Ought To? Love To: Parshas VaEschanan

G-d can have a strictly contractual relationship with us based on the covenant, the bris, which promises that if we keep our part of the bargain and remain loyal to the Torah, He will fulfill his part of the bargain and protect us. Or He can go beyond that and have a loving relationship with us and show us chesed, loving kindness. It all depends on what our relationship is with Him. Do we perform his commandments out of duty, but they are really burdensome for us? Or do we perform them out of love and they are really a pleasure for us. If we really love someone, we will take care of their biggest needs and their tiniest needs. We will do it consistently be’ofen ikvi, not sporadically. Everything we do for them is done out of love. Nothing is too difficult. That is what Rashi means when he tells us that the word “eikev” refers to the seemingly insignificant commandments that a person tramples with his heels.

Who taught us to perform the mitzvos out of love rather than out of duty? It was Avraham. He is referred to as Avraham ohavi, Avraham who loves Me (Yeshayahu 41:8.)

How did Avraham earn this epithet? It was because Avraham so loved the mitzvos that he kept all 613 of them, even the rabbinical ones like eiruv tavshilin, even though he was not obliged to (Yoma 28:2). His duty was to keep only the seven Noachide laws and the law of circumcision. But he loved G-d so much that nothing was too much for him. He asked, “What more could I do for You?” What other mitzvos can I keep? He didn’t groan, “Shver tzu zein a Yid.” G-d didn’t have to admonish Avraham like He admonished later generations (Micah 6:3) that the mitzvos are not a yoke around one’s neck, but rather vitamins for the soul. That is why G-d blessed the Jewish people and bestowed kindness upon them, “Eikev asher shama Avraham bekoli vayishmor mishmarti, mitzvosei, chukosei vetorosei” (Bereishis 26:5), because Avraham obeyed my voice and observed my precautions, my commandments, my statutes and my laws.”

Shir HaShirim tells us that if we want to survive among the nations, we must follow in Avraham’s footsteps: Tzei lach be’ikvei hatzon, follow the footsteps of the flocks (Shir HaShirim 1:8). The word “tzon” here refers to our forefathers who, like sheep, showed us the way by leaving the imprint of their footsteps in the sands of Jewish history – in the spirit of ma’aseh avos siman labonim.

In encouraging the Jews not to fear taking on their enemies, G-d reminds them that they are not alone and they should be bolstered by “hamasos hagedolos asher rau einecha – the great masos that they witnessed” (Devarim 7:1).

What does the word “masos” mean? According to Targum Onkelos, masos means great miracles, like the ten plagues with which G-d smote the Egyptians. Those miracles were freebies. They required no effort on the part of the Jews.

According to Rashi, the word masos relates to nisyonos, trials. The miracles did not happen by themselves. The Jews first had to show they were worthy of them by being put to test. The Red Sea didn’t split when the waters came up to their ankles. No, they had to show faith and courage. It only split when Nachshon Ben Aminadav jumped into the deep end and the waters came up to his nostrils, “ba’u mayim ad nafesh’ (Tehillim 69:2).

The word masos also comes from the word masa, which means a load, because the letters Samech and Shin are interchangeable. Performing a miracle is a burden for G-d. Although He can do anything, it is a burden for Him to change the course of nature. We shouldn’t be asking Him to do that. We should understand that nature itself is a miracle. We should be like Rabbi Chaninah Ben Dosah who saw no difference between oil burning and vinegar burning (Ta’anis 25a). Both are equally miraculous.

We are warned not to become arrogant after we settle in the Land of Israel. “Pen tochal vesavata, ubatim tovim tivneh veyashavta, vekesef vezahav yirbeh lach vechol asher lecha yirbeh, veshachta es Hashem elokecha hamotzi’oscha Me’eretz Mitzrai’im mibeis avadim – Lest you eat and be satisfied, and you build yourselves beautiful houses to dwell in and earn much gold and silver and multiply your wealth and you will become haughty and forget G-d who took you out of Egypt and freed you from slavery” (Devarim 8:12).

