Thanks – Ki Tavo
וְשָׂמַחְתָּ בְכָל הַטּוֹב אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לְךָ ה' אֱ-לֹקֶיךָ וּלְבֵיתֶךָ אַתָּה וְהַלֵּוִי וְהַגֵּר אֲשֶׁר בְּקִרְבֶּךָ. (דברים כו, יא)
תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר לֹא עָבַדְתָּ אֶת ה' אֱ-לֹקֶיךָ בְּשִׂמְחָה וּבְטוּב לֵבָב מֵרֹב כֹּל. (כח, מז)
Chazal say that the world was created because of “Reishit” (בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱ-לֹקִים), Am Yisrael who are called Reishit, the Torah which is called Reishit, Hafrashat Challah that is called Reishit and Bikkurim which is called Reishit. Unlike doing Hafrashat Challah, which is not accompanied by any fanfare, the mitzva of Bikkurim is a big celebration, from beginning to end. The Mefarshim ask why such a big deal is made of the mitzva of Bikkurim?
In this shiur I would like to explore the concept כֹּל, which the Ramban says is a “profound principle and one of the deepest secrets of the Torah”. This principle is extensively explained in sefer Meir Panim, but even that is only scratching the surface.
The Hebrew alphabet comprises 22 letters. Kabbalistic sources say that half the letters (א-כ) belong to עוֹלָם הַתַּחְתּוֹן and the other half (ל-ת) to עוֹלָם הָעֶלְיוֹן. If you simultaneously ascend from the letter א and descend from the letter ת until you meet midway, the meeting point forms the word כֹּל.
The Malbim (ויקרא ב, א) says that the word כֹּל is a universal “inclusor” - מְחַיֵּב כְּלָלִי, in the “every” sense (for example in Birkat Hamazon הַזָּן אֶת הַכֹּל) and also a universal “exclusor” - שׁוֹלֵל כְּלָלִי in the “any” sense (for example הַחִיִּיתֶם כָּל נְקֵבָה).
Each letter has a “mirror image” on the opposite side of the aleph bet - א is mirrored by ת, ב is mirrored by ש, ג is mirrored by ר, etc. This is the concept called אתב"ש. The only word, whose mirror image comprises the same letters, is the word "כל" (mirror image "לכ").
This gives us our first insight into the significance of the word כֹּל. It is all encompassing, both in the positive sense and also in the negative sense. It is the same entity, but mirrored, or like a photo/negative image.
It is not incidental that the letters כ and ל are adjacent in the aleph bet. R’ Akiva says כ"ף מִפְּנֵי מָה דּוֹמֶה לְכוֹס וּפָנָיו כְּלַפֵּי למ"ד מִפְּנֵי שֶׁכּוֹס וְכִסֵּא לָשׁוֹן אֶחָד הוּא וְכָל כִּסֵּא מַלְכוּת אֵינוֹ מְתֻקָּן אֶלָּא לַמְּלָכִים לֵשֵׁב עֲלֵיהֶם" (אוֹתִיּוֹת דְּרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא, אוֹת כ', עַמּוּד קי). The letter כ resembles a cup and is adjacent to the ל which is the tallest of the letters of the aleph bet, like a king, because a cup כּוֹס and a king’s throne כִּסֵּא are one and the same. R’ Zamir Cohen שליט"א, (הצופן, האות כ') says that the letter כ embodies the power of "bending" and “forming” which results in some kind of vessel/container. Not surprisingly many vessels/containers begin with the letter כ, for example - כְּלִי, כַּף יָד, כּוֹס, כַּד, כִּיּוֹר, כַּף, כְּלוּב, כֶּלֶא, etc.
The letter ל therefore is symbolic and part of עוֹלָם הָעֶלְיוֹן, while the letter כ is symbolic and part of עוֹלָם הַתַּחְתּוֹן. The word כֹּל is the meeting point, the gateway, between the two.
