HaRav Shmuel Eliyahu is Chief Rabbi of Tzfat.
The Chida, in his book Pnei David, wrote that Yaacov was “complete in his Torah," meaning that his completeness was both in Torah study and in practical life:
“After he made such great efforts in observing the mitzvot and performing good deeds, both the prohibitions and the positive commandments, he deserved to be called ‘complete in his Torah,’ for study is not the main thing, but action. Furthermore, he was complete in all four parts of Torah interpretation (Pardes) including the inner secrets. as though it were all in his pocket. This is the meaning of being complete in his Torah" (Pnei David, Parashat Vayishlach; see also Petach Einayim, Shabbat 33b).
We Have Become Accustomed to Observing Only Some of the Mitzvot
We must remember these things because, during the two thousand years we lived outside the Land of Israel, we observed only some of the mitzvot. Unfortunately, there are those who continue this habit even today. Although it is now possible to make Aliyah to Israel and fulfill most of the mitzvot, many Jews remain abroad and give themselves all kinds of excuses for not fulfilling a positive Torah commandment that brings about a great Kiddush Hashem, a sanctification of God's Name, the mitzvah to dwell in the Chosen Land.
Even in the Land of Israel, there are those who do not fulfill the mitzvah of inheriting the Land: “We must not leave it in the hands of other nations or leave it desolate" (Ramban, Supplement to the Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Commandment 4). They do not fulfill “Do not stand idly by the blood of your fellow" or “When you go out to war against your enemy." All this comes from habits developed over generations after generations of exile outside the Land of Israel.
We must act like Rabbi Zeira, who fasted one-hundred fasts to forget the Torah of the Diaspora, which is called “Chovlim" (from the root word “wound") and to learn the Torah of the Land of Israel, which is called “noam" (pleasantness).
He Practiced What He Preached
The Chida, who wrote about the greatness of Yaacov’s complete Torah, practiced these teachings himself. “He expounds beautifully and fulfills beautifully" (Chagigah 14b). He was a student of the holy Ohr HaChaim and learned from him to be knowledgeable and complete in all parts of the Torah: Halakhah and Kabbalah, Tanakh, Midrashim, the Zohar, and the writings of the Arizal, just like the Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh.
He was also active in the practical work of settling the Land of Israel. He traveled as a shadar (emissary) to many Jewish communities to encourage them to support the settlement of the Land of Israel and its inhabitants. It is told that once, while carrying money for the Jewish community in Israel, he was captured by robbers. Through the power of a holy Name of God, he was saved.
When people praised him, he would say, “It was not because of me. It was because of the Land of Israel." In all this, he followed the example of the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh, who worked to promote Aliyah and the settlement of the Land of Israel.
Continuing the Path of Abraham, Moses, and David
The completeness of Torah continues the Torah of Abraham our Forefather: both good character traits and Torah, both love of God and love of the Land, both sanctification of God's Name and fighting against God's enemies.
Moses our Teacher, of blessed memory, continued this path. He brought the Torah to the Jewish People and also brought them out of Egypt to the entrance of the Land of Israel. He fought against Sichon and Og, was complete in his character traits and holiness, was filled with love of Torah, and devoted himself completely to the Jewish People.
So it was with King David z"l. He combined Torah and devotion to God with fighting on behalf of the Jewish Nation and conquering the Land of Israel.
Therefore, King David said in Psalms: “The Torah of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul" (Psalms 19:8). When the Torah is complete and not divided, it restores the soul.
As the Radak explained: “Perfect - because it is entirely complete. Nothing is lacking in it of all the things a person needs in this world and in the World to Come" (Radak, Psalms 19:8).
Maran Rabbi Mordechai Eliahu
In this way, my father, of blessed memory, continued their Torah. He was devoted to their teachings and learned from them the wholeness of the Torah in study and deed. He was knowledgeable in all four sections of the Shulchan Aruch, in the Zohar and the writings of the Arizal, and in Tanakh and Midrashim. He possessed good character traits of humility, joy, and love of Israel. He also had love for the Land of Israel and struggled for its wholeness, together with love for the entire Jewish People with the desire and the self-sacrifice needed to elevate everyone.
He was especially meticulous in prayer, and the verse was fulfilled in him: “Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear."
