This week's Parsha is Parshat Re'eh. Let's begin with a wonderful insight from the Bluzhever Rebbe in his sefer Tzvi LaTzadik, from which we can draw a beautiful idea. In the first three Pesukim, the Torah repeats the word הַיּוֹם (today):
רְאֵה אָנֹכִי נֹתֵן לִפְנֵיכֶם הַיּוֹם בְּרָכָה וּקְלָלָה: אֶת הַבְּרָכָה אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶל מִצְוֹת ה' אֱ-לֹהֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם הַיּוֹם: וְהַקְּלָלָה אִם לֹא תִשְׁמְעוּ אֶל מִצְוֹת ה' אֱ-לֹהֵיכֶם וְסַרְתֶּם מִן הַדֶּרֶך אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם הַיּוֹם לָלֶכֶת אַחֲרֵי אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא יְדַעְתֶּם;
Look, I place before you today, a blessing and a curse. The blessing – that you heed the commandments of Hashem, your G-d, that I am commanding you today. And the curse – if you do not heed the commandments of Hashem, your G-d, and you veer from the course which I command you this day, to follow other gods which you did not know.
The Zohar says that wherever הַיּוֹם – today is mentioned, it refers to Rosh Hashanah; a first source appears in Sefer Iyov: "And it was the day when the sons of G-d came to present themselves before Hashem, and the Satan also came among them." Rashi explains that הַיּוֹם refers to the day of Rosh Hashanah. The Zohar says that the sons of G-d who came to present themselves are the angels who advocate, and the Satan also came among them is the accusing angel. Thus, everything that happened to Iyov, where trials were decreed upon him, all began on Rosh Hashanah – וַיְהִי הַיּוֹם.
The Tur writes, based on teachings in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, that on Rosh Chodesh Elul, Hakadosh Baruch Hu instructed Moshe Rabbeinu: עֲלֵה אֵלַי הָהָרָה – Ascend to Me on the mountain, to receive the second Luchot. In the camp, at that time, they sounded the shofar to confuse the Satan, and therefore, Chazal instituted that we blow the shofar on Rosh Chodesh Elul every year. We continue this minhag throughout the month, and through Aseret Yemei Teshuva for Bnei Sefarad, warning Klal Yisrael to repent.
The Bluzhever Rebbe takes this idea and applies it to our Parsha’s opening Pasuk: "See, I set before you, ahead of Rosh Hashanah, a blessing." What is the bracha? The shofar and an opportunity for Teshuva! Chazal instituted for us to blow the shofar during Elul, intended to stir our hearts and cause us to repent. This element is then hinted at in the next Pasuk: אֶת הַבְּרָכָה אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶל מִצְוֹת ה' אֱ-לֹהֵיכֶם – meaning, throughout the month of Elul, you will hear the bracha – the shofar, and through it you will be awakened to Teshuva and merit a good and sweet year. We were given the month of Elul before Rosh Hashanah to prepare ourselves for Teshuva with good deeds and hearing the shofar, and this is the “blessing” – to awaken our hearts to Teshuva so that we may merit the blessing of a good year. And how very fitting according to this is the hint that the entire Pasuk equals in gematria – numerical value, to תקע"ו בחוד"ש שופ"ר.
The Megaleh Amukot wrote a sefer on Parshat Va'etchanan, where he provided 252 interpretations on the words אֶעְבְּרָה נָּא. There, in interpretation 107, he brings forth a very interesting idea. The Tanna debei Eliyahu writes (19): When Yaakov and Eisav were in their mother's womb, Yaakov said to Eisav: "We are two brothers to our father, and two worlds are before us – this world and the world to come; this world has eating and drinking, business dealings, marrying a wife, and having sons and daughters. But the world to come is not like this in all these measures. If it is your desire, take this world, and I will take Olam Haba." And how do we know this? Yaakov said to Eisav, “Sell me your birthright today – just as we agreed upon in the womb." At that moment, Eisav took this world as his portion, and Yaakov took Olam Haba. When Eisav saw much Yaakov had upon departing from the house of Lavan – wives, children, cattle, wealth, servants – Yaakov explained it as merely a small amount of property that Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave him to use according to his needs in this world. Eisav said to himself: "If Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave him so much in this world, which he has no portion in, how much more will he receive in the next world, which is his rightful portion!"
