5784/2024

Mission Not Impossible

In a stirring but somewhat enigmatic manner, Hashem in Devarim 30:11-14 proclaims, "This Mitzvah is not impossible to observe.”  He continues, “It is not in the heavens or on the other side of the sea.”  Rather, “It is very close for you in your mouth and heart to do.”

Which Mitzvah?

Rashi (to Pasuk 14) and Ramban (to Pasuk 11) debate which Mitzva does Hashem refer. Rashi believes it relates to observing the Torah’s entirety, and Ramban believes it refers to the Mitzvah of Teshuvah. The preceding Pasuk (13) refers to both the Torah and Teshuva; thus, “this Mitzvah” could refer to either. I suggest that Hashem uses an ambiguous phrase, “this Mitzvah,” to capture Torah and Teshuvah.  

Kli Yakar

How are Torah and Teshuva “very close to do”? Kli Yakar sets forth two ways Hashem makes them easy to accomplish. One is that certain Mitzvot can be achieved simply by speaking. For example, when we cannot offer Korbanot, He views merely studying Korbanot as the equivalent of sacrificing Korbanot (Menachot 110a). Another example is that if one intends to perform a Mitzvah but cannot, Hashem regards it as if he did the Mitzvah (Kiddushin 40a). 

Takkanat HaShavim

Chazal and subsequent Poskim implement Takkanot HaShavim, enactments that make it easier to do Teshuvah, which fits beautifully with Devarim 30:11-14. For example, Chazal are lenient on one who steals a brick and includes it in a large building. Although strictly speaking he must break the building down and return the actual brick he stole, Chazal permit producing just the brick’s monetary equivalent (Takkanat Marish, Gittin 55a). A modern-day example is Rav Moshe Feinstein (Teshuvot Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 2:6) permitting a Baal Teshuva to Kasher non-kosher earthenware twelve months after its last non-kosher use and then koshering it three times. Takannot HaShavim makes Teshuva “very close to do.”    

Natural Desire to Perform Mitzvot 

The Meshech Chochma (Shemot 19:17) writes, "the Jewish soul is naturally inclined with an intense desire to fulfill God’s will.” He bases his assertion on the celebrated teaching of the Rambam (Hilchot Gerushin 2:20) that every Jew wishes to observe the Torah but is swayed from doing so only due to the influence of his Yetzer Hara (pleasure drive). Rambam’s source appears to be Niddah 30b, which teaches that when a child is in the womb, the child is taught the entire Torah and, at birth, forgets it all. This Gemara shows that Hashem implants a natural love and bias for Torah to make the Torah “very close to us to do.” 

Our drive to perform Mitzvot is enhanced by Hashem implanting a desire to fulfill our role in this world. In Midrash Eichah's (1:30) words, “HaKol Mevakshin Tafkidan,” every part of Creation seeks to complete their Tafkid, divinely ordained job. Since a Jew’s role is to fulfill Mitzvot, Torah, and Teshuva are very close to him to do.   

The Satisfaction One Receives from Torah and Teshuvah

The satisfaction from fulfilling Mitzvot and the sense of self-empowerment one derives from refraining from Aveirot also make the Torah “very close to us to do.” The Gemara (Sukkah 52a) relates (from the William Davidson edition of the Talmud):

In the future, at the end of days, God will bring the evil inclination and slaughter it in the presence of the righteous and in the presence of the wicked. For the righteous the evil inclination appears to them as a high mountain, and for the wicked it appears to them as a mere strand of hair. These weep and those weep. The righteous weep and say: How were we able to overcome so high a mountain? And the wicked weep and say: How were we unable to overcome this strand of hair? 

Many pose the following question on this Gemara:  The righteous are masters of managing their Yetzer Hara, and the wicked are poor at it. Therefore the Yetzer Hara should loom much larger for the Resha’im than for Tzadikim! 

In response, it is suggested that the Gemara refers to a retrospective view of the Yetzer Hara. Tzadikim marvel and even revel at overcoming the powerful Yetzer Hara. On the other hand, Resha’im (if the repetition of sin has not hardened them to a healthy sense of guilt) feel awful and even have a sense of self-loathing after sinning. 

Rashi (to Breishit 3:7 s.v. Vayeide’u) describes the empty and awful and empty feeling Adam and Chava experienced after eating from the Etz HaDa’at. By contrast, I testify to the gush of good feeling after conquering the Yetzer Hara to look at something better not seen. These good feelings motivate us to repeat good actions. We should leverage post-sin disappointment to discourage further sin.  