R’ Tzadok HaKohen from Lublin says that if you want to understand someting, you examine the first time it is mentioned in the Torah. This applies equally to letters and to words. The first time the letter ל is written in the Torah is in the word אֱ-לֹקִים in the first passuk בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱ-לֹקִים. From this we clearly see the connection between the letter ל, the tallest of all letters and HKB”H, the King of kings. The next time the letter ל appears is עַל פְּנֵי תְהוֹם - from the highest Heights to the lowest depths. Similarly with the letter כ, except in the opposite direction. The first letter כ in the Torah is וְחֹשֶׁךְ עַל פְּנֵי תְהוֹם. The next כ is אֶת הָאוֹר כִּי טוֹב - from the lowest depths to the highest heights. Therefore the word כֹּל, made from both these letters, embodies the same duality, a mirror image of the most positive and the most negative, the all-inclusive vs. the all-exclusive.
Not surprisingly the first two times the word כֹּל appears in the Torah is in the passuk וַיִּבְרָא אֱ-לֹקִים אֶת הַתַּנִּינִם הַגְּדֹלִים וְאֵת כָּל נֶפֶשׁ הַחַיָּה הָרֹמֶשֶׂת אֲשֶׁר שָׁרְצוּ הַמַּיִם לְמִינֵהֶם וְאֵת כָּל עוֹף כָּנָף לְמִינֵהוּ – the living creatures at the lowest depths (sea) and at the highest heights (sky). The first mention of the word כֹּל is in reference to the fish, which also embody this duality. On the one hand, fish were the only creatures that were not participant in the sin of Adam Harishon and the generation of Noach. On the other hand, the domain of the sea and the creatures that live in it is total chaos (Midrash, Yona).
That is the word כֹּל on the level of pshat. On the deeper level of סוד however, the word כֹּל encompasses a concept that is difficult for us to understand, so I will quote it without trying to understand exactly what it means and how it works.
The Ramban (בראשית כד, א) says that the word כֹּל is the 8th of HKB”H’s 13 middot, according to the Ramban’s shita – the midda of אֱמֶת. Even the word אֱמֶת embodies a fusion of opposites, opposite poles of the alphabet with a letter from the midpoint (if you include the “sofit” letters) and is the foundation of all Creation. The Ramban quotes the Midrash of R’ Nechunya ben Hakana (ספר הבהיר כב) who says that on the first day of Creation HKB”H created a “tree” named כֹּל from which everything is created and is from where neshamot of Am Yisrael originate. It appears (בראשית ב, ט) that this was a third tree (aside from עֵץ הַחַיִּים and עֵץ הַדַּעַת), perhaps the “fusion” point between these two trees - the gateway between עוֹלָם הָעֶלְיוֹן and עוֹלָם הַתַּחְתּוֹן. How neshamot are born and how they are mitgalgel is the realm of Kabbalah and beyond the scope of this shiur.
In summary, כֹּל is -
1. all-inclusive/exclusive, embodying total presence or absence
2. a midpoint, a gateway between opposites
3. the midat אֱמֶת of the י"ג מִדּוֹת of HKB”H
4. the foundation of all Creation.
5. The origin of the neshamot of Am Yisrael
The passuk says that after the sixth day of Creation, HKB”H looked back on all He had created and it was very good וַיַּרְא אֱ-לֹקִים אֶת כָּל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וְהִנֵּה טוֹב מְאֹד. Was everything that HKB”H created “good”? Amongst all the “good” things, HKB”H also created גֵּיהִנּוֹם, the yetzer harah, darkness, מַלְאֲכֵי חַבָּלָה, etc. How can these be good? With our limited perception, it is difficult to conceptualize these “negative” forces as being good. The concept of כֹּל teaches us however, that even the things that we perceive as “not good”, are all part of the אֱמֶת of HKB"H.
