Weekly Dvar Torah: Hashem, The Torah, Moshe, The Rebbe, and the Love for the Jewish People

Dovi, a dear friend of mine, a Shliach in faraway Asia, told me the following story:

As in all corners of the world, my Chabad House serves as a meeting point for the hundreds of trekkers, mostly Israeli former members of the IDF who take time off to see the world and to ‘find themselves.’

The Chabad House, a warm corner full of love, is always welcoming, 24/7, with coffee and snacks and a place to hang out, and of course, there’s always free Wi-Fi.

As a Shliach I use this opportunity to offer them a chance to put on Tefillin, and to encourage the girls to light Shabbos candles, and I invite them to join us for Shabbos and the Shabbos meals.

Many agree, as they cherish the opportunity to don Tefillin, and to enjoy a warm inspiring Shabbos. As a result, many warm up to Judaism when they return back home to Israel.

One individual, let’s call him Ohad, would come everyday to hang out, but unlike most others, he never agreed to put on Tefillin. No matter how many times I offered him the chance while others were donning Tefillin, he adamantly refused to participate.

It happened one evening that Ohad came as usual, and he was the only one there. I took this opportunity to have a heart to heart talk with him, and ask him why he is so against putting on Tefillin. My point was, since you are here with nothing else taking up your time, why wouldn’t you take a minute just to do it even once?

Ohad responded sharply, “You think I’m an ignoramus; I know all about this, I studied in a top Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, I know it all, it’s all a bunch of nonsense. It’s all politics and money.”

Since he was a former Yeshiva student, with nothing to lose, I asked him if he likes to learn?

His eyes lit up as he said, “sure I love to learn.” I then suggested that we sit down to study some Torah, to which he enthusiastically responded in the affirmative.

I pulled out a Likkutei Sichos vol. 34, p. 217, a Sicha on the Parsha Vezos Habracha. And we started learning.

In the Sicha the Rebbe explains the last Rashi on the last words of the Torah, לעיני כל ישראל (in front of the eyes of all the Jews), and Rashi says that what did Moshe do in front of the Jews? He broke the Luchos, and Hashem thanked him for it.

The Rebbe asks, the last few Pesukim just eulogized Moshe so beautifully, how is it that Rashi ends off with such a negative event about the breaking of the Luchos?

In short, the Rebbe explains, that breaking the Luchos was the most important positive thing Moshe ever did, and this supersedes even the exodus, the splitting of the sea, feeding of the Manna, and leading the Jews through the desert, and even the giving of the Torah itself.

When Moshe came down from the mountain with the Luchos and he was met by the scenes of Idol worship by the Jews, who had seen G-d with their own eyes only 40 days ago, he was faced with the dilemma of his life.

All that had happened and all the miracles, were for one goal only, so that the Jews accept the Torah. And it didn’t take long, and already they rejected it. G-d is so angry that he wants to wipe them off the face of the earth. What should I do, do I stick up for G-d and His Torah, or do I opt to save the Jews?

Moshe decided to choose the Jews, and therefore he broke the Luchos. The Luchos which was the document which forbade idol worship. By breaking the Luchos Moshe argued before G-d, that there is no contract. And G-d responded by saying, “Thank you Moshe for breaking the Luchos and saving My children.”

This demonstrated Moshe’s love for the Jews, that he gave up his whole existence, which was to be the teacher of Torah, as he is called Moshe Rabbeinu, our teacher of Torah, and about whom it is said “Toras Moshe” that the Torah is called on his name, yet, he chose the rebellious Jews instead.

I strongly urge each and everyone to read this Sicha in its entirety, it will make your Simchas Torah.

Incidentally, when the Rebbe said this Sicha he spoke with such passion about the love for Jews, expressing that this is the highest compliment Torah gives to Moshe and to the Jewish people. The Rebbe was visibly emotional and overcome with love for the Jewish people.

When they finished, Ohad asked Dovi, “are there any more Sichos like this?” And he stayed on for several hours to learn many more Sichos of the Rebbe.

Ohad took this all in, and he turned to Dovi, and said; “Dovi, this is not the Judaism that I abandoned and ran away from, for this Judaism I’ll be here tomorrow morning to put on Tefillin!

One Sicha of our Rebbe, changed a man’s perspective, because in addition to the academic part of the Sicha, he felt the love of G-d, the Torah, Moshe and the Rebbe, come right at him, and hence his decision to lay Tefillin.

When we dance on Simchas Torah, and we rejoice with the Torah, we have every reason to celebrate and be joyous, we have been blessed by the Rebbe who gave us so much to learn and warm up to Torah and G-d, let’s all joyously resolve to learn more and more, and we will all benefit from the beauty of G-d, Torah and the Rebbe’s teachings the entire year.

After all, Simchas Torah in the Chabad teachings, is the Rebbe’s day.

Have a Joyous Torah inspired Shabbos and Yomtov,
Gut Shabbos, Gut Yomtov

Rabbi Yosef Katzman