Re'eh

"See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse,” (Deuteronomy 11:26) is the first verse of this week’s Parasha. It is also where the Parasha draws its name from (Re’eh – see). The great prophet, Moshe, is about to reminding his congregation that only leading a life where they observe G-d’s directives will gain them His blessing. Moving away from the mitzvot, on the other hand will bring a curse upon their heads and their way of life.

To most of us, “seeing” invokes the connotation of perceiving with the eyes or discerning visually. I doubt that this is what G-d had in mind when He put these words into Moshes’s mouth. The “seeing” that I believe He wanted  Am Yisrael, a nation in its early stages of development, to exercise is to rather focus on grasping and deducing mentally following their reflection on the message that this Parasha is about to deliver. It is the way they observe themselves, their conduct and how well they understand that which will determine their fate.

Am Yisrael is still in a disarray, at the stage of their infancy. They have undergone a few traumatic experiences during their wanderings in the desert.  They are about to enter Eretz Yisrael.. The fear of what awaits them when they enter the Land and take their life into their own hands is gnawing in their heads. They perceive themselves as victims and act as such. They are still stuck in their recent past.

Moshe knows it. He uses the occasion to hand them a moral compass. So, rather than spend time unwinding them, softening his approach towards them, or removing their concerns, he does the opposite. He wants them to look into the future, prepare themselves for their new reality and shed off the shackles of victimhood. He reminds them of and reviews, yet again, the many mitzvot they have heard more than once during their time in the desert, as he passes on the message that it is up to them, their deeds and the way they lead their life that will be the founding principle of their blessings.

In other words, G-d wants them to take responsibility. The message Moshe delivers, in G-d’s name, uses the singular form of “see,” not the plural one (Re’u). This lesson is not aimed only at Am Yisrael as a nation. It is meant for every individual member of it. A personal message from G-d. It is not about others, it is about us, it is about me, you, and our own personal moral orbit. It is all about choices. No one can make the selection for us. If we choose the curse, we will suffer. On the other hand, if we conduct our life properly, we will not only improve our own universe but that of others as well.

May we all understand and incorporate the difference between the two and live a fulfilling life endowed with the best of every blessing.

Shabbat Shalom

Choosing Life

" הַעִידֹתִי בָכֶם הַיּוֹם אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת הָאָרֶץ: הַחַיִּים וְהַמָּוֶת נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ, הַבְּרָכָה וְהַקְּלָלָה; וּבָחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים, לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה אַתָּה וְזַרְעֶךָ " This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live - Deuteronomy 30:19

Living is about choices. Living well is about making the RIGHT choices. The choices we make have a great impact on our lives and in many cases those whose lives we touch.

Who among us does not wish their life to be anything but happy, rewarding and fulfilling?

In my view this week’s Parasha, Nitzavim (standing in front of G-d) where Am Yisrael reaffirms the Covenant we willingly and enthusiastically entered with G-d at Mount Sinai, is what Judaism and our great tradition, in fact our whole Jewish existence, is all about. It is encapsulated in one commandment, the center of this Parasha, “Choose Life.” 

If that is a commandment, you may ask, where then is the choice here? After all, selecting one’s life’s path implies making decisions through free will. Commandments, generally, dictate actions, warnings and provide precautionary measures aimed at saving lives and preventing death.

Opting to “choose life,” is, I believe, looking at the glass as half full, finding the positive in every experience, getting the most out of it and reaping its rewards. It kind of forces one to revert to the old cliché, “Look at every day as the first day of the rest of your life.” It keeps one dreaming, encourages and pushes growth, dispels and removes fear. Life is the most precious present. One does not and should not even contemplate discarding of such a gift.

In addition to one’s own reward that result from choosing life, G-d also lists a whole host of other benefits that He will bestow upon those who will follow His Covenant and pick Life. “וְלֹ֥א אִתְּכֶ֖ם לְבַדְּכֶ֑ם אָֽנֹכִ֗י כֹּרֵת֙ אֶת־הַבְּרִ֣ית :הַזֹּ֔את. . כִּי֩ אֶת־אֲשֶׁ֨ר יֶשְׁנ֜וֹ פֹּ֗ה עִמָּ֨נוּ֙ עֹמֵ֣ד הַיּ֔וֹם לִפְנֵ֖י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ וְאֵ֨ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֵינֶ֛נּוּ פֹּ֖ה עִמָּ֥נוּ הַיּֽוֹם” (And not only with you am I entering this Covenant, but with those who are here and those who are not here. Deuteronomy 29:13-14). This Covenant embraces and binds future generations as well. It is the ticket to eternity, the promise of Hope and Continuity.

Imagine waking up in the morning to such a commandment and gearing the direction of your day, your goals, your objectives and your choices towards one end, choosing Life. Imagine making that commandment your pillar of Cloud during the day and Pillar of Fire at night, using it as the compass that will guide your perpetual journey, lead you eventually to a destination crowned with the petals of brilliance and bliss, ensure your safety and well-being and above all pave your way to a gratifying future to you and your posterity.

This is the essence of Am Yisrael and the fabric of our Jewish tradition. During times of havoc, pain and destruction, our defiant spirit never gives up. We pick up the pieces of our, pogroms, Shoah, Terror and wars torn and shattered subsistence and in following that commandment, we build bigger and better tabernacles out of them. We are, by far, the most optimistic nation on earth. It is the secret to our success and to our intellectual and spiritual prosperity. It is the elixir of our ongoing presence in a world that on more than one occasion wished to bring about our demise. It is the adage that keeps echoing, day and night on the walls of our Jewish core, “AM YISRAEL CHAI.”


Shanah Tova and may this year be a year of Love, Joy and choosing Life.