Today we will discuss the third pasuk of Malchuyot:
וַיְהִ֥י בִישֻׁר֖וּן מֶ֑לֶךְ
Hashem is King in Yeshurun (which refers to the Jewish people)
בְּהִתְאַסֵּף֙ רָ֣אשֵׁי עָ֔ם
When the leaders gather together
יַ֖חַד שִׁבְטֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל
Together, the tribes of Israel.
The simple explanation, based on the Midrashim and Rishonim is that God is King over the Jewish people, but with one condition: We have to be unified; we have to be together. Otherwise, it’s as if to say Hashem is not king over us. The Rishonim use very strong words:
As long as we are together in brotherliness and friendship, God is King over us. But in times of argument or contention, it’s as if to say Hashem is no longer King over us. This is an important point. The Elder of Kelm had this pasuk written on a sign hanging on the front door of his yeshiva, throughout the month of Elul, in order to give over the message that you cannot accept Hashem as King if there is divisiveness, if you are not getting along with your fellow man, or if you are not working on Veahavta LeRe’echa Kamocha/loving your friends like you love yourself (We have a daily lesson on Ahavat Yisrael/ loving your fellow Jew. If you haven’t signed up for it yet, now is a great time to do so).
So our first point is that we have to commit to working on our Ahavat Yisrael.
The second point is that the Gaon of Vilna, in an ingenious approach, points out that this pasuk is is broken into 4 areas.
וַיְהִ֥י בִישֻׁר֖וּן מֶ֑לֶךְ
1-Hashem is King
בְּהִתְאַסֵּף֙ רָ֣אשֵׁי עָ֔ם
2-When we gather the elders together
יַ֖חַד
3- Yachad. When we gather the Jews together.
שִׁבְטֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל
4-When the tribes were united and spoken to.
The four parts of the pasuk refer to four events in history.
The first, וַיְהִ֥י בִישֻׁר֖וּן מֶ֑לֶךְ
refers to when we saw Hashem as king, at Kiriat Yam Suf, and we said the pasuk that we mentioned yesterday,
Hashem Yimloch L’Olam Va’ed.
They had such clarity in Hashem being king.
The next acceptance was
בְּהִתְאַסֵּף֙ רָ֣אשֵׁי עָ֔ם
This took place before Matan Torah, when Hashem gathered the elders.
יחד
This was another point, when Hashem gathers the entire Jewish people.
שִׁבְטֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל
This is yet another time when Moshe made twelve altars, for the 12 tribes.
Why do we have these four different points of accepting God’s kingdom?
Th Gaon of Vilna explains beautifully:
He says that there are four commitments, four yokes, that the Jewish people have to have, in order to properly accept Hashem as King. The first one is called,
קבלת עול מלכות שמים
“Hashem is my king.”
I belong to the Jewish people. I am a proud citizen of the Jewish people. I accept Hashem’s yoke . I respect my King and I am His servant.
That is one general concept.
The next one is
קבלת עול תורה
I accept upon myself to be committed to His Torah, to learning and respecting His Torah.
Then there is קבלת עול מצוות
This is the concept of the 613 Mitzvot. When I commit myself to learning Torah, that doesn’t necessarily get into every specific detail such as tefillin and shaatnez.
This is the yoke of the Mitzvot.
Finally, he says, there is a specific yoke of Torah Sh’Beal Peh/ Oral Torah
When we read this pasuk, we have to understand that we are committing ourselves in four areas of religion.
1-Hashem is my king. I am committing myself to Him as King. That became clear at the Yam Suf, when we saw the sea split. We saw that He controls everything. Therefore I want Him to be my king.
2- We received the Torah from Har Sinai, with thunder and lightening (later, when when we talk about Shofarot, we will further discus this). The Torah is Min Hashamayim. I am a committed Torah Jew.
3- The Torah has a lot of Mitzvot, a lot of laws and a lot of details…. How to make tea on Shabbat, etc.
I am committing myself to every detail of the Torah, all of the Mitzvot
And lastly,
4- The Torah Sh’Bal Peh- the Oral Law
I believe that, to this very day, there are rabbis that have an understanding of the Torah and explain it to us. I see the Torah through the lens of the Chachamim, through the Gemarah, through the Mishnah, not just the way I interpret what the Torah means.
I accept the Torah Sh’Bal Peh. I accept the Chachamim, the Bet Din, and all that goes with it.
This is an important understanding.
I beseech everybody to take some notes. These thoughts and ideas literally decide your entire year. Of course, we can work on our bitachon during the year, and we can change things. And these are important points for any day of the year.
But we want to get it right the first time. And getting it right means praying Musaf properly. I cannot stress that point enough. So B’ezrat Hashem, we are putting time into it.
This is one of the most important prayers of the year.
Don’t feel like we are spending 30 days of preparation for just one day. Many times, people take 30 days of preparation to prepare a presentation to a buyer. This is very important. Do not underestimate this. And don’t wonder why we are getting involved in the tedious work of the pesukim.
This fine print is extremely important.
Have a wonderful day.