Parshas Ki Savo – Ki Es Asher Ye’Ehav Yociach
In this week’s Parsha, the Torah lists the blessings one will receive for keeping the Torah and the curses for not. After the brachos and klalos, Moshe Rabbeinu comments to Klal Yisroel, “Now I know that you have a *lev ladaas*,” which is loosely translated as “you are wise.”
What did Moshe see in Klal Yisroel that made him say this to them?
To answer this question, we must begin with a mashal.
A young boy by the name of Tzvi was walking in the shuk and was suddenly attacked by an Arab. Tzvi got pushed to the floor, and the perpetrator ran off into the crowd. What did Tzvi do? He ran over to his father, and the two of them quickly ran to the police station to report what had happened.
A few days later, Tzvi was misbehaving, and his father gave him a *patch*. Now, let me ask you, do you think Tzvi ran to the police station? Of course not! Tzvi understood that his father loves him and was only patching him for his good to help him stay on the straight and narrow.
The Steipler says that it was this realization that Klal Yisroel had when they heard the klalos delivered to those who don’t follow the mitzvos. Do you think they got upset at Hashem because of the severity of the punishments? No! Just the opposite. Their hearts were filled with *hakaras hatov* to Hashem because they understood that the punishments were all to help guide them to stay on the straight and narrow.
When Moshe saw that Klal Yisroel understood this, he told them, “Today I see the greatness of your wisdom.”
We must take the brachos and klalos seriously and thank Hashem for helping us grow.
Have a wonderful Shabbos!
Rabbi Anton
*(Adapted from the Yesod Yisroel by Harav Binyomin Luban)*