At his bar mitzvah celebration, Josh sees his Rabbi take the silver goblet he had received as a gift, and put it into his pocket. Josh says to his father, “Dad I can’t believe what the Rabbi just did!” His father replies, “Look son, he’s our Rabbi. He must have needed it for a good reason. I don’t want to hear about it ever again.” Years pass. The boy is now in college, and goes on a free trip to Israel with Birthright. While visiting the Kotel for the first time, he sees a familiar face. As he gets closer he recognizes his Rabbi. Excited, he runs over and says, “Rabbi, do you remember me?” He says, “Of course I do, Josh. I still remember your bar mitzvah. It will be in my mind forever.” Josh seizes the opportunity and says, “Rabbi, this has been on my mind for a long time. Why did you take my silver goblet?” The Rabbi responds, “You mean you never found it? Josh, I put it into your tefillin bag.”

* * *

Mishpatim: G-d Awaits our Return [1]

In this portion, the Torah tells us of the case of a man who is very poor, and cannot support his family. He is allowed to ‘sell’ his daughter, who is under the age of maturity, to a Jewish master, with the intent that the master or his son will marry her, as it is written “He should have designated her as a wife for himself…”[2]

We find in this verse the word “lo” which is a ‘kri-and-a-ksiv‘. A “kri-and-a-ksiv” is a word that is pronounced (kri) one way, but written (ksiv) in the Torah scroll a different way. These two ways of reading the word also imply different shades of meaning.[3] The kri is spelled Lamed-Vav , and means that “He should have designated her as a wife….” The ksiv however is spelled Lamed Alef , meaning “He did not designate her as a wife….”[4] What deeper meaning can we derive from this difference?

THREE KINDS OF ‘LO’
The Tzemach Tzedek [5] gives three interpretations on the difference between ‘lo’ with an Alef and ‘lo’ with a Vav.

I. ‘Lo’ with an Alef hints at Keter, ‘Crown’, the first and holiest sefirah or Divine attribute. This is because the letter Alef is not only the first in the sequence of the Alef-Beis, but also the first in importance and holiness. Keter is the level of G-dliness above and beyond the world, like a crown sitting above the head. ‘Lo’ with a Vav, on the other hand, represents G-dliness as it descends into the natural world. This is because the graphic design of the Vav is like a chute.[6]

II. Another interpretation: ‘Lo’ with an Alef literally means ‘no’. Therefore it represents ‘Lo saasei’, the 365 negative commandments in the Torah. ‘Lo’ with a Vav represents the 248 positive commandments–”he should” (do them)…

III. ‘Lo’ with an Alef and ‘lo’ with a Vav together spell out the word Elul.

THE POWER OF TESHUVAH, REPENTANCE
At his bar mitzvah, my classmate received a letter [7] from the Lubavitcher Rebbe discussing the following question. Why does a boy recite tachanun, the prayers of teshuvah, or repentance, on the day of his bar mitzvah? As the Zohar explains, a bar mitzvah is similar to Shavuos, the day G-d gave the Torah to the Jews on Mount Sinai. Shavuos is a Holy Day, a day on which we do not recite tachanun. Surely, one should not recite tachanun on his bar mitzvah day.

The Rebbe explains that a boy becomes fully obligated to fulfill all 613 commandments of the Torah on his bar mitzvah day. This must be done with joy. But the bar mitzvah boy can sometimes become intimidated: ‘How can I ever fulfill all of these commandments-it’s very difficult.’

However, the Creator of the Universe knows the future, and knows all of the difficulties that the young man might encounter. He gives all the necessary tools and fills him with strength to overcome all these challenges and fulfill the mitzvos. Therefore, in addition to the commandments that he receives on the day of his bar mitzvah, he is also given the responsibility to say tachanun. If, G-d forbid, he fails at accomplishing any of the commandments, G-d is ready to accept him through repentance.

