(Deuteronomy 1:1)
“And I pleaded with Hashem at that time, saying.”
First Reading: Plea for a Free Gift
On the parashah’s first word, “Va’etchanan,” which means “I pleaded” (ןַּנַחְתֶאָו) Rashi quotes the Sifrei, which presents two interpretations. The first is that this word refers to a plea for a free gift from God. Moses is asking God for a free gift, to allow him to enter the land—to release him from the vow God had made not to allow Moses to enter the land. Moses makes this request specifically after conquering the lands of Sichon and Og, thinking that the vow had been partially annulled and that if part of a vow is annulled, the entire vow is annulled. This is the simpler interpretation. However, there are several other interpretations in the words of the sages themselves, particularly regarding the words, “at that time.”
The Choizeh (Seer) of Lublin, the great tzaddik whose yahrzeit falls on Tisha B’Av, says that whenever the Torah uses the words “at that time” (יאהַת הֵעָּב), which is in the feminine form, it alludes to the “footsteps of the Mashiach” (אִיחְׁשִּמ דָּתְבְּקִע)—the time leading up to the redemption. Consequently, there is a connection between our parashah and next week’s parashah, which begins with the word “Eikev” (בֶקֵע) cognate with “footsteps” (אָתְבְּקִע).
How does the Mashiach apply to our parashah and the first word, “I pleaded?” The Choizeh explains that the power of the Mashiach lies solely in prayer, specifically in the form of prayer that is characterized by “the poor speaks in supplications” (ׁשָר רֵּבַדְים יִנּנוֲחַּת). Therefore, he also interprets “at that time, saying” (רֹאמֵוא לִהַת הֵעָּב) to mean that he prays for the Jewish people to be strengthened in prayer during the time of the footsteps of the Mashiach (אִיחְׁשִּמ דָּתְבְּקִע)—that we should love to plead to God. He emphasizes that our love for supplicating to Hashem is an essential component of the initiative we take from below (אָּתַּתְלִא דָּתּרוָּעְתִא) for bringing the Mashiach. This explanation by the Choizeh is based on Rashi’s second interpretation: that the word “I pleaded” (ןַּנַחְתֶאָו) constitutes one of the ten synonyms for prayer in Hebrew.
Prayers Are Associated with Merit, Free Gifts Are Not
Once again, according to the first interpretation “Va’etchanan” refers to a plea for a free gift. Rashi adds that despite having merit to base their request on, the righteous request God to fulfill their needs for free. They do not want to rely on their merits and present things as if God “owes them.”
According to the second interpretation (which is also found in the Sifrei) “Va’etchanan” is simply one of the ten synonyms for prayer. The commentaries note that of these ten synonyms, Va’etchanan represents the highest form of prayer. If we were to present the ten synonyms for prayer in the form of a model corresponding to the ten sefirot, then Va’etchnan would correspond to the sefirah of crown, the highest part of the structure.
In a discourse focusing on Rashi, the Lubavitcher Rebbe notes that in the Midrash Rabbah on the beginning of our parashah, these two interpretations are presented as if they were one and the same. The Midrash states that there are ten expressions of prayer, and the highest among them is Va’etchanan, which denotes a plea for a free gift.
But Rashi as we saw, follows the Sifrei, and distinguishes between the two and this implies that if Va’etchanan is interpreted as a plea for a free gift, it represents a different category than a typical form of prayer—it is a request for something given freely, without any merit or deservingness. The plea is essentially stating, “Please God, give me what I am asking for free; I have no merit whatsoever and I don’t deserve anything.”
The Rebbe explains that within the concept of prayer, which involves an initiative from below (אָּתַּתְלִא דָּתּרוָּעְתִא), there must be some merit, even if the person is not praying because of that merit. There is something intrinsic to prayer that comes from the person. Yet, the highest level of prayer is to pray as if you have no merits, even though on some level you know that you do. However, the first interpretation in the Sifrei involves asking from a place where one genuinely feels that they truly have no merit and deserve nothing, which is why it cannot really fall under the category of prayer. According to the Sifrei, this is not considered prayer at all, while according to the Midrash, it is the same level. According to the Sifrei, the request for a free gift is a different category altogether, not a form of prayer.
In a footnote to his discourse on this subject, the Rebbe explains that if the “crown” (רֶתֶּכּ) of the ten expressions of prayer is the form of prayer known as “supplication” (יםִנּנוֲחַּת), then the level of requesting a free gift (םָּנִת חַנְּּתַּמ) represents the innermost aspect of the crown—specifically, the level of Atik in general and the innermost part of Atik in particular. This is the state of true nothingness (ןִיָאִּתִמֲא), meaning that the person is in a state of complete nullification, where there is no element of initiative from below (אָּתּרוָּעְתִא אָּתַּתְלִד) at all. In every form of initiative from below, there is some merit involved, but in this case, there is nothing—only the request for a free gift.
Prayer in the Land of Israel
Two key points emerge from this discussion: first, there appears to be an intrinsic connection between the request for a free gift (the first interpretation of Rashi-Sifrei) and the transition to the Land of Israel. The transition to the Land of Israel involves a process of spiritual rebirth, where a person needs to undergo a renewal, a kind of spiritual gestation. As it says, “God was angered with me” (יִּר הוי' בֵּבַעְתִּי)—where the word “angered” also means “gestation.” This implies that God must implant Himself within both the collective and the individual. In other words, everything related to the Land of Israel is connected to “Va’etchanan”—asking for a free gift.
Some suggest—according to the second interpretation—that the highest level of prayer, the crown of prayer, is sufficient. However, the first opinion argues that even the crown of prayer is not enough—what is required is the innermost essence of the crown, which is not considered prayer at all. It is something entirely different, a completely unearned free gift (םָּנִת חַנְּּתַּמ).
(from a class given on 15th Av, 5772)
