VA’ESCHANAN – INSIGHTS IN RASHI – USING THE YETSER TOV FOR THE GOOD

Devarim, 6:5 “You shall love HaShem, your G-d, with all our heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources.” Rashi, 6:5, sv. With all your heart: With both of your inclinations. Va’eschanan features the first paragraph of the Shema, where we are told to serve HaShem with all our hearts. The word, heart in hebrew, is leiv, and ‘your heart’ is לבך which is normally with one ‘beis. However, in the Shema it is spelt with two beisim ((לבבך. Rashi explains that the phrase, ‘with all your heart’ refers to the two inclinations: the positive and the negative. The commentaries explain that Rashi is coming to answer why the Torah used two ‘beis’ on this occasion – the ‘beis’ alludes to the heart and the two ‘beisim’ allude to the two forces that determine the heart – the positive and negative inclinations. Many commentaries discuss what it means that we should serve HaShem with our yetser ra, however, Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l also notes a difficulty with the fact that the Torah exhorts us to serve HaShem with our yetser tov. He asks why it was necessary to tell us to love HaShem with our yetser tov; surely that inclination automatically directs a person to doing good deeds. He answers that in fact this is not the case; were the yetser tov left to its own devices it will not necessarily direct a person to perform ratson HaShem. Without the guidance of the Torah as the ultimate source of morality, one may come to define what is good and evil according to his own logic, and thereby develop a warped sense of right and wrong. In this way, writes Rav Feinstein, the yetser tov can cause a person to do actions that go against the Torah’s definition of right and wrong. He gives the example of charity; the yetser tov directs a person to want to give money to others, however there are occasions when he may want to give to inappropriate causes. My Rebbe Rav Berkovits shlita, expands on this example, arguing that at times it is not right to give charity to a person. For example if it will only engender more dependence on others, or if the money will be used for unhealthy purposes, then it may not be correct to give in this form. In order to accurately perform ratson HaShem in this delicate issue a person must turn to the Torah’s words for guidance. This often means asking a competent Torah authority who can be trusted to transmit daas Torah. Another example that Rav Feinstein mentions is misplaced rachmanus (mercy). This includes feeling remorse for evil people; this is a flaw that has affected great people in Jewish history. Perhaps the foremost example is the great Shaul HaMelech. On HaShem’s command he was commanded to destroy the whole nation of Amalek. including the women, children, and animals. Shaul defeated the Amalekim in the subsequent battle, and did kill everyone with the exception of the Amalekite King, Agag, and a few animals. The gemara offers an explanation for Shaul's reluctance to kill all the Amalekim. It tells us that Shaul made a kal v'chomer ; he noted the mitzvo of egla arufa - this is a solemn ceremony that takes place upon the murder of a person in between two cities. It demonstrates the Torah's concern with regard to a single death, and its emphasis on the value of human life. Shaul reasoned that if a single human life had so much value, all the more so that is the case with regard to a whole nation. The gemara further tells us that in reaction to Shaul's 'merciful' reasoning, a Bas kol (Heavenly voice) came out, and said, "do not be overly righteous". As a result of his failure to listen to HaShem due to his feelings of mercy, he was punished with the loss of his Kingship. What were the consequences of this mistake? Agag begot offspring and one of his descendants was Haman. Thus Shaul’s act of ‘mercy’ nearly led to the destruction of the Jewish nation. These are just two examples of how even a person’s yetser tov can direct him away from ratson HaShem. A particularly relevant application today is in present day society when many disparate groups within Orthodoxy seem to preach highly different and often opposing messages in a number of areas, such as the roles of Torah learning, working, the use of technology and so on. How can one know when his particular belief is based on the Torah’s definition of morality or merely the personal leanings of his yetser tov ? There is no simple answer to this question, but as we mentioned above, the most sure way of discerning the truth is to turn to those people most well-versed in the Torah outlook – the Gedolim and talmidei chachamim who are most able to follow their guidance and clarify application of such guidance in specific cases. Without such direction a person is at risk of failing to follow the Torah’s exhortation to use his yetser tov in the way that the Torah intended. May we all merit to use both our inclinations to perform ratson HaShem.

THE TWO TABLETS - VA’ESCHANAN

Parshas Va’eschanan contains a repetition of the Ten Commandments, with a few minor changes. The Mabit makes a remarkable observation about the two luchos on which the Commandments were inscribed. Chazal explain that the two luchos were focusing on different areas of the Mitzvos: The first luach consisted of Mitzvos that relate to the realm of bein adam leMakom (between man and G-d), such as belief in G-d, and observing Shabbos. The second luach consisted of Mitvos that relate to bein adam lechaveiro (between man and his fellow), such as the prohibitions not to kill, and loh sachmod (not to covet).