Reciting the Shema is the first mitzvah fulfilled by the bar mitzvah boy. By doing so, he accepts upon himself the yoke of G-d and the yoke of mitzvos. Afterwards, he recites tachanun to instill in himself the awareness that he can always do teshuvah. Even if he violated the very first mitzvah he was given, there is nothing that stands in the way of teshuvah.

NEVER GIVE UP
This is the inner meaning of our verse, “He should have designated her as a wife.” G-d is the groom, and we, the Jewish people, are His bride. On the holiday of Shavuos, G-d marries us;[8] however we must do our part.

1. First we must say the Shema and accept the yoke of G-d upon ourselves. But this is not enough-the Shema only acknowledges G-d above and beyond nature, the level of Keter-‘lo’ with an Alef. We must bring G-d down into this world–‘lo’ with a Vav.

2. This is done by fulfilling the 613 commandments-the 365 negative commandments (‘lo’ with an Alef) and the 285 positive commandments (‘lo’ with a Vav).

3. If we inadvertently neglect a positive commandment or violate a negative commandment, we must not give up or fall into melancholy–we must believe in our heart of hearts that we can do teshuvah. Elul (‘Lamed Alef’ and ‘Lamed Vav’), the month that precedes the High Holy Days, is the month of teshuvah. One doesn’t need to wait until Elul to do teshuvah, however. G-d welcomes teshuvah every day of the year. And, as the Rambam rules,[9] in the place where a baal teshuvah stands, even a tzaddik, a perpetually righteous person, cannot stand.

A STORY
Rabbi Mendel Futerfas was imprisoned in Russia in 1947 for his underground work spreading yiddishkeit. After he was freed many years later, he told the following story.

Card-playing was prohibited among the inmates. They still managed to smuggle a deck of cards into the prison. One day, Rabbi Mendel observed a group of inmates as they pulled out a deck of cards and began a game. A guard soon approached the room. One of the inmates scouting the hall gave a signal to the players and the deck disappeared. The guard cautiously walked into the room and said, “I certainly hope no one has been playing cards!” The inmates shook their heads. As soon as the guard left they continued their game.

A few minutes later, the guard reappeared. The deck again disappeared, but this time the suspicious guard ordered all the inmates to line up for a body-search. He found nothing. The guard left the room, only to reappear, demanding a strip-search. Again, he found nothing and left.

Rabbi Mendel, having observed this whole scenario, asked the head card-player how he had hidden the deck. The inmate quietly explained, “Look. We are the country’s top masterminds. We have our ways. Whenever the guard came in he was looking only at us, not at himself. So we slipped the cards into his pocket.

 * * *

Bar mitzvah boys and bat mitzvah girls must recognize the power they now have in their own pocket. G-d empowers each of us to perform all 613 mitzvos and to bring complete Redemption to the world.

ACTION: Recite the first two parts of the Shema, and meditate on accepting the yoke of G-d and the yoke of mitzvos.

FOOTNOTES
[1] An address dedicated to my son Avraham Eliyahu on the occasion of his bar mitzvah, 20th of Shevat, 5765. Mazal tov. May you grow to be a chasid, a yiras Shamayim, and a lamdan.
[2] Exodus, 21:8, 9. See also Rashi on verse 21:9. And see Rambam, Laws of Slaves, Chapter 4:1.
[3] See our commentary on Noach for more on the phenomenon of ‘kri and ksiv‘.
[4] See Rashi and Sifsei Chachamim on verse 21:8.
[5] Sefer Likutim, chapter on the word ‘Lo’. See also Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 19, p. 162 and further.
[6] See Letters of Light, chapter on the letter Vav.
[7] Dated 10th Kislev 5740, addressed to “HaAvraich Aryeh Lieb Leiberman”; Published in Yalkut Bar Mitzvah
[8] Zohar, Mishpatim, 96b, 94b.
[9] Rambam’s Laws of Teshuvah, Vol. 7:4.