Parashat Ki Tavo
Bs"d
To Rejoice and Bring Joy
(The original was written in Hebrew. AI translation into English)
In Parashat Ki Tavo, the Torah introduces the declaration concerning the tithes (Vidui Ma’aser). In the time of the Beit HaMikdash, after completing the required tithes at the end of the three-year cycle and fulfilling all the mitzvot connected with the produce of Eretz Yisrael, a Jew would make this declaration, affirming that he had observed all the Torah’s requirements regarding his produce.
At the conclusion of the declaration, he says:
“I have listened to the voice of Hashem, my God; I have done according to all that You commanded me”
(Devarim 26:14).
Rashi explains the words “according to all that You commanded me” as meaning: “I rejoiced and I brought joy through it.”
In other words, the culmination of this mitzvah is the declaration that I did not merely rejoice personally in the blessing Hashem granted me; I also used that blessing to bring joy to others — to the Levi, the orphan, the convert, and the widow, those who lacked the means to provide for themselves.
Yet this raises a question. Why is it necessary to mention that I myself rejoiced? Would it not be enough to emphasize the far greater achievement — that I brought joy to others? What does the individual’s personal joy have to do with this mitzvah?
To understand this, let us consider two different translations of the Torah’s command concerning a bridegroom and bride during their first year of marriage:
“When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out to the army, nor shall any obligation be imposed upon him. He shall be free for his home for one year, and he shall bring joy to his wife whom he has taken”
(Devarim 24:5).
Targum Onkelos translates the verse as “v’yechadei yat itteih di nesiv” — he shall bring joy to the wife whom he has married.
Targum Yonatan ben Uziel, however, renders it “v’yechadei im itteteih di nesiv” — he shall rejoice together with his wife.
Some explain that these two interpretations complement one another. In order for a husband truly to bring joy to his wife, he must himself rejoice together with her.
Only a person who possesses joy within himself can truly bring joy to others. How can someone who has no joy of his own inspire joy in another?
With this understanding, we can consider an important principle in educating our children and students.
Rashi explains the very meaning of chinuch in his commentary on Avraham Avinu’s battle against the four kings who had captured Lot and the people of Sodom. The Torah says:
“He armed his trained men, those born in his household, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them as far as Dan”
(Bereishit 14:14).
On the word chanichav — “his trained men” — Rashi explains that the term refers to the beginning of a person’s or an object’s entry into the task or profession for which it is ultimately destined.
Chinuch, then, is preparation for a purpose. We educate a Jewish child so that he will be prepared for the purpose he is meant to fulfill.
But what exactly is that purpose? What is the ultimate goal of a Jew’s life, toward which we should educate ourselves and our students?
For the answer, let us turn to the words of the holy Ramchal at the beginning of Mesillat Yesharim:
“Our Sages have taught us that man was created only to delight in Hashem and to enjoy the radiance of His Presence, for this is the true delight and the greatest pleasure that can possibly exist.”
The goal, then, can be expressed in two remarkable words: to delight and to enjoy — nothing less!
Of course, throughout the rest of Mesillat Yesharim, the Ramchal carefully explains all the effort, discipline, and spiritual growth required in order ultimately to reach this goal. But as educators, we must never lose sight of the goal itself.
We must ask ourselves: Are we teaching our students to enjoy and delight in Torah and holiness? Or, God forbid, are we training them merely to perform mitzvot mechanically, without experiencing their joy, beauty, and inner sweetness?
The Chida writes in his Moreh B’Etzba that the Arizal attained all of his extraordinary spiritual heights through the tremendous joy with which he performed the mitzvot.
If an educator’s task is to reveal to his students the profound joy and satisfaction that can be found in a life of Torah and mitzvot, he must first experience that joy himself.
We return, then, to the principle with which we began: only one who rejoices himself can bring joy to others.
Only a parent or educator who conveys a genuine sense of joy and inner fulfillment in his own spiritual life can transmit that feeling to his children and students. And the deepest source of this joy, as our holy sefarim teach, comes from contemplating the extraordinary kindness Hashem has bestowed upon us simply by allowing us to be part of His people:
“Let Israel rejoice in its Maker; let the children of Zion exult in their King.”
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