~ Thoughts on The Parsha ~
Parshas Va’eschanan
Log Trucks and Vineyards
By: Daniel Listhaus
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ ה' אֶחָד:
“Hear, O Israel: Hashem is our God; Hashem is One.”
-Va’eschanan 6:4
The Shema is one of the most
fundamental passukim (verses) which children are taught from a very
early age. After all, the first paragraph of Shema encompasses the
concept of kabalas ol malchus shamayim (literally: accepting the
yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven).[1] Furthermore
the Yerushalmi[2] says that
all of the aseres ha’dibros (ten commandments) are hinted to throughout
the entirety of Shema. There is no doubt that the Shema is core
to Judaism and represents all of B’nei Yisroel purely accepting the
Torah and mitzvos under Hashem’s reign. This was in fact the declaration
made by the Shevatim to Yaakov avinu stating their
absolute commitment to Hashem and the Torah.[3]
The
Medrash[4]
states that Kriyas Shema consists of 248[5]
words corresponding to the 248 limbs in the human body and Hashem guarantees that
one who reads the 248 words of Shema with proper kavana (intention)
will receive good health in each of one’s 248 limbs.
The
Rosh[6]
cites the Medrash and sources it based on a passuk in Mishlei[7]
which states, “Shamor mitzvosai v’chaya” (Keep My mitzvos and
you will live). Hashem promises that if you guard His mitzvos, He will
guard you. The Rosh continues to explain this concept based on the
following moshol (parable) from Rebbe Shimon ben Chalafta:
Imagine there are two people. One lives in Yehuda (one part of Eretz
Yisroel) and has a vineyard in the Gallile (another part of Eretz
Yisroel), and the other lives in the Gallile and has a vineyard in Yehuda.
For many years they commuted to work until one day they bumped into each other
and realized that with coordination they could work together to live more
relaxing lives. If the one who lives in Yehuda could manage the vineyard
there for the one living in the Gallile, and vice versa, they could save
the daily time and effort of the commuting back and forth.
This
moshol serves as the source for comedian Brian Regan’s comment how he “…never
understood log trucks because sometimes you’ll be out on the highway and see
two big giant trucks loaded up with logs, and they pass each other on the
highway... I mean, if they need logs over there... and they need them over
there, you'd think a phone call would save them a whole lot of trouble”
However, what is the real purpose of the moshol? Why is the moshol necessary?
The concept of Hashem promising that if we guard His mitzvos He will ensure
our health is easy enough to comprehend without the example. So why did Rebbe Shimon ben Chalafta feel necessary to provide a moshol for this?
Furthermore, if one
stops to think about it, the moshol
itself does not seem to be parallel
with the message it is trying to convey. The message is that one who reads each
and every word of Shema with proper kavana will be assured
good health. The converse would be that one who does not read the Shema with kavana will have no such guarantee. However in the
moshol, the alternative to
guarding each other’s fields was not that the fields would fall apart, rather
that the same exact work would be done albeit through the extra effort of
having to commute. Why give an example of people who were already both
attending their vineyards? Why not instead give a case of a sort of comparative
advantage scenario where one person is better at farming land but his work
involves animal care and vice versa and then they offer to switch. Such an
example would seemingly align better as painting the picture of someone who was
doing something different before and offered to switch to do what’s right and
more effective. However with the moshol of Rebbe Shimon ben Chalafta,
the people are doing the same activity – maintaining vineyards and it is just a
matter of location. How is that parallel to Hashem’s promise that if you keep
His Torah then He will secure your health, which implies that the message is
being said to someone currently not keeping the Torah and mizvos?
Perhaps
we could understand the moshol and message as follows. The Chovos
Halevavos writes that there are different ways to do mitzvos. Unfortunately,
we often times do mitzvos because we are used to them and they are part
of our culture, but the reality is that as great as that itself is, it remains a
relatively low-level of keeping Torah. The next significant level is the chovos
ha’levavos – literally the obligation of the heart to feel the mitzvos and
become the Torah. Perhaps this is the message that the medrash is really
trying to convey and why Rebbe Shimon ben Chalafta felt it necessary to
supply the specific moshol he did. The message is that just reciting Shema
and mindlessly and routinely keeping the mizvos is not enough. In
order to achieve the status of meriting Hashem’s promise, one has to do more
than merely care for the proverbial vineyard; one has to care for the vineyard
close to home and do it for the “other’s” sake, not for oneself. In other
words, one has to keep the Torah and mitzvos by making it a part of one’s
personal life – close to home – and do so for Hashem, not out of route or for
external reasons. This is also why the halacha stresses that the Shema
must be said with kavana. Merely reading the Shema is not a segulah
for good health. It is the reading it with kavana and internalizing
it that is comparable to guarding Hashem’s vineyard in your home court.
May
Hashem help us keep His Torah and mitzvos for the right reasons so that
we could merit and experience a refuah shelaimah of ra’mach eivarim for
ourselves and for all of k’lal Yisroel.
[1]
Gemara Berachos
[2]
Yerushalmi Berachos cited by Mishna Berurah 61:1:1
[3]
See Gemara Pesachim 56a
[4]
Brought in Mishna Berurah 61:3:6
[5]
Really there are 245 words but the chazzan repeats the last three words
on behalf of the congregation to total 248. See Mishna Berurah 61:3:6
regarding how to make up the words if not davening with a minyan.
[6]
Devarim 6:4 see also Chizkuni there
[7]
Mishlei 4:4
