1.
In his final message to the Jewish People, Moshe warns them of the terrible consequences that they will suffer when they turn away from HaShem.
However Moshe also reassures them that sooner or later
the Jewish people will learn
that while abandoning HaShem will bring them disaster,
their return to Him
will cause their return to the land of Israel
and the arrival of the Mashiach.
(א)
וְהָיָה֩
כִֽי־יָבֹ֨אוּ עָלֶ֜יךָ
כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה
הַבְּרָכָה֙ וְהַקְּלָלָ֔ה
אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֖תִּי לְפָנֶ֑יךָ
וַהֲשֵׁבֹתָ֙ אֶל־לְבָבֶ֔ךָ
בְּכׇ֨ל־הַגּוֹיִ֔ם
אֲשֶׁ֧ר הִדִּיחֲךָ֛ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֖יךָ שָֽׁמָּה׃
(1)
When all these things come upon you—
the blessing and the curse
that I have placed upon you—
then you will take it to heart
when you are
among all of the nations
to which ה' has scattered you.
The Ramban points out the timeframe that Moshe was referring to.
והיה כי יבאו עליך כל הדברים האלה כבר הזכרתי (ויקרא כו טז) כי הפרשה הזאת עתידה כי כל עניניה לא היו ולא נבראו אבל הם עתידין להיות:
AND IT SHALL BE,
WHEN ALL THESE THINGS
COME UPON
I have already mentioned that
this Parsha refers to the future,
for all its descriptions
have not yet taken place,
but they are bound to happen
in the future to come.
הַבְּרָכָה֙ וְהַקְּלָלָ֔ה
A review of Jewish history will show,
that when the Jewish People remained loyal to HaShem,
they experienced brachah,
but when they turned away from HaShem
and took on the beliefs of the foreign nations with whom they lived,
they suffered.
Moshe was telling the Jewish People that
at some point, the Jewish People will realize this
and when they do,
they will return back to HaShem
and He will fully accept their tshuvah
despite their previous betrayal.
וַהֲשֵׁבֹתָ֙ אֶל־לְבָבֶ֔ךָ
It is not enough to know intellectually the importance of connecting with HaShem.
One must feel it emotionally as well and take it to heart
and only then will a lasting connection follow. **
(ב)
וְשַׁבְתָּ֞ עַד־ה' אֱלֹקֹיךָ֙
וְשָׁמַעְתָּ֣ בְקֹל֔וֹ
כְּכֹ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־אָנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיּ֑וֹם
אַתָּ֣ה וּבָנֶ֔יךָ
בְּכׇל־לְבָבְךָ֖ וּבְכׇל־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃
(2)
And you will return unto ה',
and you will listen to His voice
according to all that
I am commanding you today,
you and your children
with all your heart
and with all your soul.
עַד־ה' אֱלֹקֹיך
The ideal tshuva takes place when one has no other desire other than to return to HaShem
His return to HaShen is not based on a desire to end to his suffering
or motivated by a desire to receive a reward.
The Sforno writes
ושבת עד ה' אלקיך.
תהיה תשובתך
כדי לעשות רצון קונך בלבד.
וזו היא התשובה שאמרו ז"ל
(יומא פרק יום הכפורים)
שמגעת עד כסא הכבוד:
ושבת עד ה' אלוקיך,
A person's Tshuva should have
only one motivation;
only to want to do the will of HaShem.
Our Rabbis have said that
this type of tshuvah
reaches right up to HaShem 's throne
and is immediately accepted.”
Once the Jewish People return to HaShem,
He will bring them back to the land of Israel
no matter how difficult it will be
for them to get out of the country that they are in.
(ג)****
וְשָׁ֨ב ה' אֱלֹקֶ֛יךָ
אֶת־שְׁבוּתְךָ֖
וְרִחֲמֶ֑ךָ
וְשָׁ֗ב
וְקִבֶּצְךָ֙ מִכׇּל־הָ֣עַמִּ֔ים
אֲשֶׁ֧ר הֱפִֽיצְךָ֛ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֖יךָ שָֽׁמָּה׃
(ד)
אִם־יִהְיֶ֥ה נִֽדַּחֲךָ֖ בִּקְצֵ֣ה הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם
מִשָּׁ֗ם יְקַבֶּצְךָ֙ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ
וּמִשָּׁ֖ם יִקָּחֶֽךָ׃
(3)
then ה' will bring back
your people who are in captivity
and take you back in love.
HaShem will bring you together again
from all the peoples
where ה' has scattered you.
(4)
Even if your outcasts
are at the ends of the world,
from there ה' will gather you in,
from there HaShem will take you.
וְשָׁ֨ב ה' אֱלֹקֶ֛יךָ
Then HaShem will bring back
The words וְשָׁ֨ב ה' אֱלֹקֶ֛יךָ literally mean that HaShem will return with your captives.
The Rabbis learn that HaShem Himself went with the Jewish People wherever they went
through out the world
and that when the time comes,
He will not only bring the Jewish people back
but will return with them.
In this Pasuk the word וְשָׁ֗ב and HaShem will bring back is written twice.
The Meshech Chochmah explains that the double use of the word וְשָׁ֗ב is for the two different types of Jews in exile.
There are those who yearn to return to the Land of Israel and view their return from exile as escaping from prison.
Those are the first to return.
The second group are those who are perfectly comfortable in the foreign lands
and have lost all desire to return to Israel.
