Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Hello my friends, and welcome back to this week's episode of the Practical Parasha Podcast. This is Rabbi Shlomo Cohen and I hope you are well it's back to school season.
[00:00:10] The parents are excited, the kids are excited, everyone excited.
[00:00:16] I hope you're enjoying the last bits of summer and this ELO has been an inspirational one for you.
[00:00:22] Trying to find something small to improve on as we approach our Shoshana.
[00:00:28] And if you haven't started thinking about it yet, there's no better time than the present.
[00:00:34] Think about something small which you can improve on.
[00:00:37] This is what this season is all about.
[00:00:40] And before we begin, as always, if you have any questions, comments, or would like to reach out, feel free to send me an email at Rabbi Shlomokon kohnmail.com I'd love to hear from you this week's Parshas Parshas Kisavo the Torah portion begins with the special Mitzvah of Bikurim.
[00:01:00] There's a Mitzvah in the Torah that when a person plants and after he puts all this hard work into his orchard, the first fruits that blossom on each tree, he has to tie a red string around it, wait for it to fully develop, and then bring it to Yerushalayim to Jerusalem with a beautiful procession where he would bring it to the Mizbeach in front of Hashem and he would give it to the Cohen. It's not just that the Torah commands him to also say these special verses which help him recognize that everything that he has till now is all from Hashem.
[00:01:41] Parsha continues with this special Mitzvah of the Confession of the Thais Vidoi Maisres, where once every three years a person would have to make this special confession that all the tithing that is obligated upon him was done correctly, that he had done it the right way, he hadn't missed anything, and he fulfilled his obligations.
[00:02:09] The Parasha also discusses how the Jewish people and Hashem and G D are inseparable. Nothing can split them apart. And Moshe Rabbeinu speaks to the Jewish nation and tells them that when they are going to enter into the land of Israel, which is going to be in a few weeks, they are going to have to recommit themselves to Hashem the Torah, and part of that process will be the blessings and the curses which which will be said on Mount Grizim and Mount Eil, where half the nation will be on one side, half the nation will be on another side, and the Ark the Covenant, the Ark of the Covenant will be in the middle, and they will read out these blessings and curses, and all of the nation will have to say Amen.
[00:02:58] They will have to affirm their belief in the blessings and the curses, that if the Jewish people do what Hashem has commanded them, then all the blessings will come upon them. And if, God forbid, they don't do what they're supposed to do, then we haven't kept our end of the deal, and these curses will come upon the Jewish nation.
[00:03:19] And unfortunately, in our history, we've seen that the manifestation of these curses throughout our history, that we haven't been able to always uphold our end of the deal. And actually, I've talked about this in previous years, the importance of the, uh, blessings and the curses.
[00:03:40] In fact, the Chavatz Chayim brings down that there were congregations that used to skip this week's Torah portion. They would skip it. They would skip the curses. And he says that's the incorrect thing to do. It's improper. Because just like a person who's going on the journey, he has to know the pitfalls and the challenges and what's going to be coming his way. So, too, in life, we have to know our responsibilities that we have to fulfill, and we have to know the consequences if we don't fulfill them. Something which is very important for us to remember. Just like anything of importance, any relationship of importance has benefits and consequences.
[00:04:19] And if a person doesn't fulfill their end of the responsibility, you know, it has ramifications.
[00:04:25] So, too, the Jewish nation, when it comes to our relationship with Hashem, we have a responsibility to uphold, which is amazing. All the benefits that come with it, all the good life and the blessing that comes along with it, the fulfillment. But God forbid, if we're not fulfilling that, if we're not keeping our end of the deal, we have to know what comes along with that as well. That's delineated in this week's Parsha. Moshe Rabbeinu tells the Jewish people about this process that's going to happen when they enter into the land of Israel. Finally, the Parasha finishes off with Moshe Rabbeinu beginning his final charge to the Jewish nation.
[00:05:03] Because the next few weeks, till we get to the end of the Torah, it's really Moshe Rabbeinu's last speech, which is given on the last day of his life.
[00:05:11] And Moshe Rabbeinu sort of is telling the Jewish nation that, you know, everything you've gone through is getting you to this point.
[00:05:20] And now, you know, he's starting off his final, I guess, farewell to the Jewish nation, which will continue for the next few weeks. The first idea I want to share with you today takes us to the beginning of the parsha.
