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One of the Mitzvot in this week’s Parashah is separating Ma’aser Sheni / the Second Tithe of the produce. The Torah instructs us that this tithe--or its value, if the tithe itself is too much to transport--should be carried to Yerushalayim “so that you will learn to have Yir’ah / reverence of Hashem, your Elokim, all the days” (14:23). Being in proximity to the Bet Hamikdash will enhance a person’s Yir’ah, so the Torah wants us to spend time there.

R’ Yehuda Amital z”l (1924-2010; founder and co-Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, popularly known as “Gush”) writes: We tend to think of Yir’ah, often translated as “fear,” as something stern--the antithesis of Simchah / joy. Yet, the Torah tells us that eating Ma’aser Sheni in Yerushalayim will cause us to have Yir’ah. The Torah does not command us to sell our Ma’aser Sheni to buy books about Mussar / character improvement; in fact, buying non-food items with this money is prohibited. The Torah does say (verse 26), “You may spend the money for whatever your heart desires--for cattle, flocks, wine, or alcoholic beverage, or anything that your soul wishes; you shall eat it there before Hashem, your Elokim, and rejoice--you and your household.”

R’ Amital continues: Some associate Yir’ah with obsessing over whether a Mitzvah was done properly. Of course Mitzvot must be performed properly, but the hallmark of real Yir’ah is that it is uplifting and brings a person joy. This is expressed in the prayer many say on Friday night (in Ribon Kol Ha’olamim, printed after Shalom Aleichem), “Then I shall observe Your laws without Etzev”--a word that means both sadness and nerves.

R’ Amital adds: Chassidim say, “Sadness is not a sin; it is worse than a sin.” Without joy, a person cannot progress; he has no confidence in himself or his abilities. A person with Yir’at Shamayim / awe of Heaven needs to know when to laugh also. (Editor’s note: Interestingly, the Patriarch who our Sages associate with the trait of Yir’ah was Yitzchak, whose name means, “He will laugh.”) (Le’olam Yehei Adam p.23)

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“See, I present before you today a blessing and a curse: The blessing--that you listen to the commandments of Hashem, your Elokim, that I command you today. And the curse--if you do not listen to the commandments of Hashem, your Elokim . . .” (11:26-28)

R’ Yedayah Ha’penini z”l (13th century; Provence) writes: Man has absolute Bechirah / free choice, and nothing in nature forces him to choose one way or another, i.e., between the correct thing to do or the incorrect one, or between true beliefs or false ones. Neither a person’s temperament nor any star forces him to choose one or the other. It is true, R’ Yedayah writes, that a person’s temperament may tempt him in one direction or the other--be it toward physical desires, a need to be in control, courage, generosity, alacrity--nevertheless, a person has Bechirah whether to follow those instincts or to make a different choice--good or bad. This is clear based on the emphasis that the Torah places on the principle of reward and punishment, for a person cannot be rewarded and punished if he has no choice how to act. (Be’ur Haggadot: Devarim Rabbah)

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“Rather, only at the place that Hashem, your Elokim, will choose from among all your tribes to place His Name shall you seek out His Shechinah / Presence and come there.” (12:5)

R’ Shraga Feivish Hager z”l (1958-2024; Kosover Rebbe) writes: One must know that everything that has ever happened or will happen, from the time of Creation until the end of time, emanates from the site of the Bet Hamikdash, as the Gemara (Yoma 54b) teaches: The place of the Kodesh Ha’kodashim / Holy of Holies is called the “Even Shetiyah” / “Foundation Stone,” because the Creation of the world began there and spread outward from that point.

This, continues R’ Hager, explains why the Torah never tells us where the Bet Hamikdash should be built. Rather, our verse tells us to “seek out His Shechinah.” The more precious something is, the less available it is, and the more one must make an effort to find or obtain it. And, the location of the Bet Hamikdash is the most precious place of all!

For hundreds of years after Bnei Yisrael entered Eretz Yisrael, they did not know where the Bet Hamikdash would be built, R’ Hager notes. Finally, the Prophet Shmuel and the future King David identified the location through their careful study of relevant verses. (See Zevachim 54b.)

