By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum
הסכת ושמע ישראל היום הזה נהיית לעם לה’ אלקיך (פרק כז פסוק ט)
The Torah describes the scene of הר גריזים והר עיבל where the curses are delivered, warning the Jews to stay loyal to Hashem and His Torah in all aspects of life. As an introduction, Moshe tells them, הסכת- be attentive, ושמע- and hear, today you have become a people to Hashem. He then reminds them to follow all of the מצוות followed by the curses. The Sforno explains the word הסכת to mean, paint a picture in your thoughts, and שמע to mean, contemplate. The שם משמואל sees in the words of the Sforno tools to implement any time a person is on a journey to grow in their closeness to Hashem. A person must be sure not to enter the mission in a harried and uncertain state. Step one is to paint a picture in one’s mind of their intended goal, what their life will look like, all the things that they will gain, and how the journey getting there will appear. Step two is to spend a while thinking about their goal, internalizing what they really want and feeling the need to get there. Through careful contemplation and painting a clear picture of the goal, a person will begin their ascent in a level-headed and calm way. By beginning the journey in this state of mind, a person will be much more likely to succeed in their growth. The שם משמואל adds that perhaps this is our job during the month of אלול, before the ימים נוראים, a time of tremendous growth, we should spend a month contemplating and picturing our intended path of עבודת השם.
תחת אשר לא עבדת את ה’ אלקיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב מרב כל (פרק כח פסוק מז)
After a vivid description of all the terrible things that will befall the Jews if they do not listen to Hashem, the Torah gives the primary reason why they would suffer all of the punishments: “Because you did not serve Hashem your G-d with joy and goodness of heart when everything was abundant.” The שפת אמת says that if the primary reason for all of our suffering in exile is because we did not serve Hashem happily when we had everything, we can assume that for us to merit redemption, our main focus should be in serving Hashem with joy even when we are missing things. By showing Hashem that we are excited to serve him, even when we don’t feel provided for in all our needs, we will merit the Final Redemption and be able to serve Him with joy in the ideal world.