The three Avot, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov all reflected this concept of כֹּל. With Avraham it says וְאַבְרָהָם זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים וַה' בֵּרַךְ אֶת אַבְרָהָם בַּכֹּל (בראשית כד, א). With Yitzchak it says מִי אֵפוֹא הוּא הַצָּד צַיִד וַיָּבֵא לִי וָאֹכַל מִכֹּל (בראשית כז, לג). With Yaakov it says כִּי חַנַּנִי אֱ-לֹקִים וְכִי יֶשׁ לִי כֹל (בראשית לג, יא). This is what we say in Birkat Hamazon אוֹתָנוּ וְאֶת כָּל אֲשֶׁר לָנוּ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּרְכוּ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב "בַּכֹּל", "מִכֹּל", "כֹּל". This is also what we mean when we say בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' הַזָּן אֶת הַכֹּל.
After that introduction we can now begin the shiur.
If you were a farmer with thousands of acres of fig tree and pomegranate tree orchards, Bikkurim was understandably a big deal, schlepping tons of produce to Yerushalaim – this was your “bread and butter” and worth the effort. But what if you were a simple cobbler, blacksmith, lawyer, doctor, merchant, with one or two trees in your back yard? You had to mark two figs, a pomegranate or two with a “gemi”, tying some kind of “band” around them and then, for these four small pieces of fruit, worth perhaps 10 shekels, you had to take off one month from work (if you lived in Kiryat Shmonah), walk by foot all the way to Yerushalaim at a snail’s pace, ceremoniously dancing, singing HKB”H’s praises, etc. Miss a whole month’s parnasa – just for 10 shekels worth of fruit that was not even your parnasa? For what?
Bikkurim was the one time in the year you dropped everything and went to the Beit Hamikdash, simply to say thanks! Yes you are a lawyer and not a farmer, and it is only two measly figs, but that was not what you were thanking HKB”H for. The fruit was just the excuse.
You were thanking HKB”H for everything else!
For that sizable sum you made in that law suit you won against a large company, for the new grandson that was born this last year, for the two masechtot you managed to finish learning, for the extra support your family gave you when you broke your leg, for the refund from the IRS that you were not expecting, that you noticed that leaky pipe before you went on vacation and did not return home to find water damage to your home, etc. etc.
What if there was nothing to thank HKB”H for that past year? It was a “bad” year with nothing but problems and trouble. Chas vechalila you slipped a disc in your back, the bank foreclosed on your mortgage and froze your bank account, your best friend died, your car’s gear transmission malfunctioned and needed a major overhaul, your mango tree got a virus and wilted, etc. etc. Do you still have to go to Yerushalayim and give thanks? The answer is – yes!
This is what the principle of כֹּל teaches us. There is no bad! The fact that we perceive it as bad is a failing on our part. We fail to understand that nothing HKB”H does to us is bad! כל מָאן דַּעֲבִיד רַחֲמָנָא לְטָב עֲבִיד The good and bad are mirror images of the same thing!
When the Mashiach comes, the Yfei Toar says that all קָרְבָּנוֹת יָחִיד will be cancelled, except for the Korban Toda. Why will we need a Korban Toda at all in the time of Mashiach? There are four categories of people who need to bring a Korban Toda – someone who returns from a sea voyage safely, someone who returns from a journey in the desert safely, someone who recovers from a serious illness and someone who is freed from imprisonment. Why will anyone need to go on a sea voyage or a journey in the desert in the time of the Geulah? To make a parnasa? To visit a relative? There will be no parnasa problems in the time of Mashiach and all the Jews will be living in Eretz Yisrael! There will be no illness and no imprisonment. So who will bring a Korban Toda and for what?
The Yefei Toar says that the Korban Toda will continue to be offered and it will be the only individual Korban. The reason that people will bring a Korban Toda in the time of the Geulah is because they will be able to reflect on their lives before the Geulah and in retrospect and with the insight they acquire as a result of the Geulah, they will realize and understand that all the things that occurred during their life that they perceived as bad, were in fact for their own good in the bigger picture and for these things they will give thanks.
