that rebuke is greater than the Ten Commandments. TheCommandments, being purelyhalachah, were not enough to keep the people from


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sinning with the Golden Calf, while Moshes words of reproof kept them on the

proper path for years, in fact, for generations, to come.

Our Sages tell us that man is composed of a physical body with a spiritual soul.

The Mekubalim teach that there is an additional component interfacing between

body and soul: the souls spiritual garment, known as the levush. The soul resides

within the garment, which in turn resides within the body. The Torah is related to the

soul itself, while the levush is the repository of mans character traits.

Rabbi Hayyim Vital discusses the topic of middot in the beginning ofShaare

Kedushah, where he raises an interesting question. Our Sages frequently speak

about the vital importance of good character traits. And yet, the Torah itself does not

have any commandments explicitly related to good character! Mussarand middot

are not included among the six hundred and thirteen mitzvot.

He explains that the purpose of the mitzvot is to rectify and perfect the soul. Wehave two hundred and forty-eight positive commandments corresponding to mans

two hundred and forty-eight spiritual limbs, and three hundred and sixty-five negative

commandments corresponding to mans three hundred and sixty-five spiritual

sinews, with everymitzvah connected to a specific limb or sinew. Fulfillment of the

commandments completes and perfects the soul, and with it, the body which

contains it. The garment, or the levush, is rectified and perfected by the middot

some good, others bad which reside there. It is up to us to reinforce the good

middot and subdue the bad. Our primary and most important means of personal

rectification is achieved through improving our middot. If our middot are defective,

we will not succeed in fulfilling mitzvot even if we want to our bad middot will trip

us up and topple us into serious sin.

For example, let us say we would sincerely like to get up in the morning in time for

the sunrise minyan, and maybe even spend some time learning before and/or after

the prayers. We know that it would be the right thing to do, but... it is awfully hard to

get out of bed that early and hustle down to the synagogue in the pre-dawn chill. In

short, we are the victims of our own laziness, a very negative character trait deeply

imbedded in our souls garment.Rabbi Hayyim Vital cites the verse, A gold ring in a pigs nose (Mishle 11:22).

Mitzvot are beautiful and precious, like a valuable gold ring. If our middot are

deficient, we are like a pig poking through piles of refuse, heedlessly dragging the

lovely ring in its nose through the dirt. Bad middot sully whatever mitzvot we

manage to do.

Fulfillment ofmitzvot comes from the soul, and middot are the souls garment.

The garment is the vessel which contains and preserves the soul. Without the

protection and reinforcement of good middot, our Torah will not be very long-lived.

The authors of the great classical works of Jewish ethics, among them Rabbenu

Bahaye in HovatHaLevavot and the Ramhal in Mesillat Yesharim, recommend

learning halachah together with mussar. They write that one who learns Talmudand halachah exclusively, without the addition ofmussarstudy, will ultimately falter


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in his service of Hashem. Mussarstudy, directed at improving our middot, has the

power to inspire us to strive for truth and careful fulfillment of Hashems Will.

Our Sages cite the verse, The fear of Hashem is his treasure house (Yeshayahu

33:6). They comment, If one does not have fear of Heaven as his treasure house,

he does not have anything. All his greatest achievements will be considered of no

value. They compare it to one who told his servant to bring a large measure of

wheat up to an attic storeroom. Afterwards he asked him, Did you mix in a little

homtin (a type of soil used as a preservative for wheat)? The servant had not. The

master told him, If you did not add the homtin, it would have been better not to

bring up the wheat at all (Shabbat 31a).

Fear of Heaven is like a storage tower, with the proper conditions for preserving

our spiritual wheat; it maintains and supports our study and fulfillment of Torah.

From SinaiWe find a similar concept in the first mishnah inAvot: Moshe received the Torah

from Sinai and passed it on to Yehoshua, and Yehoshua to the Elders, and theElders to the Prophets, and the Prophets passed it on to the Men of the GreatAssembly (1:1). We would have expected these fundamental facts of the

transmission of our sacred tradition to appear as the first mishnah inBerachot, the

opening tractate of the Six Orders of the Mishnah. Why does it only appear later, in

the Order ofNezikin, as the beginning of the ethical tractateAvot?

The commentary of the Bartenura on this mishnah helps us answer this question.

He writes thatAvot is different than any of the other Mishnaic tractates. The others

deal with halachah, explaining the mitzvot of the Torah, butAvot deals with mussar

and middot. While scholars of other nations have also composed ethical works

about appropriate conduct, in keeping with their own ideas about humanity and

society, these are mere manmade concoctions. Our code of ethics is not the

personal invention of the Sages. It too, no less than the halachic sections of the

Mishnah, is Torah received by Moshe at Sinai, carefully preserved and transmitted to

all subsequent generations.No one can argue with the fact that the Oral Tradition passed down to us by our

Sages is imperative for proper understanding of the Torahs commandments. To

mention only two examples, without it, how would we know what the totafot we are

commanded to place on our arm and head are (Devarim 6:8, 11:18)? How would

we know if the fast of Yom Kippur is to be observed on the ninth day of Tishre or the

tenth (Vayikra 23:27, 32)? Clearly, our knowledge of how to correctly fulfill these

and many other mitzvot is provided by the Oral Tradition given to Moshe at Sinai.

