An Outline of the Rebbe’s Explanation of Rashi
Parshas Tavo
Likkutei Sichos Volume 19, Pages 235 – 243
Rashi in His Own Words
דברים כ"ח, ס"ח: וֶהֱשִׁיבְךָ ה | 'מִׁצְרַיִׁם בָּאֳנִׁיּוֹת בַדֶרֶךְ אֲשֶר אָּמַרְ תִׁי לְךָ לֹא תֹסִׁיף עוֹד לִׁרְ אֹתָּהּ וְהִׁתְמַכַרְ תֶם שָּם לְאֹיְבֶיךָ לַעֲבָּ דִׁים וְלִׁשְפָּחוֹת וְאֵין קֹנֶה :
רש"י ד"ה באניות :בספינות בשביה :ואין קנה :כי יגזרו עליך הרג וכליון :
Devorim 28:68: And the Lord will bring you back to Egypt in ships, through the way about which I had said to you, "You will never see it again;" And there, you will seek to be sold to your enemies for slaves and handmaids, but there will be no buyer.
Rashi Heading - in ships: In ships of captivity. But there will be no buyer, because they will decree death and destruction upon you.
Synopsis
In this week's Torah portion, Tavo, the Torah tells us of the horrendous punishments that will befall the Jewish people for not following the commands of Hashem. After these "curses," Hashem says He will bring you back to Egypt in ships. You will seek to sell yourselves as slaves, but no one will buy you. Rashi explains that the Torah means that you will be returned in ships of captivity by being returned to Egypt. He further explains that there will be no buyer because they will decree death and destruction upon you.
It seems from Rashi that there are two general curses in this verse. One is that you will be returned to Egypt as captives. The second is that death and destruction will be decreed upon you. The rest of the verse tells us details regarding these two punishments.
However, explaining Rashi's comments on this verse in the following manner would be preferable. Each part of the verse is an additional curse with greater severity. First, the verse says the Lord will bring us back to Egypt. We all know how terrible our experience there was. He will take us in ships, as Rashi says, "ships of captivity." In a boat, the captor has complete control and domination over his captive. He has greater power and can torment his captive far more than he could on dry land. Not only this, but the verse goes a step further and says that we will be taken via the same route that we followed when we left Egypt. We went through a "great and awesome desert, (in which were) snakes, vipers and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water." When we left Egypt, we had G-d's kindness and protection. Here, on the other hand, that would not be the case. Ultimately, Rashi explains that the final curse is that "death and destruction would be decreed upon us."
Rashi's Explanation
In this week's Torah portion, Tavo, the Torah tells us of the severe punishments that will befall the Jewish Nation if they do not follow the commands of Hashem. At the end of this list of consequences, the Torah says, "Hashem will bring you back to Egypt in ships, through the way about which I had said to you, 'You will never see it again;' And there, you will seek to be sold to your enemies for slaves and handmaidens, but there will be no buyer."
Since this is the conclusion of these ninety-eight severe rebukes, it would seem natural that this verse would express the most painful "curse." However, is returning to Egypt that terrible, especially compared to the previously mentioned consequences? Is not finding anyone willing to buy a Jew as a slave such a dreadful punishment?
Therefore, Rashi cites the words "in ships" and explains that they refer to "ships of captivity." We will return to Egypt as captives, which is indeed a punishment. Rashi then says, "But there will be no buyer." Not having buyers is "because they will decree death and destruction upon you." In other words, no one will buy a Jew as a slave because they will decree death and destruction upon us.
Difficulties in Understanding Rashi
This verse seems to contain two general punishments. The first is that we will be brought to Egypt as captives. The second is that death and destruction will be decreed upon us. If that is the case, what is the meaning of the rest of the verse? Why does it add that this will come about "in ships, through the way I had said to you, 'You will never see it again,' and there, you will seek to be sold to your enemies as slaves and handmaids?" These are all just details that describe the punishments.
However, according to Peshat, it would be preferable to say that Rashi, through his explanation and precise language, explains how each detail of the verse adds to the punishment. To "see things through Rashi's eyes," we must first answer another question. Why does the verse say that "the Lord will bring you back ... through the way about which I had said to you, 'You will never see it again ...'?" Why does it matter via which route we are brought into captivity? Why is this considered punishment? We do not find that Rashi answers this question.
Some of the commentaries deal with this question. The Abarbanel explains that Hashem told the Jews earlier that "you shall not return (to Egypt) that way anymore." Therefore, Hashem said He would bring us "in ships." In that manner, we would not return that way, meaning on dry land.
We really cannot say this, according to Peshat. There seems to be no difference in the punishment, which is the point here, whether or not Hashem brings us back to Egypt by land or sea! In fact, in terms of punishment, there seems to be no reason for the Torah to write "through the way about which I had said to you, 'You will never see it again.'"
There is also another approach, which the Midrash Lekach Tov takes. The Torah teaches us the potential effect of sin. Although Hashem already told us that we would not return to Egypt in that way anymore, sin can cause G-d to rescind His promise. However, this is also not understood according to the simple understanding of the verse. We have already learned that Hashem can cancel a pledge due to sin. Additionally, the fact that Hashem reneged on His promise seemingly has nothing to do with punishment, which is the point here.
We will understand the above after explaining Rashi's comments on the words "in ships." Rashi says that it means "in ships of captivity." Yet, what difference does it make to travel to Egypt by ship? The verse already told us that we would be captives when it wrote that Hashem "will bring you back" to Egypt. In other words, the Torah says Hashem will return us to Egypt as captives. Rashi should have explained that we would be in "captivity" by first citing the words "will bring you back." Why does he tell us that we will be captives as an explanation of the phrase "in ships?" What difference does it make in how we get to Egypt?
