“You are standing this day, all of you, before Hashem your G-d, your leaders, your tribes, your Elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel. Your little ones, your wives, your stranger that is in your camp, from the cutter of your wood to the drawer of your water.” Rabbi Mordechai Katz explains that this passage underscores that all members of Israel stood together as equals before Hashem. This is dramatic proof that to Hashem each individual, no matter what his station in life, has the same potential for spiritual greatness. Each person can, in his own way, rise to the summit of holiness. No one should consider himself too insignificant to be a partner in the Covenant between the Jews and Hashem. On Rosh Hashonah, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev rose to blow the shofar. As he was about to began, he stopped, removed the shofar from his lips and put it down. As the delay continued, the people grew restless, for they couldn’t understand why the Rabbi delayed. “My friends,” said the Rabbi, “in the rear of the shul sits a Jew who was kidnaped as a young child, brought up by a gentile family and drafted into the army. When he was 40 years old, he was finally freed and allowed to return to his people. This man had not been inside a shul since he was a child, until he joined us today. He couldn’t possibly remember the prayers he heard so long ago. Yet, he was so overcome with emotion at his return to the House of Hashem. He yearned to join in the expressions of devotion to Hashem. And so I saw him speaking the only remnants of Hebrew that he recalled from his youth — the letters of the Alef Beis. But he said them with such feeling that they rose straight to heaven. I therefore paused so that his letters will have time to reach Hashem, who will Himself form them into the words of our prayers. Now, we can begin the blowing of the shofar.”
“And it shall come to pass . . . and you shall call to mind among all the nations where G-d has driven you.” Hashem tells the Jews of a time when they will be exiled and there, in the land of exile, “shall call to mind . . . “. The S’forno explains that this “calling to mind” is not simply a reminiscence of past events, but a deep introspection into one’s subconsciousness. This reflection is necessary to determine the motivation for every act — good or bad. This is the essence of “teshuvah” — sincere introspection followed by a honest comparison of one’s acts and deeds with the Torah’s absolute standards of right and wrong. How can we find our true motivations? Though we each have a complicated psychological code to decipher, the Torah assures us that we are each capable of breaking our personal code. Hashem created each of us with an unique power of self-analysis; this great potential heightens our responsibility to scrutinize all of our actions and motivations and correct them. It is precisely this “open-eyed” confrontation with ourselves that the S’forno describes as the essence of teshuvah. Though it is difficult, it is not beyond us, particularly during this special time preceding Rosh Hashanah.
“For this commandment which I command you this day is not too wondrous for you nor is it far beyond you… But the word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.” Rabbi Avraham Twerski comments: The Torah will its many mitzvos might appear so difficult to observe that some people might say, “what’s the use of trying? I cannot possibly comply with all the requirements of the Torah.” “Not so,” says Moshe. “Observing the mitzvos is well within your means. Not only is it possible, but it is even much simpler than you think. All you have to do is make the decision and commit yourself to do so, and the rest will follow quite easily.” Even the greatest levels of spirituality are well within everyone’s reach. One needs only to make a sincere decision that this is what one wishes to achieve.
Prepared by: Devorah Abenhaim
