The Torah tells us that the reason the Jewish people will suffer the terrible curses:
lo avaddeta et Hashem Elochecha be’simcha ubetuv levav merav kol
You did not serve Hashem your God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart when you had an abundance of everything (28:47)
To understand the meaning of this verse, we must understand the Torah perspective of the deep concepts hidden behind the seemingly simple words - simcha and kol – both of which are fundamental to Jewish life.
The first of several times we find these concepts linked together is at the end of the section that deals with the laws of Bikkurim - the dedication of our first fruits to Hashem. Before laying down the basket of fruit before Hashem, one is required to retell the story of the bitter enslavement of Egypt. Only after this is done, the Torah tells us:
Ve’samachta bekol hatov asher natan lecha Hashem Elokecha
Rejoice with all the good that Hashem, your God, has granted you (26:10).
There are several questions that we might ask in trying to understand this custom. Firstly, why is it necessary to recount the bitter details of our past before dedicating the fruits of Israel to Hashem? And, why do we mention these dreadful details at all if we are recounting all the good that Hashem has granted us?
Additionally, it would seem that if Hashem gave us these fruits, He would want us to eat them and enjoy them; why do we give back the fruits as a way to thank Him for them?
Human nature is such that we only realize what we have to be thankful for when those things are lost or taken from us. Therefore, it is only in giving away a portion of the fruits that the Jewish people suddenly realize how lucky they are to have them at all.
In this vein we can understand why the Jewish people have to recount their traumatic past at this time - the Jewish people only appreciate the freedom and pleasures of living in the land of Israel after recalling the bitterness and the hardships they faced in Egypt. This is alluded to also in the verse from the parsha:
God has not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, until this very day (Devarim 29:3)
As Rashi explains, it was only on this very day - as the Jews entered the land of Israel -that they finally recognized the kindness Hashem had shown them over the last 40 years.
As Rav Dovid Tzvi Hoffman notes, so many of us ask for miracles to inspire us and reveal God’s presence in the world we live in - but in reality the inspiration from such miraculous signs and wonders is only temporary. The Jewish people saw unbelievable sights when they left Egypt and even heard the voice of Hashem at Har Sinai; and yet, they continued to sin throughout the dessert travels.
When they entered Israel they suddenly had to search to try to see, hear, and feel Hashem in their lives. It was on this very day that the Jewish people finally understood what it meant to be the Jewish people – to struggle to feel Hashem in their lives. It was now that they realized the struggle is what makes the relationship feel real, feel stronger, and more constant.
It was only now that they could appreciate the joy of the journey- appreciating not only what they had in the present, but their entire experience of the past. This is what it means to truly rejoice bekol – in everything.
This is also the way we understand a verse that is quoted at this time of the year tells us: ashrei haam yodeah teruah – happy is the People that know the teruah (Ps. 89:16). What does it mean to know the teruah, and how does this knowledge bring the Jewish people happiness?
The word teruah has two definitions: The first comes from the root roah, means brokenness. The verse, therefore, is telling us that the Jewish people find happiness in knowing that the moments of brokenness are ultimately for our good and for our growth. We understand that the moments of pain are only temporary – they only bring us to moments of greater strength and harmony.
As Mrs. Shira Smiles notes, the second definition of the word stems from the word reut, companionship. It is through the broken moments that we feel distanced and even abandoned by Hashem, that we are then forced to seek Him out – and when we do, we find true and lasting companionship with Hashem.
When our faith in Hashem is dependent on grand miracles and inspiring revelations, our moments of closeness to Hashem are passing, our moments of clarity and bliss are fleeting. When we live in constant search of Gd in our lives, there are sure to be moments of struggle and even pain – but these will be only temporary - while the connection we create with Hashem will be everlasting. When we can see the moments of hardship, toil, and pain as part of our lifelong struggle to see, hear, and feel God in our lives, then even in harder moments we are able to thank Hashem for what we have, always trust that we will be stronger because of it all.
May we all rejoice in all that was and all that is, and let us this bring a year of searching, finding, and letting God into our lives - and may this lead ys to true and eternal simcha! Shabbat Shalom, Taly
