Parsha Re'eh - Your Pain, Your Curse, Your Blessing & Your G-d (When Curses are Blessings)

(26) See, this day I set before you blessing and curse:

(26) See, this day I set before you blessing and curse:(27) blessing, if you obey the commandments of your God יהוה that I enjoin upon you this day;(28) and curse, if you do not obey the commandments of your God יהוה, but turn away from the path that I enjoin upon you this day and follow other gods, whom you have not experienced.*whom you have not experienced I.e., who have not proved themselves to you; cf. Hos. 13.4.(29) When your God יהוה brings you into the land that you are about to enter and possess, you shall pronounce the blessing at Mount Gerizim and the curse at Mount Ebal.—

(1) ראה אנכי ... ברכה וקללה BEHOLD I [SET BEFORE YOU THIS DAY] A BLESSING AND A CURSE — those which are later to be recited on Mount Gerizim and on Mount Ebal respectively (cf. v. 29).(1) את הברכה [I SET BEFORE YOU] THE BLESSING — with the condition that you should obey (אשר תשמעו‎).

(1)“See! I give before you today a blessing and a curse.” (Devarim, 11:26) Everything is from God. In times of trouble it is the man’s nature to shout and cry out to God, “what have You done to me?” Yet at the time when God bestows His goodness man’s eye is clouded from seeing that it is from God. Then he says, “my power and the strength of my hand has made me this wealth [Devarim, 8:17],” therefore God shows him, “See! I give before you,” meaning that everything is from God.

(2)“See! I give before you today a blessing and a curse.” (Devarim, 11:26) This means that each time the Holy One, blessed be He, bestows goodness to man, He dresses it in a garment where it appears on the outside to be the opposite from that goodness. (This is explained in the Mei HaShiloach in Parshat Korach, on the verse, “and I put my word in his mouth.”) In this way man may refine himself by his actions and bring to light the goodness that is at the depths. Then it will be called “the work of his hands.”

(3)“The blessing, if you follow .…” (Devarim, 11:27) If man receives good, then he clearly knows that he has fulfilled God’s will. If the opposite befalls him, God forbid, then he knows that surely he has transgressed the mitzvot of God, even if it does not seem so on the surface.

(4)“Be careful lest you offer your sacrifices in any place that you see. Only in the place that God will choose .…” (Devarim, 12:13) The language of warning is doubled here, saying “be careful,” and then “lest.” This is because the sacrifice mentioned is an olah, a burnt offering, and it signifies a place where man receives no benefit whatsoever from his action. An olah is given completely to God (it is burnt in its entirety), and no benefit is left for the one who offers it. It is forbidden to use (anything similar to an olah, devoted entirely to God,) in any other capacity, only for God alone.

(5)“Only in the place that God shall choose .…” (Devarim, 12:14) From this we learn the way of prayer, how to pray to God, as it is written in the Gemara (Berachot, 28b), “direct your heart to the house of the Holy of Holies.” When you want to pray, see to it that from the outset that the matter that you want to pray for is God’s will. This is the meaning of “direct your heart to the house of the Holy of Holies.” We understand this by saying that if you then have the desire to pray and your lips are filled with its bounty (i.e, the prayer comes naturally), you can then know that it is God’s will, and you will understand that the entire matter is from God. This is explained in the Mei HaShiloach in Parshat Va’etchanan. In this way King David said (Divrei haYamim 1, 17:25), “You have uncovered the ear of Your servant [to hear Your command] … therefore Your servant has found it possible to pray.”

(6)“When God shall enlarge your borders … and you will say, ‘I shall eat meat’ … you shall eat meat according to the desire of your soul .…” (Devarim, 12:20) It is not said that they will go outside of their borders, but only that their borders will become enlarged. In truth, God’s name, Hava’ye (YHVH, called the Tetragrammaton) signifies that from God’s perspective He has chosen Israel, He has no borders, and thus He permits one to extend freely in all the goodness that God gives. However, from the name Adon-ai, signifying man’s understanding and the limit of his apprehension, we derive all borders, knowing that “until here it is permitted to expand” and “from here on it is forbidden.” This means that according to the amount of strength one finds to serve God may he extend himself in God’s goodness. This is the meaning of “when God shall enlarge your borders.” That is, when one first enters into avodat Hashem (service of God) it is forbidden to extend himself freely, for if he goes too far he may, God forbid, remove himself from the fear of God. Yet when his strength for avodat Hashem increases, and with it his fear of God, then he may extend himself further than his level of avodah. This is the meaning of “when God shall enlarge your borders,” meaning that He will give you such great strength for avodah until all (previously constricted) borders will be removed from you to the extent that you may also eat meat without surpassing your boundaries.

