Indolence - Eikev
וְהָיָה עֵקֶב תִּשְׁמְעוּן אֵת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים הָאֵלֶּה וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם ... (דברים ז,יב)
In last week's shiur we spoke of the war currently raging, both within and without. This week, I would like to complete the picture and reveal the true nature of this war.
Before we begin, I would like to ask a simple question. "What is the definition of a devout Jew?"
There are many answers - someone who davens three times a day in a minyan, keeps Kosher, observes Shabbat, honors their parents, gives tzedaka, does chessed, studies Torah, has bitachon in HKB"H, etc. In other words – someone who tries to observe as many of the mitzvot as they possibly can. In this shiur we are going to explore a surprisingly different answer to the above question.
Before we begin the main topic, a brief introduction.
Rebi, in a Mishna, says that we do not know which mitzvot are important, חֲמוּרוֹת, and which are less important, קַלּוֹת -
רַבִּי אוֹמֵר: ... וֶהֱוֵי זָהִיר בְּמִצְוָה קַלָּה כְּבַחֲמוּרָה, שֶׁאֵין אַתָּה יוֹדֵעַ מַתַּן שְׂכָרָן שֶׁל מִצְוֹת. (אבות ב, א)
The first interesting thing to note is that this Mishna categorically states that not all mitzvot are equal. Some mitzvot are קַלּוֹת and that others are חֲמוּרוֹת, however, Rebi says, since we do not know which are which, we should therefore treat them all equally.
The Mefarshim (Rambam, Bartenura, etc.) on this Mishna make a distinction between positive mitzvot, עֲשֵׂה, and negative mitzvot, לֹא תַּעֲשֶׂה.
For negative mitzvot, we do know the weight of the mitzva - from the severity of the punishment if we transgress. We know that a לֹא תַּעֲשֶׂה punishable by כָּרֵת is more severe than a לֹא תַּעֲשֶׂה punishable by מַלְקוֹת.
The Torah, however, does not state the reward we receive for performing most (99.2%) of the positive mitzvot. Some of the positive mitzvot have a paired negative mitzva and we can infer from the punishment of the negative mitzva, the weight of the positive mitzva. For example, there is a positive mitzva to rest on Shabbat. לִשְׁבֹּת בַּשַּׁבָּת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר "וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי תִּשְׁבֹּת" (משנה תורה, הקדמה כללית, מצווה קנד) , and also a negative mitzva to refrain from doing (39 types of) work on Shabbat, שֶׁלֹּא לַעֲשׂוֹת מְלָאכָה בַּשַּׁבָּת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר "לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה כָל מְלָאכָה" (מצווה שכ). However, many of the positive mitzvot do not have a paired negative mitzva, for example, the positive mitzva of שִׁלּוּחַ הַקֵּן does not have a paired negative mitzva, neither does the mitzva of נְטִילַת לוּלָב on Sukkot. So how do we know which of these two have greater reward? We don't.
This, the Mefarshim say, is what Rebi is referring to – mitzvot, whose weight is not discernable – we should treat and observe these equally.
The Midrash (תנחומא, עקב, סימן ב) brings a mashal to illustrate this. A king commissioned some gardeners to plant a fruit orchard next to his palace. The king, however, did not tell them which fruit he liked best, which he least liked, etc. Without this knowledge, the gardeners had no choice but to plant a wide variety of fruit trees in the orchard. If they had known that the king especially liked mangos, they would have planted more mango trees at the expense of, say, an avocado tree.
Similarly, by not revealing the reward for the positive mitzvot, HKB"H prevented a situation where we would excessively observe only some mitzvot at the expense of others.
The Midrash continues to say, in the name of R' Shimon bar Yochai, that the Torah made an exception for two positive mitzvot, and did state their reward - שִׁלּוּחַ הַקֵּן and כִּבּוּד אָב וָאֵם. For both, the Torah says "וְהַאֲרַכְתָּ יָמִים" and "לְמַעַן יַאֲרִיכֻן יָמֶיךָ" - that you will live a long life - in this world. What reward we receive for these mitzvot in עוֹלָם הַבָּא, however, is unknown.
That was the introduction, now we can begin the shiur.
In the previous paragraph (סימן א), the Tanchuma says that the word עֵקֶב, in the first passuk of our parsha, is referring to positive mitzvot that people tend to regard as קַלּוֹת, unimportant, and "cast them under their heels", שֶׁמַּשְׁלִיכִין אוֹתָן תַּחַת עִקְבֵיהֶן - they are negligent in observing them, since they underestimate their importance. This is what David HaMelech said גַּם עַבְדְּךָ נִזְהָר בָּהֶם בְּשָׁמְרָם עֵקֶב רָב (תהילים יט, יב), that he tried to be diligent in observing all the mizvot equally, even those that people perceive as קַלּוֹת.