Rejecting Titus

As Onkelos contemplated joining the Jewish people, the Gemara (Gittin 56b) recounts that he decided to consult his mother’s brother Titus (William Davidson edition of the Talmud):

Onkelos bar Kalonikos, the son of Titus’s sister, wanted to convert to Judaism. He went and raised Titus from the grave through necromancy and said to him: Who is most important in that world where you are now? Titus said to him: The Jewish people. Onkelos asked him: Should I then attach myself to them here in this world? Titus said to him: Their commandments are numerous, and you will not fulfill them.

Sefer Devarim's insistence that Torah and Teshuvah are very close to us to do firmly rebuts Titus’ claim. Onkelos rejected Titus's advice since he witnessed Jews happily and steadfastly observing the Torah even in the darkest times. He saw that his uncle was wrong! It is very much possible to keep Hashem’s Torah! Onkelos realized the truth of Moshe Rabbeinu’s exhortation in Parashat Nitzavim that the Torah is not in the heavens; it is not on the other side of the sea; rather, it is very much close and within reach.  

The Torah’s insistence that “it is very close for us to do” also exhorts Poskim to render decisions that make the Torah doable. For instance, the back cover of Rav Ari Marcus' magnificent compendium, “Halacha 24/7/12,” states that this book “conveys a crucial underlying message: You can keep Halachah!” Likewise, Rav Ovadia Yosef and his sons have also magnificently succeeded in forging a practical Halachic path that makes Torah doable for Jews of all knowledge levels and backgrounds.  

A Specific Example - Haddassim Meshulashim

The Torah must be possible to implement.  Therefore, if an interpretation of the Tanach or Gemara makes a Halacha nearly impossible to implement in practice, Chazal consider the possibility that the analysis is incorrect.  Indeed, the Gemara (Sukkah 32b) cites Rava’s criticizing a stringent ruling that Rabi Tarfon issued regarding Hadassim Meshulashim (that a Hadas’ three leaves should emerge from the same level). Rava says Rabi Tarfon’s approach makes it nearly impossible to fulfill the Mitzvah of Hadassim. 

Rav Shmuel Graineman cites the Chazon Ish’s practical standard to determine Haddassim Meshulashim (Chiddushim U’biurim Sukkah number 5).  He considers a Hadas as Meshulash if the bases of the three leaves meet at some line, even if there are slight differences between the levels of bases. Adopting a stricter standard (as standard Halachah) of the bases being perfectly aligned makes supplying millions of Jews with kosher Haddassim impossible. Moreover, it contradicts Sefer Devarim’s description of the Torah as “very close to do.”  

The Tanya:  The Long and Short Road 

Interestingly, the Tanya (on his cover page) states (translation from www.chabad.org) 

"[This book is] based on the verse, 'For [the Torah and its precepts] is something that is very close to you, in your mouth, in your heart, that you may do it'-- to explain, with the help of G-d, how it is indeed exceedingly close, in a long and short way."

The Tanya refers to a fascinating episode recorded in Eruvin 53b regarding the great Rabi Yehoshua:

One time I was walking along the path, and I saw a young boy sitting at the crossroads. And I said to him: On which path shall we walk to get to the city? He said to me: This path is short and long, and that path is long and short. So I walked on the path that was short and long. When I approached the city, I found that gardens and orchards surrounded it, and I could not get to the town. So I went back and met the young boy again and said to him: My son, didn’t you tell me that this way is short? He told me: And didn’t I tell you that it is also long? So I kissed him on his head and said to him: Happy are you, O Israel, for you are all exceedingly wise, from your old to your young (slightly modified translation from the William Davidson edition of the Talmud).

While challenging and in some ways long (in the short term), it remains (in the long run) the short road, “very close for us to do.”

Conclusion – The Choice We All Face

Titus and those who echo his false claim are dead wrong. These misguided people are choosing the short road leading to oblivion. Observing the Halachah is a happy task and is very much doable, facilitating a life of happiness and fulfillment.  

Everyone has the choice of taking the short and long road or the short and long road. There is, sadly, no shortage of negative role models (even family members) like Titus, who prefer the illusionary short path. Our decision is whether to follow the minority who make the better choice to take the long and short way.  

There will always be a large group of naysayers like the Meraglim who entice others with their deleterious dirge that “we are incapable of finding our place in the holy land.”  However, their path, like the Meraglim, leads to ruin. Our challenge is to follow the healthy route of Calev and Yehoshua, who internalize Moshe Rabbeinu’s heartening message that the Torah “is very close to us to do.” Long, but close. We can do it!