Besides dividing between this world and the world to come, the Zohar says that Yaakov and Eisav also divided the months of the year; Yaakov received the months of Tishrei, Cheshvan, Kislev, Nissan, Iyar, Sivan; and Eisav received the months of Tevet, Shevat, Adar, Tammuz, Av, and Elul. The Megaleh Amukot writes, Eisav was supposed to take the three full months of Tammuz, Av, and Elul, but Elul was eventually taken from him, and parts of Tammuz and Av as well; he was only given 21 days between Shiva Asar b’Tammuz and Tisha B’Av – days during which Cheit HaMeraglim and the Churban of both Batei Mikdash occurred – while Elul was given to Bnei Yisrael for Teshuva.
According to the Chazal, Balak and Bilaam sought to seize this spiritually charged period from Bnei Yisrael and direct its power against us. Balak, fearing the spiritual potency of Elul, used the term אָרָה לִי – Curse them for me. The word אָרָה hints at עָרֵה — awaken, alluding to the inner stirring of Teshuvah that begins in Elul. His plea alludes to this secret of Teshuva, and his use of the plural נַכֶּה (with a Nun) hints at the fifty days (נ) of Teshuvah from Elul through Yom Kippur. These days contain 1,200 hours (50 days × 24 hours), corresponding to the letters א (1) and ר (200), also hinted in the word אָרָה.
Bilaam, knowing Hakadosh Baruch Hu had given these fifty days for Teshuvah, attempted to circumvent them and target just the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We were fortunate in judgment, however: וְלֹא־אָבָה ה' אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ לִשְׁמֹעַ אֶל־בִּלְעָם וַיַּהֲפֹךְ ה' אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ לְךָ אֶת־הַקְּלָלָה לִבְרָכָה כִּי אֲהֵבְךָ ה' אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ – Hashem, your G-d, was unwilling to heed Bilaam, and Hashem, your G-d, turned for you the curse into a blessing, because Hashem, your G-d, loved you.
The Torah uses the word אָבָה (desired) instead of the more neutral רָצָה (wanted), to hint at Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s deep love. Not only did He desire to give us the month of Elul for Teshuvah, but also to withhold part of אָב from Eisav. This idea is hinted in the words: וַיַּהֲפֹךְ ה' אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ לְךָ אֶת הַקְּלָלָה לִבְרָכָה. The seemingly extra words לְךָ אֶת hint at the fifty (ל'ך) days that belong to us during Elul and Tishrei (א'ת) right through Hoshana Rabbah, when the final sealing occurs. Additionally, regarding “the curse” (הַקְּלָלָה), Chazal teach us that the word אֶת always comes to include something, and here, it hints to the reversal of fate, as in זֶה לְעֻמַּת זֶה עָשָׂה הָאֱלֹהִים – Hashem made one opposite the other. Just as Eisav was originally given the months of Tammuz and Av (א'ת), Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave us Elul and Tishrei (א'ת) in return. Even Balak hinted to this when he said: לְכָה נָּא אָרָה לִי אֶת הָעָם הַזֶּה – Come now, curse this people for me.” The word אֶת there, too, hints at א'לול and ת'שרי, the fifty days Balak sought to overturn. He then continued and said: אוּלַי אוּכַל נַכֶּה – Perhaps I can strike them, referring to his attempt to disrupt those days of Teshuvah. But Hakadosh Baruch Hu reversed it entirely. As it says: “Hashem your G-d turned the curse into a blessing for you” – for you, specifically. The fifty days Balak and Bilaam wanted to turn against us were transformed into days of Rachamim and Teshuva – a timeless blessing.
We can understand something wonderful here. We have no idea what battles occurred over these two months! Bilaam wanted to curse Bnei Yisrael and take control of Elul and Tishrei, but Yaakov Avinu succeeded and took back control of these months. This is what the Torah says in this week's Parsha: רְאֵה אָנֹכִי נֹתֵן לִפְנֵיכֶם הַיּוֹם בְּרָכָה וּקְלָלָה – See, I set before you today a blessing and a curse, where the letters רְאֵה are the same letters of אָרָה – both spell out א'לול ר'אש ה'שנה. Hakadosh Baruch Hu said: "See what battles I waged to return these months to your control!"
