A Chasam Sofer to Treasure In Psalms 83, Dovid HaMelech lists all of our enemies throughout history. He includes the Plishtim (Philistines) from Azah (Gaza) who suffered a mighty blow at the hands of Shimshon, who lifted the gates with a height of 60 Amor and dropped them on the Gazans inflicting a lethal blow. But the Gazans have not been fully defeated and in the North we have Nasrallah mentioning the Galilee, a historically important Jewish place, where it is said that Moshiach could emanate from. Can we grasp a verse in the Torah that speaks plainly how to achieve full victories upon our enemies? Consequence or Result? There are two ways to view the embracing of Torah. One option would be that natural consequences flow from honoring and grabbing onto it. For instance, the Torah keeps the world from collapsing. Day and night would cease to exist if study didn't occur. This is a built-in consequence of the Torah. Another way to view the embracing of Torah is from a mitzvah-aveira point of view. Mitzvos come with adherence and sins from not studying the Torah. It's more of a reward-punishment model. The Ark of Victory We recently read one of the richest parshios in the Torah, Beha'alotcha. It begins with the light of Torah, encompasses the appointment of Levi’im, deals with the undeniable theme of the Jews complaining in the desert and sees the formation of a Sanhedrin, thus a sharing of responsibility of Moshe with others. But to really focus on the main theme, one is drawn to the inverted nuns that separate the puranos from each other. This “sefer” in itself, Vayehi binsoa aron , is where we are given an opening on how to defeat our enemies. Poetry in Motion The verse, Vayehi binsoa aron, we said is a divider between two puranos, negative issues, the first is that Bnei Yisrael ran away from Har Sinai and the second was the complaining. Chazal frame the running away as, “ k'tinok ha'borieach mi'beis ha'sefer - klal Yisrael left Har Sinai joyfully like a child running away from school.” We all relate to the child in ourselves, to the memories, to the innocence, to the excitement, to the beauty. We used all of this innocence to sprint away from embracing the Torah. That's a powerful desertion. The Chasam Sofer catches this point and explains that it wasn't per se an aveira that the Jews ran away but it has a great consequence: it lets our enemies prevail as we are removing the ol of Torah from our beings. This is precisely why the next verse is Vayehi binsoa aron , which declares that when you lift the Aron our enemies are scattered and defeated. In other words, what type of grabbing onto the Torah will defeat our enemies? One of innocence, emotion and passion. It's all about consequence: grab the Torah and you win the war, don't grab it and the enemies are emboldened. Further Proof of Consequence The Mishna in Pirkei Avot discourages wasting time and not learning Torah because cosmically it causes others to not learn Torah as well. This is more of a metaphysical comment based on consequence. Another Mishna in Pirkei Avot pronounces that when Torah is ignored a voice in Heaven says woe to those who disgrace Torah. This is consequence and not reward-punishment based. The Takeaway Gaza and the North are very much in play now. We've faced the Gazans in the past and they have reappeared as a mix with the Yishmaelim and Amaleikim. Grasping onto the Aron, Torah, with childlike enthusiasm brings an important consequence: the scattering of our enemies. You Will Always Have the Land Imagine a father tells a child that there is a special car that he has set aside for him. At the right time, he will give it to his son. A short time after this conversation, the son breaks into the car and tries to take it, but because it wasn't fully ready to run, he couldn't take it. His father sees what his son has done and contemplates a reaction. On the one hand, the son broke the order and tried to acquire it early. On the other hand, it's within grasp, and maybe holding back is almost impossible. In this parsha, we see a remarkable thing happen. Bnei Yisrael, against Moshe's orders, attempt to capture Eretz Yisrael from the enemies. Moshe tells them that they will for sure lose, yet they go anyway and are all killed. One can portray this event as misguided enthusiasm or if desired as insubordination. But an incredible dialogue between G-d and Moshe takes place immediately after this event. G-d tells Moshe to convey certain laws to Bnei Yisrael when they enter the land. Let's be honest, the entrance will not be taking place for another forty years, specifically due to a declaration by the spies that the land itself was undesirable. Sometimes in life you grasp the truth, but right after it's too late. Everything has its time and place. Opportunities are ripe for specific time periods and if squandered they are lost, but not necessarily forever. Right after the spy incident, genuine passion arose among Bnei Yisrael to claim what was theirs. But the opportunity was no longer ripe. Nevertheless, G-d acknowledges the intentions and sees a people He loves and immediately orders Moshe to tell Bnei Yisrael what will be when they enter the land, because it was their land from creation and it will be their land forever.
