humt ktur kert, f"; nbjo-tc vw,ag"v nbjo-tc f"; kert, ktur humt Reprinted for 20 Menachem-Av, 5775 51 rntn iugna, ceg vwhvu Maamar VIHAYAH EIKEV TISHMAUN KUNTRES 2O MENACHEM AV, 5747 (Sefer HaMaamarim Meluket, Vol. II, p. 67ff.) By the Grace of G-d Shabbos Parshas Eikev 20 Menachem-Av, 5727 ohypanv ,t iugna, ceg vwhvu o,t o,hagu o,rnau vktv “And it shall come to pass that when (eikev) you heed these ordinances, and you observe and perform them.”1 he question regarding the wording of this verse is well Tknown:2 Since man is given free choice with regard to the observance of the Torah and its mitzvos, the verse should have said “...if you heed these ordinances,” {as it is written:3 ot ufk, h,ueujc “If you will walk in My statutes...” guna ot vhvu ugna,, “And it will be, if you will diligently obey...”}. Why is it written: “And it shall come to pass that when you heed...”, implying that the Jews’ observance is a definite certainty? 1. Devarim 7:12. 2. See Or HaTorah, Eikev, the maamar entitled Vihayah Eikev, p. 491; see also the maamarim of this title in the series of maamarim entitled BeShaah SheHikdimu, 5672, Vol. I, p. 365 (5673) and p. 580 (5674). See also the commentary of the Or HaChayim. Note also Rashi’s commentary to this verse which interprets the phrase as mean- ing: “If you will observe the light mitzvos....” See also the commentaries to Rashi. 3. Vayikra 26:13. 52 / ANTICIPATING THE REDEMPTION cx"s/ The Tzemach Tzedek interprets4 the word eikev as referring to scr p,j the time of ikvesa diMeshicha (the era in which Mashiach’s - - vhkukt ak vrv"d ak vhkukt vx,keu, huo tc' approaching footsteps can be heard). Therefore it is written: “And nbjo f"; khuo cxnhfu, it shall come to pass that when you heed...,” i.e., you will _ ak tchu abhturxtvi' z"k hmje kuh nuvr"r vneuck ufuw uvrv"j certainly heed. For “the Torah has promised that ultimately, in akhy"t' tsnu"r f"e _ hckj"y the end of their exile, Israel will turn [to G-d] in teshuvah and they will immediately be redeemed.”5 [And thus the Jews’ obser- t, akhy"t' tsnu"r f"e vurt, g"p ktur' numhtho vbbu - vance can be considered as a certainty.] nbjo f"; gec' sa"p cv,uugsu, abtnr duw' gec uvhw s"v vntnr The [Tzemach Tzedek] continues in his maamar,6 vw,af"z/ tc explaining tumr vjxhsho" tumr ngrf, " numa"e f; nb"t' nb"t' f; numa"e ahj b, u that the three verbs the verse employs: heed, observe, and per- vt n a z 7 , vw form, refer to the three [“garments of the soul” ]: thought, b/h/ cruekhi' speech, and deed. “Heed[ing],” [literally, listening,] refers to thought, for hearing is primarily a function of the mind. (The ear is merely a sensor which enables the sound [waves] to enter one’s thought.) IN HONOR OF “Observ[ing]” [ush’martem] refers to speech. For observance the Soldier of "Tzivos Hashem" is primarily a function of the mouth. This is reflected in the Mina Brocha whj, Yakovlev verse:8 “Arranged in all things and preserved [shemurah],” [which Born on 5 Tamuz, 5775 9 our Sages associate with studying the Torah vocally]. And "IN RESPONSE TO