If the word עֵקֶב is referring to seemingly "unimportant" mitzvot, let us try understand the true essence of such mitzvot.
We have often used the principle of R' Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin that to understand the essence of something, you have to examine the context in which it appears the first time in the Torah. Let us now apply that to the word עֵקֶב.
The first time the word עֵקֶב appears in the Torah (albeit with different vowels) is in parshat Breishit –
וְאֵיבָה אָשִׁית בֵּינְךָ וּבֵין הָאִשָּׁה וּבֵין זַרְעֲךָ וּבֵין זַרְעָהּ הוּא יְשׁוּפְךָ רֹאשׁ וְאַתָּה תְּשׁוּפֶנּוּ עָקֵב (בראשית ג, טו).
The context is the sin of the עֵץ הַדַּעַת and the punishment of the נָחָשׁ. The gematria of עֵקֶב is "הוּא עֵץ". We have explored the sin of the עֵץ הַדַּעַת numerous times in our shiurim and I will not delve deeply into it here again, but simply recap the parts relevant to this shiur.
Adam HaRishon was not diligent, he was "indolent" in observing all four mitzvot commanded to him by HKB"H. Three mitzvot עֲשֵׂה - to procreate, to have dominion over all creatures, to eat from the עֵץ הַחַיִּים and one mitzva לֹא תַּעֲשֶׂה – to refrain from eating from the עֵץ הַדַּעַת (מאיר פנים, פרק טו, ע' קסג).
As a result, he aroused the קָטֵגוֹר and the ס"מ caused him to sin, via Chava.
The fundamental question is – How could Adam HaRishon have sinned like this? Chazal tell us that the stature of Adam was so great, the angels thought he was G-d and wanted to sing praises to him. Adam said to them – "I am not HKB"H. Let us all sing praises to the One and Only true G-d" and he proceeded to sing ה' מָלָךְ גֵּאוּת לָבֵשׁ (תהילים צג, א).
If Adam was the most perfect creature ever to be created by HKB"H, it is inconceivable that he was not diligent in performing HKB"H's mitzvot. If so, Adam must have had a good reason not to perform the above mitzvot immediately upon receiving them on erev Shabbat.
נלע"ד the reason was that - Adam wanted to wait for Shabbat. Adam was created on erev Shabbat and given all the above mitzvot on erev Shabbat, but he wanted to wait a few short hours more until Shabbat before first performing them. Why?
Adam HaRishon wanted the holiness of Shabbat to permeate the first mitzvot he performed. As the זהר says - כָּל בִּרְכָּאן דִּלְעֵילָא וּתְתָא בְּיוֹמָא שְׁבִיעָאָה תַּלְיָן (חלק ב, פח, א). The source of all בְּרָכָה, in Heaven and on earth, is derived from Shabbat. Let us examine each mitzva in turn.
According to the Gemara (כתובות סב, ב), hidur mitzva of פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ is on Shabbat, עוֹנַת תַּלְמִיד חָכָם מִשַּׁבָּת לְשַׁבָּת, and Adam Harishon was undoubtedly a talmid chacham.
As for dominion over all creatures, true dominion over the creatures is by allowing them to rest on Shabbat, as it says לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה כָל מְלָאכָה אַתָּה וּבִנְךָ וּבִתֶּךָ עַבְדְּךָ וַאֲמָתְךָ וּבְהֶמְתֶּךָ וְגֵרְךָ אֲשֶׁר בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ (שמות כ, ט). By putting the creatures to work during the week, we are not displaying true dominion over them, because they are working for us, for our earthly needs. However, by allowing them to rest on Shabbat, purely because HKB"H told us to, our dominion over them is not for our benefit, but for the purpose of glorifying HKB"H – this is true dominion. In addition, the yetzer hara (one of the "creatures" we are required to have dominion over), has diminished power on Shabbat. Shabbat is מֵעֵין עוֹלָם הַבָּא and in עוֹלָם הַבָּא there is no yetzer hara.
HKB"H told Adam to eat from the עֵץ הַחַיִּים – to study Torah. As we know, one minute of studying Torah on Shabbat is equivalent to a thousand minutes of studying Torah during the week (בן איש חי). It is understandable why Adam wanted to wait for Shabbat to perform this mitzva for the first time.
As for the mitzva to refrain from eating from the עֵץ הַדַּעַת. The Ari z"l says that if Adam had waited until Shabbat and not eaten from the עֵץ הַדַּעַת, HKB"H would have subsequently allowed him to eat from it, since it had already received the bracha of Shabbat. The עֵץ הַדַּעַת is symbolic of our own כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי, which on its own is a bad thing, but if tempered by the kedusha of Shabbat, is permissible. This is the concept of the Lechem Hapanim, which is switched every Shabbat. The kedusha of Shabbat lingers the entire week and keeps the breads fresh and warm until the following Shabbat. Similarly, if our weekly business dealings are permeated throughout with the lingering kedusha of Shabbat, they will be blessed and remain untainted the entire week.