HaShem will return those Jews to their homeland. It will just take more time.
ושב ה' אלקיך את שבותך.
הָיָה לוֹ לִכְתֹּב "וְהֵשִׁיב" אֶת שְׁבוּתְךָ, רַבּוֹתֵינוּ לָמְדוּ מִכָּאן כִּבְיָכוֹל
שֶׁהַשְּׁכִינָה שְׁרוּיָה עִם יִשְׂרָאֵל
בְּצָרַת גָּלוּתָם,
וּכְשֶׁנִּגְאָלִין
הִכְתִּיב גְּאֻלָּה לְעַצְמוֹ —
שֶׁהוּא יָשׁוּב עִמָּהֶם.
ושב ה' אלקיך את שבותך
THEN HASHEM WILL BRING
YOUR CAPTIVES BACK
To express this idea
it ought to have written והשיב את שבותך, “then He will bring back your captives”.
But our Rabbis learned from this that,
if one can say so of HaShem,
His Presence dwells with Israel
in all the misery of their exile,
so that when they are delivered
(i.e. when He speaks
of their being taken back),
He has the Passuk written as
“Return” of Himself
that He will return with them (Megillah 29a).
The Gemorah in Maseches Shabbos104a says בָּא לִיטָּהֵר — מְסַיְּיעִים אוֹתוֹ.
One who comes to purify himself, gets help from HaShem to complete the process.
Once a person returns to HaShem, HaShem will help him by removing all barriers that might
stand in his way, (for example the Yetzer Harah). This will especially take place in the times of Mashiach.
(ו)
וּמָ֨ל ה' אֱלֹקֶ֛יךָ
אֶת־לְבָבְךָ֖
וְאֶת־לְבַ֣ב זַרְעֶ֑ךָ
לְאַהֲבָ֞ה אֶת־ה' אֱלֹקֶ֛יךָ
בְּכׇל־לְבָבְךָ֥ וּבְכׇל־נַפְשְׁךָ֖
לְמַ֥עַן חַיֶּֽיךָ׃
(6)
Then ה' will open up
your heart
and the hearts of your offspring—
to love ה' with all your heart
and soul,
in order that you may live.
The Ibn Ezra writes
ומל ה' אלקיך.
ואחר שאמר
תשוב
לשמוע בקולו
הוא יעזרך
וימול לבבך ולבב זרעך
לא כמילת הבשר
שאתה חייב למול אותו:
AND HASHEM WILL CIRCUMCISE.
After saying,
'you shall return to HaShem
and listen to His voice",
Moshe says that
unlike a Bris Milah,
which you are obligated to do,
HaShem will help you
and will circumcise your heart
and the heart of your children.
The Ramban adds
1.
In his final address to the Jewish People what does Moshe Rabbeinu warn the Jewish People of
and what does he reassure them of?
________________________________________________________________________________
2.
What is the ideal Tshuva?
________________________________________________________________________________
3.
What lesson does Rashi learn from the words שָׁ֨ב ה' אֱלֹקֶ֛יךָ ?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
AND HASHEM WILL CIRCUMCISE YOUR HEART. I
t is this which the Rabbis have said,
“If someone comes to purify himself,
they assist him” [from on High].
This Pasuk assures you
that you will return to Him
with all your heart and He will help you.
Since the time of Creation, man has had the power to do as he pleased, to be righteous or wicked. This [gift of free will] applies likewise to the entire Torah-period,
so that people can gain merit
upon choosing the good
and punishment for preferring evil.
But in the days of the Messiah,
the choice of good will be natural;
the heart will not desire the improper
and it will have no craving whatever for it.
This is the “circumcision” mentioned here, for lust and desire are
the “foreskin” (orlah)of the heart,
and circumcision of the heart means that
it will not covet or desire evil.
Man will return at that time to what he was before the sin of Adam,
when by his nature
he did what should properly be done,
and there were no
conflicting desires in his will, as I have explained in Seder Bereshith.
It is this which is written
in Sefer Yermiyahu,
Behold, the days come, says HaShem
that I will make a new Bris
with the house of Israel,
and with the house of Judah; not according to the Bris that I made with their fathers etc. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says HaShem,
I will put my Torah in their inward parts,
and in their heart will I write it.
This is a reference to the elimination of
the Yetzer HaRah
and to the natural performance by the heart to act properly.
Therefore Jeremiah said further,
and I will be their G-d,
and they shall be My people;
and they shall teach no more
every man his neighbor,
and every man his brother,
saying: ‘Know HaShem;’
for they shall all know Me,
from the least of them unto the greatest of them. Now, it is known that
man’s heart is evil from his youth
and it is necessary to instruct them,
but at that time it will not be necessary
to instruct them [to avoid evil]
for their evil instinct
will then be completely abolished.
And so it is declared by Yechezkel,
A new heart will I also give you,
and a new spirit will I put within you;
and I will cause you to walk in My statutes.
The new heart alludes to man’s nature,
and the [new] spirit to the desire and will.
It is this which our Rabbis have said:
“And the years draw near,
when you will say:
‘I have no pleasure in them’ —
These are the days of the Meshiah,
as they will offer opportunity
neither for merit nor for guilt,”
for in the days of the Meshiach
there will be no [evil] desire in man
but he will naturally perform
the proper deeds and therefore there will be neither merit nor guilt in them,
for merit and guilt are dependent
upon desire(and choice)