As Moshe bids farewell, he implores Bnei Yisrael to charge their children with Torah observance and mitzvah performance, “for it is no vain thing for you, it is your life.” The Hebrew word er, which is usually translated as “vain,” literally means “empty.” Horav M. Swift, z.l., suggests that viewed in this perspective, this phrase lends itself to an alternative meaning. A container is considered empty when its contents have been removed. On the other hand, this container is still viewed as a container, retaining its potential use for a similar purpose.
A gentile without Torah is a human being who has the potential to achieve his intended purpose in life. The gentile only remains “empty” of Torah. It is not part of his life. Without it, he is still a person. The converse is true by a Jew. A Jew who is “empty” of Torah is not merely “empty”; he no longer functions in the same potential capacity as he had previously. He no longer has the same meaning or value as a Jew, for the Torah is our only way of life. Indeed, it is our very source of living! If one denies the Jew his Torah, devoids his life of his mitzvos, his tallis, tefillin, Shabbos, and kashrus, then there is no longer anything uniquely Jewish about him. He is emptied of his real significance. To be a er hkfw an “emptied vessel,” is the antithesis of Torah Judaism.
As we stand before Hashem during these days of sublime judgement, let us not come before the Almighty “empty” handed. Let Torah penetrate into our inner being, so that the “pintele Yid,” the essential Jew within each of us, emerges. The goal is that our entire essence will be suffused with Jewish living.
