Mei HaShiloach · Volume I, Deuteronomy, Vayeilech, Chapter 1
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וילך משה וידבר את הדברים האלה וכו'. הליכה הוא לשון טרדה, כי היה קשה בעיניו, איך יוכל האדם לתקן החסרון המוטבע בשורשו מיום הולדו מצד אב ואם אשר בחטא יחמתנו אמו, אך כאשר נאמר לו פרשת הקהל שנרמז לו, כי האדם יכול לתקן ג"כ החטא הנולד בו אשר יבא לאדם משורשו ושורש אביו ואמו, אז נתמלא בשמחה, כי נאמר (ירמיה ד',א') אם תשוב ישראל וכו' אלי תשוב, כי האדם כשעושה עבירה ח"ו אז יבוש בדעתו נגד חבירו אף שאין חבירו יודע בו, מ"מ אין הוא בנייחא מפני שיודע שחבירו טוב ממנו וזה אינו תשובה שלימה, ע"כ אמר הנביא אלי תשוב, היינו שיתבייש האדם מפני הש"י שלא יעשה מה שלא צוה ה', כי הש"י נתן לישראל תרי"ג מצות שהם עצות לישראל איך יוציא ממחשבתו תאות הרעות שהם משורשים בלבו, מחמת שהוא בעוה"ז הנקרא מקום טומאה כדאיתא בגמ' [קידושין מ':] ונופה נוטה למקום טומאה, לכן נתן הש"י עצות לאדם איך להסיר מאתו התאות, כגון מצות ציצית שיהיה לאדם יראת ה' ומצות תפלין שמורה על תקופות כמו שמבואר במקומם, אך במדות הרעות הנטבעים באדם מיום הולדו שבא לו משורש אביו ואמו ועליהם אמר הנביא (ישעיה מ"ח,ח') ופושע מבטן קורא לך, ע"ז נתנה פרשת הקהל כדאיתא בגמ' (חגיגה ג'.) וטף למה באו כדי ליתן שכר למביאיהן, היינו שע"י התשוקה שבאביו ואמו שיכנסו ד"ת באזני התינוק אף שאינו יודע מאומה כאמו של ר' יהושע בר חנניא כדאיתא בגמ' [ירושלמי יבמות פ"א ה"ו] עי"ז יתוקן באדם אף המדות שנטבעו בו מבטן אמו, והתשוקה הזאת נקראת שימושה של תורה שהיא גדולה מלמודה שעי"ז יכול לרפאות את הקודם, והיינו למביאהן שגם אביו ואמו יתוקנו ג"כ, וע"ז יתואר ר"י בר חנניא במעלות אשרי יולדתו (אבות פ"ב, מ"ח) לפי שהוא תיקון את הקודם היינו תשוקת אביו ואמו שהיתה להם בשעת זווג, וממילא היה נקי אגב אמו, וכאשר ראה מרע"ה את זאת אז נתמלא בשמחה.
