A thought on Parshas Ekev
"...u'Bo tidbak...""...and unto Him shall you cling..." (10:20)
The commandment to "cling" or cleave to HaShem has posed theological difficulties for scholars throughout the ages. Given that HaShem is beyond and apart from all things material and corporeal, the concept of somehow holding on to Him presents an impossibility both in theory and in practice.
Our sages have explained that this means "clinging" to Torah scholars. In that they represent the word of HaShem, forming an attachment to a great rabbi is a symbolic means of being closely affiliated with HaShem ka'va'yachol.
The Ralbag offers a different approach, mindful of that Talmudic interpretation. Clinging to HaShem, he writes, which is known as deveikus, is the responsibility of every Jew, and each of us must find a means of doing that "k'fi koch'o" - according to his own abilities. When a person studies the Torah and its wisdom, this allows him to apprehend and draw close, spiritually and in the mind, to his or her sense of HaShem's closeness. It is a very private and subjective process.
A less complex person, or an unlearned person, will fulfill this commandment as our sages say, by associating with Torah scholars. That way, they will have a sense of what it is like to be close to HaShem, since they will have some feel for how the Divine Presence seems near to those who are immersed in Torah. However, the ideal fulfillment of this commandment, according to the Ralbag, is a person him or herself developing a personal closeness to HaShem. That entails Torah study and observance, and the best means of becoming a learned and observant Jew is through close contact with Torah scholars. That process of clinging to scholars becomes a stepping stone for one's richer, deeper and higher personal sense of attachment to the Divine.
It turns out that whereas many commentaries understand the Talmudic interpretation to mean that we fulfill the commandment by getting close to Torah scholars, the Ralbag holds that at best, closeness to Torah scholars is a hechsher mitzva, a catalyst for developing a personal intimacy with HaShem's ways. It is the intimacy, one's subjective sense of drawing close to HaShem, which fulfills the mitzvah. The Ralbag sees deveikus as a spiritual attainment, not as a cognitive-behavioral or psychosocial task.
Wishing you a fulfilling Shabbos. D Fox
The commandment to "cling" or cleave to HaShem has posed theological difficulties for scholars throughout the ages. Given that HaShem is beyond and apart from all things material and corporeal, the concept of somehow holding on to Him presents an impossibility both in theory and in practice.
Our sages have explained that this means "clinging" to Torah scholars. In that they represent the word of HaShem, forming an attachment to a great rabbi is a symbolic means of being closely affiliated with HaShem ka'va'yachol.
The Ralbag offers a different approach, mindful of that Talmudic interpretation. Clinging to HaShem, he writes, which is known as deveikus, is the responsibility of every Jew, and each of us must find a means of doing that "k'fi koch'o" - according to his own abilities. When a person studies the Torah and its wisdom, this allows him to apprehend and draw close, spiritually and in the mind, to his or her sense of HaShem's closeness. It is a very private and subjective process.
A less complex person, or an unlearned person, will fulfill this commandment as our sages say, by associating with Torah scholars. That way, they will have a sense of what it is like to be close to HaShem, since they will have some feel for how the Divine Presence seems near to those who are immersed in Torah. However, the ideal fulfillment of this commandment, according to the Ralbag, is a person him or herself developing a personal closeness to HaShem. That entails Torah study and observance, and the best means of becoming a learned and observant Jew is through close contact with Torah scholars. That process of clinging to scholars becomes a stepping stone for one's richer, deeper and higher personal sense of attachment to the Divine.
It turns out that whereas many commentaries understand the Talmudic interpretation to mean that we fulfill the commandment by getting close to Torah scholars, the Ralbag holds that at best, closeness to Torah scholars is a hechsher mitzva, a catalyst for developing a personal intimacy with HaShem's ways. It is the intimacy, one's subjective sense of drawing close to HaShem, which fulfills the mitzvah. The Ralbag sees deveikus as a spiritual attainment, not as a cognitive-behavioral or psychosocial task.
Wishing you a fulfilling Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 8:53 PM
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