A thought on Parshas Ki Savo
"...es divrei haTorah...asher tavo el ha'aretz...""...write the words of this Torah...in order that you go into the Land..." (26:3)
There is a precise order to the contents we include in Birchas HaMazon, the giving of praise and thanks which we say following a formal meal. In Shulchan Aruch (187:3) where some of those laws are presented, we find a flurry of debate with regard to the importance of including mention of Torah in the second blessing of that bentching. The second bracha (the one that ends with "al ha"aretz v'al ha'mazon") is known as the Blessing Over the Land and focuses on HaShem's gift of Eretz Yisroel to His people. What if one omitted mention of Torah in that blessing? Why would he (or even she) have to consider repeating the entire section?
This is an issue of great debate among the commentaries, both early (Rishonim) and more recent (Acharonim). Some even assert that it is a Torah obligation to make mention of the Torah there! The sources cite the writings of the great Spanish rishon known as the Rashba (Rabbeinu Shlomo ben Aderet) and whether he meant that the obligation of bentching is a Torah requirement but that the reference to Torah is a Rabbinic inclusion, or whether he even meant that the actual mention of Torah within this specific blessing is a Torah requirement. There is great debate which I will leave to you to explore.
What I have to offer in better understanding the nature of this requirement of mentioning Torah within the Blessing Over the Land is a point made by Rabbeinu Bachya on our verse:
He understands the connection between writing the Torah (the verse's beginning) and entering Israel is that honoring the Torah before entering the Land serves as a means of signifying that we fully recognize that the only reason that we merit possession of Israel is because we observe the Torah.
When the verse says that we write the Torah "...in order that you go into the Land...", it means that Torah gives us the ability to enter the land, to rule the land and to retain the land. Without Torah, Eretz Yisroel will not be completely and entirely ours.
Rabbeinu Bachya adds that "this is the reason that our sages established mention of Torah within the Blessing Over the Land." In bentching, when we get to the second blessing and say the words "v'al Toras'cha sh'limad'tanu" ("and for the Torah which You taught us"), we allude to the connection between having Torah and getting to have Israel.
It seems clear from Rabbeinu Bachya that referencing Torah within this blessing is a Rabbinic requirement rather than a Torah obligation. It seems worthy to add that Rabbeinu Bachya was a cherished disciple of none other than the Rashba. This may help us better understand the view of the Rashba with regard to this law of bentching: whereas the requirement of mentioning Torah there is itself a Rabbinic one, the concept that being blessed with the gift of Israel hinges on our observing Torah is most definitely a Torah concept, as we see from the wording of our verse.
This may help put some of the halachic conflicts to rest.
Now, if we can just find a way to put the conflicts in, and over, Israel to rest.....through Torah.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
There is a precise order to the contents we include in Birchas HaMazon, the giving of praise and thanks which we say following a formal meal. In Shulchan Aruch (187:3) where some of those laws are presented, we find a flurry of debate with regard to the importance of including mention of Torah in the second blessing of that bentching. The second bracha (the one that ends with "al ha"aretz v'al ha'mazon") is known as the Blessing Over the Land and focuses on HaShem's gift of Eretz Yisroel to His people. What if one omitted mention of Torah in that blessing? Why would he (or even she) have to consider repeating the entire section?
This is an issue of great debate among the commentaries, both early (Rishonim) and more recent (Acharonim). Some even assert that it is a Torah obligation to make mention of the Torah there! The sources cite the writings of the great Spanish rishon known as the Rashba (Rabbeinu Shlomo ben Aderet) and whether he meant that the obligation of bentching is a Torah requirement but that the reference to Torah is a Rabbinic inclusion, or whether he even meant that the actual mention of Torah within this specific blessing is a Torah requirement. There is great debate which I will leave to you to explore.
What I have to offer in better understanding the nature of this requirement of mentioning Torah within the Blessing Over the Land is a point made by Rabbeinu Bachya on our verse:
He understands the connection between writing the Torah (the verse's beginning) and entering Israel is that honoring the Torah before entering the Land serves as a means of signifying that we fully recognize that the only reason that we merit possession of Israel is because we observe the Torah.
When the verse says that we write the Torah "...in order that you go into the Land...", it means that Torah gives us the ability to enter the land, to rule the land and to retain the land. Without Torah, Eretz Yisroel will not be completely and entirely ours.
Rabbeinu Bachya adds that "this is the reason that our sages established mention of Torah within the Blessing Over the Land." In bentching, when we get to the second blessing and say the words "v'al Toras'cha sh'limad'tanu" ("and for the Torah which You taught us"), we allude to the connection between having Torah and getting to have Israel.
It seems clear from Rabbeinu Bachya that referencing Torah within this blessing is a Rabbinic requirement rather than a Torah obligation. It seems worthy to add that Rabbeinu Bachya was a cherished disciple of none other than the Rashba. This may help us better understand the view of the Rashba with regard to this law of bentching: whereas the requirement of mentioning Torah there is itself a Rabbinic one, the concept that being blessed with the gift of Israel hinges on our observing Torah is most definitely a Torah concept, as we see from the wording of our verse.
This may help put some of the halachic conflicts to rest.
Now, if we can just find a way to put the conflicts in, and over, Israel to rest.....through Torah.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 10:24 PM
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