Parshat Toldot
November 8, 2002

Vehaya Im Shamoa V

“Vesamtem et divaray eyleh al levavechem veal nafshechem – and you shall place these words on your hearts and souls.” 1. How do you place words on your heart and soul? 2. Where are we taking these words that they need to be imprinted on us?

HaRav Miller zt”l explains that the heart and soul imply the mind and desires. A good litmus paper test to measure the essence of a person is – what are his/her true desires? Whom do they want to emulate? What about him/her is so inspiring that it is worth emulating? Is it a sports figure, an actor, a comedian…. ? This verse in the Shema charges us to place the timeless lessons of Torah in the forefront of our priorities. Our hearts and souls should be filled with Torah thoughts, wisdom, and knowledge. Our role models should manifest genuine Torah qualities truly worth modeling that we won’t grow out of as we mature.

Our sages comment on this verse saying “ Perform the mitzvot wherever you will find yourselves in the exile”. Torah has been the glue that has bound together the Jewish people as a nation over the last two thousand years in the exile. In every continent and country that we have resided it is only the Torah that has allowed us to maintain ourselves. It should serve as an inspiration that in any corner of the world you look, an observant community reads the same words from the same Torah that G-d transmitted at Sinai over 3300 years ago. This is because we have heeded the verse and taken the Torah with us wherever we go.

The Talmud Kiddushin explains, “Vesamtem can be extrapolated as Sam Tam – a pure elixir.” In fact the Talmud goes on to explain that “G-d created a Yetzer Hara – negative inclination in all of us, and He created the Torah as its antidote. Rav Zadok Hakohen zt”l teaches that the Torah does not squelch the Yetzer Harah but rather helps channel its energies positively.

It is because the Torah is the Elixir of life that gives form and direction to every aspect of living from infancy until advance maturity in every room of the house, that we are directed to learn its lessons well and take them with us every step of the way.

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Ephraim Epstein

*Helpful Hint* Jot down some of the interpretations you learn into the margins of your personal siddur. This will enable you to access and utilize these and other Tefilla tips more easily.