It is no coincidence that he is buried beside the Chida. Both followed the same path that Moses our Teacher taught Joshua, which was passed down to the sages of the generations until it reached him.
In the Land of Israel
Eleven times the Torah commands us to study and observe all 613 mitzvot. Ten of these commandments appear in the Book of Deuteronomy because they are connected to inheriting the Land of Israel.
“But as for you, stand here with Me, and I will speak to you all the commandments, statutes, and judgments that you shall teach them, so that they may perform them in the Land that I am giving them to possess" (Deuteronomy 5:28).
And likewise: “All the commandments that I command you today you shall be careful to perform, so that you may live and multiply, and come and inherit the Land that the Lord swore to your fathers" (Deuteronomy 8:1).
The Sifrei explains: “Do not say: I have studied Halakhot, and that is enough for me. Therefore, the Torah says: ‘The commandment, the commandment, the entire commandment.’ Study Midrash, Halakhot, and Aggadot" (Sifrei Devarim, Section 48).
Only in the Land of Israel Can the Entire Torah Be Fulfilled
In exile, we observed the Torah only partially, by halves, thirds, and quarters. We did not fulfill the mitzvot dependent upon the Land, nor did we fulfill the mitzvah of settling the Land of Israel, which is a mitzvah at every moment. We did not sacrifice ourselves to defend the Jewish People, concerning which it is said: “One who helps Israel is like one who helps the Shechinah" (Rashi, Judges 5:23).
Now that we have returned to the Land of Israel, we can fulfill many more mitzvot. When the Beit HaMikdash is rebuilt, we will be able to fulfill them all.
This is why Moses our Teacher longed to enter the Land: “Israel was commanded to perform many mitzvot that can only be fulfilled in the Land of Israel. I wish to enter the Land so that they may all be fulfilled through me" (Sotah 14a).
The Main Purpose of All the Mitzvot
The Ramban explains that even the mitzvot we observe outside the Land of Israel are meant to ensure that they will not be new to us when we return to the Land.
“Remain distinguished by the mitzvot so that when you return, they will not be new to you... And so Jeremiah said, ‘Set up markers for yourself.’ These are the mitzvot by which Israel is distinguished."
He adds: “For the main purpose of all the mitzvot is for those who dwell in the Land of Hashem" (Ramban, Leviticus 18:25).
This is why Moses speaks about “the entire mitzvah" specifically when the Jewish People are about to enter the Land.
The Torah Was Given to Be Fulfilled by the Jewish People as a Whole
There is another reason why Moses speaks about fulfilling all the mitzvot upon entering the Land of Israel. No individual can personally fulfill all 613 mitzvot. Some mitzvot apply to Kohanim, some to Levites, some to the king, and others to the community.
The Ohr HaChaim wrote: “The Torah was given to be fulfilled by the Jewish People as a whole. Each individual should do what is within his ability, and they will bring merit to one another" (Ohr HaChaim, Exodus 39:32).
This mutual responsibility began when the Jewish People crossed the Jordan River. Therefore, Yaacov was called “complete" only when he entered Eretz Yisrael after his sojourn outside of its borders.
Studying and Fulfilling the Entire Torah
This principle of completeness has a halakhic expression: a person is obligated to be knowledgeable in all parts of the Torah.
The Gemara derives this from the verse “And you shall teach them diligently to your children." It teaches: “Do not read ‘Veshinantam’ (you shall teach them diligently), but ‘Veshilashtam’ (you shall divide them into three)."
A person should always divide his years into three parts: one-third for Scripture (the 24 books of Tanakh), one-third for Mishnah, and one-third for Talmud (Kiddushin 30a). Since no one knows how long he will live, this division should be made every day.
The Gemara also teaches: “And you shall teach them diligently to your children" - the words of Torah should be clear and sharp in your mouth, so that if someone asks you a question, you should not hesitate, but answer him immediately.
From the verse “the entire mitzvah" and the Gemara in Kiddushin, the Alter Rebbe learned (Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Laws of Torah Study 2:1) that there is a positive Torah commandment “for every person to study the entire Written Torah and the entire Oral Torah... as it says, ‘the entire mitzvah.’"
Based on this, the Ramchal wrote: “One who wishes to serve his Creator with complete service must engage in all parts of the Torah according to his ability... until he has a grasp of them all and does not neglect any one of them" (Derech Hashem, Part Four, concerning Torah Study).
