Dear TBZ community:
This week's parasha, Re’eh begins with the following verse:
רְאֵ֗ה אָנֹכִ֛י נֹתֵ֥ן לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם בְּרָכָ֖ה וּקְלָלָֽה
See, this day I set before you blessing and curse
In these unprecedented times of the pandemic and of an unimaginable chaos in a country being fed on hate and division, this verse feels relevant and real. In front of us literally, there is blessing and curse.
The text in the Hebrew has a grammatical challenge.
The first word, Re’eh: See is in the singular.
YOU (the individual) SEE what I set before you.
But the word that means before you - lifneichem - is in the plural.
You (the individual) see what I set before you (the plural - the collective): blessing and curse.
The twelve century commentator Ibn Ezra, suggests that Moshe while talking to a large crowd, to all the people of Israel, uses the word Re’eh, in singular to mean that he is speaking to each person, personally, to emphasize that, each individual has this option to see.
ראה: לכל אחד ידבר
Behold [singular] Moshe addresses every individual
Lifneichem in the plural means that our individual choice is part of a collective destiny.
I remember this story of two people on a boat, each on their side of it. Suddenly one of them decides to make a hole in their side of the boat. The other one asks “what are you doing? We are going to drown!” To which the person drilling the hole responds, “what do you care, this is MY side of the boat.”
Unfortunately this story which I remember as a kid as a joke, or a ridiculous depiction of arrogance and individualism, is actually a depiction of so much of what is happening in the world and especially in our country.
The ability to choose is a gift and our freedom and our capacity to choose is what makes us human.
רְשׁוּת לְכָל אָדָם נְתוּנָה
אִם רָצָה לְהַטּוֹת עַצְמוֹ לְדֶרֶךְ טוֹבָה וְלִהְיוֹת צַדִּיק הָרְשׁוּת בְּיָדוֹ
וְאִם רָצָה לְהַטּוֹת עַצְמוֹ לְדֶרֶךְ רָעָה וְלִהְיוֹת רָשָׁע הָרְשׁוּת בְּיָדוֹ
“Every person was endowed with a free will;
if she desires to bend herself toward the good path and to be just it is within the power of her hand to reach out for it,
and if he desires to bend himself to a bad path and to be wicked it is within the power of his hand to reach out for it”
I recognize that it is not always easy to make individual choices based on what is good for all. Living in a capitalistic and competitive world makes it even harder. Our systems are most often built for individual success rather than for collective good. To hold the individual and collective as one, is not a simple task, but there is no option if we want our boat to stay afloat and even thrive.
“There is a beautiful story, often attributed to Native Americans, about a grandfather and his grandson, The grandfather said, ‘There is a war going on inside of me. It is a very ugly fight.’
His grandson asked, ‘What kind of war is it?’
The grandfather replied, ‘It is a fight between two wolves. One is this evil wolf that is malicious, hateful, angry, stingy, passive-aggressive, self pitying, and arrogant, with both superiority and inferiority complexes. The other wolf is very benevolent, carefree, joyous, forgiving, humorous, compassionate, courageous, loving, generous and open hearted.’
His grandson asked, ‘Who will win this war?’
The grandfather answered, ‘The one you feed the most.’”
We have the capacity to choose which wolf we feed the most in our own personal and individual wars. This choice doesn't just concern us individually, but they link us together as a collective. The task is not simple, but is the essence of what means to be human.
May this Shabbat bring blessings to all of you and your loved ones.
May we find strength, courage, patience and open our heart with generosity.
May all those who are ill find healing.
May we have a joyful Shabbat!