May it be His will that we don’t waste them, and that we merit to utilize these months for complete Teshuva!
Gazelles in the Parsha and Their Deeper Meaning
After these ideas, I would like to approach a very interesting topic related to the month of Elul and learn something wonderful from it. From Parshat Bereshit until this week's Parsha, the word צְבִי – gazelle or deer, does not appear. Rashi mentions them a couple of times, with regard to the meal served by Yaakov to Yitzchak Avinu, and with regard to superstitions and the prohibition against occult practices.
But in this week's Parsha, the word צְבִי is found in the actual text four times. Let's examine this gazelle and see how it is connected to the upcoming month of Elul and how it, like the sefer Tzvi LaTzadik, can open our month for us.
We’ll skip the first two instances of צְבִי and go straight to the third; where it is amongst a list of ten animals permitted for consumption. In Parshat Shemini, the Torah provides general guidelines on which animals may, or may not, be eaten, and lists four exceptions: the camel, the hyrax, the hare, and the pig. In our Parsha, the Torah enumerates ten pure animals:
זֹאת הַבְּהֵמָה אֲשֶׁר תֹּאכֵלוּ שׁוֹר שֵׂה כְשָׂבִים וְשֵׂה עִזִּים׃ אַיָּל צְבִי וְיַחְמוּר וְאַקּוֹ וְדִישׁוֹן וּתְאוֹ וָזָמֶר׃
These are the animals that you are to eat: the bovine, the sheep and the goat; the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep.
The Ibn Ezra comments that we have a tradition regarding two of them; and the other five require tradition. This means that only the אַיָּל and צְבִי have a tradition of being kosher. But regarding the remaining five, we have no tradition. Thus, we have three domestic animals and seven wild animals. The Ba’al HaTurim writes, among the domestic animals, three are permitted, and seven among the wild animals, corresponding to the Aseret HaDibrot.
So, let's take the Aseret HaDibrot and start working through the list. The first three commandments: אָנֹכִי ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ corresponds to the ox; לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים עַל פָּנָי corresponds to the sheep; לֹא תִשָּׂא אֶת שֵׁם ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ לַשָּׁוְא corresponds to the goat; שָׁמוֹר אֶת יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת לְקַדְּשׁוֹ corresponds to the doe; and כַּבֵּד אֶת אָבִיךָ וְאֶת אִמֶּךָ corresponds to the gazelle. The sefer Amudei Hod, on the Ba’al HaTurim, writes: The first three commandments speak directly about Hakadosh Baruch Hu, whereas the other commandments in the Aseret HaDibrot do not speak directly about Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And among the animals permitted for consumption, the first three are also permitted for sacrifice on the altar, which is an elevation to the heavens, corresponding to the first three commandments.
There are ten fundamental ways through which Hakadosh Baruch Hu governs the world. Seven of these are more revealed in our world, and three are hidden. The seven are חג"ת נהי"ם – חסד, גבורה, תפארת, נצח, הוד, יסוד, מלכות. Above them are three higher attributes: חב"ד – חכמה, בינה, דעת. Thus, according to the correspondence of the animals to the Aseret HaDibrot (and Asara Ma’amarot as well), there is also a correspondence to the Asara Hanhagot or Sefirot – the ten ways of governance. Only those corresponding to the three higher ways are closer to the divine, and therefore only the ox, sheep, and goat, ascend the altar because they correspond to the higher Sefirot directly from Hakadosh Baruch Hu. In contrast, the last seven commandments do not speak directly to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and thus the seven animals corresponding to them do not ascend as korbanot.
