ולא נתן י־ה־ו־ה לכם לב לדעת ועינים לראות ואזנים לשמע עד היום הזה - And Hashem (G-D) did not give you a heart to understand and eyes to see and ears to hear until this day Moshe rabbeinu tells klal Yisrael (the Jewish nation) that Hashem did not give us the ability to understand (the chesed (kindness) of Hashem and attach ourselves to Him - Rashi) until today. What happened on that day specifically that was significant? Rashi tells us that on that day Moshe rabbeinu gave the sefer Torah (Torah scroll) to shevet Levi (the tribe of Levi). The rest of the shevatim (tribes) started complaining. We were also by har Sinai and received the Torah. If you only give your tribe the Torah, they will claim that only they received the Torah and not us. When Moshe rabbeinu heard this he became happy because he realized that klal Yisrael was attached to Hashem and desired Him/ If we analyze these two Rashis, we would realize that they are not as innocent as they seem. Its only after this whole incident that Moshe rabbeinu realized that klal Yisrael was able to understand the kindness of Hashem. Only after they desired the Torah were they able to comprehend Hashem’s chesed. What connection does the desire for Torah have to understanding Hashem’s wonderful kindness? They were very smart people and they saw amazing miracles. Surely they understood and appreciated what they saw and experienced! Its possible that the answer to this question is as follows. If a person does not have a desire to understand something, then they wont be able to truly comprehend and connect to that thing. They might have the ability to grasp very deep ideas quickly and repeat them over. However, this is just a superficial intellectual understanding. Even someone that is incredibly smart cannot fully connect to something unless he has a strong desire to. [Perhaps the reason for this is because we naturally cant connect to something even if we desire it. However, if we desire it then Hashem gives us the capacity to truly connect to it. This is the meaning of the pasuk (verse) quoted in the beginning.] In our daily lives there are many times where we do things half-heartedly. What’s the big deal if I come late to tefilah (prayer) and rush to say all the words? Why do ii need to give my Torah learning my all? Isn’t it enough that I come to learn in the first place? However, if we truly want to connect to Hashem and His Torah, it’s not enough to understand it superficially and go through the motions. We must truly desire it and want it in order to connect to it in a very real way. May Hashem give us the desire to connect to Him and His Torah in the deepest way possible. J-root radio
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 20:15:20 +0000
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