Hashem Is Always Close to Them

In a parsha that is full of “greatest hits,” Va’etchanan concludes with a series of passages that, between them, define much of Jewish belief and practice. Beginning with Shema and the following paragraph, and proceeding until the end of the parsha, the Ishbitzer Rebbe in Mei HaShiloach explains how Moshe Rabbeinu provided us with a formula for personal and communal growth through spirituality and morality. In Shema and Ve’ahavta,the Torah Jew learns to always center the awareness of Hashem in his actions and behavior – first by acknowledging (“Hear!”) that everything comes from Hashem, and then by choosing in his own life to make spirituality the priority and not to value material things of this world.

Once we have progressed and been conditioned by these fundamental states of awareness, we come to the next section (Devarim 6:10-19) which warns us about a time to come when, in spite of not making the material world our priority, we will still achieve great wealth and bounty. It is precisely in such a situation that people might be inclined to congratulate themselves for their success and to forget that they owe everything to Hashem. Moshe is reminding us, as Rabbi Yonatan taught in Pirkei Avot (4:9), that “whoever neglects the Torah due to his wealth will come to neglect it out of poverty.” Even those who have risen above physical temptation and who serve Hashem faithfully in wealth as in poverty might encounter moments of doubt when they are given to wonder whether events have come about truly for their benefit and whether Hashem is looking after them and will continue to bless and support them.

Moshe warns us not to act with defiance born of doubt, as we did too many times in the wilderness even as Hashem took care of all our physical needs for us. We must be good and pure and adhere to the ethical standards of Torah and not deviate from what is right and proper (Devarim 6:18), and then we can be assured that Hashem will be looking out for us and taking care of our needs. The Ishbitzer explains how each of these passages and principles follows from the previous one, and all must be integrated in us so that we can overcome and persevere in times of trial.

Following these five phases of personal spiritual development, the Torah tells us – as we recall at our Pesach Seder – that our children will ask us in the future to explain our devotion to the service of Hashem (ibid. 20-25). The Ishbitzer explains that our children will see our might and renown and all the success with which we’ve been blessed by Hashem, and they will wonder what we did to deserve all this. The Torah emphasizes that we must answer them that we were once slaves in Mitzrayim – and that all the material wealth and power are fleeting and ephemeral and that Hashem raised us up because of our faithfulness to Him. This is the only thing that is truly important and valuable to impart to our children on the topic of the “chosenness” of Israel. We must convey that we have a special bond with Hashem because we obey His will and that we must always remain humble, remembering where we came from and where we might also return if we don’t remain worthy of His blessings.

This point is made explicit in the concluding passages of the parsha, when our success and our inheritance of the land is juxtaposed with the nations who have been banished before us. We must always remember what makes us distinct from them and the merit in which we have been allowed to thrive when they withered and died off. Finally, in the closing verses of the maftir, Moshe exhorts us to “know that Hashem is G-d, faithful to keep His covenant and to show kindness to those who love Him and who obey His commandments for a thousand generations” (Devarim 7:9). Moshe elaborates that Hashem cares for those who love Him for a thousand generations just as He makes sure to eradicate those who hate and oppose Him. So, Moshe wants us to make sure we are on the side of those who love Hashem and honor His Torah.