The Mabit points out that there were far more words on the first luach than on the second. Accordingly, there was much less space to fit all the words on the first luach than on the second. Therefore, it must be that the words in the first luach were written far smaller than those in the second. This, the Mabit argues, was done deliberately by HaShem so that the side that discussed the bein adam lechaveiro Mitzvos would be more noticeable than the side that focused on bein adam leMakom. The Mabit continues that this is because the yetser hara is strongest in the area of bein adam lechaveiro. HaShem wanted people to focus more on the Mitzvos that relate to bein adam lechaveiro, because extra effort is required to overcome the yetser hara in this area.

It would seem that a Gemara in Bava Basra provides evidence supporting the Mabit’s argument. The Gemara discusses various sins in which people stumble. It tells us that a minority of people stumble in arayos (forbidden relationships), a majority stumble in gezel , and everyone stumbles in avak lashon hara. Forbidden relationships generally fall in the area of bein adam leMakom , whereas stealing and lashon hara both clearly fall within the realm of bein adam lechaveiro. Thus, the Gemara is telling us that people are more prone to sin in certain Mitzvos that pertain to bein adam lechaveiro.

The following story also supports this point: Rav Chaim Soloveitchik zt”l was asked to rule on the kashrus of an animal to ascertain whether it was treif. He ruled that it was indeed treif, causing the butcher involved a significant loss. The butcher accepted the ruling with equanimity. A few months later, the same butcher was involved in a monetary dispute with someone else, over a far smaller amount of money. Rav Chaim ruled against him. On this occasion, however, the butcher was furious, and insulted Rav Chaim for his ruling. Rav Simcha Zelig Reeger, zt”l asked Rav Chaim why the butcher was calm when he lost a far larger amount of money and so angry about the smaller sum. Rav Chaim explained that on this occasion, he ‘lost’ to someone else – it was the fact that another person ‘beat’ him that angered him so much.

The question remains, what is the reason (or reasons) as to why people are more prone to stumbling in bein adam lechaveiro. It is possible to suggest the following: The Vilna Gaon zt”l writes that every Mitzvo stems from a particular good character trait (midda), and every aveiro stems from a bad trait. Nonetheless, it seems that it is possible for a person to have certain bad middos and yet observe many Mitzvos. For example, a person who has a tendency to lose his temper, will not necessarily be hindered by this bad trait, in his observance of Shabbos, kashrus, and many other Mitzvos in the realm of bein adam LeMakom. However, he will be tremendously hindered in the area of bein adam lechaveiro. Every time he raises his voice in an inappropriate fashion, he will very likely transgress the prohibition of onaas devarim (hurtful words) and if he shouts at someone in front of others, he will transgress the extremely serious sin of embarrassing someone in public. Similarly, a person who has an ayin ra (he focuses on the bad in people), will still be able to pray three times a day, and learn Torah, however he will very likely stumble in lashon hara and judging others favorably.

There are obviously certain middos, which also make it very difficult to observe Mitzvos in bein adam Makom, such as laziness. However, it is important to note, that such traits will also greatly harm one’s observance of bein adam lechaveiro related Mitzvos. For example, a lazy person will not be willing to help his/her spouse in the work that needs to be done around the home, causing problems in the relationship. Even the trait of taiva (lust) can be the cause of great failings in bein adam lechaveiro. For example, a person who is overly attached to his/her food, will very likely react in an inappropriate fashion to his/her spouse if they serve food that he does not appreciate, again resulting in a transgression of onaas devarim.

The obvious lesson to derive from the Mabit is that extra effort is required in bein adam lechaveiro. Moreover based on the explanation that the root cause of the failing in this area is bad middos, it is essential to work on traits such as anger, jealousy, and ayin ra. Indeed, the Maharsha points out that when the Gemara said that everyone stumbles in avak lashon hara, it was only referring to people who do not make an effort to improve in this area. However, one who makes an effort to improve his speech by learning the laws relating to it and improving his traits, is not destined to speak avak lashon hara. This surely applies to all the Mitzvos bein adam lechaveiro; if one makes a strong and consistent effort to improve then he will overcome the yetser hara’s attempts to make his stumble.