It is not incidental that parshat Ki Tavo and the parshiyot of the Bikkurim and the curses are read two weeks before Rosh Hashana. On Rosh Hashana we come with a “shopping list” of requests from HKB”H. Have a look at the list of Avinu Malkeinu’s – over forty requests! When we say שִׂים שָׁלוֹם we also come with requests in בְּסֵפֶר חַיִּים, life, blessing, parnasa, good decrees, salvation, etc. Compare this with זָכַרְנוּ לְחַיִּים מֶלֶךְ חֵפֶץ בַּחַיִּים, at the beginning of the Amidah, all we ask for here is life! Why don’t we start right off with the “shopping list”?
The answer is that we have no right to ask HKB”H at the beginning of the Amidah, for anything more than life. HKB”H gave us our bodies, our health, our parnasa, etc. and how did we repay Him, by sinning! HKB”H says, I gave you everything and you used it against Me, and you have the gall to present Me with a “shopping list” of requests? So how do we do it at the end of the Amidah? Only because before we present all our demands, we first say מוֹדִים אֲנַחְנוּ לְךָ!!! We say thanks! We express our gratitude. This is no small thing. Gratitude (Bikkurim) is called Reishit – it is a cornerstone of Creation of the world, it is perhaps the most fundamental principle of the Torah, from which every other principle is derived.
Someone who expresses gratitude will never sin, they will never slap the hand that feeds them. They can present a shopping list of requests. It is only when we forget the hand that feeds us that we sin.
We need to arrive at Rosh Hashana with gratitude, otherwise we are in serious trouble!
The recent series of parshiyot are especially apt to our current reality. First we had Shoftim, the Supreme Court and the judicial reform. Then we had Ki Teitzei and that’s exactly what we did. Am Yisrael "went out" to the streets en masse, with demonstrations larger than ever in the history of this country, for and against. We now have Ki Tavo, when we are "going back" to the drawing board, regrouping and reassessing. Next week we will be Nitzavim, when we ready ourselves to stand before HKB”H on the Day of Judgment, the REAL judgement, not some earthly, imagined form of man-made judgement. The question is how will we look when we stand before HKB”H?
Right now we are not looking so good!
We have spent the best part of a year focusing on all the things that we DON’T HAVE and very little, if any, on the things we do. Our world is nowhere near perfect, neither is our country or system of government and power. We do need to fix what needs fixing, but this can only be done out of a deep sense of gratitude, giving sincere thanks for all the good that we have and there is tons of it. Simply pause for a moment and compare our current situation to that Jews encountered a mere 100 years ago and you will realize that compared to them we are in paradise! Economically, security wise, health wise, and every other – wise! Unless we approach change/reform - first from a deep sense of gratitude, we are doomed to failure.
We need to adopt a sense of כֹּל, like the Avot, and accept even things that we perceive to be “bad” with the same equanimity as the things we perceive to be “good”, even though right now we are not able to understand why they ARE actually good for us and that in fact HKB”H is doing us a chessed.
We will pour our hearts out to HKB”H – Avinu Malkeinu, over forty of them, multiple times on Rosh Hashana. Can we in all honesty say to HKB”H - Avinu, our Father? What will we say when He asks us “You call me your Father, but how can you call me Father when you will not acknowledge your own BROTHER! Unless you have a brother, I am not your Father!
We all need to sit down with a piece of paper and a pen and make a table with two columns. In the first column list all the things that are good about our lives in Israel and in the second all the things that are not. If the "not good" list is longer than the "good", we are not ready for Rosh Hashana.
Take a second piece of paper and write down a list of how we should be making the necessary changes to the things that are "not good", but in a better way, a Torah way of כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל עֲרֵבִים זֶה לָזֶה, remembering that the concept of כֹּל also applies to Am Yisrael, that all the diametric opposites are all part of HKB"H's אֱמֶת.
We have a mere two weeks to put these two things in order if there is any chance of salvaging this coming year, on a personal and on a national level.
