Hashem & Elokim

ואחרי אשר חייבנו להאמין באמיתת מציאותו חייבנו להאמין שהוא אלוהינו.

K'mo she'amar Elokeinu. So what's included in in in this chiyuv to believe to know shehu Elokeinu? What does the pasuk contain if the pasuk would have said שמע ישראל השם אחד, not Hashem Elokeinu? So what what's nosaf in in the Elokeinu? So the Rambam in the beginning of Yesodei HaTorah, the Rambam is unpacking the the phrase of Anochi Hashem Elokecha, but it's the same same question in that context. So the Rambam writes in פרק א הלכה ה, Hamatzui hazeh, right, Hashem Yud-Kei-Vov-Kei, המצוי הזה הוא אלוה העולם אדון כל הארץ. So the Rambam has two phrases, right, vis-a-vis the olam, so the Rambam says Eloka, Eloka ha'olam. Vis-a-vis the earth, so the Rambam says Adon, Adon kol ha'aretz. Hakadosh Baruch Hu's relationship to to the cosmos, to the olam, is is that he, as the Nefesh Hachaim explains in the beginning, he's he's the Baal Koach of the world. The world doesn't have any independent existence. It's not that once Hakadosh Baruch Hu pressed the button ה ת ש פ ו years ago, so now the the world exists by by virtue of inertia that it now has its independent autonomous existence, but it's tuly v'omed on Hakadosh Baruch Hu. It derives its existence from him. The relationship is there's more there's a crucial added dimension vis-a-vis the earth because on the earth is where people are who are baalei bechirah. And Adon means that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is mashgiach and and shofet and and sachar v'onesh, all that is included in in in what it says Adon. That's why the Rambam changes the the it's all compressed into Elokecha, but what Elokecha means so what Elokecha means for. the stars and and everything else that's that's out there is that he's the Ba'al Koach. What Elokecha means for people who are Ba'alei Bechira is that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is Hashofet Kol Ha'aretz, is that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is Mashgiach vechulu. And that's what the Rambam elaborates by breaking the phrase down into two: into Elokei Ha'olam and Adon Kol Ha'aretz. I forgot to bring up, you have the Ramban on Anochi in Parshas Yisro. What perek is it? It's perek chaf I believe. Perek chaf in Shmos. The Ramban adds אנכי השם אלהיך יורה ויצוה. Two verbs that the Ramban has: yoreh veyitzaveh. Right, he teaches and commands. He instructs and commands. Why the two verbs? So the Ramban begins Anochi Hashem Elokecha הדיבור הזה מצות עשה, right, and the difference in minyan hamitzvos between the Rambam and Rav Chasdai Crescas, so I side or the Ba'hag, I side with the Rambam. I think this is in the minyan hamitzvos. If it's in the minyan hamitzvos, so then the question is that it's unusual to have a mitzvah where you don't have an imperative. Right, tochal matzah, ulakachtem lachem. So it should have said de'u, ha'aminu, shimu, there should have been some introductory verb before the Anochi Hashem Elokecha. So that's what the Ramban is farentfering and says no, the Torah is calling attention to the fact that it's more than a mitzvah. What do you mean it's more than a mitzvah? It's both, it's a tzivui but it's also a horaa. And that's what the Ramban continues and says ve'amar, I'm skipping a line or two, I'll come back to it bli neder,

אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים כי הוצאתם משם תורה על המציאות ועל החפץ.

