Parashat Re'eh
Av 27, 5772 (August 27, 2010
by Avi Whitten-Vile
This was my Torah portion for my bar mitzvah, 3 long years ago. I can’t find my dvar, so here is the newer, shorter, user friendly version.
Parsha Re’eh opens with what could be the most important verse in the Torah for modern Jews. “See, this day I set before you a blessing, and a curse.” Moses is trying to persuade the Israelites to do the right thing, i.e. follow G-d’s commands, and He is warning them about the consequences if they choose wrongly. However, it seems important to say, that they get to choose. There are, of course, consequences for following the wrong path, but our actions become meaningful precisely because we get to choose them.
And what is a blessing and what is a curse? Sometimes it’s hard to tell.
When you have a pain in your elbow, is this a blessing or a curse? My sister woke up with a painful elbow this summer, and luckily the pain prompted her to see a doctor who said she had a spider bite that was infected and gave her the proper medication. Without the pain, she wouldn’t have known she had a gross oozing reddened spider bite. She wouldn’t have noticed it since it was on the back side of her arm (It was kind of cool actually; not that I wish my sister pain). Life has many situations like this that seem to be bad or good on the surface, but a deeper look and some wisdom can often show you the real benefit. Just last week, my dad had a problem with his eye. He had to have surgery and now he can’t read for 10 days. This seems like a curse and as of this writing, he still can’t find the “deeper meaning” behind not being able to read. Maybe it’s good to heighten your other senses for 10 days. I’ll tell him that.
Millions of people in California want to win the lottery. Sometimes for fun, we buy a few tickets and then realize we should have just burned our money on the lawn. People devise strategies, examine their dreams (Ok we sometimes think out loud about what we’d do with 30 million dollars) and spend lots of money trying to win. Superficially they think of the lottery as the ultimate blessing. However, there is a higher rate of divorce and suicide among lottery winners. Many people zip through their money and even end up in debt. Their estranged relatives begin to call and suddenly they have a whole new set of friends; Most of them looking for a handout. Having a lot of money can sometimes just provide you with more opportunities to be irresponsible.
The world is a very confusing place. Often the path before you is not white or black, but fuzzy. Look around and you can see people doing things they think are wonderful, and even holy, but you think they are wrong. Suicide bombers think they’re doing a holy act.
It takes wisdom to discern what is taking you towards goodness and putting light into the world, and it takes experience to see what is bringing more darkness and sadness into the world.
We are people with free will, who have to learn what G-d wants from us and then try to meet those high standards. We have to decide for ourselves and understand that sometimes there is benefit in what initially seems like a curse.
Av 27, 5772 (August 27, 2010
by Avi Whitten-Vile
This was my Torah portion for my bar mitzvah, 3 long years ago. I can’t find my dvar, so here is the newer, shorter, user friendly version.
Parsha Re’eh opens with what could be the most important verse in the Torah for modern Jews. “See, this day I set before you a blessing, and a curse.” Moses is trying to persuade the Israelites to do the right thing, i.e. follow G-d’s commands, and He is warning them about the consequences if they choose wrongly. However, it seems important to say, that they get to choose. There are, of course, consequences for following the wrong path, but our actions become meaningful precisely because we get to choose them.
And what is a blessing and what is a curse? Sometimes it’s hard to tell.
When you have a pain in your elbow, is this a blessing or a curse? My sister woke up with a painful elbow this summer, and luckily the pain prompted her to see a doctor who said she had a spider bite that was infected and gave her the proper medication. Without the pain, she wouldn’t have known she had a gross oozing reddened spider bite. She wouldn’t have noticed it since it was on the back side of her arm (It was kind of cool actually; not that I wish my sister pain). Life has many situations like this that seem to be bad or good on the surface, but a deeper look and some wisdom can often show you the real benefit. Just last week, my dad had a problem with his eye. He had to have surgery and now he can’t read for 10 days. This seems like a curse and as of this writing, he still can’t find the “deeper meaning” behind not being able to read. Maybe it’s good to heighten your other senses for 10 days. I’ll tell him that.
Millions of people in California want to win the lottery. Sometimes for fun, we buy a few tickets and then realize we should have just burned our money on the lawn. People devise strategies, examine their dreams (Ok we sometimes think out loud about what we’d do with 30 million dollars) and spend lots of money trying to win. Superficially they think of the lottery as the ultimate blessing. However, there is a higher rate of divorce and suicide among lottery winners. Many people zip through their money and even end up in debt. Their estranged relatives begin to call and suddenly they have a whole new set of friends; Most of them looking for a handout. Having a lot of money can sometimes just provide you with more opportunities to be irresponsible.
The world is a very confusing place. Often the path before you is not white or black, but fuzzy. Look around and you can see people doing things they think are wonderful, and even holy, but you think they are wrong. Suicide bombers think they’re doing a holy act.
It takes wisdom to discern what is taking you towards goodness and putting light into the world, and it takes experience to see what is bringing more darkness and sadness into the world.
We are people with free will, who have to learn what G-d wants from us and then try to meet those high standards. We have to decide for ourselves and understand that sometimes there is benefit in what initially seems like a curse.
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