A RELIGION BECOMES A RELIGION WHEN PASSED ON TO THE NEXT GENERATION
RABBI YISSOCHER FRAND (Torah.org)
Among the curses of the tochacha, the pasuk says “All these curses will chase after you and will come upon you and pursue you and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you will not have listened to the voice ofHashemyour G-d, to observe His commandments and His decrees that He commanded you. They will be in you and your children as a sign and a wonder forever.” (Devorim 28:45-46)
The Maharal Diskin points out that if we were to take these pesukim at face value, it would be the worst of curses. This is not like the transient curses that the Jews experienced through the generations. Usually, there is an end to each era of persecution that we encounter. There was an end to the Spanish Inquisition. There was an end to the persecutions of Tac”h v’Ta”t (“5408-5409”). There was even an end to the Holocaust. But here the pasuk seems to say that these curses will be with us and our children in perpetuity. Is this pasuk foretelling the doom ofKlal Yisrael, its utter destruction? That cannot be.
The Maharal Diskin explains that we need to read the aforementioned pasuk differently. There are two parts to the pasuk. One is “All these curses will come upon you and catch up with you until you are destroyed.” At that point, there is an esnachta in the trop – in effect, marking the end of the sentence. Then the pasuk explains why the Jewish people receive this punishment: “For you will not have listened to the voice of Hashem your G-d, to observe His commandments and His decrees that He commanded you (in a way so that) they will be in you and your children as a sign and a wonder forever.”
In other words, pasuk 46 is referring to the second part of pasuk 45! The criticism ofKlal Yisraeland the reason they are being cursed is that they did not keep the commandments in a way that inspired and made an impression on their children and future generations, so that the future generations would want to likewise keep these signs and wonders forever.
The Tolner Rebbe added to this Maharal Diskin: The reason their mitzvah performance did NOT make an impression on their children is explained in pasuk 47: “Because you did not serve Hashem, your G-d, with gladness and with goodness of heart, out of an abundance of everything.” The Jews were chastised for the fact that their fulfillment ofmitzvos, as unfortunately is too often the case, was just going through the motions and performing themitzvosby rote. Our children did not see an excitement and passion in ourmitzvahperformance. If a person wants his children to follow on the straight trodden path of Torah observance, he needs to motivate them to do so. The only way to do that is for parents to perform themitzvoswith enthusiasm and a sense of simcha (joy). Then, and only then, will their children see and appreciate the fact that this is something meaningful.
As much as we sometimes think that our children are not paying attention, they are paying attention. They see how we daven or how we learn or how we perform themitzvosof Succos or Pesach, and it makes a difference. If it is just about great meals, then what is religion to them? What does Yiddishkeit mean to the next generation? Without simcha, performance ofmitzvosmay just seem like a burden to our children.
That is what these pesukim are saying: You are going to experience these curses because you have not kept themitzvosproperly. And what is the meaning of “you have not kept themitzvosproperly?” You have not kept them in a way that they would remain with you and your offspring forever! What does it mean “you have not kept them in a way that they would remain with your offspring?” “You did not serve Hashem your G-d with simcha (i.e. – joy, passion, enthusiasm).”
With this idea, we can better understand the following pesukim at the end of