If you want to know where, how to derive, to anchor the belief in Anochi Hashem Elokecha, so look to the fact that אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים. So that's not tzivui, that's horaa. So that's what the Ramban is saying הדיבור הזה מצות עשה. So you're wondering why don't you have the verb that would indicate which is typical of virtually of every mitzvah, and the answer is because it's yoreh veyitzaveh. It's not only yitzaveh, it's yoreh veyitzaveh. The tzivui is to believe Anochi Hashem Elokecha, the horaa is that that belief can be derived, can be anchored, can be substantiated through looking to, that's the horaa part of it, asher hotzeisicha. Okay, fine. So אנכי השם אלהיך יורה ויצוה אותם שידעו ויאמינו, I'll come back to that sometime, שידעו ויאמינו כי יש השם והוא אלהים להם. Okay. Anochi Hashem, yesh Hashem, Elokecha, vehu Elokim lahem. Klomar, hoveh kadmon, מאיותו היה הכל בחפץ ויכולת. of the mashmaos of the Shem Havaya is that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is existence, Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the source of existence. הווה וקדמון מאיתו היה הכל בחפץ ויכול. Vihu Elokim lahem. So the Ramban adds that what that expresses is sh'chayavim la'avodaso. The Ramban sees that as also as compressed ואין הסמיכות אלוהים לפרעה. That the way one acknowledges, how does one acknowledge the king, if you live in a monarchy, how how does one acknowledge the king? You acknowledge the king that you have to do whatever he says because otherwise you're mored bemalchus. That's the way you acknowledge the king. Okay,

שחייבנו להאמין שהוא אלוהינו. ואחר שחייבנו להאמין ולקבל שלושה העניינים האלה אשר זכרנו, נעתק מהם ומה שאנו חייבים לחבר עליהם והוא אהבת הקל בלב שלם בסתר ובגלוי בכל לבבך ובנפשך ובמאודך כמו שנאמר ואהבת את ה' אלוהיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאודך ונעשה דבר העניין הזה בשער אהבת הקל באיזה הצורה. ואחר כך נעתק מהם להזהיר על חובות הלבבות ואמר והיו הדברים האלה אשר אנוכי מצווך היום על לבבך.

Again that as we spoke about yesterday, that the yediyah is supposed to be an active awareness.

ורצונו לומר שתדביקם אל לבך ותשימם בהם במצפונך. ואחר כך נעתק מהם אל מצוות האיברים שהן כוללות הידיעה והעשייה כמו שנאמר ושיננתם לבניך ודיברת בם.

So the first five again, the Chovos Halevavos says that there are ten inyanim in Parshas Shema just as you have ten in the Aseres Hadibros. So the first five are all purely balev. There's nothing external about it. And then the remaining five is

ואחר כך נעתק מהם אל מצוות האיברים שהן כוללות הידיעה והעשייה כמו שנאמר ושיננתם לבניך ודיברת בם.

So ושיננתם לבניך ודיברת בם is two. They both refer to Talmud Torah, the way the Chovos Halevavos is teitching, but he's counting it as two.

שלא יהיה לך בן אל תשים הבן עילת קריאתכם אותם.

Don't think that the fact that the Torah says v'shinantam l'vanecha, that if a person doesn't have a son so then he has no chiyuv to be involved in Talmud Torah. No, v'dibarta bam unconditional, even even if there is no ben in the picture. I don't know, it's a little bit of an interesting question, not a little bit of a question, this is not one of the major topics of the Sicha of Sha'ar Hayichud. So meila, v'shinantam l'vanecha is chovas haeivarim, unless father and son have mental telepathy you know. But in terms of the v'dibarta bam, so why is that davka chovas hapoel? He's thinking, he's thinking in the mishna. And it's not mashma that v'dibarta bam means that a person should teach talmidim. If he has no sons, so then, you know, l'vanecha should be eylu talmidecha. That's not the p'shat you get. The p'shat you get is v'dibarta bam means that even Robinson Crusoe, if he becomes Reuven, you know, should be learning. So has mande palig, you know, when a person is thinking and trying to understand something, that avada, that's part of his mitzvas talmud torah. That's indisputable. But m'idach gisa, it's also indisputable that that one is not supposed to sort of just, you know, look at the words and, you know, even when he's making an iyun'dik learning, but a person is supposed to be motzi b'peh. The Baal HaTanya writes in his Shulchan Aruch, he's marchik leches ad k'dei kach. Baal HaTanya says that when a person can be motzi b'peh, it's mamash me'akeiv in mitzvas talmud torah. Okay, but you don't have to go as—you don't have to necessarily go as far as that as what the Shulchan Aruch HaRav said to say that the tzura of mitzvas talmud torah is that, again, when a person is learning the pasuk, when a person is first learning the mishna, he's first learning the sefer shulchan aruch, that the tzura of the mitzvah is that a person is supposed to be motzi b'peh. So it is a chovas hapoel. V'acharkein amar

