 To All My Dear Friends and Family (FYI- NITZAVIM: 40 PESUKIM, 657 WORDS, 2575 LETTERs - VAYEILECH: 30 PESUKIM, 553 WORDS, 2123 LETTERS)
I write this Dvar Torah with a great deal of trepidation and awe. It is not a midrashic parable but down to earth, simple and pure p’shat.
“V’SHAV HASHEM ELOKECHA ET SH’VU’TECHA VE’RI’CHAMECHA…”[Then HaShem, your G-d, will bring back your captivity…] (30:3)
The Gemara Megilla (29a) comments, that a better word for bring back is “V’HEISHIV”. For “V’shav” as written, literally means that G-d will return with your captivity, implying, that HaShem, Himself, as it were, was in exile and will return from exile together with the Jewish people. From this, our Chazal derived that when Israel is dispersed, Shechinah Imahem, HaShem’s Presence goes with them.
Galut, or exile, has another connotation. In parshat Va’et’chanan (Devarim 4:42) the Torah discusses the laws of someone accidentally and unintentionally taking the life of another Jew, but with a clearly defined degree of carelessness. So the law is, that the perpetrator must flee into Galut, to one of the designated Cities of Refuge. He must remain there until the death of the current Kohen HaGadol. What is interesting is that the Torah states, “Then he shall flee to one of these cities and “VA’CHAI”- he shall live. Prompting the Gemara Makkot (10a) to comment that Bet Din must do everything within their power to make life comfortable and even enjoyable for him. To the extend that if the person likes a particular shiur then the Rebbe must go to the Arei Miklat to satisfy the Talmid. If he’s accustomed to having a patio, washing machine or whatever, we must try to accommodate him to the best of our ability. What the Gemara is saying is that Galut need not be so terrible.
As with the Galut of an individual so too with the Galut of our nation, our people of Israel. That is the meaning of SHECHINA IMAHEM; HaShem’s Presence is in our midst, to make life pleasant and comfortable for us in Galut. Historically, overall, Galut has not been so terrible for our people. True, there were times of great suffering, just read the Kinnot of Tisha B’av for this perspective. But for the most part, considering how many good and productive years we were in Bavel (Babylonia) before being exiled from there, or the hundreds of pleasant years in Spain before the expulsion. Even the hundreds of fruitful years our people spent in Germany before 1932 were so good that some Jews referred to Berlin as Jerusalem. And now, B”H, for the safe haven exile of the United States.
How long need the Rebbe stay in Galut with the Ro’tzei’ac (the murderer)? Until the death of the Kohen Gadol. What if the Ro’tze’ach opts to remain in Galut, he enjoys the lifestyle, and the atmosphere more than his hometown? HE IS ALLOWED TO REMAIN THERE, BUT BET DIN DOES NOT HAVE TO CONTINUE SUPPLYING HIS COMFORTS.
In 1948, when the doors to Eretz Yisrael opened and HaShem was telling us to leave the Galut and return home, most Jews preferred the comforts and lifestyle of Galut. CONSEQUENTLY, HOW MANY MORE YEARS CAN WE COUNT ON AND EXPECT THE SHECHINA TO REMAIN WITH OUR PEOPLE IN GALUT??
Shabbat Shalom ,U’Bevirkat Ketima Va’Chatima Tova from Yerushalayim Ir HaKodesh.
Rabbi Aharon and Libby Ziegler
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