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Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Re’eh
Deut. 11:26-16:17
By Shlomo Riskin
Efrat, Israel - “See [re’eh] this day I set before you a blessing
and a curse: A blessing when you listen [tishme’u] to the
commandments of the Lord your G-d… and a curse if you do not listen
to the commandments…you shall give the blessing on Mt. Gerizim and
the curse on Mt. Eyval…” (Deut. 11:26-29)
This rather momentous
exhortation contains a number of linguistic and conceptual
problems:
First of all, the very opening word, “see” (re’eh in
Hebrew), is an imperative in the singular form; the verse goes on to
state “when you listen” (Hebrew tishme’u) which is in second-person
plural. Why the change?
Secondly, the text goes on to say that
there will be a blessing “when you listen” (Hebrew asher tishme’u)
and a curse “if you don’t” (Heb. im lo tishme’u). Here again, why
the change?
Thirdly, why the necessity of the two high mountains
surrounding Shekhem (modern-day Nablus)? What do these mountains
signify?
And, finally, the content of the blessings and curses
come later on in the Bible (Chapter 27:11ff) with the concluding
words being, “These are the words of the covenant which the Lord
commanded Moses to conclude with the children of Israel in the Land
of Moab in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb
(Mt. Sinai)” (Deut 28:69).What is the significance of this added
covenant just prior to their entry into Israel?
The two majestic
mountains just outside of Shekhem symbolize the difficult climb
necessary for the Israelites to take in order for them to even begin
to fulfill their G-d – given mandate of becoming a holy nation and a
Kingdom of priest-teachers to the world; and indeed this is the
third covenant we entered into with G-d just prior to our entry into
the Land of Israel. In addition to the Covenant at Sinai, the
religious covenant of the Ten Commandments and the 613 laws of our
Torah, we have a mission to become a light unto the nations of the
world, at the very least to teach the seven universal laws of
morality to all of the people of the globe (Maimonides, Laws of
Kings 10,8).
Once the Israelites cross over the River Jordan, at
the place from which the Israelites first entered their land and the
logical place at which representatives of the world would later
enter and exit the Jewish land, they were commanded to set up large
stones coated with plaster and write upon them these laws of
morality – “in a very clear manner of explanation,” (Hebrew: be’er
heitev; and the midrashic explanation: translated into all seventy
languages, Deut. 27: 1-8). These stones would graphically
demonstrate our message to the whole of human civilization. Such a
taxing and daunting universal task will seem less daunting when we
consider the words of Dr. Martin Luther King who used the metaphor
of the mountain in his great ‘I Have a Dream’ speech to the American
people in 1963, “….I have a dream that one day every valley
shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the
rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made
straight….”
Essentially, the way to bring the exalted and
distant mountain within our grasp is to climb it, step by step, for
each step of our ascent makes the mountain seem lower and lower.
In order for us to begin to carry out our mission to the world, we
must first become a holy nation ourselves. The Bible tells us that
the blessing will come when we keep the commandments, in an
immediate fashion. After all, “the reward of a commandment is the
commandment itself,” the satisfaction we receive from helping a
person in distress, the familial cohesiveness and inner peace we
take with us as we observe the Sabbath day. If, G-d forbid, we do
not listen to the commandments, retribution may not come
immediately, but eventually evil bears its own destructive fruits.
The great Hassidic Sage known as the Shpolle Zeide expressed this
truth in a very memorable way. He tells how, as a child, he would go
to a shvitz (steam bath, or less sophisticated sauna) with his
father, who would pour freezing cold water upon him just as he would
begin to perspire profusely. “Ooh,” he would inadvertently scream as
the cold water contacted his burning hot flesh, but – after cooling
down a bit – would exclaim happily, “Aah.” “Remember my child the
lesson of the ooh and aah,” The Shpolle would hear from his father.
"Before (and often even during) the commission of a transgression,
you have physical enjoyment – aah. But afterwards, when you ponder
your sin and suffer its consequences – ooh! In the case of a
mitzvah, however, you might cry ooh when you have to get up early
for prayers or for a lesson of daf yomi, but in reflection of your
religious accomplishment, you will always exclaim aah afterwards.
Make sure you conclude your life with an aah!"
Why is the first
opening word Re’eh, see, in the singular? Two summers ago Hezbollah,
agents of Iran and Syria, were shooting Katyusha rockets into
Northern Israel, making the lives of the residents virtually
impossible. Many inhabitants of more southern areas opened their
hearts and homes to their embattled fellow citizens while our
soldiers fought the enemy on the ground and from the air in Lebanon.
In Efrat, we opened our Neveh Shmuel High School dormitories,
kitchen, and dining hall, and many families opened their homes to
temporary refugees from Karmiel and Bar Yohai. These groups included
Sefardi haredim together with Russian immigrants, some of whom came
with their Christian, cross-bearing spouses. Almost miraculously,
the spirit of one nation Israel conquered all differences, and
everyone got along famously.
One of my neighbors, who hosted six
individuals for 6 weeks, breakfast, lunch and dinner, invited me and
my wife to a special Friday evening meal at their home cooked by
their guests (under supervision of the hostess). Before the
hostess lit Shabbat candles, the three women (one of whom was
wearing a cross) asked if they could join their hostess in the
kindling of the Shabbat lights; I ruled in the affirmative. That
entire Shabbat I was certain that the Messiah would come – and I
know that he made significant headway in his journey. In order
to truly climb the mountain, we must all take the upward trudge,
collectively, as one.
Shabbat Shalom
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