From the Teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Zt”l
In this week's Torah portion, Ki Tavo, we read: "This day the L-rd your G-d commands you to do these statutes and ordinances." Rashi, the foremost Torah commentator, explains, "Every day they should seem new in your eyes, as though on that very day you were commanded regarding [Torah and mitzvot]." The portion continues with the verse, "You have set apart the L-rd this day to be your G-d and to walk in His ways...and the L-rd has set you apart this day to be His own treasure."
From this we learn that the "setting apart" of G-d to be our G-d, and His "setting apart" of the Jews to be His people, is also a daily and ongoing occurrence. Each and every day G-d chooses the Jewish people, individually and collectively, as His "treasure," and as the verse continues, "in praise and in name and in glory...a holy people to the L-rd your G-d." G-d glories and takes pride in the Jewish people, each of whom is described as "the work of My hands to be praised." G-d "boasts," as it were, about every Jew, through whom His Name is glorified and exalted in the world. And as stated above, the delight G-d takes in the Jews and the Jews in Him, is "new" each and every day, as fresh as if the Torah was just revealed on Mount Sinai.
The Torah portion of Ki Tavo is always read in the month of Elul. As everything in Torah is exacting and nothing occurs by coincidence, it follows that the above must somehow be connected to the special service of this month, preparatory to Rosh Hashana. Rabbi Shneur Zalman, founder of Chabad Chasidim, explained that in Elul, G-d is likened to a "King in the field." Outside the strict protocol of the royal palace, everyone is granted an opportunity to approach the King, speak with Him directly and present Him with our requests. Moreover, during Elul, G-d "greets everyone with a smiling countenance and shows a pleasant demeanor to all."
For this reason, "You have set apart the L-rd this day to be your G-d and to walk in His ways...and the L-rd has set you apart this day to be His own treasure," is particularly relevant now, when every Jew has this special opportunity and capacity for connecting to G-d and glorifying His Name. And because G-d shows us a "smiling countenance" and a "pleasant demeanor," it makes all of our Divine service easier and more successful.
Reprinted from the Parashat Ki Tavo 5761/2001 edition of L’Chaim. Adapted from a talk on 14 Elul 5740.
