Parashas Va’eschanan – Shabbos Nachamu

II

“You shall teach them diligently to your children”: An awe-inspiring story involving the Chiddushei HaRim, zy”a

  In the sefer Chiddushei HaRim al HaTorah, Parashas Va’eschanan, an awe-inspiring story is cited in the name of Meir Einei HaGolah: “When our Rebbe’s last remaining son passed away, he sighed many times and said: “There was one mitzvah that I had the opportunity to fulfill in my home every day, the mitzvah of ושִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ, ‘You shall teach them diligently to your children’, and it has been taken from me.” It is well known that the Chiddushei HaRim, zy”a, lost all his sons during his lifetime. Despite these devastating tragedies, he accepted Hashem’s decrees in silence, displaying astonishing self-control, just as Aharon HaKohen did after the death of his sons: וַיִּדֹּם אַהֲרֹן “And Aharon was silent.”

  But when his last son passed away, the pain penetrated so deeply that he could no longer completely conceal his grief. Yet even then, he did not express personal anguish. Instead, he grieved over the loss of the opportunity to transmit Torah, over the severing of the holy chain through which Torah passes from father to son.

  This response embodied the essence of the Chiddushei HaRim, the founder of Gerrer Chassidus and its first Rebbe. His entire life revolved around Torah, yiras Shamayim, and the holy responsibility of transmitting the mesorah to the next generation.

Love of Hashem through Torah

  In the preceding essay on the verse וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת ה‘ אֱלֹקֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ, “You shall love Hashem your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might,” we cited the words of the holy Sfas Emes, the grandson of the Chiddushei HaRim. The Sfas Emes explains that love of Hashem is naturally rooted within every Jew. Through Torah and mitzvos, this hidden love is brought from potential into actuality. This enables us to understand how the Torah can command us to love Hashem. But it is not merely that this mitzvah “can” be fulfilled. The very Torah that commands us to love Hashem provides the counsel and the path through which we can assuredly attain the complete fulfillment of וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת ה‘ אֱלֹקֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ, “You shall love Hashem your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.”

  These are the words of the Rambam in Sefer HaMitzvos, Mitzvas Asei # 3:

We were commanded to love Him, may He be exalted. This means that we should contemplate and reflect upon His mitzvos, His words, and His actions, until we attain knowledge of Him and experience the greatest possible pleasure in that knowledge. This is the love that is incumbent upon us. The Sifrei states: “Since it says, וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת ה‘ אֱלֹקֶיךָ, ‘You shall love Hashem your G-d,’ I do not know how one is to love Hashem. The Torah therefore states, וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם עַל לְבָבֶךָ, ‘These words that I command you today shall be upon your heart.’ Through this, you will come to recognize the One Who spoke and brought the world into being.” We have thus explained that through contemplation, you will attain knowledge of Him; this knowledge will bring pleasure, and love will inevitably follow.”

  In light of this, the Chiddushei HaRim’s expression of grief takes on even greater depth. He viewed the loss of his son not merely as a personal tragedy, but as the loss of a daily opportunity to connect with Hashem through continuing to fulfill the commandment of וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ, “You shall teach them diligently to your children,” which is the mitzvah of transmitting Torah to future generations. His pain centered on his inability to fulfill וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ, “You shall teach them diligently to your children,” a mitzvah recited every day in Krias Shema.

The Chiddushei HaRim merits to fulfill the mitzvah after all

  But the story does not end there. The Chiddushei HaRim’s son, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter, passed away when his own son, the future Sfas Emes, was only eight years old. The child, who had been left without either parent, grew up in the home of his grandfather, the Chiddushei HaRim, who nurtured and educated him as his own son. The world knows the fruits of that education. This was the fullest realization of וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ, “You shall teach them diligently to your children.” The Sfas Emes became one of the greatest Torah leaders of his generation and succeeded his grandfather as the second Rebbe of Gerrer Chassidus. Less well known is that other grandchildren also grew up in the home of the Chiddushei HaRim. Among them was the author of the holy sefer Sifsei Tzaddik, Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Justman, zt”l, the Admur (Rebbe) of Pilz. After the passing of his mother, Tzina Pesa, a”h, the daughter of the Chiddushei HaRim, he too was brought to his grandfather’s home together with his younger brother, Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Justman, zt”l, who later served as a dayan and halachic authority in Lodz. They too were raised under the influence and guidance of the Chiddushei HaRim, together with their cousin, Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, who would grow to become the holy Rebbe, author of the Sfas Emes.

 וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ, “You shall teach them diligently to your children,” includes not only one’s sons, but also one’s grandchildren and even one’s students. In the words of the Rambam in the first chapter of Hilchos Talmud Torah, halachah 2:

Just as a person is obligated to teach his son, he is also obligated to teach his grandson, as it says, וְהוֹדַעְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וְלִבְנֵי בָנֶיךָ, “You shall make them known to your children and to your children’s children.” This obligation does not apply only to one’s son and grandson. Rather, every Torah scholar among the Jewish people is commanded to teach all students, even if they are not his children, as it says, וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ? You shall teach them diligently to your children.” The Oral Tradition teaches that “your children” refers to your students, for students are called children, as it says, וַיֵּצְאוּ בְנֵי הַנְּבִיאִים, “The sons of the prophets went out” [and it referring to the disciples of the prophets]. Why, then, was a person specifically commanded concerning his son and grandson? To establish that his son takes precedence over his grandson, and his grandson takes precedence over another person’s son.

The Chiddushei HaRim indeed mourned the loss of the opportunity to transmit Torah to his own sons. Heaven, however, had a different plan, and he ended up investing tremendous effort and spiritual energy in educating his grandchildren and students. Through them, his Torah illuminated the world for all generations. Furthermore, thousands of chassidim became his spiritual “children.” Through them, the chain of Torah continued without interruption.

 The Gemara says (Sanhedrin 19b):

Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said in the name of Rabbi Yonasan: “Whoever teaches Torah to another person’s son is regarded by Scripture as though he fathered him. For it says, וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת אַהֲרֹן וּמֹשֶׁה ‘These are the children of Aharon and Moshe,’ while elsewhere it says, וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן ‘These are the names of the sons of Aharon.’ This teaches you that Aharon fathered them, but Moshe taught them, and, therefore, they are attributed [also] to him [as his children].

The Chiddushei HaRim taught Torah to his grandchildren and to thousands of his chassidim, who, according to Chazal, were considered his children. He thus fulfilled וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ, “You shall teach them diligently to your children,” every day, and his teachings continue to illuminate lives to this very day.

Lessons from the Chiddushei HaRim

  From the Chiddushei HaRim, we learn extraordinary lessons about Torah, yiras Shamayim, and devotion to the mitzvos. We learn how a great tzaddik viewed suffering, not only through the lens of personal pain, but also in terms of its effect on his ability to fulfill Hashem’s will and perpetuate the mesorah. His life was a living lesson in accepting suffering with love, and in understanding the mitzvah of Torah study as his life’s mission in general and the transmission of Torah to future generations in particular. The string of pesukim now takes on even greater significance:

וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת ה‘ אֱלֹקֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ “You shall love Hashem your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” This is the mitzvah of loving Hashem, which includes accepting suffering with love, for בְּכָל מְאֹדֶךָ “with all your might” means בְּכָל מִדָּה וּמִדָּה שֶׁהוּא מוֹדֵד לְךָ הֱוֵי מוֹדֶה לוֹ “Whatever measure He metes out to you, thank Him” (Berachos 54a).

וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם עַל לְבָבֶךָ, “These words that I command you today shall be upon your heart” refers to the mitzvah of Torah study, which, as explained above, is the path to loving Hashem.

וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם “You shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them” refers to expanding Torah study by faithfully transmitting it to one’s descendants and students, from generation to generation.

Personal reflections

  For me personally, this is an idea that carries special significance. My dear father-in-law, Rabbi Yisrael Binyamin Kutner, zt”l, was a grandson of Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Justman, zt”l, one of the grandchildren of the Chiddushei HaRim who grew up in his home. Our family therefore has a direct connection to this holy legacy of transmitting Torah, a legacy shaped by the Chiddushei HaRim himself. My children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are privileged to be connected to this chain of mesorah, which reaches back to the greatest of the tzaddikim. Such a legacy cannot be taken for granted. Spiritual greatness is not automatically inherited. Each generation must earn it anew through devotion to Torah, yiras Shamayim, and the faithful transmission of Torah values from father to son and from teacher to student. This is the eternal message of וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ, “You shall teach them diligently to your children.”

A new generation is born

  Just as I finished writing this essay, I received wonderful news: the birth of a great-granddaughter, a daughter born to my oldest granddaughter. I suddenly realized that this was also the birth of another descendant of the Chiddushei HaRim. Becoming a great-grandfather was deeply moving in its own right. But the convergence of this moment with the completion of an essay about וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ, “You shall teach them diligently to your children,” made the experience many times more meaningful. Writing about the role of a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather in transmitting Torah and the mesorah to future generations became a profoundly personal lesson for me.

