Published September 02, 2010
The consolation in the words “a root whose fruit is gall and wormwood”
Rashi on the verse (29:12) of our portion cites a Midrash explaining that this portion ATEM NITZAVIM - You are all standing today, before Hashem” (29:9) was said by Moshe as a way to console the nation after they had heard nearly 100 curses said in the previous portion of KI TAVO. But if we read Moshe’s words, only a few verses later (17-27) they seem anything but conciliatory.
“Perhaps there is a man or woman… whose heart turns away today from Hashem… perhaps there is a root flourishing with gall and wormwood… Hashem will not be willing to forgive him… Hashem will erase his name from under Heaven.”
Are these words of consolation? They seem more negative consequences. Maybe if we delve into the deeper meaning of these verses we will better understand the consolation meant by them.
“Whose heart turns away” refers to the individual whose perspective is perverse. He deviates in order to search for value systems which are more to his liking.
“A root flourishing with gall” refers to character traits of the soul. But Moshe is not referring to traits which are completely corrupted or those that are explicitly forbidden by the Torah. Here he refers to traits that could lead one to sin. A root flourishing with gall - means that the outcome of this particular character trait is not yet visible since it is only a root - but if left untreated it can become “sulphur and salt, that burns the entire land”.
Rav Avigdor HaLevi Nebenzahl, Rav of the Old City, in his book Sichot L’Rosh HaShana explains, for example, miserliness in and of itself is not prohibited by the Torah, as often we should be frugal. But miserliness could lead one to transgress the prohibition “You shall not harden your heart or close your hand against your brother who is poor” (15:7). Or one’s miserliness may cause him not to spend money for mitzva performance (i.e. on a beautiful etrog). Hashem can see these “roots” of evil.
This is one of the ideas we mention on Rosh Hashana in the Zichronot section of Musaf - that Hashem constantly supervises everything, at all times and in every situation:
“You remember the deeds done in the universe and You recall all the creatures fashioned since earliest times. Before You all hidden things are revealed”...Not only does Hashem take accounts of our actions, but He alone is able to see into the depths of the minutest hidden details - “Man’s thoughts and schemes, and the motives behind man’s deeds”. Hashem knows each person’s innermost thoughts - which the best psychologist can never uncover and which the person himself may not even recognize due to insufficient introspection.
Let’s get back to our original question - how are these verses consolation? It is true that a mere ‘root flourishing with gall and wormwood’ may produce a state of ‘sulphur and salt, a conflagration of the entire Land’ which ‘cannot be sown and it cannot sprout.’ Firstly, Hashem searches out every corner of our hearts to see any tainted ideas or character traits for the purpose of helping us refine them - to bring judgment to light and grant us life. In this process He also uncovers every pure thought hidden in our hearts, and He gives great rewards for even the slightest holy desire. The TOSEFTA in SOTA (4:1) tells us that the reward for a good character trait outweighs the punishment for a negative one, according to the ratio of five hundred to one. So even if Hashem finds the “root” of wicked- ness within our heart if He also uncovers even just a spark of good intentions (as little as 1/500 of the bad) that will tip the scales in our favor. That is consolation. Also, just as a “root” of wickedness may lead one to sin, a drop of goodness in our hearts (the pintele yid) can lead us to do many good deeds.
So we should spend some time during the remaining days we have before Rosh Hashana to increase these sparks of good intentions. Sure we should go out of our way to do more mitzvot at this time of year, if we can. But we know that the successful performance of any act we do is dependent on Hashem wanting it to succeed - so we might not always succeed. But our thoughts to perform a mitzva are fully in our hands (CHOVOT HALEVAVOT). So we should make time to reinforce the positive sparks that are already inside us. We should bring out the good intentions in the deeds that we perform already.
For example if we remind ourselves that we truly want to follow in Hashem’s path of being GOMELI CHASADIM - being kind, and we increase our intention of performing this mitzva, Hashem will notice and reward us accordingly. This can be done with even any small action that we perform during the day - giving someone directions, telling them the time when asked, saying good morning to a passing stranger… the list goes on. The ultimate test lies in our desire, in the yearnings of our heart; and the reward for even the hints of positive desires for doing Hashem’s will is beyond our comprehension.
Here is a recipe that can be served Rosh Hashana night since it uses two of the SIMANIM. This recipe is courtesy of my cousin, Sima Navon, a healer and healthy cooking instructor. Check out her site: justaddflax.com for other Rosh Hashana recipes, or sign up for her cooking class - Six Super Quick meals for a 3 day Rosh HaShana. And while you are at the computer you can check out her husband Emmanual Navon’s website http://www.navon.com/multipage.aspx?id=11 who is running for the Knesset.
Beet & Pomegranate Salad
2 beets
1 onion, chopped small
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp pomegranate concentrate
salt
pepper
Place the beets in a dutch oven. If necessary, put a little bit of water at the bottom so that the pot won’t burn. Bake in a preheated oven (180C) until soft, approximately 1-1.5 hours.
Cut the beets into small cubes. Mix in the remaining ingredients. Serve cold.
© 2012 OU. All rights reserved.