“And Moshe went and spoke these words ….” (Devarim, 31:1) The verse says specifically “and Moshe went” and “going,” halicha, signifies being disturbed.37Perhaps because when one is disturbed by something he may be inclined to move his place. It was difficult for him to understand how man could fix the deficiency imprinted on the root of his soul from the day of his birth passed on from his mother and father, for his mother conceived him in sin.38This phrase is borrowed from Tehilim 51:7. The idea needs investigation. Was he not conceived in the mitzvah of pru u’vru, [be fruitful and multiply]? Yet this is something that is very easily contaminated because of its great holiness. So this statement, especially when someone on the level of David haMelech says it about himself, is quite revealing of the human predicament. It seems here that along with the fixings needed for physical union, he is also talking about everything inherited from our parents that needs fixing. However, when the commandment to gather the people was said to him (Devarim, 31:12, “Gather the people, the parents, the children … that they may learn, and fear God”), it was intimated to Moshe that man may fix the sin he is born with, which comes from his root and the root of his parents. Then joy filled his being, as it is written (Yirmiya, 4:1), “If Israel will return … return unto Me.” When a man commits a transgression, God forbid, then in his mind he is ashamed before his friend. Even though his friend does not know about it, he is anyhow uncomfortable because he feels that his friend is better than he is. This is not teshuva shleimah, complete return to the Torah. This is why the prophet said, “you shall return to Me,” meaning that one should rather be ashamed before God so as not to do something that God did not command. God commanded 613 mitzvot, and each one is advice to Israel as to how one may remove the evil desires rooted in his heart, rooted there due to the impurity of mortal existence. This is as it says in the Gemara (Kiddushin, 40b), “[Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Tsaddok said: What is a Tsaddik compared to in this world? A tree that exists in a place that is wholly pure,] yet part of it turns to a place of impurity.” So therefore, God gave man advice as to how he may remove himself from desires, such as the mitzvah of tsitsit, which reminds man to have the fear of God, and tefillin, which teaches of the tekifut (unbridled strength) of Kedusha, a notion previously explained (see above, Devarim, 17:13). Yet, in response to the evil attributes that are imprinted in man from the day of his birth derived from the root of his father and mother, as the prophet said (Yesahya, 48:8), “For I knew that you would surely act treacherously, and you were called a sinner from the womb,” we received the section of “gather your people” (Devarim, 31:12). This is as it says in the Gemara (Chagiga, 3a), “Why did the infants also come? To reward those who brought them.” This means, by means of the longing of the father and mother to bring words of Torah into the ears of the infant—even though he does not understand anything at all. An example of this is found in the Talmud Yerushalmi (Yevamot, 1:6), “See who teaches knowledge. Rabbi Yehoshua’s mother would bring him in his cradle into the house of study so that his ears would absorb Words of Torah.” This shows how it is possible to fix even the attributes imprinted in man from his mother’s womb. This longing on the part of the parents is called “serving the Torah is greater than studying it,” for by means of this he may heal what came before. This is “[to reward] those who brought them,” meaning that even the father and mother are also fixed by this, since it fixes what came before, namely the desire of the father and mother at the moment of conception, and then it follows that he was clean regarding his mother. When Moshe Rabeynu understood this, he was filled with simcha (joy).
וילך משה וידבר את הדברים האלה וכו'. הליכה הוא לשון טרדה, כי היה קשה בעיניו, איך יוכל האדם לתקן החסרון המוטבע בשורשו מיום הולדו מצד אב ואם אשר בחטא יחמתנו אמו, אך כאשר נאמר לו פרשת הקהל שנרמז לו, כי האדם יכול לתקן ג"כ החטא הנולד בו אשר יבא לאדם משורשו ושורש אביו ואמו, אז נתמלא בשמחה, כי נאמר (ירמיה ד',א') אם תשוב ישראל וכו' אלי תשוב, כי האדם כשעושה עבירה ח"ו אז יבוש בדעתו נגד חבירו אף שאין חבירו יודע בו, מ"מ אין הוא בנייחא מפני שיודע שחבירו טוב ממנו וזה אינו תשובה שלימה, ע"כ אמר הנביא אלי תשוב, היינו שיתבייש האדם מפני הש"י שלא יעשה מה שלא צוה ה', כי הש"י נתן לישראל תרי"ג מצות שהם עצות לישראל איך יוציא ממחשבתו תאות הרעות שהם משורשים בלבו, מחמת שהוא בעוה"ז הנקרא מקום טומאה כדאיתא בגמ' [קידושין מ':] ונופה נוטה למקום טומאה, לכן נתן הש"י עצות לאדם איך להסיר מאתו התאות, כגון מצות ציצית שיהיה לאדם יראת ה' ומצות תפלין שמורה על תקופות כמו שמבואר במקומם, אך במדות הרעות הנטבעים באדם מיום הולדו שבא לו משורש אביו ואמו ועליהם אמר הנביא (ישעיה מ"ח,ח') ופושע מבטן קורא לך, ע"ז נתנה פרשת הקהל כדאיתא בגמ' (חגיגה ג'.) וטף למה באו כדי ליתן שכר למביאיהן, היינו שע"י התשוקה שבאביו ואמו שיכנסו ד"ת באזני התינוק אף שאינו יודע מאומה כאמו של ר' יהושע בר חנניא כדאיתא בגמ' [ירושלמי יבמות פ"א ה"ו] עי"ז יתוקן באדם אף המדות שנטבעו בו מבטן אמו, והתשוקה הזאת נקראת שימושה של תורה שהיא גדולה מלמודה שעי"ז יכול לרפאות את הקודם, והיינו למביאהן שגם אביו ואמו יתוקנו ג"כ, וע"ז יתואר ר"י בר חנניא במעלות אשרי יולדתו (אבות פ"ב, מ"ח) לפי שהוא תיקון את הקודם היינו תשוקת אביו ואמו שהיתה להם בשעת זווג, וממילא היה נקי אגב אמו, וכאשר ראה מרע"ה את זאת אז נתמלא בשמחה.
