The Thrice-Braided Rope – Tu B’Shvat and Parshas Yisro | By Rabbi Dovid Katz

By Rabbi Dovid Katz, Executive Director of Israel Heritage Foundation (IHF):

Transcribed by Matis Glenn

והחוט המשלש לא במהרה ינתק (Koheles 4:12)

“The thrice-braided rope will not come undone quickly”

We find ourselves in a very special time. It’s the month of Shvat, when Moshe began teaching the holy Torah to Bnei Yisroel, we’re reading Parshas Yisro, the sidra wich contains Kabbalas Hatorah, and it’s also the week of Tu Bi’Shvat, which also has a connection to Torah, as the pasuk says (Mishlei 3:18)עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה ותמכיה מאשר , It (the Torah) is a tree of life for those who grasp it, and its supporters are enriched.

The connection between Tu Bi’Shvat, the new year for trees, and Torah, is that the Gemara (Brachos 32b) says Divrei Torah require chizuk; Torah is a tree of chayim, it needs to be learned with chiyus, liveliness.

Torah was taught to us in Shvat, as the pasuk says (Devarim 1:5) הואיל משה באר את התורה , Moshe began explaining the Torah, which Chazal say was in the month of Shvat. It needs to be learned with understanding and clarity, and one needs to to review it. We should horev, toil over it, see the sweetness of it.

The connection to Parshas Yisro, when the Ribono Shel Olam gave us the Torah, is clear.

Thus we see a thrice-braided rope that we are currently living in. The Ribono Shel Olam is giving us another chance to be mekabel, to receive the Torah; what is our preparation for Torah in this special time?

In this week’s Parshah, the pasuk (Shemos 19:2) says ויסעו מרפידים ויבאו מדבר סיני ויחנו במדבר ויחן שם ישראל נגד ההר, And they (Bnei Yisroel) traveled from Refidim, and they came to the Sinai desert, they encamped in the desert and there Yisroel encamped opposite the mountain.

The Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh asks that it already said in the previous pasuk that the Bnei Yisroel arrived in the Sinai desert, so why in this pasuk is the Torah telling us where they left from – it should first say first where they came from, and then tell us where they arrived.

Says the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh, there are three main conditions one needs in order to prepare for Kabbalas Hatorah, ויסעו מרפידים, a person needs to leave the rifyon, the lazy approach to learning, and learn Torah with a geshmak, with great strength and dedication, then ויבאו מדבר סיני, he will come to the desert, which means making one’s self into a midbar with humility, as the Gemara says (Eruvin 54a) that Torah stays by someone who makes himself into a desert. The third condition isויחן שם ישראל, written in the singular grammatical expression, to connote the importance of achdus, unity among Jews. The Gemara (Brachos 63b) says that Torah cant be learned alone; it needs to be learned together, with achdus; people become united in its learning and they are more successful.

Just as the Bnei Yisroel fulfilled these three conditions, so too should be our outlook in how we approach Kabbalas Hatorah; learn without laziness, with a geshmak, with humility and not arrogance, and with achdus, like we say in Yom Shabason,ובאו כולם בברית יחד נעשה ונשמע אמרו כאחד, “And all of them came in the covenant together, na’aseh and nishma they said as one.”

Further in this week’s Parshah, the pasuk (19:3) says כה תאמר לבית יעקב ותגיד לבני ישראל “So shall you say to the House of Ya’akov, and relate to the Bnei Yisroel. Rashi famously quotes Chazal that כה תאמר לבית יעקב refers to the Jewish women, to whom Moshe is told by Hashem to speak gently, as תאמר connotes a softer expression, while for men, he is told ותגיד, to speak in a harder language.

The Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh asks that we don’t find that Hashem gave different messages to men and women; Hashem spoke to all Jews at the same time; the Torah was given as a whole, not with anything added or subtracted. Also, the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh says that in reality, there’s nothing harsh in the Torah to begin with.

Rather, says the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh,תאמר refers to Ahavas Hashem, love of Hashem, and ותגיד refers to Yiras Hashem, fear of Him.

Fear love for Hashem both have advantages and potential dangers. One who serves Hashem with love does Mitzvos wholeheartedly, but without proper Yiras Shomayim, there’s a danger of feeling too close and friendly with Him, which can lead to thinking, incorrectly, that Hashem will not carefully scrutinize our actions. A person who serves Hashem with Yiras Shomayim, however, will be careful to avoid even the slightest mistake, but his Avodas Hashem will be incomplete, because it’s being done from fear and not with love.

In order to be zocheh, to merit Kabalas Hatorah, we need both Ahavas Hashem and Yiras Hashem, תאמר and ותגיד. Loving Hashem means we have a passion for Him, we want to do what He wants with all of our abilities and give 100% of ourselves to Him, but at the same time we don’t become too friendly, that we can, chas veshalom not respect Him fully. For that we need Yiras Shomayim, to be afraid of Him and His honor, to know that we are His servants, and that Hashem is the King of King of Kings.

As we prepare to accept upon ourselves the Torah on Tu Bi’Shvat, in Chodesh Shvat and on Shabbos Parshas Yisro, we need to keep in mind these five things. Not to be lazy in Torah, to be strong like a lion to serve Hashem and learn His Torah, approaching Torah with humility, achdus. Ahavas Hashsm and Yiras Shomayim. When we have all these five things, we can be zocheh to be mekabel the Torah, and receive all of the heavenly blessings of health and more, as the Bnei Yisroel were all healed at Har Sinai.

May we be zocheh to see children and grandchildren involved in Torah, with all of its blessings of parnosa, health and all things good.