Baruch Mizion 1S Parshas Re’eh I am only going to look at the first possuk of this week’s Sedra, Re’eh, but it is a humdinger of a possuk. RE’EH ANOCHI NOSEN LIFNEICHEM HAYOM BRACHA UKLALLA See, I put before you today a blessing and a curse............... Rabbi Bernstein quotes the Ohr Hachayim Hakodosh who, as is often the case, has a most original way of understanding a possuk. The Ohr Hachayim asks why Moshe began his address to Bnei Yisrael with the word ‘Re’eh’ which means ‘Look’ or ‘See’? Would it not be more logical to begin with ‘Listen’ or ‘Hear’, and also, why use the word ‘Anochi’ which is a very strong expression for ‘I’ or ‘me’? And he answers by translating the possuk as follows: Moshe is saying ‘Look at Me’, I’m the one that is placing before you this important choice, the choice between living a life where everything you do brings you closer to Hashem, as opposed to a life where every action is purely for your own personal or material benefit. Look at Me for I know of what I speak. I spent 20 years (some say 40) in the palace of Pharoah, I was a Prince of Egypt and had every material possession one could want. And, I have also, on 3 occasions, spent 40 days in Shamayim, learning Torah from Hashem, the most spiritual of experiences. I have lived both lives and I am telling you to choose ‘Holiness’, a life of Torah and Mitzvos. If you want to be a leader, if you want to influence people, you need to understand all aspects of life so that your advice will be taken seriously. ----------------------------- Now, the word Re’eh is singular, but in the same possuk the word ‘Lifneichem’ ‘before you’ is plural. Says the Chasam Sofer, we are being shown that in choosing the right path, there are 2 components. One is the importance of the individual, where he quotes the Gemarah in Kiddushin 40a, that one person can have an effect on the whole world. This is particularly relevant as we approach the month of Elul and then the Yamim Noraim. One extra Mitzvah, or good deed can push a person into positive territory in his balance of Mitzvos and Aveiros, and that shift can tilt the whole of Bnei Yisrael into the positive. But at the same time, no single Jew, no matter how righteous, can keep all 613 Mitzvos alone, we need Clal Yisrael to work together to achieve that. The dual approach of this possuk teaches us an important lesson, that the individual and the community are of equal importance. One might have thought that working tirelessly for the community although neglecting oneself is still admirable, or that constantly working on improving oneself, although with little time left for the community, is still to be commended. The possuk is teaching us that recognising the importance, and acting on both sides of the equation is how ones achieves the right path. Shabbat Shalom Benny
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 18:15:33 +0000
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