BS"D
CONTINUOUS COMPASSION: PARSHAT KI TAVO
Shira Smiles shiur - 2017/5777
Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein
The Torah commands us that when we come to the land Hashem has promised us, in
the third year of the shemittah cycle, we give an additional tenth of
our produce to the Levite, the proselyte, the orphan and the widow. Then we are
to make a declaration before Hashem that sounds very much like a confession:
"I have removed the holy things from my house, I have given to the
Levite... and to the widow according to whatever commandment You commanded me.
I have not transgressed... I have hearkened to Your voice. I have acted
according to everything as You commanded me. Gaze down from Your holy abode...
and bless Your people Israel..." Because of the terminology, this
declaration is indeed referred to as viduy maasrot - Confession of the
Tithes.
Several questions immediately come to mind. First, if we have done all that
Hashem has commanded, If we have actually fulfilled a mitzvah, what is there to
confess? Further, the Torah uses "Hashkef mim'on kodshecha/gaze
down from Your holy abode" generally for Hashem seeing the sins of man and
punishing us. This is the only time this phrase is used for Hashem to witness
the performance of a mitzvah. To this latter anomaly, the Gemarrah
explains that performing mitzvoth, especially those of chesed as
inherent in this act, has the power to transform a curse into a blessing.
Our verse asks Hashem to gaze down from His maon/abode. Rav Moshe
Goldstein in Shaarei Chaim notes that maon is the fifth of
the seven heavens. It is that heaven where the angels sing to Hashem all night
but, because Hashem wants to hear the voices of Bnei Yisroel, the angels are
silent during the day. These are songs of joy, as alluded to in the
introduction to the bentching at a wedding, "Let us bless our God shehasimcha
bim'ono/in Whose abode is this celebration..." It is in the maon,
the abode of joy, that is the seat of blessings. But while Hashem wants to give
us blessings, we must activate the delivery system through our prayers, and the
most auspicious times for prayers is after performing mitzvoth.
Rav Avraham Schorr brings support for this idea in Halekach VeHalebuv based
on an insight on the Chafetz Chayim. There is a biblical command to bless
Hashem after a meal, to bentch. Yet, while the blessings are concluded
after the fourth blessing ending in the words al yechasreinu, the
liturgy continues with multiple requests that Hashem sustain us, bless our
table, and send us the Prophet Eliyahu to herald our redemption, among other
requests. Similarly, continues Rabbi Schorr, traditionally a woman adds
personal requests for family and for Klal Yisroel after she lights her Shabbat
candles. We ask Hashem to look down now, and bless us in the merit of the
mitzvah we are now performing. These verses are the source of that tradition.
Nevertheless, it seems strange that we offer a confession at this juncture.
Rabbi Wolbe offers a beautiful insight into this verse and indeed into all
confession. By focusing on the phrase "before Hashem", (and
"before You" in the traditional Yom Kippur confession) Rabbi Wolbe
points out that by our statement, we realize we are standing before Hashem and
desire a relationship with Him, a relationship we may have denied when we
sinned, and a relationship we now wish to foster through mitzvah observance.
Here we acknowledge that Hashem always sees us, observing us from His holy
abode.
Viduy/Confession is rooted in the word vadai/truth, notes Rabbi
Moshe Egbi in Chochmat Hamatzpun. Can I in all honesty say that I have
done everything Hashem has asked of me, with the proper focus and intention?
Mitzvah observance should not be merely rote, but should be full of aware
intention as a means of connecting to Hakodosh Boruch Hu.
The Sforno approaches our discussion from a completely different point
of view. He maintains that this declaration is in fact a confession of a
previous sin, the sin of the golden calf. After all, had we not sinned with the
golden calf, the firstborn of each family would have been entitled to these
tithes. Instead, we must now remove these holy things, the terumot and ma'asrot,
from our homes and give them to the Levites who serve in place of the
firstborn. With this declaration, we admit that the mini temples of our homes
are no longer worthy of being the suppositories of the terumot and ma'asrot,
and we must now give these gifts to those who serve in Hashem's temple, writes
Rabbi Goldwicht z”l in Asufat Ma'arachot. That was the curse and the
punishment. But now, by performing this mitzvah, by giving these gifts to
others, I have transformed the curse to a blessing.
When I perform this mitzvah, I am filled with the same conflicting emotions as
Rosh Hashanah itself generates. I feel both trepidation and joy, gilu
biradah, continues Rabbi Goldwich z”lt. While I tremble at my
transgression, I am still filled with joy.
How can I feel joy when I know I'm being judged? Rabbi Pincus z”l explains.
Rosh Hashanah is not only the Day of Judgment but also the Day we coronate
Hashem as our King. The shofar blasts herald His coronation. As King, He sits
in judgment over us. But as King, He also has the power to pardon us. Standing
before Him. we are not impersonal defendants, but His loyal subjects who want
to serve Him. The fear and the joy are thus complementary rather than
conflicting emotions.
