אם תקבלו עליכם יערב לכם
If you accept, it will be a guarantee for you
הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה ה' אֱלֹקֶּ יךָ מְצַוְךָ לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶּת הַחֻקִּ ים הָאֵלֶּה וְאֶּת הַמִּשְ פָטִּים וְשָמַרְ תָ וְעָשִּׂ יתָ אוֹתָם בְכָל לְבָבְךָ ובְכָל נַפְשֶּךָ :(כו:טז )
This day, Hashem, your G-d, commands you to perform these statutes and the laws, and you shall observe and perform them with all your heart and all your soul. (26:16)
Rashi explains: ‘This day, Hashem, your G-d, commands you – On each day, they should be new in your eyes, as if you were commanded regarding them that day.’
וַיְדַבֵר משֶּה וְהַכֹּהֲנִּים הַלְוִּיִּּם אֶּל כָל יִּשְׂ רָאֵל לֵאמֹּר הַסְכֵת ושְ מַע יִּשְׂ רָאֵל הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה נִּהְיֵיתָ לְעָם לַ ה' אֱלֹקֶּ יךָ :וְשָמַעְתָ בְקוֹל ה 'אֱלֹקֶּיךָ וְעָשִּׂ יתָ אֶּ ת מִּצְוֹתָיו וְאֶּ ת חֻקָי ו אֲשֶּ ר אָנֹּכִּ י מְצַוְךָ הַיּוֹם (כז :ט-י)
Moshe and the Kohanim, the Leviim, spoke to all Israel, saying, “Be attentive and hear, Israel: This day you have become a people to Hashem, your G-d. You shall listen to the voice of Hashem, your G-d, and you shall perform all His commandments and statutes, which I command you today. (27:9-10)
Rashi explains: ‘This day you have become a people – Every day they should be new in your eyes as if you had entered the covenant with Him that day.’
In our parsha we have two general commandments that are identical. Even Rashi’s explanation is identical. When we look at these posukim it seems that the Torah commands to keep the mitzvos that were commanded ‘today’, and Rashi explains that the intent is that ‘every day they should be new in your eyes’ or ‘as if you had entered the covenant with Him today’, seemingly one explanation, and the question is, why teach the same thing twice?
We can say by way of mussar, that both posukim intend that the person should be strong in keeping the mitzvos and they should be dear in his eyes. But since a person’s situation changes from time to time, the encouragement for this obligation also changes. In general, there are two times periods in a person, there are times when he goes about smallminded, when his rational mind and his emotions are blocked from reaching high levels of Torah as needed. Because of his obligation he must force himself like an ox to its yoke or a mule to its burden to keep the mitzvos and negate his nature. But then there are times when the person is broadminded and has clarity, and he recognizes the value of the mitzvos and a strong love to learn Torah and keep mitzvos is aroused. Then when he learns Torah and keeps mitzvos he increases his achievements until every day the Torah and mitzvos are like new things, for until that day he had not seen the Torah like that nor recognize mitzvos like those. It says in the Gemara (Eruvin 54b) explaining the posuk (Mishlei 5:19) 'דדיך ירווך בכל עת' – ‘May her breasts satisfy you at all times’, ‘Why are the words of Torah compared to a breast? Just as this breast, every time a baby handles it, he finds milk in it, the same is true of the words of Torah, every time a person studies them, he finds flavor in them.’
Based on this, when the Torah says ‘Be attentive and listen’ it speaks to when the person is in a small situation, for then he does not find flavor in Torah and mitzvos and the Torah commands him to force himself to the words of Torah even if it is not satisfying. The Gemara (Berachos 63b) explains the words ‘Pay heed and listen’, ‘Form groups and engage in Torah study’. Rashi explains, ‘Make yourself like groups who struggle over the words of Torah’. The Gemara brings the teaching of Reish Lakish, ‘Words of Torah are not retained except by one who kills himself over it’. The posuk speaks of one who is small and his nature is not to yearn to keep the Torah and mitzvos.
Therefore, at this time we must force him to accept upon himself the yoke of Torah even against his will, and our posuk says ‘You shall listen to the voice of Hashem, your G-d, and you shall do all His mitzvos’, since he is at a low place, even listening is hard for him, and we must push him for everything.
Rashi points this out, ‘Every day they should be new in your eyes as if you had entered the covenant with Him that day.’ That is, just as the day of the giving the Torah Hashem had to turn the mountain upside down over Israel so they would forcibly accept the Torah (Rosh Hashanah 88a), so it is imposed on you today to force yourself to accept the Torah against your will.
But this is only in the beginning, for that coercion ultimately brings you to an opening of and purification of the heart, and the Torah becomes pleasant as we further see in Berachos, ‘Another thing: Be silent and then grind it up. As Rava said, “A person should first learn Torah and then analyze it.”’ Rashi explains: ‘Be silent and listen to your teaching until it is fluent in your mouth, even if you do not understand it perfectly, afterwards, grind it up, ask the questions that bother you and seek answers for them.’ Again, Rashi refers to being small and the Torah does not sit well with him, and his advice is to force himself to first learn the things as they are even though he does not understand and he does not have the craving. He himself will hear his words and will understand what is holding back his understanding. Sometimes, because of smallness he thinks his lack of understanding is far from the truth. Chazal’s advice is to force himself is to hear his own words, then it will be clear to him that his understanding is not so far off. Then when he receives clarity of the point that he did not understand, he now finds his voice to ask questions and by talking it out, his mind becomes settled and he enjoys his Torah, as HaKadosh Baruch Hu said before Matan Torah (Shemos 19:5) 'ועתה אם שמוע תשמעו בקולי' – ‘And now, if you listen well to Me’, and Rashi explains, ‘And now, if you accept the Torah upon yourselves, it will be pleasant for you from now on, for all beginnings are difficult.’
Once the person merits that it is pleasant for him, we can instruct him regarding keeping the Torah out of love of mitzvah. The Torah tells us, ‘This day, Hashem, your G-d, commands you’, the Torah speaks of keeping the mitzvos out of love, and as it concludes, ‘and you shall observe and perform them with all your heart and all your soul’, which is out of love. He no longer needs to be instructed to listen since the Torah is now pleasant and he involves himself in the Torah. We just remind him to review the old material, for just as coercion brought him to understanding and clarity, so too will he find flavor and new achievement in the old learning. As Rashi wrote, ‘On each day, they should be new in your eyes, as if you were commanded regarding them that day.’
Based on this we can understand Rashi’s continuation on the words ‘and you shall observe and perform them’ – ‘A heavenly voice blesses him: You have brought Bikkurim this day, you shall repeat next year. The word ‘tishneh’ can be vowelized as ‘teshanei’, and hints that just as you can find new flavor in the words of Torah, so it is with the performing of mitzvos, you should merit that next year you find new flavor and change for the better.
