Rabbi Wein ztz'l was renowned for his perspicacious comments on the State of the Jewish Nation and how important it is for us to learn the lessons of the past when boldly facing our future. The following post has been composed as a perspective on history in Rabbi Wein's honor, by Rabbi Steven Ettinger.
I am writing this piece three weeks after the funeral of our esteemed and beloved Mara d’Atra, Rabbi Wein. The day following this Shabbat we will be gathering to mark his sheloshim. I am limiting myself to just those two adjectives—esteemed and beloved—as there is a nearly endless fount of words and phrases that could be used to describe his accomplishments, abilities and impact. Like many of you, I attended eulogies, read articles about his life, listened to podcasts and viewed videos—entirely fitting insofar as these are all media that he mastered in order to communicate his teachings to millions.
So many others are better positioned to
appreciate his essence and have a more intimate awareness of it that I will not
even attempt to write anything about him. Instead, I will share a thought about
this parashah of which Rabbi Wein, as a man of history, would most likely have
been aware—and which I am sure he would certainly have appreciated.
It is perplexing that, after forty years in
the midbar and on the precipice of entering the Land of Israel, Am
Yisrael would be subjected to having to hear and accept such a litany of
horror. After all, their own parents were condemned to die as the result of a
single sin. One midrash describes how, each year on Tisha b’Av, the entire
nation dug graves and slept in them. Those who rose the next day knew they were
spared, at least for another year. Thus they truly understood the consequences
of failing to heed the word of God.
But the curses in our parashah were not
directed at that particular generation: they were projected out towards history,
and to a specific era of history.
This is the interpretation of a
particularly shocking interpretation revealed by the Vilna Gaon. He declares
that Sefer Devarim corresponds to the sixth millennium of world history. There
are ten parshiyot in Devarim and each corresponds to a particular
century (Nitzavim-Vayelech count as one). For example, Devarim
corresponds to the years 1240-1340 (5,000-5100), Va’etchanan to
1340-1440 (5100-5200), etc. The years 1840-1940 would equate to Ki Savo – years
filled with pogroms, the upheaval of World War I and the rise of Hitler and the
Holocaust.
Of course, the Holocaust continued for five
more years. These are alluded to in the parshiyot of Nitzavim-Vayelech
which is our present era 1940-2040:
וַיִּחַר־אַ֥ף ה בָּאָ֣רֶץ הַהִ֑וא לְהָבִ֤יא עָלֶ֙יהָ֙
אֶת־כׇּל־הַקְּלָלָ֔ה הַכְּתוּבָ֖ה בַּסֵּ֥פֶר הַזֶּֽה׃
וַיִּתְּשֵׁ֤ם ה מֵעַ֣ל אַדְמָתָ֔ם בְּאַ֥ף וּבְחֵמָ֖ה וּבְקֶ֣צֶף גָּד֑וֹל
וַיַּשְׁלִכֵ֛ם אֶל־אֶ֥רֶץ אַחֶ֖רֶת כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃
Hashem’s anger flared against the land to bring against it the entire
curse that is written in this book. And Hashem, removed them from their land
with anger and wrath and great fury and he cast them to another land, as this
very day.
It should be noted that the gematria
of בְּאַ֥ף וּבְחֵמָ֖ה וּבְקֶ֣צֶף גָּד֑וֹל
is the same as הפתרון הסופי, the final solution!
Our Torah is not a history book. Our Torah is history. While we have lost perhaps the greatest guide to viewing and appreciating Torah in this light, we can honor his legacy by continuing to appreciate how the knowledge of our Nation’s past enhances our learning and our perspective on Hashem’s plans for His world.
