We read in parshat Ki Tavo about the annual reciting of “Mikra Bikkurim” in the Beit HaMikdash upon the new fruits, where we thank Hashem for the Land of Israel which He promised to our forefathers and fulfilled by giving to us, their children. Nechama Lebowitz zt”l often looks for the key root which Hashem ingeniously repeats redundantly, usually 7 times, as the Torah’s “trick” to point out the key idea, hiding “between the lines” of that passage.
If one doesn’t learn Torah in the original Hebrew, one of the many problems is that he usually misses this “trick”, for often the root is translated in different ways, according to the context. Here, the key root is NT”N, which means: give.
“And it will be, when you come into the Land which the Lord, your G-d, GIVES you… you shall take of the first of all the fruit of … your Land, which the Lord, your G-d, is GIVING you. And you shall put [them] into a basket and go to the [Beit HaMikdash]… And you shall come to the Kohen… and say to him, “I declare this day to the Lord, your G-d, that I have come to the Land which the Lord swore to our forefathers to GIVE us.” And you shall call out… “An Aramean (Lavan) [sought to] destroy my forefather (Ya’akov), and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there with a small number of people… And the Egyptians treated us cruelly… and they GAVE us [“vayitnu”] hard labor (often translated: imposed). So we cried out to the Lord… And the Lord brought us out from Egypt… And He brought us to this place, and He GAVE us this Land… And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground which you, O Lord, have GIVEN to me.” Then, you shall lay it before the Lord… Then, you shall rejoice with all the good that the Lord, your G-d, has GIVEN you and your household you, the Levite, and the stranger who is among you.”
The most interesting part of this “trick” is where the root is apparently used “artificially”, in a way which is sort of “forced”, just in order to get to the number: 7 (compelling us to ask, why is davka this root used here?)! Here, all of the noten, natan, natata are logical, except for one. Why doesn’t the Torah say that the Egyptians “worked” us hard (as usual, see Shmot 1, 13), but rather the awkward “gave us hard labor”?
Apparently, the Torah is going out of her way to teach us that even the most difficult of challenges, is also a “gift”- “matana” (from that same root: give-“natan”), which Hashem grants us also for the good. Many times in my own life, what I thought was a terrible fate, turned out surprisingly to be the best thing for me! I was planning on doing 10 months of IDF service, as an Oleh, but the army surprised me that because I came at the age of 17, I had to do a full 3 year service. I was already married, and my wife was pregnant, and this surprise seemed to totally complicate our plans. After conferring with my rosh yeshiva, we decided that I will do the regular Israeli Hesder 4.5 year program, where the army supported me, and I gained an additional (unexpected) 4 years in yeshiva (supported by the IDF!), during which I also completed smicha and a teacher’s degree, and subsequently finalized my decision to go into Jewish education!
Similarly today, during the 3rd and final “giving” of Eretz Yisrael to us, the present war with Hamas, Hizballah, the Hutim and Iran is a serious challenge. We don’t understand what good will come out of this challenge (aside from the already clear walloping of Hamas and Hizballa and sending their leadership into hiding or to hell, the significant setback of the Iranian nuclear plans, and the unique national Jewish unity which the war has inevitably brought- and we must make sure to continue!).
Nevertheless, the Vilna Gaon (Kol HaTor 1, 13) teaches that especially during the process of ge’ula, every difficulty turns out relatively QUICKLY to actually be a “gift” and positive advancement in disguise. Just as the War of Independence, the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War were all forced upon us, but all changed Israeli history for the better, so too we know that the present war will also be a “present”. We just must pray that it should be with as few casualties as possible, and refuah shleima to the wounded!
כתיבה וחתימה טובה לכם ולמשפחותיכם ולכל בית ישראל!!
Rav Ari Shvat (Chwat)