In this light, R’ Hager continues, we can better understand why we mourn the loss of the Bet Hamikdash. The Bet Hamikdash is the place from which sustenance flows to the world. When it stood, a person could visit there, feel G-d’s Presence, and feel a strong attachment to the Shechinah. When it is not standing, that opportunity is missing. (Kovetz Safah Berurah p.262)

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“You shall you seek out His Shechinah / Presence and come there.” (12:5)

R’ Yehoshua Heschel Singer z”l (1848-1925; rabbi in Buffalo, NY) writes: People often ask, “What’s new in Shul? What did the rabbi say in his sermon?” Our verse is teaching that it is not enough to inquire (“seek out”) what happened in Hashem’s presence; one should “come there” himself.

Notably, R’ Singer adds, the verse does not say, “Go there.” It says “Come there,” because going to Shul should feel like coming home. (Mishneh Zikaron)

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“You shall pelt him with stones and he shall die, for he sought to push you away from near (literally, ‘on’) Hashem, your Elokim . . .” (13:11)

R’ Meir Simcha Hakohen (1843-1926; rabbi of Dvinsk, Latvia) writes: The Gemara (Berachot 6a) teaches that Hashem wears Tefilin, so-to-speak, that contain verses expressing His pride in the Jewish People. A person who seduces another Jew to worship idols seeks to deprive Hashem of that pride and to force Him to remove His Tefilin, so-to-speak. In effect, then, this person seeks to “push you away from on Hashem.” (Meshech Chochmah)

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“If there shall be a destitute person among you, any of your brethren in any of your cities, in the Land that Hashem, your Elokim, gives you, you shall not harden your heart or close your hand against your destitute brother.” (15:7)

Rabbeinu Yonah Gerondi z”l (1210-1263; Spain) writes: The Torah commands us not only to give Tzedakah / charity, but to distance ourselves from the trait of cruelty, and to acquire the trait of pleasantness. It is possible, after all, to not close one’s hand to the poor, but at the same time to give charity in a way that is cruel (for example, by embarrassing the recipient). (Sha’arei Teshuvah III 36)

R’ Gershon Edelstein z”l (1923-2023; Rosh Yeshiva of the Ponovezh Yeshiva) elaborates: Acquiring the “trait of pleasantness” means learning to love performing Chessed / kindness. The way to do this is to perform small acts of kindness discretely, in situations where one will not receive public acclaim for his acts. Little by little, as one becomes accustomed to do this, his love of Chessed will strengthen. (Peninei Chizuk)

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Teshuvah

With the approach of the month of Elul and the season of Teshuvah / repentance, one might ask: Since Teshuvah is a Mitzvah, why do we not recite a Berachah before repenting, as we do before performing most Mitzvot?

R’ Yitzchak Shmelkes z”l (1828-1906; rabbi of Lvov, Galicia) offers two answers:

(1) When one performs a Mitzvah, he is supposed to have in mind that he is doing so because Hashem commanded it. Therefore, he can recite a blessing, “Who commanded us . . .” Teshuvah is different; by definition, a person cannot repent because Hashem commanded him to do so. Rather, Teshuvah is meaningful only if a person repents because he regrets his sin. (Imagine if a person hurt his father and then says to his father, “I am sorry because you told me to be sorry.” Obviously that is not an adequate apology.)

(2) R’ Shlomo ibn Aderet z”l (Rashba; Barcelona, Spain; 1235-1310) writes that one does not recite a Berachah on a Mitzvah that is made possible by a preceding sin (מצוה הבאה בעבירה); for example, one does not recite a Berachah on bread made from wheat that he stole. Teshuvah, also, is a Mitzvah made possible by a preceding sin, R’ Shmelkes writes. (Bet Yitzchak: Y.D. II #168)

R’ Shmelkes’ grandson, R’ Aharon Lewin z”l Hy”d (the Reisher Rav; killed in the Holocaust), adds a third answer: Though ideal Teshuvah requires words (e.g., Vidui / confession), it is a Mitzvah performed primarily in one’s heart. We do not recite blessings on such Mitzvot; for example, there is no Berachah on Bitul Chametz / nullifying Chametz, since the nullification takes place primarily in one’s thoughts. (Ha’drash Ve’ha’iyun: Nitzavim #193)

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