I heard from the present Chief Rabbi, HaRav Kalman Bar, Shlita, a story about a water carrier who heard a Torah lesson in the synagogue quoting the words of the Alter Rebbe.
The water carrier went to the Rabbi of the city and asked him for a blessing to study Torah. The Rabbi told him: “A blessing will not help you. Stand on your feet and say: I want to study Torah. I can study Torah."
After this experience, the water carrier left his work carrying water and began studying Torah diligently. He eventually merited becoming a true Torah scholar.
After studying, a person must review and repeat what he has learned: “Only take heed to yourself and guard your soul very carefully, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life" (Deuteronomy 4:9).
Completeness also applies to the quality of one's knowledge. It is not enough to cover a large amount of material. A person must review and repeat it until the teachings are clear and remembered (Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Laws of Torah Study 2:3, 9-11).
Beware of a Half-Sage
HaRav Ezra Attiya, of blessed memory, who was the head of the Porat Yosef Yeshiva, would regularly tell his students: “May the Merciful One save us from a half-sage."
My father, HaRav Mordechai Eliyahu, of blessed memory, would say the same thing.
A half-sage thinks he is wise, but he does not know the entire Torah and can cause serious mistakes.
The Ashkenazi sages used to say: “Half a doctor is a murderer, and half a Rabbi interprets the Torah contrary to Halakhah."
It Is Forbidden to Subtract Anything from the Torah
The Torah states: “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to perform. You shall not add to it, nor subtract from it" (Deuteronomy 13:1).
The Rambam rules:
“It is clear and explicit in the Torah that its commandments remain in force forever and for all eternity. They are subject to no change, subtraction, or addition. As it says: ‘Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to perform. You shall not add to it, nor subtract from it.’
“And it says: ‘The revealed things belong to us and to our children forever, so that we may perform all the words of this Torah.’ From this we learn that we are commanded to observe all the words of the Torah forever. And so it says: ‘An everlasting statute throughout your generations.’"
The Rambam continues and explains that even a prophet cannot subtract a mitzvah from the Torah. Even if he performs “a sign or wonder and says that God sent him to add a mitzvah or subtract a mitzvah, or to interpret one of the mitzvot in a way that we did not receive from Moses, or if he says that the mitzvot commanded to Israel are not eternal for all generations but were commandments intended only for a particular time, he is a false prophet, for he has come to contradict the prophecy of Moses, and his punishment is death by strangulation" (Rambam, Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 9:1).
These words should be placed before those people whom I have heard saying that nowadays there is no mitzvah to make Aliyah to the Land of Israel, or that there is no mitzvah to settle the Land of Israel.
These are positive commandments from the Torah, and such people must place before their eyes the Torah's commandments and what the Rambam wrote about them.
Torah Without the Land of Israel - A Danger to Life
The Lubavitcher Rebbe spoke sharply against those who give away the holy lands of Eretz Yisrael in peace agreements; who give Arabs money or weapons contrary to explicit Halachot; and who grant Arabs public status and importance that ultimately endanger Jewish lives (like awarding Arabs with partnership in government and government positions). (Talk on Shabbat Parashat Devarim, 5739; see also Avodah Zarah 16b-17a).
Redemption Through a Complete Torah
We must continue the path of our great Rabbis, who learned from the holy Patriarchs and from Moses our Teacher a complete Torah.
This is the Torah that Moses received at Sinai and transmitted to Joshua, and Joshua transmitted to the Elders (Pirkei Avot 1:1).
This was the way of our great rabbis: the Rambam and Maran Rabbi Yosef Karo, author of the Beit Yosef and the Shulchan Aruch; the holy Arizal and all the righteous sages of that generation; the Ramchal, the Vilna Gaon, the Alter Rebbe, the holy Ohr HaChaim, the Chida, the Ben Ish Chai, and countless other great righteous scholars.
This is the Torah of Redemption, which does not fear Pharaoh, Sichon, or Og, which strengthens the Jewish People and speaks in their defense.
Concerning this, the Zohar says: “The continuation of Moses exists in every generation."
In every generation, the complete Torah of Moses our Teacher is present, and it is this Torah that will bring the Mashiach, speedily in our days.