Devarim starts with words of rebuke from Moshe Rabbenu
אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר מֹשֶׁה אֶל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל
These are the words ( דבור means strong words) of Moshe to the Jewish people…
And it goes on to list the places that the Jewish people sinned and gives many different words of mussar.
The Ramban, in his introduction to Devarim, tells us that this Sefer is about repeating, and lessons from before. It’s called Mishneh Torah- which means a repeat.
It’s also to go and tell them words of rebuke, and how much they upset G-d- but that’s not the takeaway.
The takeaway is to remind them of
וכמה שהתנהג עמהם הקדוש ברוך הוא במדת הרחמים וזה להודיע חסדיו עמהם.
How much mercy G-d had on them, And to let them know His kindness with them .
So, the purpose of the rebuke was not to smash them over their heads, but to say look how much Hashem loves you.
ולחזק לבם,
To give them word of encouragement
בהודיעו אותם כי במדת רחמים יתנהג עמהם לעולם
And to let them know that Hashem will always act with the trait of Rachamim.
They shouldn’t say, “How will we go into Eretz Yisrael-it’s impossible. We will sin, G-d‘s justice will be against us, and we will be destroyed.”
Moshe Rabbenu said, No-don’t think like that. G-d is merciful. He is full of mercy and forgiveness and atonement. He will help in your Avodat Hashem. Like the pasuk says,
כי עמך סליחה
G-d is forgiving and atoning.
This is the point: We read Devarim every single year on the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av, because we are supposed to walk away with hizzuk that Hashem is always acting with Rachamim/ mercy towards us.
That’s the source of the whole concept of Bitachon. There is no Bitachon without this concept.
As the Hovot Halevavot says, the definition of Bitachon is that you feel guaranteed by the guarantor that he will fulfill what he told you, and that he will think to do good for you, even in the areas that he didn’t promise. Why would he do this?
In the first chapter of Shaar Bitachon, the final three words of the Hovot Halevavot’s description of bitachon is שיעשהו נדבה וחסד
He will do it out of generosity and kindness. That is the fundamental of bitachon: To believe in Hashem’s kindness.
Then, at the end of Shaar Bitachon, where the Hovot HaLevavot lists the reasons that people don’t have Bitachon, one of the reasons listed is because people are foolish in understanding G-d’s Middot.
If they don’t understand the mercy of G-d on His creations, or His protection of them, or how He supervises them at all times, then they can’t rely. That’s a fundamental of bitachon.
There is a beautiful pasuk of bitachon in Yeshaya:
ספר ישעיה פרק יב
הִנֵּה א-ל יְשׁוּעָתִי
Behold, G-d is my salvation.
אֶבְטַח וְלֹא אֶפְחָד-
I will rely on Him and I won’t be afraid.
כִּי עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ-
Because G-d is my cunning power
ה’ וַיְהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה:
Hashem is my salvation.
Therefore, If I rely, I’m not afraid.
Ashkenazim says this pasuk in Havdalah, and the Gaon of Vilna, on his commentary on the siddur, of Havdalah, explains that it says of Avraham Avinu
והאמין בה' ויחשבה לו צדקה"
He believed in Hashem and he considered it an act of kindness.
Why is it big deal that Avraham Avinu had Emunah? Because we see, on the other hand, that Yaakov Avinu was afraid - even though Hashem promised him. He was afraid that maybe his sins would cause the promise not to come true.
Of course, we know that Yaakov was on a very high level, and we will soon see why Yaakov felt this way.
But Avraham Avinu had a different middah. He thought that the guarantee of Hashem was coming from G-d’s midday of Sedaka, charity- not from Middat HaDin- of judgement. So therefore, he wasn’t afraid that his sins would cause any problems, because this guarantee came from G-d’s kindness, and it would last forever and ever, even if he sinned.
The Vilna Gaon says, regarding the concept of -א-ל יְשׁוּעָתִי-
G-d is my salvation,
That the term אל is the middah of Hessed ( like in the 13 attributes of Hashem’s mercy, where it says -אל רחום וחנון- G-d’s trait of mercy will save me)
It means:
It’s not coming from my actions- I’m not relying on my actions, and therefore I’m not afraid. It’s G-d’s kindness that will save me, and therefore אֶבְטַח וְלֹא אֶפְחָד I will rely on Hashem, and I won’t be afraid that my sins will cause it not to come true.
That’s what the pasuk - ואני בחסדיך הבטחתי means.
I rely on Hashem’s kindness
The Radak says that means it’s not because I’m fitting, but because of G-d’s kindness.
We say in Nishmat-
עַד הֵנָּה עֲזָרוּנוּ רַחֲמֶיךָ וְלֹא עֲזָבוּנוּ חֲסָדֶיךָ.
Until now, Your mercy helped me, and Your kindness didn’t forsake me.
Why do we say that?
The Gaon of Vilna says that if a person is praying for something because he deserves it, then maybe he might not get it anymore. But if he says that everything he has gotten until now, was due to Hashem’s kindness and mercy, well, G-d’s kindness and mercy will last forever.
Yaakov Avinu had a different approach, says the Gaon of Vilna. He felt he was getting it because he deserved it. Then, he was afraid of sin.
But we aren’t taking the Yaakov Avinu approach. We are taking the Avraham Avinu approach- the middah of Hessed L’Avraham.
We aren’t on Yaakov Avinu’s level.
So we will say:אֶבְטַח וְלֹא אֶפְחָד- ל יְשׁוּעָתִי -הנה א
I will rely on Hashem and I won’t be afraid.
Mashiach isn’t coming because we deserve it, we aren’t being protected because we deserve it.
It’s all because of Hashem’s kindness. We have to believe and rely on Hashem’s kindness.
That was Moshe Rabbenu’s message in sefer Devarim. That’s the message of the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av.
Let’s take that message - Rely on Hashem’s kindness,
And we should be zoche that Mashiach will come ומביא גואל לבני בניהם למען שמו באהבה
God will bring the Geula/ redemption, for His name/ (not because we are deserving of it) with love.
Thank you to Rabbi Ebstein from Lakewood who shared this material with me. He is a wonderful man who likes to share Divrei Torah.
Tizke lemitzvot-Shabbat shalom to all.