“And Moshe went and spoke these words ….” (Devarim, 31:1)
The verse says specifically “and Moshe went” and “going,” halicha, signifies being disturbed.37Perhaps because when one is disturbed by something he may be inclined to move his place. It was difficult for him to understand how man could fix the deficiency imprinted on the root of his soul from the day of his birth passed on from his mother and father, for his mother conceived him in sin.38This phrase is borrowed from Tehilim 51:7. The idea needs investigation. Was he not conceived in the mitzvah of pru u’vru, [be fruitful and multiply]? Yet this is something that is very easily contaminated because of its great holiness. So this statement, especially when someone on the level of David haMelech says it about himself, is quite revealing of the human predicament. It seems here that along with the fixings needed for physical union, he is also talking about everything inherited from our parents that needs fixing. However, when the commandment to gather the people was said to him (Devarim, 31:12, “Gather the people, the parents, the children … that they may learn, and fear God”), it was intimated to Moshe that man may fix the sin he is born with, which comes from his root and the root of his parents. Then joy filled his being, as it is written (Yirmiya, 4:1), “If Israel will return … return unto Me.” When a man commits a transgression, God forbid, then in his mind he is ashamed before his friend. Even though his friend does not know about it, he is anyhow uncomfortable because he feels that his friend is better than he is. This is not teshuva shleimah, complete return to the Torah. This is why the prophet said, “you shall return to Me,” meaning that one should rather be ashamed before God so as not to do something that God did not command.
God commanded 613 mitzvot, and each one is advice to Israel as to how one may remove the evil desires rooted in his heart, rooted there due to the impurity of mortal existence. This is as it says in the Gemara (Kiddushin, 40b), “[Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Tsaddok said: What is a Tsaddik compared to in this world? A tree that exists in a place that is wholly pure,] yet part of it turns to a place of impurity.”
So therefore, God gave man advice as to how he may remove himself from desires, such as the mitzvah of tsitsit, which reminds man to have the fear of God, and tefillin, which teaches of the tekifut (unbridled strength) of Kedusha, a notion previously explained (see above, Devarim, 17:13). Yet, in response to the evil attributes that are imprinted in man from the day of his birth derived from the root of his father and mother, as the prophet said (Yesahya, 48:8), “For I knew that you would surely act treacherously, and you were called a sinner from the womb,” we received the section of “gather your people” (Devarim, 31:12). This is as it says in the Gemara (Chagiga, 3a), “Why did the infants also come? To reward those who brought them.”
This means, by means of the longing of the father and mother to bring words of Torah into the ears of the infant—even though he does not understand anything at all. An example of this is found in the Talmud Yerushalmi (Yevamot, 1:6), “See who teaches knowledge. Rabbi Yehoshua’s mother would bring him in his cradle into the house of study so that his ears would absorb Words of Torah.” This shows how it is possible to fix even the attributes imprinted in man from his mother’s womb. This longing on the part of the parents is called “serving the Torah is greater than studying it,” for by means of this he may heal what came before. This is “[to reward] those who brought them,” meaning that even the father and mother are also fixed by this, since it fixes what came before, namely the desire of the father and mother at the moment of conception, and then it follows that he was clean regarding his mother. When Moshe Rabeynu understood this, he was filled with simcha (joy).