A Clean Slate
"Ezra established that the curses of Ki Sovo should be
read before Rosh Hashonoh and those of Bechukosai
before Shavuos" (Megilla). We can understand why
we read Ki Sovo prior to Rosh Hashonoh: so that the
klolos of the year should come to an end and not
follow us into the new one. But why do we need to mention
these curses before Shavuos?
All of the festivals are judgment days (Biyur HaGra
524, 5). Rosh Hashonoh is the Day of Judgment for
mankind, while Shavuos is the Day of Judgment for fruit of
the trees. Since it is a yom hadin, that is why it is
appropriate for us to read the curses beforehand. On the
other hand, on Succos there is judgment on water and Pesach
on wheat, and we do not read these parshas beforehand.
What is unique about Shavuos that this Torah reading is
required?
The Shelah explains that in addition to its literal meaning,
the term "the fruit of the trees" also refers to the Torah
that a person will learn that year. Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer
explained that just like Rosh Hashonoh needs to be prepared
for in Elul, so too we need to prepare ourselves in advance
for Shavuos if we want to reap its "fruits." If we make the
effort to ready ourselves for Shavuos, we will also merit an
end to the curses of the year.
"Every korbon speaks about transgression except for
the sacrifices of Shavuos" (Talmud Yerushalmi Rosh
Hashonoh, end of 4th perek). One of the main functions of
Temple offerings was to cleanse us of transgression. If the
Torah makes no reference to this in the korbonos of
Shavuos, it must be for a reason.
At Har Sinai the Jewish people took upon themselves the
mission of toiling over the words of Torah. If on Shavuos a
person accepts to toil in Torah, it is as if he never
transgressed (Korbon Eida and Pnei Moshe
ibid.). How do we know that Klal Yisroel accepted
this upon themselves at Har Sinai, and why does this
acceptance make it as if they never sinned?
Two Types of Torah Learning
"In the merit of saying na'aseh (we will do) before
nishma (we will hear), 600,000 mal'ochim came
to the Jewish people and tied two crowns on each of them
— one parallel to na'aseh and one parallel to
nishma" (Shabbos 88a). The Zohar explains that
the crown of na'aseh was for accepting the mitzvos and
the crown of nishma was for accepting that they will
toil in Torah.
The gemora implies that we received these two crowns
because of the order in which we made these statements. Why
was the sequence so crucial?
One reason we learn Torah is in order to know how to perform
the mitzvos. However there is another aspect of Torah study,
where we do not learn merely to find out the practical
ramifications for out lives. As our Sages note, the
halachos of ben sorer umorer were never applied
in practice and never will be. Still, we learn them in the
Torah.
If the Jewish people had said nishma first, this would
have implied that learning (nishma) was only a means
to understanding the mitzvos of the Torah (na'aseh).
Saying na'aseh before nishma implied that the
learning is a goal unto itself independent of any need to
know how to keep the mitzvos (Beis HaLevi).
"Ha'azinu haShomayim . . . vesishma ho'oretz,"
proclaimed Moshe Rabbeinu in parshas Ha'azinu.
Ha'azinu always means listen well, with special
concentration and haShomayim refers to the
neshomoh. These two words refer to the nishma
aspect of Torah; toiling in Torah purely for the sake of
enhancing the neshomoh.
Vesishma refers to a less intensive type of hearing
and ho'oretz refers to the aspects of Torah which
translate into the physical actions. The second part of the
verse speaks about the aspect of Torah learning which teaches
us the halachos of how to behave. These were the two
separate mitzvos of Torah learning that we accepted upon
ourselves at Har Sinai (Vilna Gaon in Aderes
Eliyahu).
The Secret of Nishma
Even after we have distinguished these two aspects of Torah
learning, there are still many points that remain unclear.
The gemora implies that if it were not for saying
nishma we would have received no crowns —
neither for na'aseh and nor for nishma. Why was
saying nishma such a crucial aspect of accepting the
Torah?
In the merit of saying na'aseh before nishma we
merited to have 600,000 mal'ochim tie two separate
crowns on our heads — one for na'aseh and one
for nishma. However when the Jewish people sinned with
the Golden Calf, 1,200,000 angels of destruction came,
600,000 to remove the crowns of na'aseh and another
600,000 to take off the crowns of nishma (Rashi). Why
were twice as many mal'ochim needed to remove these
crowns?
"Is learning greater or is action greater? Some said that
learning is greater and some said that action is greater. In
the end everyone concluded that learning is greater for it
brings one to action" (Kiddushin 40b). At first glance
the words of the gemora are confusing. If the whole
point of learning Torah is to bring us to action, how can we
understand that nishma, learning Torah for its own
sake, is greater than na'aseh, learning Torah in order
to know how to act?
The last shmuess that the Alter of Slobodka gave in
Chevron was on erev Yom Kippur of 78 years ago. He
explained that when our Sages said that Talmud is great for
it brings one to actions, they did not mean that learning
Torah merely teaches us what to do. Rather they meant that
the highest level of learning is when a person learns in a
way that his actions will also be considered Torah
learning.
How does one accomplish this? When a Jew toils over the words
of Torah his mitzvos also become Torah, for every act is
instilled with the spiritual elevation of the Torah. Every
aspect of his physical being is elevated to a level of
spiritual greatness. This is the Torah of nishma,
learning with depth and effort that transforms the person
into a completely spiritual being.
Based on the words of the Alter we can understand why saying
nishma allowed us to receive both crowns. Without the
acceptance of nishma — the mission to change
one's life into Torah — the na'aseh would not
have achieved its goal. Only the crown of nishma made
the crown of na'aseh meaningful.
Hashem desires two things from us. He wants every Jew to
perform the mitzvos of the Torah; this is na'aseh. But
even more than that, He wants nishma. He wants our
every action to be imbued with the holiness of the Torah.
That's when a Jew's entire life turns into Torah.
Package Deal
When Moshe Rabbenu ascended to Shomayim to accept the Torah,
the mal'ochim argued that Hashem should not give the
Torah to mankind. Moshe responded that the angels are not
able to observe Torah properly for they are not physical
beings. What is the deeper meaning of these words?
The mal'ochim did not want man to get the nishma
aspect of Torah. They argued that it should remain in the
heavens with the mal'ochim. But Moshe Rabbenu answered
that without that physical aspect of na'aseh, the
spiritual aspect nishma is not complete. The two need
to exist together in order to achieve perfection.
Based on this, we can also understand why it took only one
mal'ach to place both crowns of na'aseh and of
nishma. These two crowns were really two aspects of
one unified mission, to turn man into a spiritual being. So a
single mal'ach could put them both them on the head of
each Jew.
However, when the Jewish people sinned with the Golden Calf,
they showed that these two crowns were not working together,
and that the nishma had not sufficiently affected
their na'aseh. Since they severed these two aspects
from each other, separate mal'ochim were required to
remove the crowns.
Based on this, we can understand why someone who accepts
Torah is considered to have never transgressed in his life.
Learning Torah does not get rid of aveiros on a simple
level. However the learning of nishma raises a person
to a level of living where he is totally sanctified and
separate from the whole concept of sin.
Every year Shavuos is a new opportunity for us to reach this
level. How do we prepare for this day? Before Shavuos we
read, "Im bechukosai teileichu . . . " which, as Rashi
explains, refers to toiling in Torah. If we learn in this way
we will reach the level of Torah that is nishma.
If we can elevate ourselves to this level of Torah before and
during Shavuos, we will certainly merit seeing an end to the
curses of the year.
HaRav David Cohen is rosh yeshivas Chevron,
Yerushalayim.
