Ra'anana Community Kollel - Parshat Ki Tavo 5765

                                    Doing Our Share

                                                   Rabbi Binyomin Lipson

“Blessed is the person who supports the words of this Torah in order to observe them.”
(Devarim 27:26 with Rashi 27:12)

As the Jewish people neared the Land of Israel, Moshe instructed them regarding a special mitzvah which they were to perform after crossing the Jordan River. When the people reached the mountains of Greizim and Eival, they were to divide the twelve tribes into two groups. Six of the tribes were to ascend Mt. Greizim in order to bless the people, while the others would pronounce the curses from the other. In this week’s parshah, Moshe informed the people which tribes had been selected by Hashem to ascend which mountain as well as listing the specific blessings and curses which were to be recited. The very last curse that the Jewish people were instructed to say was, “Cursed is the one who does not support the words of this Torah in order to perform them.”

The Gemara (Sotah 36) tells us that in fact, each of the curses that Moshe mentioned was preceded by a comparable blessing. Thus, we see that the people must have also said the inverse of this statement as well. Simply speaking, this “support” which the verse mentions calls upon the authorities of the Jewish courts in every locality to strengthen the Torah observance of the local population and to stand up for the honor of Torah values to the best of their ability. Nevertheless, the Chofetz Chaim explained that in truth, support of the Torah is the responsibility of every Jewish person no matter what their position. As the Gemara (Shabbat 54b) tells us, every person’s level of responsibility in this regard is determined by the level of influence that they possess over the people around them. One who can influence his family to strengthen their observance of the Torah is expected to do so, while a person who is influential in his city must extend his concern to its citizens, and so on. This is not merely a nice idea or possible “good deed” that we are advised us to perform, but rather, it is a Torah obligation no less that keeping Shabbat or Kashrut. The Gemara even goes as far as to say that one who does not use his level of authority to strengthen the Torah in his personal jurisdiction is destined to be held responsible for every transgression which he could have used his influence to prevent. Thus, the greater his level of influence, the greater is the responsibility to the Jewish people that he bears.

When the Jewish people pronounced these blessings and curses, the Torah tells us that the entire nation that was assembled there, including the tribe of Levi who carried the Holy Ark, answered a resounding, AMEN! Thus any person who helps to strengthen the Torah on his individual level thereby warrants this blessing which was pronounced on Mt. Greizim and responded to by the entire congregation of Israel with the Ark and the holy tablets it contained. Nowadays, there are many people who seek the blessings of great Torah scholars and pious people for a wide variety of personal difficulties and problems. How much would we be willing to spend in order to receive the blessing of one of the great Tzaddikim of previous generations? Would we be willing to fly to Australia, a long and expensive journey is we knew that we could receive a personal blessing from the Chofetz Chaim, from the Rambam, or from Rebbi Akiva? If so, then we should be even more eager to receive the blessing of the entire generation who were privileged to enter the land of Israel, who undoubtedly included many truly righteous people, who carried Hashem’s Holy Ark amongst them. This is the merit of those who support the Torah and fortify its observance. At this time of the year, this is certainly one of the most important issues which should be occupying our thoughts. What have we done in the past year to strengthen genuine Torah observance in our City, and amongst our families. Have we utilized our unique abilities and resources? How can we undertake to increase our efforts in the coming year? The future of the Jewish nation depends on us!