[00:05:33] So in previous years, I've talked about bikurim, this special mitzvah, uh, of bringing the first fruits to Jerusalem, to Yerushalayim, and this whole procession that the Jewish people made when they actually brought the bikurim. You know, the Talmud tells us that when the people would come up to Jerusalem with the first fruits, there was music playing, and they would put flowers on these, on the oxen that were pulling these wagons of the first fruits. And the elders, the kohanim and leviim, they would come out from Jerusalem to greet the bikurim. There's a lot of pomp and fanfare that's given to this mitzvah. And really, the centrality, the common denominator that's really pushed and really talked about about this mitzvah is the idea of hakara satov is having gratitude, having gratitude to Hashem, having the realization that even after we worked hard and we planted and we sowed and we did all these things, we take the first fruit, and we don't just take it for ourselves and we. Or admire it. Ah, uh, look what I did. Look at my accomplishment. We recognize that the successes we have are from Hashem. That is really the central concept to the mitzvah of bikurim. But really, I want to take this one step further, because if you look in the psukim, there's something interesting about this mitzvah which you don't see by other mitzvahs.
[00:07:01] It says in the posseq as follows. Va' ata hine, vaisi es reishas pri adama, asher nasat eli Hashem, v' hi nachto elifne Hashem.
[00:07:12] And now, behold, I have brought the first fruit of the ground that you have given me, O Hashem. And you shall lay it before Hashem, your God. And you shall prostrate yourself before Hashem, your God. So the psukim here are talking about the special declaration that the person who brings the bikurim states when he gets to the Beis Hamigdash, he says his special declaration, and he finishes off by bowing down to Hashem.
[00:07:39] Now, one thing we don't really find by other mitzvahs is this concept of bowing down when you do the mitzvah, something which is unique to bikurim, to the first fruits that we see nowhere else. And in fact, really, the only time people that we bow, even nowadays is on Rosh Hashanah, on Yom Kippur, on the high holy days, when we get to the portion of the avodah, uh, of the service, when the Chazin. When the Chazin is going through the Amidah and he's reading it and he gets up to the portion that talks about what the, you know, the Alenu prayer in the Amidah, we bow down on our knees. That's really the only time we do it on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur. But when it comes to mitzvos, we don't bow down.
[00:08:29] When it comes to mitzvahs. You know, during Shmona Esreim, when we daven Shmon Esre and we pray the Amidah, we bow slightly. But this is fully bowing down when we do a mitzvah. It's not something we do. So what's behind it? What's the significance behind this?
[00:08:43] Uh, Chaim Shmuel Levitz explains that, in fact, we don't find this by other commandments and question is, why? Why is it here? By the bringing of the first fruits, when a person brings their bikurim to the Beis hamikdash, to the temple, what did we say the common denominator, or the central theme is? The central theme is showing gratitude to Hashem for everything that he's given us. The idea of bikurim is that is a recognition that everything we have is from Hashem. Right. The successes we have, but it's not just the, uh, things that we do that we feel successful about, that we have to recognize comes from Hashem. It's even the small things that are good about us that we like. We have to realize that it's all from Him. And when a person bows, it's a sign of total submission that we realize that it's nothing from us. We're realizing we're having a recognition that everything is from God. And that's why, when it comes to the bikurum, where the theme of the mitzvah is gratitude and acknowledgement and realization of the source of everything we have and everything we accomplish is from Hashem. That's why we bow. That's why, specifically for this mitzvah, because we're showing total submission to Hashem that everything, the small things, anything, you know, all the aspects about ourselves, all our positive qualities, everything is from Hashem. Um, right. Plissken brings down that if a person were to receive a small gift from a very distinguished individual, if a person would get a pen from the President of the United States, or, you know, the King of England or whoever, you know, whichever distinguished person you would think of a small token, something very small, insignificant, you would keep that gift, you keep that present, even though if somebody else would give it to you, it would be insignificant. Because, uh, even a small gift from someone very distinguished is extremely meaningful. Because you know who it came from, you know who gave it to you, right? Sometimes I remember for myself I've received gifts from people, but it's not the gift that is meaningful to me. It's the note that comes with the gift.
[00:11:04] That's what's meaningful. Because you know where it came from. It came from someone's heart, right? Similar idea over here as well. When we know that everything we have, even the small things we have, is a gift from the Creator of the universe, it should give us a certain sense of happiness and satisfaction in all the good that we have in our life.
[00:11:26] That not just the big things, but even the small things. And it's not just who gave it to you. It wasn't, uh, your boss that gave it to you. It was Hashem. It was God. It was the creator of the universe. I think this idea is tied into this concept of bikurim, of gratitude on the next level.
[00:11:43] Because when we focus, and not just the successes and all the things we achieve, but even the small things that we take for granted are from him, we realize that those things are from Hashem directly, himself, right? It gives us a more of appreciation and happiness for all the small things in our life.