YOUR NOTIFICATION THAT A DAUGHTER HAS BEEN BORN “perform[ing]” refers to deed. TO YOURSELF AND YOUR WIFE IN AN AUSPICIOUS MOMENT, . "M G-D'S WILL THAT TOGETHER WITH YOUR WIFE YOU RAISE HER TO TORAH, [As a result of the Jews’ Divine service in these three means of AY IT BE TO THE WEDDING CANOPY, AND TO GOOD DEEDS, OUT OF PROSPERITY." expression, they will merit the reward alluded to in] the con- AND IN HONOR OF HER SISTER tinuation of the verse: “And G-d will safeguard [vishomar] for you the Soldier of "Tzivos Hashem" the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your ancestors.” Tiferet Rochel Faiga whj, Yakovlev As the maamar explains, the three terms referred to by the verse: * covenant, kindness, and oath (“swore”) reflect the thought, DEDICATED BY THEIR PARENTS speech, and deed of G-d, as it were. Through man’s Divine service Mr. & Mrs. Aron and Chana uhjha Yakovlev in thought, speech, and deed, he draws down the [parallels and 4. Or HaTorah, Eikev, the maamar entitled Vihayah Eikev, p. 491, p. 504 (quoting the Or HaMeir). Reprinted with permission of: Tel.: (323) 934-7095 5. Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Teshuvah 7:5; see Or HaTorah, loc. cit., which states: “Vaad L’Hafotzas Sichos” Fax: (323) 934-7092 “As promised in Parshas Nitzavim (Devarim 30:2): ‘And you will return...” (quoting by: http://www.torah4blind.org the same verses cited by the Rambam). Moshiach Awareness Center, e-mail: [email protected] 6. Or HaTorah, loc. cit.; see also the maamarim from the series of maamarim entitled a Project of: BeShaah SheHikdimu, loc. cit., pp. 364 and 588. Enlightenment For The Blind, Inc. Rabbi Yosef Y. Shagalov, 7. [Tanya, ch. 5.] Executive Director 8. II Shmuel 23:5. 602 North Orange Drive. 9. Eruvin 54a. Los Angeles, CA 90036 Printed in the U.S.A. 2 VIHAYAH EIKEV TISHMAUN / 53 ,efd the source for] these potentials in G-dliness: the covenant, - kindness, and oath. tc* vw,af"z tc* nbjo f"; gec' a"p cx"s/ Nevertheless,10 this (— that the sublime thought, speech, and 2 1 ' uhsug vshue czv vshue uhsug ' duw tu,o ugah,o uanr,o duw ,angui gec ' uvhw action shall be drawn down for man —) is not sufficient. For the vrh ehuo v,un"m ,kuh ccjhr, vtso' uvuk"k uvhw to ,angui to uvhw uvuk"k vtso' ccjhr, ,kuh v,un"m ehuo vrh soul also [shared a connection] to the highest expression of these 3 4 ]fnu to ]fnu to anug ,angu[' uknv tunr uvhw gec uvhw tunr uknv ,angu[' anug to cjueu,h ,kfu' uvhw ,kfu' cjueu,h potentials, G-d’s thought before its descent to the material realm, 5 11 ,angui' sphw vkaui vut austh ,angui/ unctr tsnu"r vm"m tsnu"r unctr ,angui/ austh vut vkaui sphw ,angui' sgec as it is said: “Israel arose in thought.” Instead, the descent is for eth gk vzni sgec,t snahjt' uzvu uvhw gec ,angui' ,angui usth' ,angui ,angui' gec uvhw uzvu snahjt' sgec,t vzni gk eth the purpose of an ascent, so that through Divine service on the svcyhjv ,urv axu; hartk kgau, ,aucv cxu; dku,i unhs vi unhs dku,i cxu; ,aucv kgau, hartk axu; ,urv svcyhjv material plane, the soul can ascend to a higher