בָּרוּךְ הַטּוֹב וְהַמֵּטִיב, “Blessed is He Who is good and does good.” I offer praise and thanks to Hashem:

הוֹדוּ לַה‘ כִּי טוֹב כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ. “Give thanks to Hashem, for He is good; His kindness endures forever.”

יְהִי רָצוֹן שֶׁנִּזְכֶּה כֻּלָּנוּ לְגַדְּלָהּ לְתוֹרָה, לְחֻפָּה וּלְמַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים “May it be Hashem’s will that we all merit to raise her to Torah, chuppah, and good deeds.”

Each day, in Birchas HaTorah, we thank Hashem for the gift of the Torah and pray:

וְהַעֲרֶב נָא ה‘ אֱלֹקֵינוּ אֶת דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָתְךָ בְּפִינוּ וּבְפִיפִיּוֹת עַמְּךָ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל

“Please, Hashem our G-d, make the words of Your Torah sweet in our mouths and in the mouths of Your people, the House of Israel.”

We then continue with the beautiful prayer:

וְנִהְיֶה אֲנַחְנוּ וְצֶאֱצָאֵינוּ וְצֶאֱצָאֵי צֶאֱצָאֵינוּ וְצֶאֱצָאֵי עַמְּךָ בֵּית

יִשְׂרָאֵל, כֻּלָּנוּ יוֹדְעֵי שְׁמֶךָ וְלוֹמְדֵי תוֹרָתֶךָ לִשְׁמָהּ “May we, our descendants, our descendants’ descendants, and the descendants of Your people, the House of Israel, all know Your name and study Your Torah for its own sake.”

In Nusach Sefard, the words וְצֶאֱצָאֵי צֶאֱצָאֵינוּ, “and our descendants’ descendants,” appear occasionally in parentheses, while in Nusach Sefardi they form part of the principal text. I have always included these words in my prayers. They have always moved me deeply, particularly this additional reference to our later descendants, which alludes to our grandchildren’s grandchildren. The continuity of Torah depends upon the unbroken chain of generations through which the mesorah of the Jewish people is transmitted.

The circle of mesorah

  Looking back, I now realize that this dvar Torah began on Shavuos, when I opened the sefer Chiddushei HaRim and studied his holy teachings on Parashas Va’eschanan. There is a deep alignment in this connection. Shavuos is the yom hillula (anniversary of the passing of) of the Imrei Emes, the father of the three Gerrer Rebbes who led Ger after the Holocaust. The Imrei Emes was the son of the Sfas Emes and a great-grandson of the Chiddushei HaRim. He was named after his grandfather, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai, the son of the Chiddushei HaRim. Thus, while studying the teachings of his great-grandfather, I found myself reflecting upon the generations that followed him and the eternal legacy they built.

  Concurrently, I had recently written about the teaching of the Sfas Emes concerning וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת ה‘ אֱלֹקֶיךָ, “You shall love Hashem your G-d,” and how love of Hashem is revealed through Torah and mitzvos. The themes of the two essays were thus connected to one another and completed a circle. This essay began with the painful story of the Chiddushei HaRim mourning the loss of his last son and expressing his grief over the loss of his ability to fulfill וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ “You shall teach them diligently to your children.” And we now conclude with the joyous news of the birth of another descendant of this great tzaddik. This is the greatness of Klal Yisrael and the eternal power of the Torah. Through emunah, resilience, and unwavering devotion to the mesorah, the chain continues unbroken from generation to generation: וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ, “You shall teach them diligently to your children.” And so, it will continue… until the coming of the righteous redeemer, speedily in our days, amen. עד ביאת גואל צדק במהרה בימינו אמן

Maharal Tzintz

Perfection comes only through Jewish unity

וָאֶתְחַנַּן אֶל ה‘ “I pleaded with Hashem.”

Parashas Va’eschanan begins with Moshe telling Bnei Yisrael that he pleaded with Hashem to permit him to enter Eretz Yisrael. Hakadosh Baruch Hu answered that Moshe would only ascend to the top of the mountain and view the land from afar, but he would not enter it. Instead, he was to command Yehoshua to cross over [the river] before the people and enable them to take possession of the land. Moshe Rabbeinu then immediately continues by warning Bnei Yisrael to observe the Torah (Devarim 4:1): וְעַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁמַע אֶל הַחֻקִּים וְאֶל הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְלַמֵּד אֶתְכֶם לַעֲשׂוֹת לְמַעַן תִּחְיוּ וּבָאתֶם וִירִשְׁתֶּם אֶת הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר ה‘ אֱלֹקֵי אֲבֹתֵיכֶם נֹתֵן לָכֶם “And now, Yisrael, listen to the statutes and the ordinances that I am teaching you to perform, so that you may live, and you may come and take possession of the land that Hashem, the G-d of your forefathers, is giving you.”

