Chasidic Insights

CHASIDIC INSIGHTS PARSHAS EIKEV 5763 BS"D

Ch. 7, v. 12: "V'hoyoh eikev tish'm'un …… ushmartem vaasi'sem osom" - Sometimes a person does an action and is not sure afterwards if it was indeed a mitzvoh or ch"v a sin. A way of discerning is if after it is completed and the pleasure of benefit has waned, that he is still happy. This is a sure sign that it was a mitzvoh, as when one sins his conscience gives him no respite. "V'hoyoh," if there is happiness, "eikev," at the end, you hear from this "tish'm'un," that you have done a mitzvoh, "ushmartem vaasi'sem osom." (Yeitev Lev of Sighet)

Ch. 7, v. 12,13: "V'hoyoh eikev tish'm'un, Vaa'heivcho uveirach'cho" - The heel, the low end aspect, of the reward for your hearkening to Hashem's word, is "vaa'heivcho uveirach'cho." These are rewards in this ephemeral world. The main reward is in the world to come. (Kedushas Levi)

Ch. 7, v. 26: "V'lo sovi so'eivoh el bei'secho" - King Shlomo says, "Toavas Hashem kol g'vah leiv," - one who is haughty is an abomination to Hashem. It therefore follows that if a person allows this terrible characteristic trait to find an abode within him, he has transgressed "V'lo sovi so'eivoh el bei'secho." (Kedushas Levi)

Ch. 9, v. 10: "B'yom hakohol" - What a diminutive name for the day of the receiving of the Torah, "on the day of the assemblage"! Moshe expressed it thusly to minimize his greatness, as he was the agent for the Torah being transferred from the upper spheres to the bnei Yisroel on earth. The more he would have enhanced the description of the day the more he would have aggrandized himself. (Haksav V'hakaboloh)

Ch. 10, v. 1: "Psol l'cho shnei luchos" - The primary and hardest aspect of serving Hashem properly is by totally devoting all endeavours for the sake of Hashem. This is exceedingly difficult because there is the human factor, our personal pursuits and pleasures, which can easily be involved in our performance of mitzvos. These words of our verse exhort us to first negate, "psol," our personal motivations, "l'cho." Then we can go on to Torah and mitzvoh pursuits, "shnei luchos," which encompass the 613 mitzvos. If however, we give a priority to our personal motivations, if "l'cho" comes first, then "l'cho fesel" (Dvorim 5:8), your interests are equated to an idol form. (Rabbi Yisroel of Rizhin)

Ch. 10, v. 16: "Umaltem es orlas l'vavchem" - In general, one should not cry on Shabbos, as it is a day of "oneg," pleasure. However, if one cries in the process of repentance, it is fine to cry, because the process of teshuvoh is a fulfillment of "umaltem es orlas l'vavchem," and "miloh" pushes aside Shabbos. (Chidushei HoRi"m)

Ch. 10, v. 20: "ES Hashem Elokecho tiro" - The gemara P'sochim 22b says that the word ES in this verse teaches us that fearing Torah scholars is included in this command. It is most appropriate to fear a Torah scholar lest one be punished through him, as the mishneh in Pirkei Ovos 2:15 says, "Ve'he'vei zohir b'gachalton shelo siko'veh, shenshichoson n'shichas shu'ol." (Ponim Yofos)

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