Several commentaries explain that our journey back to Egypt was made by ship, demonstrating the scope of our captivity. Had we gone on foot, only men could have made that journey. It would have excluded women and children. Our return to Egypt by ship meant that men, women, and children were all taken captive. Yet, the Torah mentions nothing about which Jews would be taken captive. It merely says that the Jews would be taken "in ships of captivity," implying that he only comments that we were captives. The Torah does not specify who the captives would be.
The Explanation
After careful examination, it becomes clear that Rashi tells us how every detail in this verse adds another aspect of punishment. Therefore, Rashi explains the seemingly redundant words that the Torah uses, "in ships, through the way about which I had said to you ..." This makes the punishment severe. Not only will you be forced to return to Egypt, but how you will be brought there will be fraught with difficulties.
Firstly, not only will we be brought back to Egypt, but we will be brought there in "ships!" A nation's control over captives in the confinement of a ship is far greater and more humiliating than what it has on dry land.
Secondly, this punishment was compounded by the fact that we would be brought back "through the way about which I had said to you, 'You will never see it again.'" We left Egypt, traversing a "great and awesome desert, (in which there were) snakes, vipers and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water." We knew what the wilderness was. We also learned that the kindness and miracles that followed us out of Egypt would not accompany us on our way back. The knowledge of what Egypt was like caused great fear among us. The same was true of the return to the desert.
Thirdly, the verse comes to the subsequent punishment. We would seek to sell ourselves. The servitude and captivity would be so great that we would even want to sell ourselves to escape it. If our captors were selling us, that would not be an additional punishment. However, finding the situation so intolerable that we would feel compelled to sell ourselves is a far greater punishment.
Finally, the fourth punishment is that no one would buy us. Why? Because the Egyptians will decree death and destruction upon us. That is the last blow and, hence, the final punishment.
A Deeper Lesson from Rashi
Even though Rashi's commentary on the Torah primarily explains Peshat, it also contains "יינה של תורה - the wine of Torah." As the Alter Rebbe said, "Rashi's commentary on the Torah is 'the wine of Torah.' It opens the heart and reveals the essential love and fear of G-d." This is certainly true regarding our Torah portion. It contains the most severe curses imaginable for straying from the Torah. Rashi's explanations bear out just how intense they are. However, we know what the Alter Rebbe said regarding these curses. They are only blessings! The entire Torah has both a body and a soul. The soul of the curses is the blessing of the highest order.
Regarding our Torah portion, the Peshat in Rashi may express how great the curses are. However, there is also the "wine of Torah," the soul of the Torah in Rashi. That describes how great the blessings are.
These curses aim to help Jews attain the highest levels of Teshuvah. As the Torah writes somewhat further, "And it will be, when all these things come upon you the blessing and the curse ... that you will consider in your heart, ... and you will return to the Lord, your G-d ..." The greatness of Teshuvah is apparent from the statement of the Talmud, that "Great is Teshuvah, (for) it transforms even intentional sins into merits." This is a unique type of merit. A righteous person who has never sinned is incapable of reaching this level.
The "wine of Torah" explains what Teshuvah can accomplish. We can transform even those sparks of holiness that descended into the depths of impurity into holiness. The rule is that whatever falls to the lowest level is rooted in the highest level. Hence, that which descended to the depths of impurity has its roots in the highest level of holiness.
That is the deeper meaning of "Hashem will bring you back to Egypt." Bringing one back, returning, is the idea of Teshuvah. That is why the Torah concludes these (seemingly) terrible things with this verse. That is the meaning of continuing the verse, "You will seek to sell yourselves there as slaves, but there will be no buyer." The word "there" implies that which is not holy, while "here" means holiness. We can understand the word "no buyer" in Hebrew as "nothing." This "nothing" refers to the essence of Hashem, which is hidden from us. From our perspective, it is "nothing." In other words, the essence of Hashem acquires us as slaves. We initiate this process. We seek to sell ourselves as slaves. This does not merely elevate the sparks of holiness in the world. Every Jewish soul is a "veritable part of G-d." Therefore, the Jew himself reaches a higher level!
What is the idea of a ship? It protects one from the water. Spiritually, it protects us from the torrential waters of this world; it keeps them from flooding us. The Torah uses the word אניות for ships. That is the word in Hebrew, the holy tongue. However, Rashi uses the word ספינות, which is the translation of the Hebrew into Aramaic, which was the spoken tongue. Rashi explains that this applies to those who are involved in this world. It does not only apply to one who exclusively involves himself with holiness. It refers to the Torah and Mitzvos, which protect us from the torrential waters of this world and allow us to do Teshuvah and reach the highest levels!
Finally, Rashi declares that they will decree death and destruction upon us. In spiritual terms, this refers to the concept of one who has transformed themselves into G-dliness. We begin by selling ourselves as G-d's slaves. In other words, we keep Torah and Mitzvos because Hashem wants us to, not merely because of our nature. Through this, we can reach the most incredible heights. This is the culmination of the (seeming curses, which are really) blessings. In this merit, Hashem should inscribe and seal each of us for a good year in all aspects. May we merit the ultimate Berochoh of "Moshiach Now!"
(Adapted from talks given on Shabbos Parshas Tavo 5734)
I hope you gained as much by reading this as I did by translating and adapting it.
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