ושיננתם לבניך ודברת בם בשבתך בביתך ובלכתך בדרך ובשכבך ובקומך שאין נמנע מן הלב ומן הלשון מה שהם חייבין בו כאשר הקדמנו מחיוב מצות הלבבות תדיר בפתיחת הספר הזה

that every chovas ha'evarim... I don't know, sometimes in Europe that they couldn't get hold of an esrog. So if you can't get hold of an esrog, then you're onus and you won't be able to be m'kayeim the mitzvah of u'lekachtem lachem. But here, there is no—one is not dependent upon an external. In Volozhin that they used to make a point of memorizing at least parts of Torah so that Friday night after the candles burnt out that they'd be able to continue learning. Every other night the candle burns out, you can't light another candle. You don't have to know ba'al peh in order to learn, but so that there shouldn't be any, again, any external m'niya in terms of talmud torah. The story is that when the Aderet came to Volozhin, his daughter was of marriageable age, so he was looking for a shidduch. So he came to Volozhin and he went into the Beis Medrash Friday night when it was pitch black after the candles had burnt out. And he hears this voice learning k'seder, you know, as if turning pages, learning blatt after blatt. And he inquires as to who it was and he found out that that was Rav Kook. So he goes to the Netziv and okay, עס איז געווארן א שידוך. So the Chovos HaLevavos is certainly assuming something like that. The Chovos HaLevavos is saying the fact that you don't have a sefer or the fact that maybe it's pitch black and even if you have a sefer you can't look in it. I don't know if we've had introduction about how the Chovos Halvavos understands this shidduch but we'll see.

וכל זה להשיג מה שהקדמנו במאמר והיה עם אלה שישמרם וישימם על לבבו שתהיה בגילוי לשונו בהם תמיד מביא לידי זכרון הלב ולא יפנה לבבו מזכר אלהים תמיד.

Okay so we're bracketing that sentence for today but we'll know that we'll come back to that next week, that sentence.

וזה דומה למה שאמר דוד המלך עליו השלום שויתי השם לנגדי תמיד ואמר הכתוב כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו.

So presumably again the Chovos Halvavos is going with the mahalach of Rashi, the Rambam, that the davar is not mitzvas teshuvah in this but it's referring to Talmud Torah. So then then that's then the pasuk says befeyrush it's expressing this idea of כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד that it's always accessible. There's no there's no external prop that that is necessary and therefore potentially could could be missing. אחר כך נעתק מחובות האברים within chovos ha-eivarim right because he described the akimas sefasayim, the dibbur of Talmud Torah as being chovos ha-eivarim as well, אלא מה שיש במעשה בלבד right, one which is purely maaseh. veshomah shelosha chalakim וקשרתם לאות על ידך והיו לטטפת בין עיניך counting tefillin shel yad and tefillin shel rosh separately

וכתבתם על מזוזות ביתך ובשעריך והם תפלה של יד ותפלה של ראש והמזוזה וכולם גורמים לזכור את הבורא ולאהבו בלב שלם.

So both mitzvas tefillin as well as mitzvas mezuzah prompt a person to remember Hakadosh Baruch Hu and inspire ahavah. How does that work? How does that work? So the Rambam clearly agrees with it, again that doesn't answer the question but the Rambam clearly agrees with it. The Rambam Hakdama to Mishneh Torah says that sefer sheni of of the yud dalet sefarim of Mishneh Torah, the second of the fourteen sefarim is אכלול בו המצוה שהן תדירות. Those mitzvos not not like Shabbos and Yom Tov which are mizman lizman but shehen tedirot which are constants which are constants שנצטוינו בהם כדי לאהוב את המקום ולזכרו תמיד. Exactly the same two points as as the Chovos Halvavos right?

