2022/5782

To truly internalize and identify with the texts and events of this week’s Parashah is to be subjected to a rollercoaster ride of emotions, vacillating between joy and sorrow, in an escalating yet downward spiral. 

Fortunately, we begin with feelings of joy as we imagine ourselves bringing to the Beit HaMikdash our Bikkurim, our first produce of the season, in a public celebration for which we are commanded: “וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֣ בְכׇל־הַטּ֗וֹב אֲשֶׁ֧ר נָֽתַן־לְךָ֛ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ וּלְבֵיתֶ֑ךָ אַתָּה֙ וְהַלֵּוִ֔י וְהַגֵּ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּקִרְבֶּֽךָ׃,” ”And you shall rejoice, together with the [family of the] Levite and the stranger in your midst, in all the bounty that your God has bestowed upon you and your household (Devarim 26:12). And we continue to be joyous as we bring the Ma’asrot, over which we declare “עָשִׂ֕יתִי “,כְּכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוִּיתָֽנִי “I have done all that I was commanded” (ibid. 14) which Rashi (s.v. עָשִׂ֕יתִי (כְּכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוִּיתָֽנִי, citing the Sifrei, defines as ”שָׂמַחְתִּי וְשִׂמַּחְתִּי בוֹ” “I rejoiced and caused others to rejoice with it.”

This sentiment of gladness continues as we read about the large stones, engraved with the words of the Torah, to be installed on Har Eival in a ceremony of Korbanot. The concluding command here, too, is ”וְשָׂ֣מַחְתָּ֔ לִפְנֵ֖י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ,” “and you shall rejoice with Hashem your God” (ibid. 27:7).

Then, suddenly, we discover that Har Eival is the public site for a series of curses, and Har Gerizim for a series of blessings. As we listen to the curses declaring damnation to a variety of sinners, we sense our emotional state shifting to sadness and dejection. Then follows a brief inventory of blessings, beginning with “בָּר֥וּךְ אַתָּ֖ה בָּעִ֑יר וּבָר֥וּךְ אַתָּ֖ה בַּשָּׂדֶֽה,” “Blessed shall you be in the city and blessed shall you be in the country” (ibid. 28:3), that temporarily restores our high spirits.

And then the final and sustained pummel to the chest and heart – the Tochechah, a litany of horrors, so hauntingly evocative of ancient, medieval and modern atrocities – the darkest days of Am Yisrael. Fifty-four Pesukim long, these constitute the most terrifying and ghastly descriptions of what will befall us when we betray our faith, religious principles and practices. An emotional roller coaster ride… toward what destination? Where is the last stop? 

The answer is contained within the Tochechah itself. Why will we suffer these indignities, these brutalities? “תַּ֗חַת אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹא־עָבַ֙דְתָּ֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בְּשִׂמְחָ֖ה וּבְט֣וּב לֵבָ֑ב מֵרֹ֖ב כֹּֽל,” “Because you would not serve your Hashem in joy and gladness over the abundance of everything” (ibid. 47). It is no simple coincidence that our parasha opens with Bikkurim, whose theme is “ וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֣ בְכׇל־הַטּ֗וֹב אֲשֶׁ֧ר נָֽתַן־לְךָ֛ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ,” and closes with the Tochechah, the consequence of “תַּ֗חַת אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹא־עָבַ֙דְתָּ֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בְּשִׂמְחָ֖ה וּבְט֣וּב לֵבָ֑ב”. Rather, it is one matter for the Torah to inform us that we can prevent tragedy from occurring to Am Yisrael by worshiping Hashem in joy and rejoicing in the material gifts Hashem has granted us. It is still another matter as to how to define this elusive term, שמחה.

An analysis of Mitzvat Bikkurim yields some edifying results. Bikurim presents a paradox of sorts. The Mishna describes in detail the pageantry of the Bikkurim ceremonies during the era of the second Beit HaMikdash. It was a ceremony of great fanfare, of pomp and circumstance. After entering Yerushalayim, the Bikkurim bearers were greeted royally by the notables of the city. The people formed special caravans; the horns of the oxen were gilded with gold. They were met by throngs of people who ushered them into the city with song and dance. No other produce brought to the Mikdash merited this kind of celebration – not Terumah, not Ma’aser Rishon, not Ma’aser Sheini, not Ma’aser Ani. Only for Bikkurim. And the irony is that unlike those Terumot UMa’asrot, whose obligatory gifts ranged from 2% or 3% to 10% of one’s crops, Bikkurim could be any amount of one’s produce: “הבכורים אין להם שעור מן התורה,” “Bikkurim have no quantity from the Torah” (Rambam Hilchot Bikkurim 2:17). A few olives, a few grapes, a few figs would suffice. The Torah specifies a טנא, a basket, indicating that a small portion of each fruit was sufficient.

