In Perashat Debarim Moshe Rabenu reviewed the plot of the Merag'lim (sin of the spies). In Perashat Va-Et-hannan he reviewed the Aseret HaDib'rot (the Ten Commandments) and in Perashat 'Eqeb, Moshe Rabenu retold the story of the sin of the Golden Calf. One major aspect of the retelling of the sin of the Golden Calf, is the forty days and forty nights that Moshe Rabenu spent each time that he received the Luhot (tablets). Meaning that both the first set of Luhot, that Moshe broke, and the second set of Luhot, that Moshe Rabenu brought to the nation, were given to Moshe at the conclusion of a forty day period, during which Moshe Rabenu did not eat or drink. In fact, the forty days and forty nights are mentioned five times in Perashat 'Eqeb, whereas when the story was told originally, the forty days and forty nights were only mentioned once at the end of Perashat Mishpatim and once in Perashat Ki Tissa. The Mishnah in the third chapter of Masekhet Niddah taught that it takes forty days from the moment of conception for an embryo to form. The Seforno connected this to Moshe Rabenu's experience on Har Sinai. Meaning that Moshe Rabenu was formed again so to speak, in order to reach the highest level of prophecy and understanding of Hashem. This forty day period was necessary for Moshe to reach this level. And in order reach this lofty spiritual level he had to abstain from the physical indulgence in food and drink. But the question is how come he had to go through this forty day period 3 times? The Seforno explained that Moshe Rabenu was about to achieve that lofty spiritual height the first time, but then the Jewish people sinned with the Golden Calf, interrupting his experience, as the pasuq in Ki Tissa reported: וידבר ה' אל משה לך רד כי שחת עמך Meaning that your nation destroyed the forty day prophecy and you have to descend the mountain quickly. You can not stay here and achieve that level that I intended for you. The second forty day period was to pray on behalf of the nation, and therefore the focus was not on Moshe Rabenu's personal spiritual attainment. But in the third and final forty day period Moshe did in fact reach the pinnacle of prophetic revelation as the verse in Ki Tissa stated: כי קרן עור פניו Moshe's face was shining. This was the manifestation of Moshe's lofty spiritual level at that point. So it was this third and final set of forty days that counted the most which occurred from the first of Elul until Yom Kippur. It was on Yom Kippur that Moshe descended the mountain with the second set of Luhot. And because those final set of 40 days were the most important set, we observe those same forty days every year, as days of Selihot and Teshubah. And as we said previously the Mishnah taught that an embryo is formed in forty days. Meaning that a person can redeem himself over a 40 day period. At the end of the month of Ab one could be a certain kind of person, but if he uses the 40 day period from Rosh Hodesh Elul until Kippur properly, by Yom Kippur he could be a totally different person, new and improved. It’s up to us to use the time properly in order to get the full benefit.
THE SECOND PARAGRAPH OF SH'MA' Towards the end of Perashat 'Eqeb we read the second Perashah of Q'riat Sh'ma'. In Va-Et-hannan we read the first Perashah that begins Sh'ma' Yisrael and in Perashat 'Eqeb we read the second Perashah that begins V’Hayah Im Shamoa'. The main theme of V'Hayah Im Shamoa' is reward and punishment. Reward for the performance of the Missvot and punishments for the transgressions. Of course the second Perashah of Q'riat Sh'ma' bears many similarities to the first Perashah from Perashat Va-Et-hannan. The commentators addressed the question of why there is repetition? On the verse "with all of your hearts and all of your souls" Rashi asked; the first paragraph of Sh'ma' already stated "with all of your heart and all of your soul"? Rashi's answer was based on the fact that in the first paragraph it is written in the singular and in the second paragraph in the plural. Meaning that the first verse is directed to each and every individual as an individual and the second paragraph is speaking to the nation as a whole. Rashi's source for this answer was the Sifre'. The Ramban explained that the second paragraph speaks about an agricultural blessing or curse. Therefore the second paragraph his in the plural, since the general situation in the world is determined by the nation's collective merit. But even if the nation as a whole is good, and as a result the general agricultural and economic situation is good, the wicked individuals can and will be punished individually. And the same is true in the opposite situation as well. Then the Ramban goes on to explain that unless someone is very righteous or very wicked, they will always receive their reward or punishment as part of the natural course of events. Meaning, the average person might be punished for a sin through a financial loss that could be easily attributed to normal business activity, and rewarded in a similar manner. It's only the very righteous or very wicked that get rewarded or punished in a miraculous way. What is יורה ומלקוש ? The commentators explain that יורה is rain at the beginning of the season either from the word רוה which means to saturate or fill with water, or from the word הורה which means to teach or show. Meaning that rain at the beginning of the season shows that it will be a successful rainy season. מלקוש is the rain at the end of the season. Either from the word קשה (hard), because it falls at the end of the season when the grains are hard, or from the Aramaic word לקש which means late. Rashi based on the Sifre noted that the verse, ושמתם את דברי אלה על לבבכם "And you should put these words of mine on your heart", comes right after the verse that begins וחרה, which talks about the punishment of exile, in order to remind us that we are still obligated to perform the Missvot in exile. And Ramban explained that the second paragraph repeats the Missvot of Tefillin, Ssissit, and Mezuzah, to teach that they apply outside the land of Israel as well. Meaning that personal obligations are binding all over the world, only Missvot that apply to the land itself apply only in the Land of Israel. Finally, the Ramban dealt with the repetition of ושננתם לבניך ודברת בם and ולמדתם אותם את בניכם לדבר בם and he made a distinction between ושננתם which means to tell them words of Torah and ולמדתם which means to teach your children until they become conversant in matters of Torah.