Our Relationship with HaKadosh Baruch Hu By Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser

So too, says the Chofetz Chaim, is our relationship with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. We pray, “Avinu malkeinu -- our Father, our King. have mercy upon us. Give us to understand and to be wise. Enlighten our eyes with the Torah and with yiras Shamayim.”

Hashem is a merciful king and wishes to grant our request. However, we don’t come to collect payment. There is no one to blame. It is as if we were talking in our sleep – sometimes our ears do not hear what our mouth is speaking.

Similarly, we daven to Hashem every Shabbos for “… zara di lo yifsuk v’di lo yivtul mipisgamei oraysa – children who will neither interrupt nor cease from words of Torah.” We have to make sure that our ears are listening to what our mouths are saying.

A Lack of Communication By Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser

The Chofetz Chaim relates a parable of a poor person who exerted himself to get a contribution from a wealthy man. He sent many different messengers to ask the wealthy man for an audience. Then he himself went to the rich man to ask him to have rachmanus. The rich man agreed and set up an appointment to meet the poor man the next day in his office, at which time he would grant him his request.

A week went by and the man did not show up. When the two met again, the poor man repeated his plea, and asked the rich man to have rachmanus and lend him the money he needed.

The wealthy man replied, “I never rescinded on my promise. Come to the office tomorrow.”

To his surprise, the poor man didn’t show up the next day either. The wealthy man was puzzled. Who or what could be thwarting the poor man from keeping the appointment?

The Destruction of the Bais HaMikdash By Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser

HaGaon R’ Yosef Sholom Elyashiv shlita suggests that the difficulty here is not why no one could answer Hashem’s query. It is important for us to clarify what was the cause of this generation’s downward spiral, of their spiritual decline that they did not recite these brachos.

The answer is that the men, the fathers, devalued the importance of the Torah. Outwardly it appeared as if the Torah was being studied and the mitzvos were being performed. In truth, however, the transmission of the Torah to the second generation had been compromised because the initial attachment and love for the Torah was no longer extant. The fathers’ warmth for Torah had diminished, and therefore the children could not longer accept the Torah with the same enthusiasm. The ideal of (Yeshayah 59:21) “u’dvorai asher samti b’ficha lo yomushu mipicha umipi zaracha … My words that I have placed in your mouth shall not be withdrawn from your mouth and the mouths of your children …” was disregarded. Ultimately, with each subsequent generation there was a spiritual deterioration which finally led to the destruction of the First Temple.

Respect for Torah By Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser

With this concept, the Sefer Divrei Aggadah offers an understanding of the destruction of the First Bais Hamikdash. Hashem asked the Bnai Yisroel (Yirmiyah 9:11) “Al mah ovdoh ha’aretz – why was the Bais Hamikdash destroyed?” No one knew how to answer the question, despite the fact that the nation had transgressed the three severe aveiros of giluy arayos, shefichas damim and avodah zarah – immorality, murder, and idol worship.

Our sages tell us that Hashem’s answer, “Al azvam es torasi – they forsook My Torah,” actually refers to the reality that the people did not recite Birchos haTorah before they engaged in Torah study. The Ran in Mesechta Nedarim explains that they lacked the proper veneration for the Torah, and therefore did not see the need to recite the obligatory blessings.

The Importance of Torah By Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser

The pasuk in Devarim (6:7) states, “V’shinantam l’vonecha v’dibarta bam … -- and you shall teach them to your children and you shall speak of them.”

The Vilna Gaon once commented that this small paragraph of Krias Shema contains all of the Aseres HaDibros – Ten Commandments. For example, the first dibrah (commandment) of “Anochi, I am your G-d,” is represented by the words “Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad,”. We learn that the commandment of “Lo Sirtzach – one shall not kill,” is alluded to in this parsha with the word “v’shinantam – and you shall teach your children.”

How is this parallel drawn? The Sifri states that one who does not teach his son Torah it is as if he has murdered him. Whether or not the person intends to do so, or is aware of the repercussion of his inaction, the ultimate result is equivalent to murdering his child. One could compare this to the animal who loves her young and holds it closely and hugs it so tightly until the life is squeezed out of the baby animal.