Clearly the definition of שמחה as conveyed by Bikkurim is one of quality, not quantity. Happiness is not an acquisition, but an attitude. It is not a material state, but a mental state. This is not to denigrate those who are blessed with more. “וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֣ בְכׇל־הַטּ֗וֹב אֲשֶׁ֧ר נָֽתַן־לְךָ֛ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ,” emphasizes that the wealthy as well as the poor are to enjoy all of the good that Hashem has granted them. The Torah is anti-ascetic; our tradition has always admired and even encouraged material achievement. The story is told of a Chassidic Rebbe who visited the owner of a considerable fortune and found him eating black bread and radishes for dinner. Said the Rebbe: “My dear friend, you should eat chicken one day, duck the next, turkey the third day, and then a good steak.” As soon as they had the chance, his disciples asked the Rebbe to explain his strange interest in the diet of this wealthy Jew. The Rebbe replied: “If he eats chicken, he may be expected to give a poor man a herring. But if he himself eats radishes, what do you think he will give to the poor?”

The key to שמחה is the communal character of the celebration, as we observed in the Bikkurim festivities. And in the Pasuk we referenced above: “וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֣ בְכׇל־הַטּ֗וֹב אֲשֶׁ֧ר נָֽתַן־לְךָ֛ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ וּלְבֵיתֶ֑ךָ אַתָּה֙ וְהַלֵּוִ֔י וְהַגֵּ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּקִרְבֶּֽךָ׃”. It is the sharing of joy that marks true שמחה. As Rashi, cited above, defines עָשִׂ֕יתִי כְּכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוִּיתָֽנִי - שָׂמַחְתִּי וְשִׂמַּחְתִּי בו. I not only have rejoiced but I have brought joy to the Levi and the stranger in my midst. A pleasure shared is a pleasure doubled. Happiness may be the only quality in life that is multiplied by division.

Perhaps that is why the Tochechah in our Parashah is stated in the singular rather than in the plural as it appears in the parallel Tochechah in Parashat BeChukotai. The theme of our Tochechah is, as we have seen, is “תַּ֗חַת אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹא־עָבַ֙דְתָּ֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בְּשִׂמְחָ֖ה וּבְט֣וּב לֵבָ֑ב” Without the communal sharing of שמחה, as conveyed by Mitzvat Bikkurim, and the building together of a community in which to share joy, all that is left is the individual, unprotected, uncared for, alone, and subject to the indignities and degradations of the Tochechah.

Our central Pasuk provides yet another twist on this same theme: “וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֣ בְכׇל־הַטּ֗וֹב אֲשֶׁ֧ר נָֽתַן־לְךָ֛ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ וּלְבֵיתֶ֑ךָ אַתָּה֙ וְהַלֵּוִ֔י וְהַגֵּ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּקִרְבֶּֽךָ׃”. It sounds as if the Pasuk is written so as to define ולביתך to rejoice in all the good that Hashem has given you and your family, which consists of אַתָּה֙ וְהַלֵּוִ֔י וְהַגֵּ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּקִרְבֶּֽךָ – you, the Levi and the Geir who are in your midst. They are all to be part of your family; they are all to share in your שמחה. And this has been our practice throughout Jewish history. Almost every rite of passage is termed a שמחה, whether ברית מילה, בר מצוה, פדיון הבן or חתונה. And none of these events is viewed as complete, none of these is viewed as a joyous occasion, without the presence of the community.

But recall that the inclusion of others is not the inclusion of family friends or even family members. It is the landless Levi and the stranger in your midst. Or the orphan or widow as specified elsewhere “וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֖ בְּחַגֶּ֑ךָ אַתָּ֨ה וּבִנְךָ֤ וּבִתֶּ֙ךָ֙ וְעַבְדְּךָ֣ וַאֲמָתֶ֔ךָ וְהַלֵּוִ֗י וְהַגֵּ֛ר וְהַיָּת֥וֹם וְהָאַלְמָנָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃,” “And you shall rejoice in your festival, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female slave, and the Levi and the stranger and the orphan and the widow that are in your communities” (Devarim 16:14). It is therefore no surprise that inclusion refers to those whose lives are not stable – to those who suffer the misfortune of rootlessness and alienation. For Am Yisrael to evade the calamities of the Tochechah, it is precisely those who are less fortunate and more vulnerable who must be invited to become part of our joyous occasions.