~Thoughts on The Parsha~
Parshas Vayeilech
The Ripple Effect:
Splash Out of Your Bubble or Take
it to the Grave
By: Daniel Listhaus
וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל
מֹשֶׁה הִנְּךָ שֹׁכֵב עִם אֲבֹתֶיךָ וְקָם הָעָם הַזֶּה וְזָנָה אַחֲרֵי אֱלֹהֵי
נֵכַר הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר הוּא בָא שָׁמָּה בְּקִרְבּוֹ וַעֲזָבַנִי וְהֵפֵר אֶת
בְּרִיתִי אֲשֶׁר כָּרַתִּי אִתּוֹ
“Hashem said to
Moshe, 'Behold, you will lie with your forefathers, but this people will rise
up and stray after gods of that which is foreign to the land, in whose midst it
is coming, and it will forsake Me and it will annul my covenant that I have
sealed with it.'”
-Vayeilech 31:16
The
Gemara[1]
relates that a group of heretics asked Rabban Gamliel, “How do you know that
Hashem will resuscitate the dead?” Rabban Gamliel responded with a proof from
Torah, a proof from Nevi'im (Prophets), and a proof from K'suvim (Writings),[2]
however the heretics did not accept any of the proofs. The proof that
Rabban Gamliel brought from Torah is from this week's parsha. The passuk
(verse)[3]
says that Hashem said to Moshe, “Behold you will lie with your forefathers,
but this people will rise up and stray after gods...” This is the way the passuk
is conventionally read and indeed the way which the trop
(cantillation marks) of the Torah directs us to understand. However,
without any punctuation, there is another way to read the passuk, which
clearly hints to the concept of techiyas hamaysim (revival of the dead),
and that is the following: “Hashem said to Moshe, 'Behold you will lie with
your forefathers and get up, but these people will rise up and stray after
gods...” Putting the comma after the word “v'kum” (“and will get up”),
instead of before, changes the passuk's meaning slightly to be dealing with
two separate future events: A time when Moshe will come back from the dead, as
well as a time when B'nei Yisroel will sin after entering Eretz
Yisroel.
The
problem with this Gemara is that the heretics seem to have had good
reason not to listen to Rabban Gamliel. Even without knowing what we do
of the correct punctuation in the passuk, it would be a stretch to
interpret the passuk in the way Rabban Gamliel suggested, because the
construction of the rest of the passuk does not allow for such an
explanation. The passuk is grammatically written in such a way that the
word “v'kum” is clearly attached to the latter part describing the
future mistakes of B'nei Yisroel.[4]
The
Kli Yakar[5]
offers the following explanation. Oftentimes, we feel as if we are living in a
bubble. We think that the things we do and say effect no one but ourselves and
those who are directly impacted. Imagine a principal who is lecturing a class
not to cheat on tests. He might argue “You are only hurting yourselves”, or may
even extend the discipline to say, “Even if one guy cheats, he is affecting his
classmates, who might then take cheating more lightly”. However, rarely does
the message include the friends of our friends who will in turn be affected, no
matter how slightly, and so on. If we stop to think for a moment, there are in
fact very few things we do which do not have much broader impacts. A simple
good morning or smile to someone does not only change the attitude and behavior
of the one giving and receiving the gesture, but also extends to everyone that
each of them interact with for the rest of the day. This idea is known as the
ripple effect. Just as one could throw a rock in the middle of a lake and watch
the continuously spreading ripples, so to a single action – no matter how small
– spreads throughout individuals, communities, and countries, for generations.
The
Gemara[6]
brings a statement from R' Yehuda in the name of Rav that a person has the
ability to live in two worlds simultaneously.[7]
The Gemara explains that this is possible because, for example, when a talmid
(student) quotes his deceased rebbe, it is as if the rebbe's lips
are moving in the grave.[8]
The fact that someone has passed on does not mean that the ripples he has left
to spread, and seeds he has planted, go forgotten. Rather, everything stemming
from an individual gets attributed back to that individual.
The
same, however, is true for the detriment. Someone who is the cause of others
committing aveiros (sins) is responsible for those outcomes as well. And
just as a positive ripple effect could be caused by gathering others to do good
things, being a role model, or merely encouraging others, so too a negative
ripple effect could be caused by doing bad things with others, being a bad
example for friends, or merely not giving someone proper mussar (rebuke)
at an opportune time. All this gets attributed back to the responsibility of
the one who jumped into the water and started the chain reaction.
With
this in mind, the Kli Yakar writes that we could now better appreciate
the passuk in our parsha, and how it is indeed a valid source for
techiyas hamaysim in the Torah without stretching the simple meaning.
Hashem was telling Moshe that for now you are going to be resting with your
forefathers. However, this people will later stray after other gods, and they
will come to awaken you because you will be held responsible. After all, if B'nei
Yisroel turn to avoda zarah (idol worship) in the future, that makes
Moshe partially responsible for not instilling the message deep enough. So, the
passuk is telling us that there will be a later time when Moshe will
indeed return in body to us and we will go up to him. This demonstrates an
allusion to the concept of techiyas hamaysim from the Torah.
The
Gemara[9]
writes that a whole year Hashem only accepts teshuva (repentance)
from the rabim (public). However, during the aseres y'mei teshuva
(Ten Days of Repentance – starting on Rosh Hashanah and continuing through Yom
Kippur), Hashem even accepts the teshuva of a yachid
(individual). These are days when Hashem is close to us, looks at us as
individuals, and gives us the opportunity to regret the sins of our past and
accept on ourselves to do better in the future. However, we must take a moment
to reflect what exactly we have done as individuals. We must realize that we do
not live in a bubble. Rather, we live in a place where our actions have ripple
effects. The consequences we cause will be attributed back to us forever until
the time of techiyas hamaysim. Therefore we must make sure that the
impacts we create in this world are indeed ones that we want to take to the
grave.
May
we merit to only be the cause of positive consequences and achieve a closeness
with Hashem as he grants us a complete s'licha u'mechila on Yom
Kippur.
[1] Sanhedrin 90b
[2] The three parts to Tanach. The proof
from Torah is from Devarim 31:16, the proof from Nevi'im is from Yeshaya
26:19, and the proof from K'suvim is from Shir HaShirim 7:10
[3] Devarim 31:16
[4] On a simple level, the Ibn Ezra (31:16)
seems to express this opinion. However, see Avi Eizer (31:16) who writes
that it is not possible that the Ibn Ezra would write such a thing which
goes against chazal – i.e. the Gemara in Sanhedrin (90b)
which clearly brings this passuk as a real proof. The Avi Eizer therefore
explains the Ibn Ezra as only asking on the way the trop was
placed.
[5] Devarim 31:16
[6] Yevamos 96b-97a
[7] As seen in the passuk in Tehillim (61:5)
[8] See Shir Hashirim 7:10 which alludes
to this, as brought in the Gemara.
[9] Rosh Hashanah 18a
No comments:
Post a Comment