Parashat Va'eschanan - The Secret of Emunah (Faith) and the Service of the Heart

Emunah (Faith): The Vessel for Receiving Divine Abundance

Hashem says: It doesn't work like this! I don't just give gifts! I also want something from you! What are you giving Me? So a person says: What can I give You, Hashem? I have nothing to give You. I have absolutely nothing. I am poor and destitute. I am not wise, and I do not understand.

"You graciously endow man with knowledge"

You give everything! Everything is Yours; I have nothing. But there is one thing that you can give. And this, Hashem cannot give. Under no circumstances can He give it! Only you can. Hashem does not have this. He doesn't have it, and He lacks it! And this is what He wants from you: Emunah (faith). The fact that you believe in Him, that you look forward to Him, that you connect to Him, and that you bind yourself to Him—this is the part that you give! And then you create the vessel into which He can give to you.

And this is what the Avot (Patriarchs) did. They saw absolutely nothing; they only believed and believed, demonstrating mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice) and withstanding tests. They created this great, wondrous vessel; they simply prepared vessels upon vessels. The Avot suffered; they endured severe tribulations. What did Yaakov Avinu say at the end of his days?

"Few and bad have been the days of the years of my life"

The people of Israel were leaving Egypt, and soon things would be good for them. They would have the Manna, they would have the quail, they would have Miriam's Well, the Clouds of Glory would accompany them, and afterward, they would arrive in the Land of Israel. They would have wondrous things. But what did the Avot have? They had nothing! They only invested, invested, and invested. They created the vessel, and they did so for all generations, until the coming of Mashiach Tzidkenu (our righteous Mashiach). Because Hashem does not give for free. He says: I want you to give Me the vessel.

Service of the Heart: Entering into the Words

"I pleaded with Hashem at that time, saying" (Devarim 3:23)

Parashat "Va'eschanan" is named after the prayer and supplication of the man of God, Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him. Our Sages taught us (Taanit 2a):

"What is the service of the heart? This is prayer."

The intention is that a person's prayer should emerge from the walls of his heart, from the depths of his soul, and with holy enthusiasm. All of his limbs should participate in his prayer, in the aspect of:

"All my bones shall say: Hashem, who is like You?"

Such a prayer is called "service," as is brought in the name of the Baal Shem Tov on the verse:

"Come, you and all your household, into the ark (teivah)" (Bereshit 7:1)

The Baal Shem Tov explains that a person speaking words of Torah or prayer should enter himself into the words he utters, focusing on every teivah (which means both "ark" and "word"). From here, there is a directive for every person to pray with all his strength, so that he and his prayer are not two separate entities, but rather one essence. As King David, peace be upon him, said: "But I am prayer." I am entirely prayer—all my 248 limbs and 365 sinews are a prayer to Hashem. (Based on the "Kedushas Levi")

Guard Your Souls Carefully: Between Diligence and Sensitivity

"And you shall guard your souls very carefully..." (Devarim 4:15)

The tzaddik Rabbi Yitzchak Meir of Ger, author of the "Chiddushei HaRim," once entered his study hall close to dawn and found one of his prominent Chassidim sitting and delving into a holy book. The Rebbe looked at the face of the Chassid, who was diligently studying, and immediately recognized that he had deprived his eyes of sleep for the entire night.

The tzaddik leaned toward the student and whispered in his ear: "Why did you see fit to abstain from sleep tonight? Hasn't the Torah commanded us, 'And you shall guard your souls very carefully'? Heaven forbid that we display excessive diligence at the expense of the body's health, which is the foundation for the health of the soul!"

"It was not out of excessive diligence that I remained in the beis midrash (study hall) all through the night," the chassid called out innocently to the Rav. "Rather, there is a man here sleeping on the bench, and the edges of my cloak got folded under his head. I was therefore afraid to pull my cloak out from under him, lest I wake him from his sleep, and because of this, I remained sitting in my place for the entire night..." (Bnei Tzion)