This week's parasha discusses one of the Mitzvot in the Torah, V’Halachta B’Derachav/Go in the ways of God. The pasuk says that our responsibility is to:
לְאַהֲבָ֞ה אֶת־ה׳ אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֛ם לָלֶ֥כֶת בְּכׇל־דְּרָכָ֖יו וּלְדׇבְקָה־בֽוֹ׃
Love Hashem, your God,
Go in all His ways and
Cleave to Him.
What does that mean exactly?
The Pele Yoetz (and I'm sure many others) says that people love people whom they look up to. They love their role models, and because they they look up to them and love them, they want to be like them, whomever they might be.
Out in the world, people look up to sports stars and singers. They want to be like them, they want to have hairstyles like them, they talk like them and act like them… because they love them. And because they love them, they want be like them. Our job is to love Hashem our God. He’s the One that we love. He's our role model. He's the one we look up to. And that's why it says, Lalechet B’chol Drachav/ I want to be like Him.
What does it mean to be like Him? Rashi says Hu Rachum/He is merciful, so you should be merciful. Hu Gomel Hassadim/He does acts of kindness, so you do acts of kindness.
Our entire approach to Hessed comes, not just from a humanistic approach, but rather, from wanting to be like God. Our Hessed comes from our love of God.
Avraham Avinu is called Avraham Ahavi/ Avraham, the one that loves God. And Abraham is the one that does hessed. Rav Wolbe says that it's not a coincidence that Avraham Avinu’s Emuna and knowledge of God brought him to Hessed, because it was his understanding of God and his love of God that made him want to be like God. And so, he went in the ways of God. Abraham Avinu went in the ways of God. That is what is says, describing Avraham Avinu.
That is the fundamental of our Ahavat Habriot/ Our love for our fellow man. It comes from our emulating God.
There are two additional words in the pasuk: L’Davka Bo/to cleave to Him. This doesn’t seem to fit in. Rashi asks: How can we cleave to God? God is a fire! Rather, he explains that it means to connect ourselves to students and to scholars, and Hashem will consider that as if we’ve cleaved to Him. The Siftei Hachamim explains the connection between the two: By cleaving to Talmidei Hachamim, you will become Rachum/merciful and a Gomel Hessed/doer of kindness. This is because the Talmid Hacham is supposed to be the one who emulates God, through his learning.
The best way to become like God is is to know God's ways, and you know God's ways by learning His Torah. That's why it says, VeAhavta Et Hashem’s Elokecha/Love Hashem your God and right after that it says, that ….these words should be on your heart. The Torah tells us the ways of God, so by learning Torah, and knowing the ways of God, you can emulate God.
But what if I can't? What if I'm not able to? Then by cleaving to Talmedei Hachamim, I'll be able to emulate God. And what gives the Talmedei Hachamim their Deveikut is by clinging to the Torah. That's the way they connect. For those of us that can't necessarily do that, we're able to use these great rabbis as role models.
That's why we love telling stories about Gedolim.. Great people are people that are Rachum and Gomel Hessed.
We've said many times that the definition of a Gadol/Great person is someone that helps people who are smaller than him.
So great people are people that have the ways of God, and emulate God. And if I can't go directly to God, I'll emulate those great people that emulate God.
Our entire hessed system is based on emulating God, or emulating people that emulate God.
What a beautiful lesson, from this week's Parasha
(Perek יא,pasukכב with Rashi).
Have a wonderful day and a Shabbat Shalom.