“כי תכלה לעשר את כל מעשר תבואתך בשנה השלישת שנת המעשר ונתתה ללוי לגר ליתום ולאלמנה ואכלו בשעריך ושבעו: ואמרת לפני יקוק אלהיך בערתי הקדש מן הבית וגם נתתיו ללוי ולגר ליתום ולאלמנה ככל מצותך אשר צויתני לא עברתי ממצותיך ולא שכחתי: לא אכלתי באני ממנו ולא בערתי ממנו בטמא ולא נתתי ממנו למת שמעתי בקול יקוק אלקי עשיתי ככל אשר צויתני: השקיפה ממעון קדשך מן השמים וברך את עמך את ישראל ואת האדמה אשר נתתה לנו כאשר נשבעת לאבתינו ארץ זבת חלב ודבש:”
רש”י: “ואמרת לפני ה’ אלהיך – התודה שנתת מעשרותיך.”
“And you shall say before Hashem your God…” The pesukim read almost like a checklist: “I did ביעור מעשרות, I gave Maaser Rishon and Maaser Ani, I did not eat the Maaser Sheni as an Onen, or in impurity or use it for the dead.” Check, check, check and check. Rashi adds תרומה, ביכורים, and much more. Check, check, check. What is the purpose of this declaration- Hashem knows and the person knows whether he fulfilled his obligations or not. Rashi writes that this declaration is a Vidduy- normally translated as a confession. Yet no sin is mentioned, but rather flawless observance.
Speech is precise expression: clear, consistent and logical. Actions are open to interpretation. They are vague, complicated and dynamic. A conversation with a parent. Is that an expression of a personal relationship or a duty borne out of gratitude and respect? Maybe it’s simply a pleasure. We can view his action in various ways.
Vidduy is based on the word Vadai, certainty. Vidduy is to express the world of action with speech, to define our actions. We brush away all the externalities and doubts and grasp the essence. And the essence is רצון ד’, the will of Hashem. That is how we interpret an action, that is its ultimate significance. “עשיתי ככל אשר צותני”- I have done all that you have commanded me. My actions are not primarily about me, they are an expression of something higher: of His will. The action itself is a revelation of Hashem’s will. When you spoke to your mother, you were revealing Hashem’s will in the word. That is what is most important.
Why do we find this Vidduy specifically by Maaser? Maaser is a tenth. You cannot buy a field for maaser– you buy a field for yourself and give maaser from your field. Meaning that Hashem has a part in your field. Maaser is more than just giving. It means that Hashem has a place in my business, in the work of my hands. That is maaser, and that is vidduy maaser: recognizing that my personal actions are meant to be an expression of Hashem’s will.
This is both a chizzuk and a responsibility. There can be a tremendous, lofty quality to my mitzvos, because Hashem has a place in my actions. It would be a mistake to infer that honoring one’s mother should be performed robotically, with concern only for fulfilling an obligation. No. It means that the love, and the fear, and the gratitude are a part of something greater: Hashem’s will. And knowing that inspires a person towards שלימות המעשה, completeness of action.
prepared and edited by: Rabbi Yaakov Weiss
Connecting to the mitzvos with the body
As a part of our Avodah of Teshuva, we look for ways to deepen our connection to Torah and Mitzvos. Many assume this to be a primarily intellectual endeavor. We attempt to understand the myriad forces which operate and interact within us. And we improve our understanding of the mitzvos, searching for an insight that will inspire us. The physical body is taken for granted: when we are intellectually prepared perform the mitzvah, then the body will simply execute the action.
This is a mistaken assumption. The GR”A writes that the mitzvah of Bris Milah connects man to all the mitzvos of the Torah. The word ברית is made up of the letters תרי”ב, pertaining to the remaining 612 mitzvos. Bris Milah is the mitzvah which relates to קדושת הגוף, the correct and true form of the physical body. That is the mitzvah which connects us to the entire Torah. We need to work with our bodies to connect to the mitzvos.
The body is a crucial part of the mitzvah. Hashem did not give us bodies merely to lead us astray, but in order that the body should also be a part of the mitzvah. We need to give thought to the role of our bodies in the mitzvos if we want to connect wholly to the mitzvos.
One framework to appreciate the significance of the body in Avodas Hashem is Malchus, kingship. If you visit Buckingham Palace, you can see the royal guard. The guards stand in their positions without making the slightest movement. They stand motionless because they are in the presence of malchus. Regardless of what the guard thinks or feels, his body will not do anything other than fulfill his duties to the king. Malchus relates to the body directly.
We can work on this during Krias Shema. Shema does not have to be a completely intellectual endeavor; the body is a part of קבלת עול מלכות שמים. You were able to tell when the Mashgiach zt”l was saying Shema from the way he sat. Try to say Shema sitting up, without moving at all. You’ll find that all of a sudden, a muscle will start to twitch, or your leg will itch- in the first pasuk! You are connecting your body to Malchus Shemayim and your body is resisting.
Such an approach highlights the role the body can have in the performance of a mitzvah, which enables us to connect to the mitzvos with our entire being.