Nitzavim
In Parashat Nitzavim, Perek 29, pasuk 18, the pasuk writes that there will come a time when a Jew is going to [listen to the audio clip for the exact quote] bless himself and say that peace will be with him, even though he walks as his heart sees fit. G-d will not forgive such a man who comes along and says that everything will be OK, and that he will be saved from the wrath of G-d and all his curses, and that he will be fine, for he went along according to his heart. What exactly does it mean about this man when it says, that he walks with his heart?
Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank explains that this might be referring to a Jew who is negligent in fulfilling the Miztvot, who simply relies on his good heart and his good intentions. Such a man says that the main thing you do is Chessed to people, to say good morning to people, to be courteous and to be a nice guy. Such a guy says that all the other Miztvot and all those other precepts are technicalities, and are not really important. He says he will be OK, because he goes according to his heart. Modern terminology calls such a Jew, a ‘Cardiac Jew’, which means he is a Jew by heart but not by action.
The Torah says such a Jew will not be spared from the wrath of G-d. It’s not enough to be a Jew at heart. One must be a Jew in action. The 613 Mitzvot were not suggestions. They were not ideas or optional. They were laws that were given to all Jews for all time. Having a good heart is important, but that is only one organ in the body. If a person just has a heart, and all the other limbs are failing, then we would not say that this person is really alive. The Pasuk is saying that Hashem will not accept someone who will only follow the way of his heart.
Let’s explain this Pasuk it in a different light from the Chafetz Chayim. He said that there are many factions of Judaism in modern times that have created new philosophies that veered off the traditional approach of explaining and understanding Torah. These new approaches are based on passion and desire. Those who subscribe or make these new philosophies hide their intent. They make it as if that they have a different approach. They have a different understanding. Meanwhile they want to make these new approaches in order to be lenient on different values and different morals. The Chafetz Chayim says that these people come with guise that they are not making sins, but this is the way their heart understands. This is the way they comprehend it. This means they give new interpretations, that this is the way they see it. But the Pasuk says, that G-d is not going to forgive them for their sinister attempt to try to guise new ideas and philosophies because they are veering from the traditional approach of Torah.
Whatever explanation we say, whether it is from Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank or whether it is from the Chafetz Chayim, whether it’s the fact it is not enough to be Jew at heart, or whether it’s the fact that one shouldn’t interpret the Torah according to his heart, both are unacceptable in the eyes of G-d.
