By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.
SAN DIEGO — Is your glass half empty, half filled, or as mine is, filled with 6 ounces of water and the rest, air?
Yes, “the link is what you think,” and this week’s Torah reading underscores this idea with its words, “See, this day I set before you a blessing and a curse…” Couldn’t this pasuk have begun, “This day I set before you blessing and curse…?” Why begin with “See?”
Further, why is re’eh written in the singular even though Moshe was speaking to all present?
Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra teaches us that Moshe was speaking to every individual, upon whom it is incumbent as individuals to absorb his message. But interestingly the phrase ends with lifneichem “before you all fall,” in the plural. This prompts us to recognize that we all decide whether or not to commit our hearts, minds and souls to growing our b’rit, our “covenant” with Hashem. Moshe offers us a series of unfolding spiritual truths. We find in Torah a common emphasis on “hearing” over “seeing.” Remember, we have Shema Yisrael, not Re’eh Yisrael. When we use our eyes, the parasha tells us, we “heed the command of the Lord” to avoid the curse and obtain the blessing. We are cautioned not to do what is “right in our eyes,” acting selfishly, to do what is “right in the eyes of the Lord.” It seems that what we “see” is all important.
Perhaps the word “see” is essential to teach us to the importance of recognizing that we have choice as to what and how we see ourselves, others, and our lives. Do we see life as half-filled or half empty? When we have alert minds and receptive hearts, our eyes are free to recognize the blessings in our lives…and the curses.
With our eyes trained on the role that Hashem plays in our lives, we are more likely to see a better path forward, making choices that lead to health and wellbeing, to living better lives. We can see with optimism or with pessimism. Re’eh tells us we can choose to live from despair or from hope. Viktor Frankl’s observation is clearly anchored in this Torah reading, when he says, “That everything can be taken from a person but one thing, to choose one’s attitude and to choose one’s own way.”
The parasha empowers us to see and to use our sight — not to lose sight — to create hope from despair, to reframe our thinking to see opportunity, to glean a positive message, to find light in darkness. Imagine what you add not only to your life, but to the world, in “seeing” goodness and blessings as we are taught to see in the parasha.
Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai emphasizes this in Pirke Avot, (2:13), when he points his disciples in the direction of “seeing” and discovering for themselves what is the good path, a generous eye, a good colleague, a good neighbor, foresight, and a generous heart. What we see, we find. In the words of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, “In our world, everything is a mixture of good and bad. Human beings must choose which aspects they will emphasize, contemplate, and pursue…”
Further, we learn in Tamid 32a, in the Talmud, “Who is wise? One who sees the future.” When we use our mind’s eye to see and to visualize clearly, we can wisely choose to see the many blessings Hashem “set before” us in our lives daily. They are there. See them?
This Shabbat we bless the coming of the new month, Elul, with Rosh Chodesh on Sunday and Monday, August 8 and 9. This is our time for cheshbon hanefesh, a sacred task involving an “accounting of the soul.” This is our season of repentance, a time for us to see, to renew our vision prescription, to come to know ourselves better, and to use our positive vision to recognize who we are meant to be. Elul brings a time for us to step outside of our daily numbing mindlessness, and to carefully review our choices, good and bad, to see and recognize our wrongdoings and those things we incorrectly attached ourselves to, to prepare to do t’shuvah, repent, and to grow.
Rabbi Chaim Zaitchik, a student of Rabbi Yisroel Salanter’s mussar movement, wrote an essay entitled “Flawed Character Traits Weaken Faith,” in which explains why we wisely first “do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord” and only then can we understand Him: “From this we gain the following guidance: in order for a person to achieve the precious quality of faith in the Almighty in his life, he cannot do so through intellectual inquiry. He must first rectify his ethical and moral conduct, laying down a foundation of good deeds and charitable acts, and then thereby develop a complete and strong faith. Only then can he understand the meaning of yir’at shamayim, fear of Heaven, only then will faith be revealed to him.” Additionally, Rav Kook writes in Mussar Avicha that “we seek to affect all of existence.”
In other words, living a life filled with mitzvot and Hashem’s word, moves us to do good on a broad scale, one that extends to the most massive and minutest things we can envision. Our words, thoughts, and actions are of unbounded importance, and when we commit ourselves to actualize Hashem’s goodness, we experience the greatest return of all: living a good life.
Perhaps that’s what G-d is telling us in the parasha. He puts blessings and curses in front of us and teaches us the path to embrace our blessings (11:26-32).
From seeing what you eat, the laws of kashrut, to choosing to not worship “other gods,” to caring for those in need, to filling our time with what is sacred and meaningful, the parasha offers us a toolkit for happiness at a time we are assessing our past year’s behaviors during the upcoming High Holidays. We can choose, with free will, to do our will or we can choose, with free will, to do His will. Each carries its own consequences. Hashem has given us the facility to do what is right as individuals and as representatives of our Jewish community. Rabbi Simhah Bunim of Pshischa taught, learning to revere God “is a cardinal principle in improving oneself . . . a realization that the entire world is filled with His glory and that every single creature contains a spark of the Divine.”
With the right sight, we can all grow in our holiness through seeing the good that comes from strengthening our relationship with Hashem through Torah. We can surely practice hakarat hatov and recognize the positive despite whatever else may seem to be going wrong. Your blessings are in front of you…see them? As we face Elul, it’s a time to ask ourselves how we’ve done following our own ways, and how it would be different, better, following cheerfully, His ways.
Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov…
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Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D., prepares a weekly D’var Torah for Young Israel of San Diego, where he and his family are members. They are also active members of Congregation Adat Yeshurun. He may be contacted via michael.mantell@sdjewishworld.com