לע"נ ר' אהרן בן ר' יעקב שכנא
לע"נ ר' יואל בן ר' פינחס הלוי
לזכות ידיד נפשי הרב גיל אמיר בן פנינה שימחי לברכה והצלחה בכל מעשי ידיו יחד עם כל ב"ב היקרים!!
לזכות ידיד נפשי הרב הגאון ר' אליעזר זאב בן דבורה רייניץ שליט"א לברכה והצלחה בכל מעשי ידיו יחד עם כל ב"ב היקרים!!
The pasuk says [Vayikra 26-3]:
"אם בחקתי תלכו ואת מצותי תשמרו ועשיתם אותם"
"If you walk in my ordinances and keep my commandments and fulfill them."
Rashi explains:
אם בחקתי תלכו – יכול זה קיום המצות, כשהוא אומר: תשמרו ועשיתם את כל המצות הרי קיום המצות אמור, הא מה אני מקיים אם בחקותי תלכו, שיהו עמלים בתורה.
אם בחקתי תלכו IF YOU WALK IN MY ORDINANCES – One might think that this denotes the fulfillment of the commandments; but when Scripture states "and you shall keep My commandments and do them", in this passage there already is mentioned the "fulfillment of the commands". How then must I explain אם בחקתי תלכו? As an admonition that you should study the Torah laboriously (Sifra, Bechukosai, Section 1 1-2).
The commentaries [see for example the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh] expended a GREAT DEAL of effort trying to explain how the simple meaning of the pasuk can be talking about toiling in Torah. מהיכי תיתי - how in any way, do the words "אם בחקתי תלכו" denote toiling in Torah? We will offer an original explanation בס"ד.
In this pasuk the word "חקים" cannot mean mitzvos for which we don't know the reason [as the word "חוק" usually means] because that is already included in the words "ואת מצוותי תשמרו" [see the Malbim on the Toras Koahnim on this pasuk], so instead we can explain the word "בחקתי" as referring to the חוקים that are the established laws. [The word חוק is related to the word "לחקוק" which means to engrave]. We see this meaning in many psukim. A sample?
"חק נתן ולא יעבור" [תהילים קמ"ח ו']
"חק עולם לדרתיכם" [ויקרא ו' י"א]
"והכהן המשיח וכו' חק עולם לה'" [שם ט"ו]
"האותי לא תיראו וכו' אשר שמתי חול גבול לים חק עולם ולא יעברנו" [ירמיהו ה' כ"ב]
And numerous more.
The Malbim [אילת השחר אות תקי"ג ובפ' קדושים אות מ"ז] explains that the word חוקים can refer to the laws of nature which are the חוקים שחקקתי בעולמי - laws that I enacted in my world [the language of the Yerushalmi Kilayim 1-7] and that is the meaning here. So אם בחקתי תלכו means if you go in the ways of the rule that govern the world [as we will explain]. Indeed, in Chazal ['ויק"ר כאן פל"ה ד] it says on this pasuk:
"אם בחקתי תלכו - חוקים שבהם חקקתי את השמים ואת הארץ וכו'" עיי"ש .
"Laws with which I enacted for the heavens and earth". But there the implication is that it is referring to the laws of the TORAH that establish reality. According to our approach it is referring the laws of NATURE.
The explanation of this idea of the laws of nature that was said here to the Jewish people, is that they have the option of following them and receiving great blessing and have the option of not following them and receiving the opposite: This appears to be referring to the middos and כחות טבעיים [natural qualities and characteristics] that every person is endowed with at birth that we must fix and elevate them to the point where we have pure middos tovos. The pasuk in Mishlei says:
"החזק במוסר אל תרף נצרה כי היא חייך" [ד' י"ג]
"Hold on to mussar don't let up, guard it, because it is your life".
Explains the Gra in his famous words:
"כי מה שהאדם חי היא כדי לשבור המדה שלא שבר עד הנה, ולכן צריך תמיד להתחזק, ואם לא יתחזק למה לו חיים".
"A person lives in order to fix a faulty character trait that he has yet to fix. Therefore, he must constantly strengthen himself and if he doesn't, then for what is he living??!" [!!]
See also what the Gra writes regarding middos that are natural and middos that not:
"כי כל זמן שאין המדות בשלמות, אפילו אלו שיש לו אינן על נכון, כי המדות דומות לחוט של מרגליות, אם עושין קשר בסוף כולן נשמרות, ואם לאו כולן אבודת". [פ"ה כ"ו]
"As long as one's character is not perfected, even his positive qualities are lacking, because middos are like a string of pearls. If one makes a knot at the end they are all preserved, but if not, they are all lost."
See there where the Gra writes that there are middos that are natural and and those that are learned and become second nature [nature and nurture]. He talks ['פ"ו כ"ז-כ"ח ובפי"ט ב] about transforming good middos to being part of one's nature.
It emerges that a person has many natural qualities that are not necessarily positive. And even his positive qualities are lacking if he doesn't fix his negative ones [which will in turn impact his positive qualities and possibly make them worse - see the preface to the Orchos Tzadikim]. The only way to go is to fix his character and make goodness his second nature.
Based on the foregoing, that is what the pasuk means when it says "אם בחקתי תלכו" - the חק is his NATURE, his inborn character. This חק must be harnessed for Hashem - בחקתי תלכו, "go" with your natural character in ways that Hashem wants. The "חק" relates to Hashem ["בחקתי" - my חק] when it is a nature that is aligned with Hashem's will. So if בחקתי תלכו - you go with your nature as I [Hashem] command. And in addition "ואת מצוותי תשמרו" - you guard yourselves from transgressing the negative commandments. "ועשיתם אותם" - You keep the positive commandments. THAT is a shleimus - a complete, wholesome way of serving Hashem and thus you will be worthy of the blessings promised later in the parsha.
This will shed light on a מדרש explaining the pasuk אם בחקתי תלכו:
"חשבתי דרכי ואשיבה רגלי על עדותיך" - אמר דוד לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא, רבונו של עולם, בכל יום ויום הייתי מחשב ואומר למקום פלוני אני הולך, לבית דירה פלונית אני הולך, והיו רגלי מביאות אותי לבתי כנסיות ולבתי מדרשות, הדא הוא דכתיב ואשיבה רגלי אל עדותיך.
"I thought my ways and returned my legs to your testimonies" - Said Dovid to Hashem: Ribbono Shel Olam, every day I thought to go to a certain place and my legs brought me to the shuls and Batei Medrash. That is the meaning of the pasuk "I returned my legs to your testimonies".
What does this pasuk have to do with אם בחקתי תלכו? The answer is as we said: The pasuk is teaching us to make following the dictates Hashem our second nature. Dovid said - Even when I have plans to go elsewhere, my nature is so aligned with Your will that I end up in the shul or Beis Medrash!!
Our approach also fits beautifully with the teaching of Rav Chaim Vital [שערי קדושה שער א' פ"ב] that good middos are the foundation upon which the Torah is based.
As he writes, middos tovos are -
"כסא ויסוד ושורש אל הנפש העליונה השכלית אשר בה תלויים תרי"ג מצוות התורה".
That is the order of the pasuk: First one's natural qualities are aligned with the will of Hashem and then "ואת מצוותי תשמרו ועשיתם אותם" - he keeps mitzvos.
How does that explain the Chazal that אם בחקתי תלכו refers to toiling in Torah?
STAY TUNED!!
[עפ"י תורת מו"ר הגאון הגדול ר' ד"י מן זצ"ל]
