בס”ד

Parashat Ree This week’s Torah reading starts with G-d giving blessing and curse. But, how can we say that He gives curse if He is the source of all blessings?

Parashat Re’eh – Blessing and Curse

This week’s Torah portion is Re’eh. Re’eh means: look. The Torah begins by saying: Look, I am giving you today a blessing and a curse. Then it continues: if you behave properly, you receive the blessing. If you do not behave properly, you receive the curse. And so on.

But the truth is: this sounds a little strange. What does it mean that G-d gives curses? G-d is the source of all blessings. How can He Himself say about Himself that He is giving curses to the world? You might even ask: why did You create me? Don’t create me, and don’t give me curses.

The simplest explanation is this: it actually depends on you. As we said, if you behave properly, you receive the blessing. If you don’t behave properly, you receive the curse. This means reward and punishment. And that is one of the fundamental principles in Judaism: reward and punishment according to a person’s behavior.

A deeper explanation

But there is more to it. One of the Torah commentators gave a very deep interpretation. He wrote: Look, if you behave properly, you receive G-d’s blessing. But if you do not behave properly, something automatic happens. G-d, so to speak, withholds the blessing; He retains it within Himself. And automatically, what remains is the curse.

In other words: not being in complete connection with G-d – that itself is the curse. G-d gives you life. G-d gives you choices. And if you make the wrong choice, you automatically receive a curse. But not because G-d actively sends you a curse. Rather, this is what happens when you are disconnected from Him – from the source of life, the source of blessing.

However, this explanation does not really fit the actual language of the Torah. Because G-d says clearly: I am giving you today a blessing and a curse.

An even deeper explanation

There is another, deeper interpretation. This comes from an idea by Onkelos ben Uziel, who lived around 2,000 years ago. He wrote one of the first translations of the Torah into Aramaic. And instead of translating the word “curse” into the proper Aramaic word melatio, he used a different Aramaic word, one that is connected to the Hebrew word for exchange.

Why did he do that? Why didn’t he simply use the regular Aramaic word for “curse”?

The explanation is this: if a person does what he is supposed to do, then he sees everything that comes from G-d as a blessing. You see it clearly – health, livelihood, joy – everything appears as blessing. However, if a person is not properly prepared, then that same thing that comes from G-d is experienced as a curse.

But in truth, it is not a curse at all. It is such a deep blessing that it is designed to wake you up, to push you to recognize that you need to change your perspective on the world.

An example

Let me say this in different words. When a person goes through a difficult time in life – struggles, pain, or challenges – he might think: This is G-d punishing me. This is G-d making my life complicated. This is bad.

But the truth is: nothing bad comes from G-d. Nothing. Everything that comes from G-d is a blessing. Only, when you are properly prepared, you perceive it as blessing. When you are not prepared, you perceive that very same blessing as a curse.

It’s like a student going to class. Suppose you attend a university lecture that is on a very advanced level, but you are not ready for it. The professor gives an incredible class, full of wisdom, but you can’t understand it. For you, it’s not a blessing – it feels like a curse. You wasted your time, you think the subject is boring, and you walk away frustrated. But the class itself was brilliant. The professor is a genius. Only, you weren’t able to receive it.

The deepest level

On an even deeper level, we can say: everything that comes from G-d is simply potential. It is raw divine energy. The way you receive it determines how it will be revealed in your life.

In other words: G-d does not send “blessings” and “curses” separately. No. G-d gives. He gives you life. He gives you sustenance. He gives you everything. But depending on how you receive it – how you recognize that everything comes from Him – you will reveal that divine energy either as a blessing, or as the opposite.

Conclusion

May G-d help us – in whichever of these explanations we follow – to always see open, revealed, tangible blessings all around us in life. And may He bring us the greatest blessing of all: the coming of Mashiach, speedily in our days.

Talk from Rabbi Tuvia Serber


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