level than it 7 6 enjoyed before its descent. bdtkhi ' sdw vkaubu,' ,angui uanr,o ugah,o' uanr,o ,angui vkaubu,' sdw ' cvntnr unnahl / 12 vo njacv shcur ungav/ ,angui vut njacv' sgher vanhgv vut vanhgv sgher njacv' vut ,angui ungav/ shcur njacv vo Before the soul’s descent, its level is described as “pure.” 13 cnjacv )uvtuzi thbu tkt fkh agk hsu bfbx veuk cnjac,u(' uanr,o cnjac,u(' veuk bfbx hsu agk fkh tkt thbu )uvtuzi cnjacv Through the descent, it ascends to an even higher level, “and 14 8 You preserve it (mishamrah) within me.” vut shcur' fh gher vanhrv cpv fn"a cpv vanhrv gher fh shcur' vut grufv cfk uanurv' ugah,o uanurv' cfk grufv 1 ngav/ ugk zv nnahl utunr nnahl zv ugk ngav/ uanr vw tkehl kl t, vcrh, ut, vjxs ut, vcrh, t, kl tkehl vw uanr On this basis, we can understand the intent of the promise: tar bacg duw' crh, jxs uacugv vo njacv shcur ungav )fncutr ungav shcur njacv vo uacugv jxs crh, duw' bacg tar “And G-d will safeguard for you the covenant and the kindness ao ctrufv(' ug"h ,angui uanr,o ugah,o' vgcusv snjacv shcur snjacv vgcusv ugah,o' uanr,o ,angui ug"h ctrufv(' ao that He swore to your ancestors.” The intent is that [these rewards will be drawn down] through the Jews “heed[ing] these ungav ak vtso' bnafho ku vnjacv shcur ungav akngkv' t, akngkv' ungav shcur vnjacv ku bnafho vtso' ak ungav 9 ordinances, and... observ[ing] and perform[ing] them...,” i.e., vcrh, ut, vjxs tar bacg/ tnbo bacg/ tar vjxs ut, vcrh, gbhi zv )ahunal kvtso vnjacv kvtso )ahunal zv gbhi Divine service employing the three means of expression: thought, shcur ungav akngkv( thbu nxphe gshhi' avrh do kpbh hrhs, vbanv hrhs, kpbh do avrh gshhi' nxphe thbu akngkv( ungav shcur speech, and deed, performed by the “heel of the soul,” i.e., the aspect of the soul which descends into the body.15 In particular, this applies in the era of ikvesa diMeshicha, (for the additional - k hfc".: chuo l kjusa tc guaho v,r, bsrho avut trcgho avut bsrho v,r, guaho tc kjusa l chuo hfc".: k *( nbvdh ve"e ch, t ch, ve"e nbvdh *( descent will lead to an even [greater] ascent). huo euso r"v )vuct crta vxw scrh akuo kvrt"a nzrjh(/ _ fbrtv g"s trcgho huo trcgho g"s fbrtv _ nzrjh(/ kvrt"a akuo scrh vxw crta )vuct r"v euso huo The descent [of the G-dly soul] into the body and the animal euso hmhr, vuks )xuyv c' t(/ c' )xuyv vuks hmhr, euso 1( rha pra,bu )gec z' hc(/ z' )gec pra,bu rha 1( soul (and in particular, [the descent caused by] exile) causes our 2( rtv tuv", pra,bu s"v zv gw ,mt/ s"v zv ,rg"d u,rg"s c,jk,i )vnal ,gr"c )vnal c,jk,i u,rg"s ,rg"d zv s"v ,mt/ gw zv s"v pra,bu tuv", rtv 2( Divine service in the three means of expression: thought, speech, j"t gw abv/ ao gw ,ep(/ urtv do tuv"j gv"p/ ukvghr do nphrua ra"h rha pra,bu rha ra"h nphrua do ukvghr gv"p/ tuv"j do urtv ,ep(/ gw ao abv/ gw j"t and deed, to be performed with sublime desire and mesirus nefesh to uvhw gec ,angui _ _ ,angui gec uvhw vnmuu, veku, fuw ,angui"/ urtv nprah ra"h ao/ ra"h nprah urtv ,angui"/ fuw veku, vnmuu, " 3( r"p cjueu,h )fu' hd(/ )fu' cjueu,h r"p 3( 10.