לזכות רפואה שלימה אחינו כל בית ישראל הנתונים בצרה ובשביה
The opening Verse of this week’s Parshah, Parshat Eikev, states [Chapter 7, Verse 12]:
“And it will be, because you will heed these ordinances and guard them and perform, that the Lord, your God, will keep for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your forefathers.”
The text stresses three different adjectives with regard to adhering to the commandments of the Torah—Tishmaa’un\heeding, U’shemartem\guarding, and Va’assisem\performing. This begs the question, what does each category of adherence come to add to the meaning of the text?
Rokeach explains, that Judaism has, at its core, a series of threes. There are three different divisions within the broader framework of the twelve ancient Judaic tribes; the Kohanim [priests], Leviim [singers and gatekeepers at the Temple], and Yisraelim, who had no specific duties at the Temple. Additionally, the core of Judaism began with the original three Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The above two sets of threes correlate with the three adjectives in our Verse, says Rokeach. The idea of heeding the Mitzvot parallels the role of the Kohanim who were instrumental in teaching the Torah to the Jews—this beginning factor in the fostering of Judaic Society was brought into existence by Abraham. Proof for the connection between the mission of the Kohanim and Abraham’s Divine role can be found in the Midrash, which states [Vayikra Rabbah 25’ 6’] that Abraham was a “Kohein Gadol” [High Priest].
The guarding of the honor of the Mitzvot was undertaken by the Leviim, whose role as gatekeepers at the temple shadowed their broader role as the zealous protector of G-d’s honor [as displayed by the golden calf, where the tribe of Levi rose to prosecute those who gave in to the temptation of idolatry]. Isaac, at the Akeidah [binding], was the first individual mentioned explicitly in the Torah who was devout enough, and willing to, sacrifice everything for the honor of G-d.
And the Yisraelim were principally accountable to preserve the law and order, the actual day to day performance of the Mitzvot. In Rashi’s commentary on the Torah, in the second Verse of the Parshah of Vayishlach [Bereishit 32’ 5’], Rashi explains that Jacob’s message to Esav “I’m Lavan Garti\with Lavan I have dwelt”, is an allusion to the fact that Jacob had kept and performed the 613 Mitzvot, as the numerical value of the word “Garti’’ is 613.
Hence, the three adjectives listed by the Torah here directly correlate with our three Patriarchs and the three sects of Judaism.
It would seem that the deeper and more profound message of the above explanation is the fact that the text here is stressing the pathway to the highest forms of paradise G-d will award in this world. And while the surface level of the text seems to merely be stressing the need to meticulously adhere to the commandments of the Torah, the derush [more interpretive] layers of the Verse are alluding to how the Jewish people come from one core, molded by our three patriarchs, and those 3 patriarchs branch into the three segments of the population—the Kohanim, Leviim, and Yisraelim. Thus, the import and greater significance of the Verse here is, that in order to for our exacting commitment to the Torah to have the intended impact, all segments of Jewry must be united in the desire to achieve the designed goals of the Torah–a people, on its land, with the Beit Hamikdash and worship of G-d as its central and unifying force.
: Dedicated in memory of Refael Ben Tirtza, HY”D.
Have a Great Shabbas