These two emotions are reflected in the themes of the day, writes Rabbi
Goldwicht z”l. The Gemarrah tells us to "verbalize before Me Sovereignty, Remembrance
and Shofrot. Sovereignty, to make Me King over you; Remembrances that memory of
you should rise before Me for the good. And how? Through the shofar."
Rabbi Goldwicht z”l explains that the very sounds of the shofar carry within
them these contrasting themes, the majesty of teruah and the brokenness
of shevarim. Our prayers on Rosh Hashanah express both our joy and
our awe in being Hashem's subjects. They lead to the closeness of our
relationship, and motivate Him to move from the Seat of Justice to the Throne
of Compassion. Our prayers recognize both Hashem's power and His constant
benevolence toward us.
And so, we declare that we have now kept all these precepts involved in this
tithing. But since it is in the form of a confession, we must delve more deeply
to discover what is missing. Here Rabbi Frand points to one letter in the
Hebrew which qualifies our declaration. "k'chol asher
tzivisani/As all [according to all] that You commanded me."I
have gone through all the motions and performed every letter of the law, but
have I really included the joy and full intent of the mitzvah? Do I invest my
mitzvah performance with joy? Each time Hashem looks down from His abode, He
counts us and scrutinizes us. There is always the danger that we will be found
wanting and a plague will descend upon us, writes Rabbi Bloch z”l in Peninei
Daas. We must recognize and acknowledge our shortcomings. Is my Shabbos
table not only a place for kiddush over wine, but also a place of kedusha/holiness
of speech appropriate for Shabbos? But nothing has the power to transform
Hashem's judgment to compassion as our practice of chesed.
When we overcome our ego, and treat others with sensitivity and compassion, when
we give to others, we awaken those memories in Hashem writes Rabbi Scheinerman
in Ohel Moshe. We remind Him of our Childlike faith as we followed Him
in the desert, and we arouse in Him the trait of compassion. When we give to
others, Hashem will give to us. How can we open the gate of heaven? By opening
the gate of our heart. Hashem will gaze down from His abode, see us giving to
others, and He will be "moved" to give to us.
In the Avinu Malkeinu prayer we ask Hashem to write us in the Book of
Merits. What can that mean? Either we have earned good or we have not. But
Rabbi Salomon offers a more meaningful explanation. When we ask Hashem to write
us in the Book of Merits, posits Rabbi Salomon, we are not asking for freebies.
Rather, we are asking Hashem to present us with opportunities to do acts of
chesed for others or to give tzedakah so that we will earn the merits that can
save us from evil decrees. These acts of chesed are not necessarily
material and physical aid. A smile or an encouraging word can sometimes be even
more meaningful than a monetary gift. Sometimes the best we can offer is a
meaningful prayer on another's behalf, writes Rabbi Dov Yoffe. Hashem wants to
do chesed for the one who does chesed for others.
Rosh Hashanah is called Yom Teruah. While the simplest translation is
that this is the day of blowing the shofar, Rabbi Zvi Meir Silverberg points
out in Sichot Hitchazkut that the root of the word is reut, friendship.
In other words, in addition to hearing the sounds of the shofar, we should
focus on fostering sensitivity to others and investing energy into our
relationships with others. In this vein, it is traditional to greet each other
with blessings for a good new year, to which the angels add their own blessings
and answer Amen.
We often talk about deveikus/devotion to Hashem. We tend to think we
demonstrate this through our prayers. In fact, teaches us Rabbi Goldberg in Bechol
Derochecha, we most clearly demonstrate our attachment to Hashem through
following in His ways. We should try to spend Rosh Hashanah doing acts of chesed.
For those women who cannot spend the day in shul because of family obligations,
know that caring for children or for elderly parents are acts of chesed
much loved by Hashem, for He cares for us on a daily basis. And for those who
are in shul, do not be judgmental of others. Rather be compassionate and
sensitive and give the benefit of the doubt when someone's actions don't fit
our vision, for we want Hashem to treat us he same way.
Rashi explains that the essence of this mitzvah of tithing is to be happy and
make others, like the Levite, the widows and the orphans, happy. Those who make
others happy are worthy of entering Olam Haba/the World to Come
immediately, without suffering after death, writes Rabbi Birderman. How do we
make others happy? By giving of ourselves to others with love and joy. By
looking at others and offering them a smiling countenance in friendship and
support. When we give these gifts to others, along with the required tithes,
Hashem will look down upon us as well with a smiling countenance of love. May
He bless us all with a year of health, plenty and growth.
Note from Channie Koplowitz
Stein ( whose dedication makes this summary possible )
Right before Tisha B'Av I lost a
cousin named for my father, Avraham Boruch Halevi ben Bayla uMatisyahu. About
two weeks ago (I was in Israel), I suddenly lost another dear cousin, Hanele
bas Blima v'Yehudah Hakohain. I have dedicated my work on this shiur l'iluy
nishmasom.