כדי לאהוב את המקום ולזכרו תמיד כגון קריאת שמע ותפלה ותפלין וברכות.

He doesn't mention mezuzah but hilchos mezuzah though he doesn't list everything here but hilchos mezuzah is also in in Sefer Ahavah. So clearly what he's saying applies to mezuzah as well. Okay so he agrees but lemaaseh how does that work? I don't know we just walk through the doorway with the mezuzah and I don't know.

פרק ו מהלכות תפילין ומזוזה וספר תורה הלכה יג. חייב אדם להזהר להזהר במזוזה מפני שהיא חובת הכל תמיד וכל עת שיכנס ויצא,

right every time a person goes whether he's entering or or leaving,

יפגע ביחוד שמו של הקדוש ברוך הוא ויזכור אהבתו ויעור משנתו ושקיעתו בהבלי הזמן וידע שאין שם דבר העומד לעולם ולעולמי עולמים אלא ידיעת צור העולם ומיד הוא חוזר לדעתו והולך בדרכי מישרים.

So it's clear from what the Rambam says that the mechuvun of mitzvas mezuzah is that every time a person walks through the doorway, he's supposed to reflect on what it says in the klaf inside the mezuzah.

בכל עת שיכנס ויצא יפגע וייחד שמו של הקדוש ברוך הוא.

And how is he, how is he encountering a ייחוד שמו של הקדוש ברוך הוא and how is he focused, how is he aroused to focus on ahavas Hashem? Because it's clear that what's intended is that when we walk, when we walk through the doorway and we see the mezuzah, that's supposed to trigger, that's designed to trigger our thought as to what it says on the klaf of the mezuzah. It's supposed to focus our thoughts. Kedushas hatfillin פרק ד הלכה כה. Kedushas tfillin kedushasan. Kedushas tfillin kedushasan. Okay, Frankel prints kedusha, I think the standard dfusim print kedushasan, either way.

קדושת תפילין קדושה גדולה היא שכל זמן שהתפילין על ראשו של אדם ועל זרועו הוא עניו וירא ואינו נמשך בשחוק ובשיחה בטלה ואינו מהרהר במחשבות רעות אלא מפנה לבו לדברי האמת והצדק. לפיכך צריך אדם להשתדל להיותן עליו כל היום שמצוותן כך היא.

Right? So who is the Rambam hanging out with, right?

כל זמן שהתפילין בראשו של אדם ועל זרועו הוא עניו וירא ואינו נמשך בשחוק ובשיחה בטלה ואינו מהרהר במחשבות רעות.

So that's not a sociological, maybe it was, I don't know, maybe in the Rambam's shtiebel it was. But even if that doesn't function as a sociological description, it's a prescription and clearly here too it means because a person is supposed to be reflecting on the fact, mindful of the fact, cognizant of the fact that על ראשו ועל זרועו he's carrying the pasuk of שמע ישראל ה' אלוהינו ה' אחד and everything else of the daled parshiyos of tfillin. So the same point as mezuzah, clearly what the mitzvah entails is a focus on the parshiyos, right? That's also clear in the gemara in Yoma that the issur hesach hadaas by tfillin is a kal v'chomer from the tzitz, והיה על מצחו תמיד. What does the tamid mean? Shelo yasiach da'ato. The Kohen Gadol's not supposed to be masiach da'as, so the tzitz has only one azkarah, has only one shem Hashem, and there that's enough to be mechayev no hesach hadaas, והיה על מצחו תמיד, that the tamid means his awareness of the fact that it's al mitzcho, it's not al mitzcho tamid, it's not al mitzcho twenty-four seven. So the tamid is his awareness of the haya al mitzcho, so kal v'chomer to tfillin. So clearly kal v'chomer tfillin means because the chiyuv in wearing tfillin again is not just the kshirah and not just the hanacha al harosh, but the awareness of the fact that a person is me'utar bitfillin and what it says in the parshiyos of the tfillin. So mistama that's what the Chovos Halevavos has in mind as well.