The Torah discusses in this week’s Parsha, the covenant that was made between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael.
“To enter into the covenant of Hashem that He is concluding with you this day...” (Devarim, 29:11)
Commenting on this verse, the Yalkut Shimoni (Devarim, Remez 940) says, “The Holy One enacted three covenants with Bnei Yisrael. The first covenant was enacted when Bnei Yisrael left Egypt. The second covenant was enacted at Mount Sinai when they received the Torah and the third covenant is here in this week’s Parsha.
It is understandable why Hashem had to enter a second covenant at Mount Sinai, as the first covenant didn’t include the Mitzvos which had not been given yet. However, why did Hashem find it necessary to create a third covenant which generally contained the same elements as the second covenant?
It was necessary because the agreement that they had entered into with Hashem at Mount Sinai had been invalidated when Bnei Yisrael worshipped the golden calf and said, ‘These are your gods, oh Israel...’ Therefore, Hashem created a new covenant with them.”
This Yalkut Shimoni is difficult to understand. How could this covenant be invalidated? The Torah states in two different places that His covenant that was made at Mount Sinai will not be abrogated. In Devarim, 4:23 it states, “Take heed not to forget Hashem’s covenant that He enacted with you.” In Devarim, 5:2-3, the Torah says that Hashem has entered into a covenant with our forefathers, and not only with them, but with us as well today. It clearly states that Hashem would not negate the covenant made at Mount Sinai. How then could the Midrash possibly state that Bnei Yisrael had invalidated it?
Rav Henoch Leibowitz ZT”L explains that it was not, in fact, negated, but rather – in their own minds, they had thought that they had perforce negated the covenant by breaking their agreement by saying “These are your gods, oh Israel...” when they worshiped the golden calf.
The question still remains as to why Hashem felt it necessary to enter into an entirely new agreement. If the covenant was indeed not broken, and Bnei Yisrael only perceived that it had been, Hashem could have merely repeated the second covenant to them and emphasized that Hashem’s covenant can never be abrogated no matter what Bnei Yisrael does.
The answer to this question lies in recognizing a fundamental reality about the nature of a truth. There is a great distance between knowing a truth intellectually and fully believing it in one’s heart of hearts. In the language of our Sages, we speak of knowing something in one’s heart as well as knowing it in one’s mind. Scientists speak of knowledge that is incorporated in different and additional sections of the brain and how that reflects a more deeply engrained knowledge.
Accordingly, if Hashem would have just reassured Bnei Yisrael that the covenant had not been broken, Bnei Yisrael may have believed it intellectually, but there may have been a lingering doubt in their hearts, and they may not have completely believed that it was true. Due to Hashem’s love for Bnei Yisrael, He sought to remove any lingering doubts that Bnei Yisrael may have had and therefore established a new agreement with them even though He did not have to.
Often, we know intellectually that something is true, but we may not completely believe in our heart that it is true – we may have lingering doubts about it. We do not have the benefit of what Hashem did for Bnei Yisreal as described above to remove these lingering doubts. However, we can help remove our lingering doubts about something we know to be true, by calmly repeating the truth to ourselves. This can help prevent our minds from focusing on our doubts and may remove them. As an example, we know that Hashem provides for our livelihoods, however we may have lingering doubts, “But what if this investment fails?” or “What if that venture falls through?” If we calmly repeat to ourselves that Hashem is in charge and He will provide for us, that can reassure us and help us truly believe in our hearts, what we know in our minds.