In our Parsha, the gazelle and the deer are mentioned four times; once the deer is mentioned before the gazelle, and three times the gazelle is mentioned first: רַק בְּכָל אַוַּת נַפְשְׁךָ תִּזְבַּח וְאָכַלְתָּ בָשָׂר כְּבִרְכַּת ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לְךָ בְּכָל שְׁעָרֶיךָ הַטָּמֵא וְהַטָּהוֹר יֹאכְלֶנּוּ כַּצְּבִי וְכָאַיָּל... אֲכַךְ יֵאָכֵל אֶת הַצְּבִי וְאֶת הָאַיָּל הַטָּמֵא וְהַטָּהוֹר יַחְדָּו יֹאכֲלֶנּוּ ... וְכִי יִהְיֶה בוֹ מוּם פִּסֵּחַ אוֹ עִוֵּר כֹּל מוּם רָע לֹא תִזְבָּחֶנּוּ לַה' אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ תֹּאכְלֶנּוּ הַטָּמֵא וְהַטָּהוֹר יַחְדָּו: בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ כַּצְּבִי וְכָאַיָּל׃
The Gazelle in Tanach and Its Symbolism
The name צְבִי – gazelle, appears several times in the Tanach. In Sefer Yeshayahu, it appears seven times; in Sefer Yechezkel and Sefer Daniel, it appears four times. However, it does not appear with direct reference to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. It appears as אֶרֶץ הַצְבִי – The land of the gazelle, etc. but the only place where the צְבִי appears with reference to Hakadosh Baruch Hu is Shir HaShirim, where it appears several times. The first time, Shlomo HaMelech says:
קוֹל דּוֹדִי הִנֵּה־זֶה בָּא מְדַלֵּג עַל־הֶהָרִים מְקַפֵּץ עַל־הַגְּבָעוֹת׃ דּוֹמֶה דוֹדִי לִצְבִי אוֹ לְעֹפֶר הָאַיָּלִים הִנֵּה־זֶה עוֹמֵד אַחַר כׇּתְלֵנוּ מַשְׁגִּיחַ מִן־הַחַלּוֹנוֹת מֵצִיץ מִן־הַחֲרַכִּים׃
The voice of my beloved! Behold he comes; leaping over the mountains, skipping over the hills. My beloved resembles a gazelle or young stag; behold, he stands behind our wall, observing through the windows peering through the lattices.
Here, Hakadosh Baruch Hu – דּוֹדִי – is compared to a beloved who is like a gazelle. The Midrash in Shir HaShirim Rabbah says, just as this gazelle leaps from mountain to mountain, from valley to valley, from tree to tree, and from fence to fence, so too Hakadosh Baruch Hu leaps from one shul to another, and from one study hall to another, to bless Yisrael. Behold, He stands behind the walls of shuls and study halls; He peers through the windows – between the shoulders of the Kohanim; He looks through the lattice – between the fingers of the Kohanim; and he says: יְבָרֶכְךָ ה' וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ.
In the second Pasuk where the צְבִי appears, Shlomo HaMelech says: עַד שֶׁיָּפוּחַ הַיּוֹם וְנָסוּ הַצְּלָלִים סֹב דְּמֵה־לְךָ דוֹדִי לִצְבִי אוֹ לְעֹפֶר הָאַיָּלִים עַל־הָרֵי בָתֶר׃ Until the sun spreads and the shadows flee; you turned away, my beloved, and became like deer or a young hart on distant mountains.
Additionally, the gazelle appears in this plural form twice: הִשְׁבַּעְתִּי אֶתְכֶם בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלַיִם בִּצְבָאוֹת אוֹ בְּאַיְלוֹת הַשָּׂדֶה אִם־תָּעִירוּ וְאִם־תְּעוֹרְרוּ אֶת־הָאַהֲבָה עַד שֶׁתֶּחְפָּץ׃ I bind you under oath, daughters of Yerushalayim by the gazelles and the does of the field; that you do not cause hatred nor disturb this love while it still pleases.
Finally, Shir HaShirim concludes with the Pasuk: בְּרַח דוֹדִי וּדְמֵה־לְךָ לִצְבִי אוֹ לְעֹפֶר הָאַיָּלִים עַל הָרֵי בְשָׂמִים׃ Flee my beloved and be like a gazelle or a young stag upon the mountains of spices.
The Gazelle and Divine Presence
Before we proceed, let's review a piece from the Zohar HaKadosh, who writes that Rabbi Chiya Rabba went to the masters of the Mishnah to learn from them. He first went to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and there, he heard him saying: בְּרַח דוֹדִי וּדְמֵה לְךָ לִצְבִי אוֹ לְעוֹפֶר הָאַיָּלִים. All the longing of Bnei Yisrael for Hakadosh Baruch Hu, as Rabbi Shimon said, is that Hakadosh Baruch Hu should not go away or distance Himself but rather flee like a gazelle or a young deer. Rabbi Shimon explained that no creature in the world behaves like the gazelle or young deer. When it flees, it goes slowly and turns its head back to the place it left, always looking back. Similarly, Bnei Yisrael say, "Ribono Shel Olam, if we cause You to depart from us, may it be Your will to flee like the gazelle, which flees but turns its head back to the place it left." This is why we find in the Torah: וְאַף־גַם־זֹאת בִּהְיוֹתָם בְּאֶרֶץ אֹיְבֵיהֶם לֹא־מְאַסְתִּים וְלֹא־גְעַלְתִּים לְכַלּוֹתָם לְהָפֵר בְּרִיתִי אִתָּם – Yet, even then, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or spurn them so as to destroy them.
