Tochacha and Looking Inward
Adapted from Rabbi Braun’s sermon in 5766
There was pre-disengagement discussion and battles, now there post disengagement discussion and battles. These discussions took place on the military and religious levels. Politicians and Rabbis and everyone in between had an opinion as to what the best option was for the country and its people.
I do not mean to minimize the importance of these discussions and issues. They are important and lives were and continue to be at stake each and every day in the region. So these are discussions that needed to be had and decisions that needed to be made one way or the other.
What is however somewhat bothersome and striking is the issue that was not raised, at least in the religious circles. Even in those circles the discussions revolved around halachik issues: can you give up land for peace, how do you value and vs. human life; who has the right to make these decisions, what is the governments role etc.
The issue not raised or hinted to is the one jumping off of the page in this morning’s Torah reading.
This morning we read the tochacha, the second of the rebuke sections contained in the Torah. The first we read in Parshat Bechukotai, at the end of Sefer Vayikra.
Each contains the same basic message to the people:
דברים פרק כח
(א) והיה אם שמוע תשמע בקול יקוק אלהיך לשמר לעשות את כל מצותיו אשר אנכי מצוך היום ונתנך יקוק אלהיך עליון על כל גויי הארץ:
(טו) והיה אם לא תשמע בקול יקוק אלהיך לשמר לעשות את כל מצותיו וחקתיו אשר אנכי מצוך היום ובאו עליך כל הקללות האלה והשיגוך:
If you listen to God and observe the commandments then great, if not then not so great!
Prominent among the blessings and the curses is our national attachment to Eretz Yisrael! Our conduct will ultimately determine our connection to the land.
All of the discussions that I alluded to earlier are questions of how to deal with an external enemy, another people. While we must ask and answer those questions we must never forget to look internally, and ask ourselves those questions as well.
The difficulty for most of us in asking the internal question is that we read the Tochacha as interesting and theoretical but not particularly relevant for us. That was not always the case.
Throughout our storied and often difficult history many sages and commentators have attempted to identify the time period in which they lived and the sufferings that they were absorbing as a realization of the tochacha. I have heard a rather convincing attempt to read the Holocaust sufferings into our tochacha in chapter 28.
Abarbanel, who lived through the expulsion from Spain in 1492 believed that he was living through God’s promise of punishment as recorded in the Torah.
The two events that are most often linked and associated with these rebuke sections are the destruction of the first and second temples.
Ramban, Nachmonides, argues that the 2 rebuke sections refer to and found fulfillment in the 1st and 2nd temple periods. The Tochacha in Vayikra refers to the destruction of the first temple and the Tochacha that we read this morning refers to the destruction of the second temple.
Without reading through all of the psukim let me just share with you 2 of the Ramban’s proofs.
- In the Section that we read this morning there is no reference to the sin of Avoda Zara, or idolatry, nor is there a mention of the Mikdash, or temple. The Ramban explains that this is because the second temple was not destroyed because of idolatry, rather due to the sin of sinat chinam, unwarranted hatred, and there was no mention of the mikdash because the second temple was lacking many of the miracles and other items that the first temple had.
- Secondly, he argues, that in Bechukotai there is no mention of an ultimate Kibbutz galuyot, an in gathering of all the exiled Jews. That says the Ramban is because not all of the Jews came back from Bavel during the second temple period.
Abarbanel argues and says no! There was only one true churban or destruction and that was the destruction of the first temple. After that it has simply been one long period of exile which will continue until the final temple is built. Therefore he argues that each of our tochachot, both here and in Vayikra refer to the first temple period.
Just as interesting as the textual debate, however, is the ramifications of that debate for the second temple period. Do we consider that to have been a Geulah, or redemption or not?
According to the Ramban we do. The first temple was destroyed, we were exiled, there was a redemption and a second temple and then a second churban and exile.
According to Abarbanel, the second temple was a blip on the screen of Jewish history but that return to Israel and rebuilding of the temple is not to be considered a geulah or a redemption.
What are they arguing about?
They are arguing about the status of a partial redemption.
- Jews came back to the land, but not all Jews came back.
- We had a temple on the mount but it was not as miraculous as the first.
- We returned to the land but did so only with the permission of a foreign power
Is that redemption or not? That is a very good question! Ramban says yes, even a partial redemption is a redemption, albeit a failed one.
Abarbanel says no, a failed redemption is not redemption, it is a missed opportunity!
Now look at our situation today.
-We are in Israel and have a government in place, but not all of the Jews are there yet, some are still in Long Branch NJ.
-we don’t have a temple but we do have many yeshivot and shuls.
-We are here but partially due to Balfour and the UN.
Is this redemption? That is a very good question. Do we say Reishit tzemichat geulateinu, this is the beginning of our redemption, in the prayer for Israel. We do and we hope so.
Most importantly, we must remember the lesson of Abarbanel, each Geulah can fail. This is a historic opportunity and to achieve a full and lasting geulah, we look to the lessons of this morning’s parsha-
We must look inwardly, at our own national conduct and not only deal with the externals.
Because if we do not look inwardly and fail to heed the lessons of the Tochacha, if we fail to learn the lessons of Jewish history, we will be doomed to repeating them!
