Netzavim- Vayailech 1

The Torah is Right Here:

Hashem explains in a few pasukim 30:11-14 that the Torah is not something hidden, it is not far away, rather it is right here. Many people after hearing a halacha will say "Oh, that halacha is not for me it is for the fanatics. This cannot be any farther from the truth. Hashem created us with many challenges to face, but each one is made possible that we can pass it, otherwise He would not give it to us. So this Rosh Hashana we need to try to remember that there is nothing to hard in Torah for us to do because it is right here for us to follow.

End of Days or That Day:

There is a lot of repetition throughout the Parsha of Vayailech. First it says in 31:9 " Moshe wrote the Torah and gave it to the Kohanim, the sons of Levi, the bearers of the Ark of the covenant of Hashem, and to all the elders of Israel." Then it says 31:24-26 "So it was when Moshe finished writing the words of the Torah onto the book... commanded the Levites, the bearers of the Ark of the Covenant of Hashem saying, 'Take this book of the Torah..." It said 31:15-16 "Hashem said to Moshe, '... this people will rise up and stray after the gods of strangers of the Land... and it will forsake Me and annul My covenant that I have sealed with it." Then later it says 31:27,29 "For I know your rebelliousness and your stiff neck, behold, while I am still alive with you today, you have been rebels against Hashem, surely after my death... For I know that after my death you will surely actcorruptly, and you will stray from the path that I have commanded you..." But then something very interesting happens. Hashem told Moshe 31:17-18 "... I will conceal my face from them and they will become prey and many evils and distresses will encounter it... But I will surely have concealed My face on that day because of all of the evil that it did, for it has turned to other gods. Now when Moshe tells this over to them he says it very differently. He says 31:29 "For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly, and you will stray from the path that I have commanded you, and evil will befall you at the end of days..." At the end of days? When did Hashem ever say this? Hashem said 31:18 "But I will surely have concealed My face on that day because of all of the evil that it did" Chazal explain that "that day" means Rosh Hashana. We know that on Rosh Hashana Hashem decides all of the things that will happen for then entire year. Rosh Hashana is the most important day of the year. In just 48 hours (there is a machloket in the gemara if Rosh Hashana is 2 days or 1 long day) every single event that will happen to us for about 385 days (next year is a leap year so the normal 355 plus 30 for the first adar, I am a math major I should know these things...) is being decided. Lets go back to Moshe's statement. He said that the Jews would continue to sin, but they will not be punished until the end of days. This is different than how it was during his lifetime. While Moshe was alive every time someone sinned he was immediately punished. For now on, Hashem would wait out punishment until the end of days. Why did Hashem decide to do this? The reason is because during Moshe's time Hashem was revealed openly to the world. Therefore, if you sinned you knew that you where doing something wrong. But nowadays when Hashem is hidden in the world as the pasuk says " 31:17 " I will conceal my face to them..." So now that He is hidden when we sin we are not sinning purposefully in from of Hashem. So that is why Hashem will wait out his judgement until later. Many people think that Hashem concealed His face out of anger. But the pasuk can be read differently. Hashem will hide His face because of our sins. Since He knew we would sin He first hid his face. Now that His face is hidden, if we sin we are not as bad as when He was revealed. Now that Hashem did that He has the ability to let us do teshuva. Now pasuk 18 says that Hashem will conceal His face on Rosh Hashana. But that is the day of teshuva, why is He picking that day to conceal Himself? The reason is just that because it is only through His concealing that we even have the right to do teshuva. There is only one problem. If Hashem is constantly hidden then how can He change things in the world? Well there are two ways, 1) do any changes in a hidden way or 2) wait until the day that we have all done teshuva and reveal Himself, then He will be able to do open miracles. So on Rosh Hashana when we all do teshuva Hashem decides everything that will happen to us. But some of the punishments cannot be done to the person in this world, they must wait until when the person is dead. So even though the person's fate is decided on Rosh Hashana Hashem will wait until the person dies (giving him more time to do teshuva) to give him his final punishment. So that is what these pasukim mean. Hashem will conceal Himself because of the evil on Rosh Hashana but He will not cause evil until the end of days (for the person).

I would like to ask all of you to please accept my deepest apologies for anything I may have do to you this year, I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me. May you have a Chativa V'Chatima Tova! Have a great Shabbat!