  We will open with two questions:

• • First, what is the connection and continuity between these subjects in the parashah, and why are these holy pesukim juxtaposed together—Moshe’s being prevented from entering the land and his warning concerning the observance of the mitzvos?

• • Why does Moshe Rabbeinu begin the verse in the singular, וְעַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁמַע “And now, Yisrael, listen,” but continue in the plural, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְלַמֵּד אֶתְכֶם “which I am teaching you (pl.)”?

Rabbeinu, the Maharal Tzintz, now begins explaining the parashah like a string of diamonds and sapphires.

Rabbeinu presents us with a well-known question. Every Jew is required to fulfill all 613 mitzvos (in order to bring his entire spiritual profile—his 248 spiritual limbs and 365 spiritual sinews—to perfection. But how is this possible? No individual Jew is personally obligated in all 613 mitzvos. Some mitzvos apply only to a Kohen, while others apply only to an ordinary Jew; some apply only to a king, while others apply only to a particular individual, and so forth. How, then, can one merit to merit to fulfill all 613 mitzvos?

Rabbeinu explains that this question can be answered in two ways. The first answer is that one can achieve this through intent. If a person intends to perform a mitzvah should the opportunity arise, and he eagerly awaits the opportunity to fulfill it, then מַחֲשָׁבָה טוֹבָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מְצָרְפָהּ לְמַעֲשֶׂה, “Hakadosh Baruch Hu joins a good intention to an action.” When a person sincerely desires and intends to perform all the mitzvos, he is regarded as though he has fulfilled all 613. But this applies only to someone who genuinely desires to fulfill all the mitzvos. The second answer is that this is accomplished through the mutual responsibility of all Jews for one another. The Jewish people are all considered a single soul, as Rashi states in Parashas Vayigash (46:26): “Yaakov had seventy [descendants], yet Scripture refers to them as one soul, because they worshipped one G-d.” Consequently, every mitzvah performed by one Jew is credited to Klal Yisrael as a whole. In this way, they are all considered to have fulfilled all 613 mitzvos.

Rabbeinu explains that this is why the Torah was not given to Bnei Yisrael until they were entirely united כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד בְּלֵב אֶחָד “like one person with one heart”: only through absolute unity could Bnei Yisrael fulfill the entire Torah.

Rabbeinu explains that Moshe Rabbeinu’s words to Bnei Yisrael revolve around this idea. Every individual is charged with fulfilling all 613 mitzvos. Moshe therefore opens with the matter of his not entering the land. He says [to Hakadosh Baruch Hu]: “Bnei Yisrael were commanded to perform many mitzvos that can only be fulfilled in Eretz Yisrael. Let me enter the land so that they may all be fulfilled through me.” Hakadosh Baruch Hu replied: “Is it not reward alone that you seek? I will consider you to have had performed them (i.e., the mitzvos)” (Sotah 14a). Since Moshe did not merit to enter the Land, Hakadosh Baruch Hu regarded him as though he had performed those mitzvos. How could he be considered to have fulfilled them? The answer lies in the first approach explained above: Hakadosh Baruch Hu joins a good intention to an action.

Notice, however, that the second answer, the mutual responsibility of all the Jewish people, could not apply to Moshe Rabbeinu. By the time the Bnei Yisrael fulfilled these mitzvos in Eretz Yisrael, Moshe Rabbeinu was no longer alive, and mitzvos cannot be performed after death. Moshe himself was therefore considered to have fulfilled all 613 mitzvos only because his intention was joined to the deed.

Moshe continued and said: וְעַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל “And now, Yisrael.” You, Bnei Yisrael, who will enter and take possession of the land, can merit fulfilling all 613 mitzvos through mutual responsibility as well. He therefore begins his words in the singular, יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁמַע “Yisrael, listen!” Since you are all united as one, you are all considered to have fulfilled all the mitzvos. In addition, you can fulfill the entire body of mitzvos through good intentions, by studying the mitzvos and desiring to perform them. This is what is meant by אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְלַמֵּד אֶתְכֶם “which I am teaching you.” By meriting to fulfill the entire Torah, the promise of לְמַעַן תִּחְיוּ, “so that you may live,” will be fulfilled in you. All your spiritual limbs and sinews will possess perfect vitality.

How can someone who is not connected to Klal Yisrael possibly attain perfection? Only a person who is connected to and united with all the Jewish people can be complete!