It’s my turn to to share some Torah to the holy plu-brothers, so I will bring you into the world of my favorite Chassidic master, the Shem MiShmuel otherwise known as the Sochatchaver Rebbe. Let us jump right into it…
The fourth aliyah in parshas Ki Savo begins with Moshe Rabeinu and the Elders of Israel instructing the Jewish people to write the Torah on great stones after they cross the Jordan River and enter into Eretz Yisroel.
This one time commandment is strange in all its parts. The normal mitzvah of Ksivas Sefer Torah is commanded to each and every Jew, and a special commandment for a King to write a second sefer Torah. This commandment is to all the Jews to write one torah. Weird. The standard object which we write our sifrei torah on is a klaf, skin from an animal, something which was once alive. This commandment calls for the Torah to be written on stone, no life. What is going on here? Why was it that in this situation, before entering the Land of Israel, is there such a stark difference in the commandment to write a sefer Torah?
The Shem MiShmuel quotes an idea from his father the Avnei Neizer to help us understand this unusual commandment. He says that the reason why we are commanded to write a Sefer Torah in general is in order to engrave the words of the Torah on the heart of the person. IN the process of writing a sefer torah one needs to first work the parchment before you can write on it. So also by the person in order for the Torah to enter into him he needs to purify himself.
The problem with this is the Zohar tells us that the only way a person can purify himself is with the Torah, but if the Torah can only enter us if we are pure then it seems we can never be pure.
He answers that there are two parts to the heart of a Jew. There is the forever pure, invincible, and true essence of a person, his Nefesh Elokis piece of Hashem inside of him. Then there is the part of the heart which is malleable to outside forces both good and evil. Our inner soul is always ready and in fact waiting for Torah to sustain our true beings. The avodah for us is to reveal the Nefesh Elokis through the part of our being which is stopping us from being who we really are.
With this idea we can understand this unusual commandment of writing the Torah on stone as we entered the Land of Eretz Yisrael. Hashem was reminding us, that as we enter into this new phase of our lives entering into our Homeland, that we have a part of us which is an impenetrable force, a stone if you will, which is our true being. It’s the part of us which is constantly thirsting for Torah, and striving to follow the Torah, but we need to work to tap into ourselves. That work begins with learning the Torah. The only thing which can purify ourselves from outer forces. Hashem created the Yetzer Hara and he created Torah as a cure. The doctor prescribed the medicine we just need to take it. The Yetzer Hara works to take us away from being who we really are, Hashem is telling us there is a real you and the Torah is the way you will reveal your true self.
My brothers, we should be blessed to reveal our true selves finding our portion in the Torah, and in that merit we will be able to go back home and dance in the Beis HaMikdash listening to the Shirei HaLeviim.
THis week the plu-drichs began YU. My first few hours back in the Hieghts were not up;ifting as the name might have suggested. But with a little work, and finding a shiur to go to i was back in the swing of things and am looking forward to completing the semster.
last night was adam frolingers wedding. the liquid neicha was flowing baruch Hashem. i was hoping they would break out with some Ki Hirbeisa, but i guess they werent carrying the words וחפצים לעשות רצוניך in their wallets (shmeel).
You should all be blessed.
I hope to see you all back home soon. (i am going september fourth, i might have room for some puff pastry in my bag)
Shabbos Kodesh,
Dovid
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