(7)“Don’t keep anything of that which has been banned [the property of a town that served idols that is to be destroyed] in order that God may turn from His wrath, and give you compassion, and be compassionate with you, and increase you, as He promised to your forefathers.” (Devarim, 13:18) In the discussion of the town condemned for serving idolatry we are commanded to kill the entire city. This bears the appearance of extreme cruelty. Therefore it says, “and give you compassion, and be compassionate with you,” for regardless of the cruelty, by means of fulfilling the commandment of God you will come to internalize the attribute of compassion, and you will show compassion in a place where compassion is due.

(8)“You shall surely tithe all the produce of your seed, that which comes out of the field from year to year. And you shall eat before Hashem your God in the place where He chooses for His name to dwell, the tithes of your grain, corn, and oil, and the firstlings of your cattle and sheep, in order that you shall learn to fear Hashem your God for all time.” (Devarim, 14:22-23) By eating before God, the fear of God will come to man’s heart. A man’s mind is at repose when he is in his own place, but when he is in a foreign place his mind is unsettled. Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, warns against making any separation or difference in a man’s mind, but only to be drawn after God’s will in every place, with his complete consciousness.

(9)“Count for yourself seven weeks, from the time the sickle is first put to the standing corn shall you begin to count seven weeks.” (Devarim, 16:9) “From the time the sickle is first put to the standing corn.” That is to say, at a time when man begins to march on towards victory he must possess a settled mind and make careful deliberations, for seven weeks represents great refinement. This is as it is written (Tehilim, 12:7), “seven times refined.”

(10)“And you shall rejoice before Hashem your God, you and sons and daughters and servants, and the Levi who is within your gates, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow who are among you, in the place that Hashem your God chooses to cause his name to dwell there.” (Devarim, 16:11) With all the other festivals it is written, “within your gates,” (Devarim 16:5, 14) and here, with Shevuot, the verse adds the words “who are among you.” This is because with Shevuot and the giving of the Torah, it is said (Nedarim, 81a), “be careful regarding the poor, for from them shall go forth the Torah.”

(2) When a person knows that everything that happens to him is for his benefit, this perception is a foretaste of the World to Come. As said, “When He is YHVH, I will praise His word; when He is Elohim, I will praise His word” (Psalms 56:11).

Rav Huna said that Rav said that Rabbi Meir said; and so it was taught in a baraitain the name of Rabbi Akiva: One must always accustom oneself to say: Everything that God does, He does for the best.The Gemara relates: Like this incident, when Rabbi Akiva was walking along the road and came to a certain city, he inquired about lodging and they did not give him any. He said: Everything that God does, He does for the best. He went and slept in a field, and he had with him a rooster, a donkey and a candle. A gust of wind came and extinguished the candle; a cat came and ate the rooster; and a lion came and ate the donkey. He said: Everything that God does, He does for the best. That night, an army came and took the city into captivity. It turned out that Rabbi Akiva alone, who was not in the city and had no lit candle, noisy rooster or donkey to give away his location, was saved. He said to them: Didn’t I tell you? Everything that God does, He does for the best.