So, we see that Adam HaRishon was not negligent and lacking diligence in performing HKB"H's mitzvot, he simply wanted to perform them for the first time on Shabbat and have them blessed by the kedusha of Shabbat!
If this is the case, why is עֵקֶב inexorably connected with the sin of Adam Harishon - somehow implying that he was negligent and considered these mitzvot as unimportant and insignificant, mitzvot - שֶׁמַּשְׁלִיכִין אוֹתָן תַּחַת עִקְבֵיהֶן?
The answer is that most certainly Adam HaRishon did not consider the first mitzvot HKB"H commanded him to perform insignificant. Adam HaRishon undoubtedly considered them mitzvot חֲמוּרוֹת.
The lack of diligence by Adam HaRishon was not his failure to perform these mitzvot on Friday, when he was created – his reasoning to wait for Shabbat was sound and correct. So why does the Torah regard his behavior as עֵקֶב, as if he was not affording these mitzvot their deserved respect?
Everyone knows the story of יוֹסֵף מוֹקִיר שַׁבָּת as told in the Gemara (Shabbat 119a). Yosef, more than anything in the world, loved Shabbat and spent his entire week in preparation for Shabbat. If he saw a nice fish in the market, he would purchase it lichvod Shabbat, a nice bottle of wine, a fresh challah – they were all hoarded in eager anticipation for Shabbat.
Adam HaRishon was planning to perform מִצְוַת עוֹנָה for the first time on Shabbat, his reasoning was correct. However, what about the preparation? Did he gather a nice bunch of flowers for Chava before Shabbat to endear himself to her? Did he prepare the bedroom with some nice fragrant potpourri? Pick a nice roast beef from the roast beef tree in Gan Eden so he and Chava could enjoy a nice סְעוּדָה רִאשׁוֹנָה together, with simcha, as a preamble?
If Adam HaRishon wanted to have dominion over all creatures, including the yetzer hara, he should have been extra careful before Shabbat came in to watch out for the yetzer hara's tricks. This is when the yetzer hara is at his most active, just before Shabbat and Chag – trying to make family members lose their cool, do silly things that they later regret. The fact that the yetzer hara caught Adam unawares and managed to trip him up on erev Shabbat means that Adam had not done the required preparation and was caught off guard.
Adam HaRishon wanted to learn Torah from the עֵץ הַחַיִּים for the first time on Shabbat. Correct, commendable! But what about preparing the sforim, the bench, the study table, bookmarks in the relevant places to save time flipping between sections … Making sure everything was ready, in anticipation?
This is what עֵקֶב means. It is not the "monumental" mitzvot that people neglect. The yetzer hara never attacks a person directly with the "monumental" mitzvot, trying to make them eat treif, worship idols, commit adultery, kill someone! The yetzer hara has no chance with such an approach. Instead, the yetzer hara targets those "insignificant" mitzvot, that people (mistakenly) do not attach much significance to, the insignificant preamble to the mitzvot, not even the mitzvot themselves. Sometimes the preamble has greater weight in HKB"H's eyes, than the mitzva itself. It is often the preamble that shows our true love of HKB"H, more than the mitzva itself. The תַּקָּנוֹת דְּרַבָּנַן are mostly a formalization of this preamble.
This is where the yetzer hara trips us up. With the little things that most people attach no importance to. I once heard a shiur discussing the origins of the Reform movement, that it began with something seemingly insignificant, that the Rabbi of the shul decided that it was enough to say one "Yekum Purkan" on Shabbat instead of two (we recite both, before Musaf – one for the Talmidei Chachamim and the second for the community). That was how it started – and look how it ended up.
In Pirkei Avot (4, 2) it says –בֶּן עַזַּאי אוֹמֵר: הֱוֵי רָץ לְמִצְוָה קַלָּה כְּבַחֲמוּרָה וּבוֹרֵחַ מִן הָעֲבֵרָה, שֶׁמִּצְוָה גּוֹרֶרֶת מִצְוָה וַעֲבֵרָה גוֹרֶרֶת עֲבֵרָה. We need to be careful of the mitzvot קַלּוֹת, as Rebi said above, because when you are not, when you lack diligence with the insignificant things, on their own it is not a calamity, but עֲבֵרָה גוֹרֶרֶת עֲבֵרָה. It starts with something insignificant but gradually builds in intensity until you are transgressing the "monumental" mitzvot.
This is the modus operandi of the yetzer hara, the נָחָשׁ. This is the connection between עֵקֶב and the first time that word is mentioned in the Torah – the punishment of the נָחָשׁ.
