Va'etchanan

Va’etchanan – Ilan Goldman

Ilan is the Rav Shaliach for Bnei Akiva, born and raised in Netanya, Israel. He studied for 7 years at Yeshivat Hesder Ma’alot where he received his smicha. Five years ago, he was asked to return to Yeshivat Ma’alot founding the overseas programme, which he has been heading ever since. 

"Ki my goy gadol asher lo elohim k'rovim eylav - For what great nation is there that has a God who is so close to it?" (Deuteronomy 4:7)

The Midrash (rabbinical parable) on this verse teaches a lesson by referring to a different verse from Psalms 20: "Ya'ancha hashem bayom tzara - Hashem will answer you on the day of grief". The Midrash gives an allegory of a woman giving birth and suffering from immense pain. In order to encourage her she is told that He who answered her mother as she was giving birth to you, will answer her too.

We would not normally refer to grief as the wonderful moment of giving birth, regardless of all the pain involved. And yet, the Midrash suggests that this is the message the verse is referring to. What was it in the words of the verse which suggests this? The Sfat Emet (a 19th century Chassidic rabbi) explains that the verse speaks of ‘a day of grief’. When the verses speak of trouble they often refer to them as night or as a time of darkness. Conversely, when the verses speak about the better days, they will refer to them as daytime, the time of light.

Such a usage of these terms can be found in Psalm 92, which we say every Shabbat, in the phrase "Le-hagiyd baboker chasdecha ve'emunatecha balayla - to relate your kindness in the morning and your faith in the nights". Here, we emphasise our praise of Hashem in the daytime. When all is going well for us we can easily recognise that Hashem is there in the background, looking over and taking care of us. However at night, in our difficult moments, we may struggle to see Hashem and wonder why He is seemingly not looking after us. Therefore at this time, it is our strong unquestionable emunah (belief) in Hashem which must be emphasised, regardless of all difficulties that can and have come upon our people.

In this vein, the fact that King David writes of a ‘day of grief’ about childbirth shows that the grief is ultimately something which is understandable, as the pain clearly leads to a good thing.

This message from the Midrash is the message of the vesre in Deuteronomy 4:7. Though it is expected that the Torah would refer to Hashem as being close to His people, there is something in the terminology of the verse which seems to contradict this message, prompting Chazal (the rabbinical commentators) to speak about the idea of grief during childbirth.

Hashem has many names. A name in Judaism is far beyond how we relate to something or somebody; it is his or her very essence. Since we are not capable of ever grasping Hashem, His names therefore don’t touch upon His essence but rather the way He reveals Himself to us. The name of G-d used in this verse refers to Hashem’s judgement and is used in the context of humanity, rather than the close relationship with Am Yisrael, the people of Israel. Is the verse expressing Hashem’s closeness to us or not?

The Midrash therefore concludes that it must be that Hashem, even when revealing Himself in judgement, is very close to us. This is best emphasised by explaining that when times are difficult, such as childbirth on a personal level or other national tragedies, is nonetheless very close to us.

This idea which is so true throughout history is even more obvious in our day and age. Now that Am Yisrael have struggled to go back to their homeland and built a Jewish State again, it is noticeable how difficulties lead to the better good and how Hashem is watching over His people and is indeed very close to them.