[00:12:03] Second idea I want to share with you today takes us to the Mitzvah of Vidoi Maisrus, to the confession of the tithes.
[00:12:11] So as I mentioned before, every few years a person would have to make a declaration that all the tithes that were obligated upon him over the last few years as different tithes for different years, whether it be percentages of the crops, different percentages would have to go to the Kohen, to the Levi, to the poor person, would have to be eaten. In Jerusalem, there was different requirements that were upon each person in regards to their crops. And now, when it would come time for the confession of the tithes, a person would have to make a declaration that he did everything properly, he separated everything in the proper way, he ate it in the proper way, he didn't do anything wrong, and he did what he was supposed to do.
[00:12:55] So the question that's asked is, when a person does something right, do they confess?
[00:13:05] Confession is when somebody does something wrong.
[00:13:10] That's when a person confesses, uh, they did something incorrectly. So the question that's asked is, why, when it comes to doing a mitzvah where someone did the right thing, do they now have to come and make a declaration that they did everything in the proper way? That's the question that's asked. And there's different answers that are given, but a few answers that I saw, really I wanted to bring out here that I think bring out some beautiful ideas. The Barbanel asked this question, and the way he answers it gives us an insight of what we're supposed to aspire to.
[00:13:49] Normally, when a person has an arrangement with someone else, as a business deal, there's two people involved. So if something goes wrong, one party can make a claim against the other and there's someone to hold him accountable.
[00:14:05] But over here, when it comes to the tithes, there's nobody. You know, a person can give the tithes to any poor person he wants to any kohen or Levi that he wants. No one, no one specific Kohen or Levi can press the landowner or the farmer or the person who has the obligation that they are supposed to get it. It can be given to anybody. No one can have a claim against him. And really, the idea which Rabbi Tversky brings down from that, Barbonell, is that when it comes to our conduct, we have to be able to conduct ourselves in a way that we act the same when people are around versus when they're not around.
[00:14:48] And actually he brings down that when Rabbiochene and Ben Zakay was on his deathbed, his students asked him for a blessing. And Rabbi Yohan Ben Zakay said to them a very interesting blessing.
[00:15:02] He said, may you have as great a fear of God as you do of other people.
[00:15:09] Meaning he's giving them a message saying, the way we act in front of others is different than how we act when we're all alone. The point is, is that sometimes we would not do things if other people are around, but when no one's around, we would be okay with it. And he was giving them a blessing that the way you are in public should be the same way you are when you are in private, that we should be the same people. And taking us back to the idea of the confession of the tithes, a person, you know, nobody would come to the person with claims that he did it the wrong way. So therefore, there's this obligation to make sure to confess that he did it properly, that he should, that there's nobody holding him accountable. And really, just to Take this idea one step further. In fact, I saw the Rashbom he brings down that that's why, in fact, this Mitzvah is given, because there is nobody to place a claim on the party that he didn't give his tithes, he didn't give his Meisser. So therefore, the Torah institutes this obligation that he has to make this declaration now so that he can't lie to himself, or he can't lie, you know, he can't get away with it, quote, unquote. He has to force himself to make this declaration that he did everything in the right way. Because it's a lot easier if to fudge it. If we don't have to have any accountability. We don't have to say anything. We don't have to make a statement. A person could rationalize to themselves. It's, uh, okay, it's no problem. God will forgive me. But when he has to make a statement that's very, very detailed about what he did and how he did it, and he did it in the right way, it's much harder to get away with that and not push yourself to do it when you really didn't do it. And I think this idea really brings us to the point of having accountability.
[00:17:01] Everyone needs accountability.
[00:17:04] It's a good thing, it's not a bad thing. Some people say, oh, I like not having anyone on my head, fine. I'm not saying we need to be pressure cookers or be in a pressure cooker where people are micromanaging us or down our back. But the point is that accountability and being held accountable helps us. It pushes us to be better people, whether it be in the work environment, whether it be in our spiritual endeavors, whenever there's things need to be completed, it pushes us to get more out of us and to do more to do better. And I think this idea of the mitzvah, even when it comes to mitzvos, that there's a certain sense of accountability and responsibility a person has to take to make sure that his obligations are fulfilled.
[00:17:50] And I think just tying this into this time of year as well. When it comes to elul into the Jewish year, it's hardwired. It's built in accountability. We're coming to Rosh Hashanah now. The whole point of Rosh Hashanah is to reflect on the past year and to look forward how we could be better. It's accountability, right? Are we justifying our existence to merit, to have another year? Right? Was the past year successful? We pray to God that the next year we should be able to have another year. We need this in order for us to reach our potentials and to really be the best we can be. And actually, in fact there's a story that my father in law, he should be well used to say over. He said that there was a certain uh, during when electricity just came out.