However, we may tend to view the ethical teachings ofAvot differently. Decent,

respectable behavior is a matter of societal norms, developed by each nation for its


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own people. Just as other nations have their customs, we might say, so do we. In

our case, our Sages, surely wise and perceptive men, came up with a nice collection

of good and useful behavior patterns based on their understanding of man and

morals, which they compiled in Pirke Avot. This is why it is specifically the first

mishnah inAvotwhich tells us, Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and passed it

on to Yehoshua, and Yehoshua to the elders, and so on. Our ethical teachings are

also G-dly wisdom and as such, they too are an intrinsic part of the Mishnah, which

embodies the complete Oral Tradition. They are the preservative which maintains

and upholds the halachot taught in all the other sections.

It is significant that the Rambam, in his monumental halachic code Yad

HaHazakah, includes a section on the subject ofmiddot and ethics. Hilchot Deot

are an integral element of our laws, essential for the preservation of the Torah.

Achieving BalanceHowever, as important as the study of mussar is, it must be undertaken in the

proper manner and in suitable proportions. The Nefesh HaHayyim discusses this

matter at some length (Shaar Daled, Chapters 7-8). He criticizes those who engage

exclusively in the study of mussarand other pious topics, neglecting the study of

Gemara and halachah. He cites our Sages explanation of the verse which we

discussed earlier, The fear of Hashem is his treasure house (Yeshayahu 33:6). As

we said, fear of Heaven is the storage tower with the optimum conditions for storing

wheat, which is analogous to Torah. What good will a storehouse do us if we lack

the wheat to fill it?

This is why theNefesh HaHayyim recommends spending a short time on mussar

study before beginning our principal study of Gemara. In fact, he writes that one

who learns for many hours at a stretch may even interrupt his learning briefly to

reflect on topics related to fear of Heaven, to rekindle the inspiration with which he

began his learning. He cites the analogy of the pinch ofhomtin which preserves the

wheat; in order to protect the main body of our learning, we should mix in a dose of

mussar(seeShabbat 31a).The Nefesh HaHayyim goes on to explain why this teaching is immediately

followed by Rabbi Yishmaels halachic ruling concerning the laws of theft and

deception, which would seem to belong more correctly with other related laws in

Nezikin. Rabbi Yishmael says that it is permissible to include a small amount of

homtin in a load of wheat, selling the entire quantity at the higher price charged for

wheat. This is not theft; it is honest business practice, because the homtin is

necessary for the preservation of the wheat. The same is true of learning. We may

steal a little time from our Gemara study for mussar. We need not worry that we

are wasting precious moments, because the mussarwill guarantee the continuity of

our Torah.


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The Hazon Ish discusses another aspect of the necessary balance between the

study of mussar and halachah. He writes that learning mussar without in-depth

study ofhalachah can lead to serious transgressions. Knowledge ofhalachah is the

key to spiritual perfection. He speaks about the concept of a rodef(pursuer) and a

nirdaf(the pursued). It is essential that we be able to recognize which of two parties

is actually the pursuer, and which is the pursued. The study of the ethical

teachings of mussar will fill us with love and compassion for the pursued, and

outrage for the pursuer. However, if we are not familiar with the relevant halachot,

how we can be certain that we have correctly identified the pursuer and the pursued?

Perhaps the individual we perceive to be the injured party is actually at fault, while

the other party is not the perpetrator of injustice but rather, its victim. Only the

rulings of our great halachic authorities can tell us who is in the wrong or right in a

given instance, establishing the truth and correctly defining the pursuer and thepursued (Emunah UBitahon, Chapter 3).

The Book of Devarim teaches us an important principle relevant to every area of

the service of G-d and the fulfillment ofmitzvot. As we explained, our souls garment

can only achieve complete rectification and attain perfection through the refinement

of our middot. If we do not even know what good middot truly are, how can we

hope to acquire them? On their own, the mitzvot, our Torah-ordained obligations,

are like a framework. There is another, internal element as well: the way we relate to

the mitzvot. This involves subjugating our heart to the Al-mighty and fulfilling His

Will to the very best of our ability, strictly for His honor with no ulterior motives,

through love and fear of Hashem. If our service of Hashem lacks this internal

thought and feeling, it will be empty of all inner content, leaving us with a

pathetically hollow frame. This is why we need to learn mussar, filling in the frame of

our practical performance with the necessary depth and understanding. The Book of

Devarim, which brings together a review of the Torahs commandments with

Moshes reproof to our people, teaches us to combine the two complementary

elements ofhalachah and mussarso that we can serve Hashem whole heartedly, to

the maximum of our ability.

This essay contains divre Torah. Please treat it with proper respect.

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Parashat Devarim