Reb Menachem Mendel Futerfas, known as Reb Mendel, was a famous Chabad chossid and mashpia. In the second half of the 20th century, he heroically operated clandestine Jewish cheders in the antisemitic USSR, for which he was incarcerated for 14 years in Siberian gulags. Before his arrest he was a known storyteller, so unsurprisingly, after his release and emigration to Israel, he shared many lessons and stories relating to his time in jail.
He once told that although no foreign objects were allowed in the prison, his prison-mates found a way to smuggle a deck of playing cards in. The prison guard could see them playing; however, when he came in, the cards would be gone. As hard as he would search, the puzzled guard could not find the illicit item.
This happened time and time again and became a joke among the prisoners, with the guard becoming more and more frustrated each time as he failed to find the cards.
כִּ֚י הַמִּצְוָ֣ה הַזֹּ֔את אֲשֶׁ֛ר אָנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיּ֑וֹם לֹֽא־נִפְלֵ֥את הִוא֙ מִמְּךָ֔ וְלֹ֥א רְחֹקָ֖ה הִֽוא׃
Surely, this Instruction which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach.
לֹ֥א בַשָּׁמַ֖יִם הִ֑וא לֵאמֹ֗ר מִ֣י יַעֲלֶה־לָּ֤נוּ הַשָּׁמַ֙יְמָה֙ וְיִקָּחֶ֣הָ לָּ֔נוּ וְיַשְׁמִעֵ֥נוּ אֹתָ֖הּ וְנַעֲשֶֽׂנָּה׃
It is not in the heavens, that you should say, “Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?”
וְלֹֽא־מֵעֵ֥בֶר לַיָּ֖ם הִ֑וא לֵאמֹ֗ר מִ֣י יַעֲבָר־לָ֜נוּ אֶל־עֵ֤בֶר הַיָּם֙ וְיִקָּחֶ֣הָ לָּ֔נוּ וְיַשְׁמִעֵ֥נוּ אֹתָ֖הּ וְנַעֲשֶֽׂנָּה׃
Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?”
כִּֽי־קָר֥וֹב אֵלֶ֛יךָ הַדָּבָ֖ר מְאֹ֑ד בְּפִ֥יךָ וּבִֽלְבָבְךָ֖ לַעֲשֹׂתֽוֹ׃ (ס)
No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it.
The commentaries debate which mitzva the Torah speaking of.
Rashi takes a broad approach: the Torah refers not to a particular mitzva, but to all the mitzvot. The mitzvot are our responsibility. We must make no excuses. Their accomplishment is within our reach.
The Seforno on these pesukim points out the difficulty with Rashi’s expansive explanation. If these verses refer to all mitzvot, the pesukim would not be true for everyone. Thank G-d everyone in this room lives today in a community and an era where we have the resources necessary to perform the mitzvot. We have teachers, books, and even the internet to help us study Torah. We have religious freedom to perform the mitzvot. The mitzvot are available and accessible to all of us. But the Torah is not delivering a message only to Riverdale 2019; the Torah is speaking to each and every Jew throughout history. Did the Jews of thirteenth century Paris have an real opportunity to study Torah after every Talmud in the city was burnt? Did Jews in drafted into the Russian army in the nineteenth century have an opportunity to shake a lulav and etrog? Though we have all heard inspirational heroic stories, could anyone suggest that Jews in the concentration camps had an opportunity to perform the 613 mitzvot?
Many Jews were not blessed with our opportunities: there were many eras where individuals with literally zero chance to live a Torah lifestyle. “Karov eilecha hadavar- the thing is very close to you” would be an understatement and a slap in the face to these Jews who had no opportunity to perform many of the mitzvot.
This, explains the Seforno, is what drives the explanation of the Ramban.
“Hamitzva hazot -this mitzva” in this passage does not refer to all mitzvot. It refers to a specific mitzva: the mitzva of teshuva.
You don’t need resources. You don’t even need a teacher to teach you the halachot. You can do it behind prison bars, on the front lines, and even stranded on an island. You can do teshuva when life is good, and you can do teshuva on your death bed. Bficha uvilvavcha la’asoto. If your heart beats, you can do teshuva.
Reb Mendel related that after enough card games, eventually the guard made a deal with the prisoners.
You guys are driving me crazy. I promise I won’t even take the cards away from you. I just need to know where you’ve been hiding them. It boggles my mind. I’m going crazy from searching.
Every time you came in, explained the prisoners, one of the quick handed thieves would slip the cards into your pocket. You’d search and search every nook and cranny of the cell and every inch on our bodies, but you never checked your own pockets. On your way out, we would pickpocket you to get our cards back.
Many books about teshuva or self-help books are printed to inspire us or improve our lives. Of course, these books can be very helpful. I hope over the next two weeks you will receive relevant information and inspiration through the drashot and shiurim from our rabbinic team. We will hopefully all have a chance to hear the beautiful davening of Chazzan Shim as well as other chazzanim at the shul’s various minyanim.
But as we search for inspiration during this yomim noraim season, let’s not make the same mistake that guard made.
Make sure to search yourself.
Ki Kirova hadavar miod, bfeecha uvilvavcha la’asoto.
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