[00:18:40] There was a, you know, in the sweatshops they had, they installed electric lighting and they did a certain type of test. They tell, they told the workers that when the light is on, the bosses are watching you. And they made these tests and studies and they actually discovered that when the light was on and the workers had the perception that they were being watched, the productivity was way higher than when the light was off. And I think this takes us back to this idea that you know, being held accountable and people looking, you know, looking after us or uh, looking over us now again doesn't mean that they should be down our back and we should feel pressured and feel stressed. But in the end of the day it helps us be the best we can be to bring the best out of us. And it's something we need to remember.
[00:19:34] The last idea I want to share with you today takes us to the Brachos and the Klolos, which the Jewish people have to answer Amen to. They'll have to affirm their belief in the blessings and the curses.
[00:19:47] And one of the curses that they have to say Amen to is it says in the Torah, ah, Accursed is the one who will not uphold the words of this Torah to perform them and the entire people shall say Amen.
[00:20:11] The commenter explained in this verse that on a simple understanding it seems to be referring to someone who denies the existence of the or the know a portion of the Torah. That's that a person that we have to uphold the entire Torah. That's what it means, a person. The Torah is referring to someone who does not uphold that.
[00:20:33] Now another understanding of this verse is from the Ramban. The Ramban explains based on the Ushalmi, he says that this verse is specifically talking to people who are able to uphold the words of the Torah but failed to do so. What does that mean? That means if a person is in a position where they can correct somebody or they could try to influence someone in the positive way to uphold the Torah, that they should be able to fulfill the Torah, that they should have a positive influence on them to listen to the words of the Torah.
[00:21:17] So then if they don't do that, they don't act, they don't care about it, it's not important to them. So this curse, God forbid, will come upon them.
[00:21:26] And I think this idea is something which is very important because it can give us an outlook on how we should approach the world around us.
[00:21:37] So the Ramban is saying here is that, you know, maybe you could say it's just referring to a rabbi, a leader, a congregation, someone who could have influence, but really the truth is it's not just a rabbi. It's anybody in their place, in their position, where they're able to have a positive influence on another person, another Jew, and they don't.
[00:22:00] They fall into this category. And I think the outlook we need to have is that, you know, even though there is people who are dedicate their life full time to Kirov, to Jewish outreach, to educating Jewish people, I think everybody has to have these type of, this, this outlook, these type of eyes when it comes to Yiddishkeit, when it comes to upholding the Torah. Because in the end of the day, we all have somebody else we can have a positive influence upon.
[00:22:37] But the thing that is really going to make the difference is this. If we are going to have the eyes and ears to notice a situation where a person wants to hear what the Torah has to say.
[00:22:50] Many people falsely believe they think, oh, uh, only if you're a Kirov rabbi. If you're in Jewish outreach, you're a rabbi, you have many years of yeshiva education, are you able to influence somebody, um, regarding upholding the Torah, about the beauty of the Torah, about the mitzvos, about learning Torah, about getting closer to Hashem. That's false.
[00:23:10] We all have the ability to be a positive influence upon others, especially when it comes to Yiddishkeit, when it comes to Judaism, when it comes to the mitzvahs, when it comes to learning Torah, there's always, you know, there's always someone who, who knows less, and there's always someone that knows more.
[00:23:28] But what we need to do is have that outlook. We shouldn't ignore our fellow Jew. So whether it be at work, whether it be, you know, in the shopping mall or on a trip, again, I'm not saying every single person, you know, wants to, uh, hear it necessarily. But the point is there are plenty of people that reach out.
[00:23:50] They give you the signs that they're interested in hearing about the Torah, about learning, about doing Mitzvahs.
[00:23:57] Be receptive, you know, encourage them, Give them a resource.
[00:24:02] Don't just smile, give them something. Tell them about this podcast.
[00:24:08] And by doing that, we're going to be upholding the Torah. And just like if someone doesn't do something, there's a curse. So if someone does do something, if someone does the opposite, if he reaches out that hand and he strengths and he strengthens the Torah.
[00:24:26] So the reward that a person gets is all you know is tremendous.
[00:24:33] The reward for blessing is a thousand times more than any curse. So if, God forbid, someone doesn't do that, if we do do this, so all the blessing, God willing, will have in our lives. So with that, I'm going to finish for today's podcast. I hope you all enjoyed. If you have any questions, comments, or would like to reach out, feel free to send me email at Rabbi Schlomokon Kynil. Com. Have a great day.
