I would like to explain a cryptic teaching of the Meshech Chochmah in this week’s parsha.
The Torah says in Parshas Nitzavim: “For this mitzvah that I command you today is not hidden from you and is not distant. It is not in the heavens, for you to say, ‘Who can ascend to the heavens for us and take it for us, and let us hear it, so that we can perform it?’ Nor is it across the sea, for you to say ‘Who can cross to the other side of the sea for us and take it for us, and let us hear it, so that we can perform it?’ Rather, the matter is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to perform it.” [Devorim 30:11-14].
It is always amazing to me that on the last Shabbos of the year we read this parsha and we read these words. What is “this mitzvah” referred to in the pasuk? There is a difference of opinion amongst the classic Torah commentaries as to which mitzvah is being referred to here as “a non-distant mitzvah.” Ramban and other meforshim say it is referring to the mitzvah of teshuva. Here we are, the Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah, and the Torah says that the mitzvah of teshuva is not wondrous and is not beyond our grasp. It is not in Heaven, but it is very close to us. It is within our mouths and our hearts to do it. What inspiring words to hear before the start of the Yomim Noraim: The mitzvah of teshuva is readily attainable!
The Torah continues, “See I have placed before you today life and good, and death and evil” [Devorim 30:15]. The Torah lays out the matter before us in very stark terms. If we decide to do good, we will live, if we choose bad, we are going to die. It is a zero-sum game. The Meshech Chochma asks an interesting question about this pasuk: This pasuk is strikingly similar to a pasuk we read a few weeks ago at the beginning of Parshas Re’eh. “See, I present before you today a blessing and a curse” [Devorim 11:26].
But there the Torah is not as explicit. The pasuk is not as stark. We are merely told that we have a choice between blessing and curse. It is only in this week’s parsha that the Torah tells it like it is: It is not simply a question of foregoing blessing that is at stake. No. The “Good” means life; the “Bad” means death! “I have placed life and death before you, blessing and curse; and you shall choose life, so that you will live, you and your offspring” [Devorim 30 19]. This is literally, “putting it on the table.”
The Meshech Chochma [Devorim 30:11] asks why in Parshas Re’eh the Torah merely alludes to a vague and generic choice, whereas in Parshas Netzavim it is stark and as explicit as can be.
The Meshech Chochma gives a cryptic answer (as is his style) but I think this is what he means: We are familiar with the Rambam in the third chapter of Hilchos Teshuva where he writes, “Every person has merits and sins. One whose merits outweigh his sins is a tzadik (righteous). One whose sins outweigh his merits is a rasha (wicked). One whose merits and sins are equally balanced is a beinonee (intermediate category).” This is Perek 3 Halacha 1 in Hilchos Teshuva.
Perek 3 Halacha 2 says the following: “The calculation of this balance is not based on the number of merits and sins, but based on their magnitude. There are some merits that outweigh many sins, and some sins that outweigh many merits.” This is not a simple matter of mathematics, counting up the debits and credits. There are some actions that tip the scales and outweigh many other actions that would weigh in the other direction.
Perek 3 Halacha 3 says: “Just like this calculation is made on the day a person dies, so too each and every year a person’s sins are weighed for everyone in the world—on the New Year.”
This is what is going to happen for everyone next Shabbos. We will all stand before the Master of the World and He will make the calculation: He who is found righteous will be inscribed for life. He who is found wicked will be inscribed for death. Those in the intermediate category will have their fate suspended until Yom Kippur. If they do teshuva, they will be sealed for life, if not they will be sealed for death.
Everyone asks the question: If the definition of a beinoni is someone who is exactly balanced – 50/50 – then why is it necessary for the person to do teshuva? Let him merely do one mitzvah, which will tip the scale and put him into the tzadik category! Let him visit the sick, learn a little more, grab an extra mitzvah or two, and seal his fate in a positive fashion! Why is specifically teshuva essential to put him over the top? Many people ask this famous question on the Rambam.
The answer is, as the Rambam writes: Sometimes a person does a sin that is a real whopper and can really tip the scales no matter how many merits are on the other side. What is an example of such a “whopper of an aveirah“? When the Ribono shel Olam comes and knocks on our door and says, “here I am, apologize” and the person does not do so. That is such an egregious sin that the person can lose all hope of emerging with a positive Judgement. In effect, this is a slap in the Face to the Ribono shel Olam. He is coming. He is waiting. He is the aggrieved party. You do not do anything about it. That is a terrible sin. This is actually a famous Gemara [Yoma 87a]. The Amoraim had a custom that if someone insulted them during the year, they would go to that person on Ere Vyom Kippur and avail themselves to that person, to give them the opportunity to repent and ask forgiveness. From where did the Amoraim learn this? They learned it from the Ribono
