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ARSHAS NITZAVIM

 “And you shall choose life that you may live you and your descendants.” (Devarim 30:19)

Rav Chagai said “Not only did I give you two paths I even went beyond the letter of the law and said to you: ‘You shall choose life.’ ” (Midrash Rabbah Re’eh 3)

The Midrash’s words “beyond the letter of the law” beg explanation. Isn’t this act of choosing life a basic command upon which all of avodas Hashem depends? How can we say that it was given to us beyond the letter of the law?

Furthermore there’s another midrash on parshas Bechukosai that seems to demand a similar explanation. The pasuk says: “If you walk in my statutes and keep my commandments and do them.” Chazal say: “If you fulfill the mitzvos I consider it as if you did them.” How do we understand the words “as if you did them”? This seems to mean that even if Bnei Yisrael didn’t actually fulfill the mitzvos Hashem counts it as if they did them. But what if they actually did fulfill the mitzvos? Why should that be counted “as if” they did them? (Yalkut Lekach Tov)

Rosh Hashanah is in the air. My house has that energetic zest — the sounds and smells of a bright new year bursting with promise. I shift into high gear baking ironing shopping. I spend hours on the phone wishing friends and relatives shanah tovah. The pace picks up as I scurry around.

Taking a semi-burned simanim casserole out of the oven I sigh at the sight of those hours of preparation destroyed. Ah well. It should be a good siman: May all our enemies’ wicked thoughts be burned!

Every fiber of my being is looking forward to a new start. As I de-seed pomegranates and cook a fish head my thoughts roam free. Perhaps this year I’ll manage to be more patient… perhaps I’ll be more careful in my brachos… succeed in overcoming my laziness…

My hands clear the counter while my mind reels from the concept of judgment. I want to come before the King as a better person. Tears converge in my throat I want to promise not to sin anymore and to accept upon myself more kabbalos to ensure my future.

But despite my goodwill my inner censor refuses to be silent. Will I really fulfill all my good intentions? Or will this coming year also be littered with failures?

It seems that both midrashim mentioned here mean the same thing. Rabbeinu Yonah in Shaarei Teshuvah (2:6) says: “And Bnei Yisrael went and did  so” (Shemos 12:28). Did they immediately do it? Didn’t they only do it on the 14th of Nissan? However since they accepted upon themselves to do it the pasuk speaks as if they did it immediately. Rabbeinu Yonah explains “For the man who full-heartedly accepted upon himself to fulfill and do all that the Torah teaches him already has reward for the mitzvos as of today.”

There’s no doubt that Hashem rewarding man for his will and intent alone as if he already fulfilled it is a wonderful chesed from Him . (ibid.)

My counter is covered with every pot that I own and I’m still not finished cooking. My ladle dips repeatedly dividing the soup into containers. But my thoughts are on the Rabbeinu Yonah.

Did you hear that? The Rabbeinu Yonah is talking about me! He’s discussing my desire to be a better person. He says “You shall choose life.” If you have good kabbalos for the coming year then it doesn’t matter what actually happens to them come the winter. Now it’s as if you fulfilled them.

Fulfilling the command to choose life grants a person the opportunity to tilt the scales for good.

When Yom Hadin would approach Rav Eliyahu Dessler ztz”l would instruct his students to make kabbalos. Through this act of accepting upon themselves kabbalos they’d be meritorious in their judgment. (ibid.)

A good kabbalah isn’t just a code word that goes with Elul. It’s the proof of teshuvah printed on the paper of sincere desire and written with the ink of the soul. A good kabbalah is our disclaimer before Hashem because we don’t really know if we’ll be successful in the future. But right now the desire to improve is in our hearts accompanied by our tears.

And Hashem bestows upon us chesed beyond the letter of the law and accepts these good desires as actions.

Shanah tovah u’mesukah!