The Gemara inquires: And why did they call him Naḥum of Gam Zu? The reason is that with regard to any matter that occurred to him, he would say: This too is for the good [gam zu letova]. Once, the Jews wished to send a gift [doron] to the house of the emperor. They said: Who should go and present this gift? Let Naḥum of Gam Zu go, as he is accustomed to miracles. They sent with him a chest [sifta] full of jewels and pearls, and he went and spent the night in a certain inn. During the night, these residents of the inn arose and took all of the precious jewels and pearls from the chest, and filled it with earth. The next day, when he saw what had happened, Naḥum of Gam Zu said: This too is for the good.When he arrived there, at the ruler’s palace, they opened the chest and saw that it was filled with earth. The king wished to put all the Jewish emissaries to death. He said: The Jews are mocking me. Naḥum of Gam Zu said: This too is for the good. Elijah the Prophet came and appeared before the ruler as one of his ministers. He said to the ruler: Perhaps this earth is from the earth of their father Abraham. As when he threw earth, it turned into swords, and when he threw stubble, it turned into arrows, as it is written in a prophecy that the Sages interpreted this verse as a reference to Abraham: “His sword makes them as the dust, his bow as the driven stubble” (Isaiah 41:2).There was one province that the Romans were unable to conquer. They took some of this earth, tested it by throwing it at their enemies, and conquered that province. When the ruler saw that this earth indeed had miraculous powers, his servants entered his treasury and filled Naḥum of Gam Zu’s chest with precious jewels and pearls and sent him off with great honor.When Naḥum of Gam Zu came to spend the night at that same inn, the residents said to him: What did you bring with you to the emperor that he bestowed upon you such great honor? He said to them: That which I took from here, I brought there. When they heard this, the residents of the inn thought that the soil upon which their house stood had miraculous powers. They tore down their inn and brought the soil underneath to the king’s palace. They said to him: That earth that was brought here was from our property. The miracle had been performed only in the merit of Naḥum of Gam Zu. The emperor tested the inn’s soil in battle, and it was not found to have miraculous powers, and he had these residents of the inn put to death.

The Gemara relates that Rabbi Yonatan ben Asmai and Rabbi Yehuda, son of converts, studied the portion dealing with oaths in the study hall of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai. After completing their studies, the disciples took leave of their master in the evening, but did not yet leave the city. In the morning they went back and took leave of him a second time. He said to them: Did you not already take leave of me yesterday in the evening?They said to him: You have taught us, our teacher, that a disciple who takes leave of his teacher and then stays overnight in the same city must take leave of him an additional time, as it is stated at the conclusion of the dedication of the Temple: “On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king” (I Kings 8:66), and elsewhere it is written: “And on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away” (II Chronicles 7:10). The eighth day in the verse is referring to the Eighth Day of Assembly, the twenty-second of the month of Tishrei, yet it says that he sent the people away on the next day, the twenty-third of the month.Rather, it can be derived from here that a disciple who takes leave of his teacher and then stays overnight in the same city must take leave of him an additional time, just as the Jewish people took leave of Solomon an additional time on the day after the Festival, on the twenty-third of Tishrei.Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said to his son: These two people, Rabbi Yonatan ben Asmai and Rabbi Yehuda, son of converts, are men of noble form [tzura] i.e., wise and learned individuals; go to them so that they will bless you. He went and found them deep in discussion, raising apparent contradictions between verses as follows: It is written: “Make level the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established” (Proverbs 4:26), indicating that when one has the opportunity to perform more than one mitzva, he must evaluate which of them is most important. And elsewhere it is written: “Lest you level out the path of life,” (Proverbs 5:6), indicating that one must perform each mitzva as the opportunity arises, without considering its relative importance.They explained that it is not difficult: Here, in the first verse cited above, it is discussing a mitzva that can be done by others, and therefore one must consider what is most worthwhile for him to perform himself and what he will leave to others.There, in the other verse, it is referring to a mitzva that cannot be done by others, and therefore, one must not consider its relative importance, but rather do it immediately.The two scholars, Rabbi Yonatan ben Asmai and Rabbi Yehuda, son of converts, once again sat and raised the following dilemma: In one place it is written in praise of the Torah: “She is more precious than rubies; and all of your desires are not to be compared to her” (Proverbs 3:15). One can infer from here that all human desires cannot be compared to the Torah, but the desires of Heaven, i.e., mitzvot, can indeed be compared to her. And elsewhere it is written: “For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it” (Proverbs 8:11), which indicates that even mitzvot cannot be compared to the Torah.They resolved this contradiction by stating that here, in the second verse, it is discussing a mitzva that can be done by others. In that case, even mitzvot cannot be compared to the Torah, and accordingly, one who is engaged in Torah study should not interrupt his studies in order to perform another mitzva. However, there, in the first verse, it is discussing a mitzva that cannot be done by others. In that case Torah study is not more important than the mitzva, and one should interrupt his studies in order to perform the mitzva.When Rabbi Yonatan ben Asmai and Rabbi Yehuda, son of converts, noticed Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai’s son, they said to him: What do you want here? He said to them: Father told me: Go to them so that they should bless you. They said to him as follows: May it be God’s will that you should sow and not reap, that you should bring in and not take out, that you should take out and not bring in, that your house should be destroyed and your lodging place should be inhabited, that your table should become confused, and that you should not see a new year.When he came back to his father, he said to him: Not only did they not bless me, but they even caused me pain with their negative words. His father said to him: What exactly did they say to you? He answered: They said to me such and such. Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said to his son: These are all blessings, uttered in a cryptic manner, and this is what they meant: When they said that you should sow and not reap they meant that you should bear sons and they should not die. Their statement that you should bring in and not take out means that you should bring in brides for your sons and your sons should not die, which would cause their wives to leave. When they said you should take out and not bring in they meant that you should have daughters and their husbands should not die, which would cause your daughters to return to you.When they said that your house should be destroyed and your lodging place should be inhabited, this should be interpreted allegorically. As this world is compared to your lodging place, and the World-to-Come is compared to your house, as it is written: “Their inward thought [kirbam], is that their houses shall continue forever” (Psalms 49:12), and the Sages said: Do not read it as “their inward thought [kirbam]”; rather read it as their graves [kivram]. According to this reading, one’s grave is considered his permanent house. The Sages gave Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai’s son a blessing that he should dwell in his temporary home rather than his permanent home, i.e., he should live a long life.When they said that your table should become confused, they meant that you should be blessed with many sons and daughters, so that there will be noise and confusion at your table. When they said that you should not see a new year, they meant your wife should not die and as a result you should not have to marry another woman, about which it says: “When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business; he shall be free at home for one year” (Deuteronomy 24:5).