Another point is that the gazelle, when it sleeps, sleeps with one eye open and the other closed. So Bnei Yisrael say to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, "Act like the gazelle, for behold, the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps!" The Ye’arot Devash asks, which eye of the gazelle remains open – the right or the left? We’ll answer this in a moment.
Elul and Its Acronyms
If you ask anyone how many acronyms they know for the name Elul, I'm sure they can very quickly rattle off at least ten: אֲנִי לְדוֹדִי וְדוֹדִי לִי ... אִיש לְרֵעֵהוּ וּמַתָּנוֹת לָאֶבְיוֹנִים and another from Kohelet: וְנָתַתִּי אֶת לִבִּי לִדְרוֹשׁ וְלָתוּר בַּחָכְמָה, etc. There is another wonderful one that hints at the month of Elul, which is essentially the pinnacle of Yom Kippur Avodah. The Kohen Gadol slaughters the bull and the goat, then takes from the blood of the bull and the goat and sprinkles it on the curtain eight times – אֶחָד לְמַעְלָה וְשֶׁבַע לְמַטָּה, one above and seven below. The question arises: why sprinkle specifically one above and seven below? Why not four and four, etc.?
Chazal say, Hakadosh Baruch Hu has a garment called “אָז”, which he wore when Bnei Yisrael sang the song of אָז יָשִׁיר. It contains every instance of the word אָז. Once they sinned, however, He tore the garment – בִּצַע אֶמְרָתוֹ – and in the future, He will restore it, as it says: אָז יִמָּלֵא שְׂחוֹק פִּינוּ.
In explaining the matter, the Kli Yakar (Shemini) writes that the number seven is considered mundane and the number eight holy, based on the Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni 241:15) which says that all of Moshe's praise was with אָז – א' is 1; ז' is 7 – because אָז signifies אֶחָד רוֹכֵב עַל שֶׁבַע – one riding on seven, and establishes the dominion of Hakadosh Baruch Hu over all seven celestial bodies and all creations that were formed in the seven days of Creation. Eight is unique to Him.
The Maharal (Gevurot Hashem, 47) explains: The word אָז hints at unity. This is because the letter א, which represents oneness, is placed over the number seven – symbolized by the letter ז. The number seven represents multiplicity or many parts, as we see in the Pasuk: וּבְשִׁבְעָה דְרָכִים יָנוּסוּ לְפָנֶיךָ – [They will come against you by one path] and flee before you by seven paths. This teaches that the number seven is used as a symbol of many components or fragmented directions. In contrast, the number six often represents completion, as in the six directions of physical space – the four compass directions, plus up and down – encompassing a full, bounded space. Seven, then, represents beyond completion, and thus signifies abundance or multitude.
The Maharal writes: When we want to express that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the One who rules over all the parts, meaning, even though reality may appear to us as made up of countless separate events and creations with no clear connection, in truth, they all share a common thread: they are all tools that ultimately serve a single purpose – the honor of Heaven. Therefore, the one who unifies and rules over them all is Hashem, the One and Only. Thus, when we wish to express this profound idea in a single word, we use אָז – which contains the א, symbolizing Hashem’s oneness, riding upon the ז, the seven – symbolizing all the parts of Creation.
Sefer Shvilei Pinchas (Shoftim) says אֱלוּל is an acronym for אֶחָד לְמַעְלָה וְשֶׁבַע לְמַטָּה. The Gemara (Sukkah 52a) teaches that the evil inclination – the Yetzer Hara – has seven names, each supported by a Pasuk: Hakadosh Baruch Hu calls it רַע (evil); Moshe called it עָרֵל (uncircumcised); David called it טָמֵא.
