If you obey Hashem and observe to fulfill all His commandments, which I command you this day, then Hashem will place you supreme above all the nations of the earth. (28:1), "Hashem will establish you as His holy people, as He swore to you, if you observe the commandments of Hashem, and you will walk in His ways (28:9). Hashem is delivering a powerful sermon to Klal Yisrael: Hashem created Klal Yisrael to be the supreme nation as well as the holiest people. He commanded them to keep 613 mitzvohs and be holy. Their reward for this is that you shall walk in Hashem’s footsteps. The Rambam in his introduction to Mitzvah Number 8 states: That is, He commanded us to imitate Him, may He be exalted, according to our ability. And that is His saying, "And you shall go in His ways" (Devarim 28:9). And this command has already been repeated when He said, "And to go in all of His ways" (Devarim 11:22). And in the explanation, it appears (Sifrei Devarim 49:1), "Just as Hashem, blessed be He, is called merciful, you too, be merciful. Just as Hashem, blessed be He, is called pious, so too should you be pious. And this matter was already repeated in different words: He said, 'Go in the ways of the Lord.' And in the explanation, it appears in Gemarra (Sotah 14a) that He meant to say to imitate His good deeds and glorious traits, by which Hashem, may He be exalted, is described, by way of analogy, as being elevated over everything with great elevation.
When we follow this path, we are supremely holy and close to Hashem. The Komarna Rebbe, Rav Eliezer Tzvi Safrin, brings in his Sefer Zekan Beso, p. 216, by Yaakov. Bereishit 28:12: "a ladder standing on the ground with its head in the heavens." Yaakov saw this in his dream and understood that every movement, every word, and every step makes a spiritual impact on the world. The Baal Shem Tov says: One must believe that his prayers have untold consequences in the heavens, even if he doesn’t see those effects. The Zohar states, "If people knew the love with which Hashem loves the Jewish people, they would roar like lions in their eagerness to follow Him." If one believed this, the Komarno Rebbe adds, how joyously would he pray? How carefully would he pronounce every letter and every syllable? The Bais Aharon of Karlin says "Every Yid has a telegraph in his mouth straight to Hashem". If we follow Hashem, we are elevated and have a direct connection with Him, which allows us to have all our prayers answered. The Noam Elimelech explains why one goes to a Tzaddik to pray for him when Hashem can answer the prayer from a Yid. He answers since the Tzaddik has a direct connection to Hashem. As he follows in the ways of Hashem, his prayers are answered. With this in mind, when a Yid follows Hashem in his ways, his prayers will always be answered. That is what Yaakov says.
And Yaakov awakened from his sleep, and he said, "Indeed, Hashem is in this place, and I did not know." And he was frightened, and he said, "How awesome is this place? This is none other than the house of Hashem, and this is the gate of heaven." Here Yaakov realized that his prayers would be answered, and he began to pray that Hashem would find a wife for him, and immediately he met Rachel, his future wife.
Chazal teach us that Yaakov also prayed there, seeing with his Ruach Hakodesh that the Bais Hamikdash would be built on that place. Therefore, one has to believe that emulating Hashem and following His ways is a guarantee for a tranquil and meaningful life. A life of Chesed, a life of having mercy, as well as loving every Yid, which will provide for meaningful davenings and feeling the Kedusha of Shabbos and Yomim Tovim. As the Komarna Rebbe says "How joyful it will be every word you say to Hashem". We shall all be zoche to attaining these levels and all be blessed with a Kesiva Vechasima Tova.
(Yehuda Z. Klitnick)
