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A Dvar Torah for Shevat from Rav Shai Katz

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The Connection between the עבודה of ובבי"ם and the פרשיות



In this upcoming month, we will see the period of שובבי"ם come to an end. This period is the time when we constantly focus on trying to improve the purity of our actions, thoughts, of what we see, what we hear, and what we say. The question has been asked regarding the connection between the עבודה of these weeks and the פרשיות it falls on. One answer given is that it was during that time in history when כלל ישראל was steeped in the contamination of מצרים, with all of its עבודה זרה and spiritual depravity. It was then that ה' took us out of מצרים with all the ניסים, split the ים סוף, and gave us the Torah at הר סיני. שובבי"ם then culminates with פרשת משפטים, where we proclaimed נעשה ונשמע, our ultimate dedication to ה' (and on leap years with תרומה ותצוה which contain the plans of the building of the משכן and its כלים). This signified כלל ישראל reaching an incredible spiritual level, albeit with failures along the way. It is specifically during these weeks that we attempt, on our level, to take ourselves out of our own spiritual depravity and to reach new spiritual heights.


I would like to add to this answer with an idea that I once saw brought in the name of רב יחזקאל לוינשטיין. He brings the words of the רא"ש in ארחות חיים (the רא"ש’s ספר on מוסר) in אות כ"ו which is speaking about believing in הי and השגחה פרטית. The רא"ש states that anyone who does not believe in what it says in the first of theעשרת הדברות  that “[הי] took you out of מצרים” also does not believe in the first half of the sentence “I am ה' your G-d”. A seemingly perplexing statement, considering that one who denies יציאת מצרים has already attained the status of כופר without even addressing whether ה' is G-d or not.


רב יחזקאל לוינשטיין explains these words על דרך מוסר that the גאולה from מצרים was not only a physical גאולה, but also a spiritual one. In מצרים, we were sunken to the lowest level of טומאה, due to all types of עברות. Yet it was from that point that ה' took us out of מצרים and eventually gave us the תורה at הר סיני. The רא"ש is telling us, explains רב יחזקאל לוינשטיין, that it was for this reason that ה' began the עשרת הדברות by saying that “I am ה' your G-d who took you out of מצרים, the lowest depths of טומאה”, as if to say that there is no need to worry about what one has done in their past and that there is no “point of no return” in עבודת ה'. If someone were to doubt this, in essence, they would in some way be doubting the omnipotence of ה'.


It is with this fundamental outlook that we need to approach and also conclude the עבודה of שובבי"ם, taking us into the rest of the year. Anyone who believes their situation to be unchangeable or hopeless needs to be reminded of the situation that כלל ישראל found themselves in מצרים and how ה' brought them to the highest spiritual levels. In that same way, ה' can help us on our journey to our spiritual potential, no matter the circumstances.


May ה' grant us the success of reaching new levels of קדושה and טהרה.

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