The internal war we are experiencing within Am Yisrael right now is not about ideology, it is not about religion, it is a war between each and every one of us and our own yetzer hara.
The yetzer hara is at his most powerful just before Shabbat and Chag, just prior to an epiphany of kedusha. Similarly, now, on the eve of the impending Geulah, the ultimate epiphany of kedusha, the yetzer hara is furiously active, tricking us all up, making us say and do silly things that we end up regretting, sowing discord between Jew and fellow Jew.
To counteract it, we need to stop focusing on the "monumental" things, like judicial reform, like replacing the top brass in the IDF, like changing conceptions, etc. We need instead to begin focusing on the seemingly "insignificant" things that nobody pays any attention to, the mundane things, like simply greeting people in the street, at work, on the bus, at shul - with a "good morning" and a smile. It costs you nothing, so why is it so hard to do? The reason it is so difficult is because your yetzer hara is telling you "Why greet him/her? Why smile at him/her? Is he/she your friend?" It is becoming tougher and tougher to smile these days, because the yetzer hara is rampant amongst us. Just like he starts with the mundane and builds up to the catastrophic, so too, can we counteract it with the mundane and build it up to the - Geulah. Just like עֲבֵרָה גוֹרֶרֶת עֲבֵרָה, so too is מִּצְוָה גּוֹרֶרֶת מִצְוָה.
Most of us can do nothing to directly bring about judicial reform. Nothing we can do can affect the appointment of the next chief of staff. All we can do is constantly complain about it. We should rather devote our energy to doing what we can do and that is the small, mundane things that most people regard as insignificant. It is insignificant if just you or I do it, but if 15 million+ Jews also do it, it is no longer insignificant, then it is already a phenomenon, it has the power to bring about change. It starts with a greeting and a smile, an improved relationship of trust between 2 people and then it is 4 people, then 16, then 256, then 65536 and soon it is 15+ million. But if you indolently wait around for somebody else to do it, nobody will and it will never happen..
That is בֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ. Similarly with בֵּין אָדָם לַמָּקוֹם, we need to devote more energy in paying attention to not only the mitzvot themselves, but also the preamble, the הֶכְשֵׁר מִצְוָה.
When we walk to shul, is it with a brisk gait or with heavy feet? When we wake up in the morning, is it for the earlier minyan or the later minyan that borders on missing זְמַן קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע? When we answer אָמֵן during the חֲזָרַת הש"ץ do we follow along in the siddur on our cellphones, or do we flip from the siddur app to Whatsapp? How does our minyan look from beginning to end? Is it like how they describe in the Mikdash עוֹמְדִים צְפוּפִים וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים רְוָחִים (אבות ה, ה) – crowded during the Amida (עוֹמְדִים), but when we reach Aleinu (מִשְׁתַּחֲוִים), it is already רְוָחִים – a much-depleted body count?
HKB"H is not only interested in our tefilot, He is also (perhaps more) interested in the nature of our tefilot. Every morning before Tachanun we (those who daven nusach Sefarad) say אָשַׁמְנוּ, בָּגַדְנוּ, גָּזַלְנוּ etc. and go "boom, boom, boom" on our chests. What does it mean אָשַׁמְנוּ? What does it mean בָּגַדְנוּ? Do we understand what we are saying? We are fast approaching Yom Kippur. On the auspicious day will we understand what we are saying when we say אָשַׁמְנוּ, בָּגַדְנוּ, גָּזַלְנוּ numerous times? I must admit, that despite learning the meaning behind it when I was much younger, I have since forgotten. Before you all, אֲנִי מְקַבֵּל עַל עַצְמִי to review it again and refresh my memory. If anyone wants to do the same, you can find an elucidation at this link.
Although it is drawing to an end, we are still in the midst of the "holiday" season. If you plan a holiday, do you wait until the last minute when the throngs have already arrived and everything is fully booked, or do you begin making bookings and preparations well ahead of time?
Elul is fast approaching. In the month of Elul throngs and throngs of Am Yisrael will be scurrying around doing tshuva and making preparations for the יָמִים נוֹרָאִים. Why wait until Elul when everyone is back at work, the kids back at school and nobody has time? Now, when everyone has time on their hands, this is the time to start. It is all about the preamble.
This is the essence of parshat עֵקֶב – to begin devoting extra attention to the things that are most often overlooked. This is the tikkun for the malady that currently grips our nation and from it, the naturally following solution to the dangers from without will emerge. We cannot do it in the opposite direction. We have to follow the roadmap. We have a roadmap to achieving the Geulah and incredibly it is embedded in the Shmoneh Esrei we say three times a day, but nobody even notices it –
We are right now at stage 5. This is the last stage in the process in which our participation is required. Following this, it is out of our hands. All we need to do is follow the roadmap and then we will, speedily in our days, witness the remaining stages with our very own eyes. Amen.