There was no danger of becoming arrogant in the desert. There were no self-made men there. It was clear to all that manna rained down from heaven, that water was provided in the merit of Miriam, that one’s clothes lasted forever and one’s feet did not swell in the heat (8:4).

Even upon entering the land of Israel, it was still clear that everything was provided free of charge with no effort involved. “Vehaya ki yevi’acha Hashem Elokcecha el Ha’aretz…loseis lechah orim gedolos vetovos asher lo bonisoh, ubotim melayim kol tuv asher lo mileita, uboros chatzuvim asher lo chatzavta, keramim vezeytim asher lo nata’ata ve’ochalta vesava’ata. Hishomer lecha pen tishkach Hashem Elokechach asher Hotze’secha me’eretz Mitzrayim mibeis avadim – It shall be when Hashem your G-d brings you to the land to give you great and good cities that you did not build, houses filled with every good thing that you did not fill, chiseled cisterns that you did not chisel, orchards and olive trees that you did not plant and you shall eat and be satisfied, beware lest you forget Hashem who took you out of the land of Egypt from slavery.” (6:10-12).

The real danger of becoming arrogant emerged in the third generation in which the travails of surviving the desert and conquering the land belonged to the distant past. “Ki Tolid banim ubenei Banim Uneshantem Ba’aretz – When you have children and grandchildren and will have been long in the land” (4:25). Then when you earn your own living and build your own houses, you will be tempted to believe that the success is all yours and G-d no longer has a hand in it. And you will say, “Kochi ve’otzem yadi asah li es kol hachayil hazeh. Vezacharta es Hashem Elokecha ki hu hanosein lecha ko’ach la’asos Chayil – And you may say in your heart my strength and the might of my hand made me all this wealth. Then you shall remember Hashem your G-d that it is He who gave you the strength to make wealth” (8:17).

The numerical value of “ram,” as in “ram levavcha,” is 240. It is the same numerical value as Amalek, which is also 240. Whenever we forget who it is that recharges our batteries and believe we are secure enough to attribute our success to ourselves, it is our enemies that remind us where our strength comes from and that without G-d’s help, we are helpless. “Ulnasotam es Hashem leimor, Hayesh Hashem Bekirbeinu im ayin… vayavo Amalek – Because the people had argued and tested G-d. They had asked is G-d really among us? Then Amalek arrived and attacked Israel.”

Indeed the reign of the kings of Israel lasted for only 240 years, equal the numerical value of “ram.” Their reign was cut off because of their haughtiness. Yeravam, the king of Israel, forbade the Jews to go on their tri-annual pilgrimages to the Temple in Jerusalem simply because he felt that he was not given enough honor when he got to the Temple courtyard. That was because Rechavam, the king of Judah, was allowed to sit in the Temple courtyard whereas Yeravam was obliged to stand in accordance with the rule that no one is allowed to sit in the Temple courtyard except for the kings that are descended from Kin Dovid (Yoma 25a). This hurt Yeravam’s pride so much that he banned all visits to the Temple, as did all of the kings of Israel after him. In place of the temple, he erected idols all over Israel for the people to visit and worship which brought about the demise of the kingdom of Israel 240 years later.

“Ba’eis hahe, omar Hasehm eilei, pesol lecha shenei luchos habris – At that time G-d said to Moshe carve out two stone tablets” (10:1). The word “shenei,” as opposed to the word shenayim, means that the two items must be equal and identical. Thus we see that the shenei kevasim, the two sheep sacrificed at the Shabbat Mussaf service, had to be identical. Similarly, the shenei se’irim, the two goats of Yom Kippur, had to be identical. The message is that the two tablets, one containing the five commandments regulating conduct between man and G-d and the other containing the five commandments regulating conduct between human beings, are of equal importance.