וְשָׁמַרְתָּ אֶת־מִצְוֺת ה’ אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ לָלֶכֶת בִּדְרָכָיו וּלְיִרְאָה אֹתוֹ
Keep the commandments of the LORD your God: walk in His ways and revere Him. (Deuteronomy 8:6)
What does it mean to walk in G-d’s ways? The Talmud explains that this means to emulate G-d in His ways of goodness and kindness. Just as G-d is kind and merciful to his creations so too shall you be.
This concept appears two more times in this week’s parsha.
וְעַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל מָה ה’ אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ שֹׁאֵל מֵעִמָּךְ כִּי אִם־לְיִרְאָה אֶת־ה’ אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ לָלֶכֶת בְּכׇל־דְּרָכָיו וּלְאַהֲבָה אֹתוֹ וְלַעֲבֹד אֶת־ה’ אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ בְּכׇל־לְבָבְךָ וּבְכׇל־נַפְשֶׁךָ׃
And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God demand of you? Only this: to revere the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and soul. (Deuteronomy 10:12)
כִּי אִם־שָׁמֹר תִּשְׁמְרוּן אֶת־כׇּל־הַמִּצְוָה הַזֹּאת אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם לַעֲשֹׂתָהּ לְאַהֲבָה אֶת־ה’ אֱ-לֹהֵיכֶם לָלֶכֶת בְּכׇל־דְּרָכָיו וּלְדׇבְקָה־בוֹ
If, then, you faithfully keep all this Instruction that I command you, loving the LORD your God, walking in all His ways, and clinging to Him (Deuteronomy 11:22)
Why is this concept mentioned three times?
Rabbi Yisroel Meir Kagan, of blessed memory, famously known as the Chofetz Chaim, answered that we need to take note that in each one of these verses the concept of emulating G-d precedes one of three levels of relationship with the Almighty. In 8:6 the Torah states,”walk in His ways and revere Him.” In 10:12 it states,” to walk in all His ways, to love Him.” And in 11:22 the Torah states,”walking in all His ways, and clinging to Him.”
These three levels – reverence, love, and clinging – are in ascending order of relating to G-d. Love is a higher level than fear while clinging is higher than love. To love G-d means that you relate to G-d with love but you don’t actually experience feelings of that love all the time. Clinging to G-d means that one’s love for G-d is so intense that those feelings of love are present constantly.
The Torah mentions emulating G-d before every one of these levels to teach us that you cannot attain them without following in G-d’s ways, i.e. being kind and considerate to others.
Emulating G-d makes us identify with Him and pulls us away from self centeredness. We can thus begin to revere him – ”walk in His ways and revere Him.”
One might think that to come to loving G-d we need to be focused on his wondrous acts and greatness and not on mundane matters such as other people’s needs. Therefore the Torah repeats “to walk in all His ways, to love Him.” You cannot reach the higher level of loving G-d without emulating his care for others.
Okay. But clinging to G-d,which means to have that intense and constant connection to G-d, needs constant focus on G-d and nothing else. Not so! You can only cling to G-d if you are G-dlike. That can only happen if you emulate his ways of kindness and goodness. Therefore the Torah states, ”walking in all His ways, and clinging to Him.”
The hallmark of the greatest Jewish personalities has always been caring for others.
Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzenski (1863-1940) was one of the leading rabbis of European Jewry before WWII. The most intricate questions regarding Halacha (Jewish Law) were posed to him from throughout the world.He was the address for every institution and individual in need. His sensitivity and care for every person who came to him for help was legendary. He published some of the thousands of Responsa he wrote in his monumental work called Achiezer. After its release he commented that at one point he thought that publishing books of Torah study was a distinguished endeavor. As he aged he reached the conclusion that compared to the help that one extends to needy Torah scholars, to the downtrodden and poor, and to widows and orphans, publishing (even Torah) books doesn’t come close!
Shabbat Shalom!
Yitzchak