Today, He Is A Fountain Pen

My brother Etan had his Bar Mitzvah today. As part of the celebration, I was compelled to compose a speech about his siyum mishnayot, in which he completed Seder Mo'ed. I figure I'll post it here and get double my money's worth:

(emphasis was to aid delivery)

In Parshas Ekev, Moshe describes the land of Israel, which Bnei Yisrael are about to enter. He calls it,

ח:ט אֶרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר לֹא בְמִסְכֵּנֻת תֹּאכַל-בָּהּ לֶחֶם—לֹא‑תֶחְסַר כֹּל, בָּהּ; אֶרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲבָנֶיהָ בַרְזֶל, וּמֵהֲרָרֶיהָ תַּחְצֹב נְחֹשֶׁת.‏
8:9 ... a land in which you shall eat bread without scarcity, you shall not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and from its hills you shall mine copper.

Interestingly, however, in a few weeks we will read in the תוכחה:

כח:כג וְהָיוּ שָׁמֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר עַל‑רֹאשְׁךָ, נְחֹשֶׁת; וְהָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר-תַּחְתֶּיךָ, בַּרְזֶל.‏
28:23 your skies that are over your head will be copper; the earth that is under you will be iron.

In our parsha, the ground being iron is a blessing, but in the תוכחה, it is a curse. How are we to understand this?

Rav Hirsch points out that the curse in the תוכחה is written in the singular – your skies will be copper, and your ground will be iron, implying that the curses will be directed specifically at Bnei Yisrael, but will not affect others.

I'd like to take this one step further, and suggest that the very same conditions which were previously the source of blessing can become a curse, if G‑d so desires.



Allow me to share with you a gematria which I came across as I was preparing this dvar Torah. I don't usually put much faith in gematrias, but for this one I'm willing to make an exception.

Etan (has just made / is about to make) a siyum on Seder Mo'ed. Seder Mo'ed contains 681 mishnayot. The gematria of Etan's full name, איתן ברוך, is 689. I know – that's 8 more than the number of mishnayot. But remember that for his Bar Mitzvah Etan has also prepared the seven aliyot of Parshas Ekev and the Haftorah.

Altogether, Etan has learnt 689 pieces for his Bar Mitzvah, the full value of his Hebrew name. What this shows, and I can tell you that this is true, is that Etan has put all of his efforts into preparing for today, and deserves a big yasher koach.



But wait – there's more. Six hundred and eighty nine, as I'm sure you noticed, is a multiple of 13. Six hundred and eighty nine divided by 13 is 53. What's 53? Well, 53 happens to be the gematria of a word in Parshas Ekev. That word is הַחַיִל . The passuk says,

יז וְאָמַרְתָּ, בִּלְבָבֶךָ: כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי, עָשָׂה לִי אֶת-הַחַיִל הַזֶּה.‏
יח וְזָכַרְתָּ, אֶת-ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ--כִּי הוּא הַנֹּתֵן לְךָ כֹּחַ, לַעֲשׂוֹת חָיִל: לְמַעַן הָקִים אֶת‑בְּרִיתוֹ אֲשֶׁר-נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ, כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה.‏
17 You may say in your heart: 'My power and the strength of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.'
18 But you shall remember Hashem your G‑d, for He is the one that gives you the power to get wealth, that He may uphold His promise which He swore to your forefathers, as this day.

Moshe tells the Bnei Yisrael that when one enjoys wealth, it is his responsibility to attribute that wealth to its true source – G‑d. This acknowledgment, seemingly, doesn't change a single thing. Whether a man recognizes that his wealth comes from G‑d or not, the dollar amount on his bank statement will not change one bit. What the acknowledgment accomplishes is a change in perspective. The man understands now that while he may have the strength to achieve wealth, it was G‑d that gave him that strength. G‑d will reward our change in perspective by changing his perspective toward us, and imbuing our lives with blessing.

Etan, for the first 13 years of his life, has enjoyed much חַיִל, much wealth and opportunities, wealth which most people take for granted. He has not had to worry about having enough food to eat, about having heating in the winter or air conditioning in the summer. In this technological age, we have many conveniences which were never enjoyed by the richest men of past generations. Now, as Etan becomes Bar Mitzvah, it is his responsibility to come to recognize that all of these things are made possible – yes, through the power of man – but, ultimately, by G‑d Himself.

Yasher koach, Etan, and may you go מחיל אל חיל.