Apropos a blessing with an obscure meaning, the Gemara relates: Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta took leave of Rav. His father said to him: Go to him so that he should bless you. When Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta returned to him for a blessing, Rav said to him: May it be God’s will that you should not shame others and that you should not feel ashamed. He came home to his father, who said to him: What did he say to you? He said to him: Mere words he said to me, i.e., he did not say anything of significance.After Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta repeated what Rav had said, his father said to him: He blessed you with the blessing with which the Holy One, Blessed be He, blessed Israel and then repeated the blessing, indicating that is a very great blessing, as it is written: “And you shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the Name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be ashamed. And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and there is none else; and My people shall never be ashamed” (Joel 2:26–27).§ It was taught in the mishna: And a woman may engage in all of her usual cosmetic treatments on the intermediate days of a Festival. The Sages taught in a baraita: These are the cosmetic treatments of women that are permitted: She may paint her eyelids, she may remove unwanted hair [pokeset], and she may put rouge on her face. And some say: She may pass a comb over her lower face, i.e., she may remove the hair from her pubic area.The Gemara relates that Rav Ḥisda’s wife would adorn herself on the intermediate days of a Festival in the presence of her daughter-in-law, i.e., when she already had a married son. Rav Huna bar Ḥinnana sat before Rav Ḥisda, and he sat and said: They taught only that a woman is permitted to engage in cosmetic treatments on the intermediate days of a Festival only with regard to a young woman, as such treatments bring her joy, but in the case of an old woman, no, the treatments are not permitted, as she does not need them.

(8) I am ever mindful of the LORD’s presence;
He is at my right hand; I shall never be shaken.

The Gemara further teaches: The Holy One, Blessed be He, links a good thought to an action, as it is stated: “Then they that feared the Lord spoke one with the other, and the Lord listened, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him, for them that fear the Lord, and that think upon His name” (Malachi 3:16). The Gemara explains: What is the meaning of the phrase “and that think upon His name”? Rav Asi said: Even if a person intended to perform a mitzva but due to circumstances beyond his control he did not perform it, the verse ascribes him credit as if he performed the mitzva, as he is among those that think upon His name.