Nitzavim 30:14 · unit 1

Parashas Nitzavim · Passuk 30:14

The Complete Passuk

כִּֽי־קָר֥וֹב אֵלֶ֛יךָ הַדָּבָ֖ר מְאֹ֑ד בְּפִ֥יךָ וּבִלְבָבְךָ֖ לַעֲשֹׂתֽוֹ׃

For the matter is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.

Chabad.org — 30:14

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Eruvin 54a.

Sefaria — Eruvin 54a

E-Daf image — Eruvin 54a

Core Text
בְּפִיךָ וּבִלְבָבְךָ לַעֲשׂוֹתוֹ — אִם עֲרוּכָה בִּרְמַ״ח אֵבָרִים שֶׁלְּךָ, מִשְׁתַּמֶּרֶת; וְאִם לָאו, אֵינָהּ מִשְׁתַּמֶּרֶת. הַתַּלְמוּד בְּלַחַשׁ — לְאַחַר שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים שָׁכַח.

English: “In your mouth and in your heart, to do it” — if it is arranged in all two hundred forty-eight of your limbs, it is preserved; and if not, it is not preserved. One who studied in a whisper forgot after three years.

On the daf: Nearness is achieved when the words are in the mouth and the heart is oriented toward doing. Study divorced from performance remains distant; study that aims at action — and that engages the whole person, not a whisper — brings the matter very near and preserves it.

Type of Learning

Custom (condition of nearness: study directed toward practice; full-bodied engagement).

What Is Learned

Intellectual knowledge alone does not make the Torah “near”; nearness requires mouth, heart, and the intent to do.