Reeh - Choosing the Blessings

you're listening to the weekly paral podcast with Ari goldwag recorded with running assistance inish Israel 5784 2024 this week's par is Paras and as we are in the home stretch we're about to begin the month of el we're in the home stretch one month until Rashana and it's time for us to re-evaluate and think about our relationship with Hashem and it's not a coincidence that during this time we read the Final Chapter is the final parus of the T which is Mos renu's instruction to the Jewish people as they're about to enter a new phase of their existence as they're about to go into the Holy Land into the land of Israel it's not a coincidence we read all of his exhortations his instructions his guidance and this week so the very beginning of the par starts off tell tell us I want you to understand something what's at stake what are the what's what's Theus what's the essence of what the t is what is the difference between keeping the T having a relationship with God as opposed to not the difference is blessings or curses do you want blessings in your life so this is what he says understand something blessing are not just things that happen you know by luck or by chance person's life is filled with blessings or heav forbid not it's a choice it's our choice says MOS raenu the blessings are the listening the hearing the word of Hashem your God listening hearing fulfilling the Commandments of God that I'm commanding you today what is the curse what is a life which is lacking blessing what does it look like it means a person who doesn't keep the Commandments of hem turning away from the path that Moshe is commanding us today going after other gods following in the ways of the nations of the world other ideologies this says moshu is how a person can end up with curses instead of blessings the the choic is in front of us the choices in front of us it doesn't say that in this P here the is going to quote it mosu exorts us instructs us choose life choose the blessings it's very straightforward it's not easy but it's very straightforward choose life don't you want blessings in your life m is telling us this is what blessing looks like keeping the toyra having a life of toyra having a beautiful family having many Good Deeds to one's name I'd like to read to you from the m a few different ideas that really expand this idea you it's so important because we are as I said standing at the beginning of l a month until rashash and we need to look at our lives and say are we doing are we being are we fulfilling are we the people we'd like to be so in explaining our our para explaining the blessings and the curses so it's interesting because the medes starts speaking about the BR Andis which we find actually a few Paras later we're going to see together with before rashash a week or two before rashash we read the the blessings and the curses the blessings that come upon it us that come upon us when we fulfill the T and the curses that come upon those who don't keep the Torah but the mes brings out something very interesting when it comes to reading the which is not in our parha but it's referenced in our parha when it comes to reading all the curses that befall somebody or before having forbid those who don't keep the Torah so it's extensive Hashem wants to make sure we stay away from negative behavior so Hashem makes very clear that there's a lot of problems that are going to happen if we don't keep the T so is it something that we can read usually you could have a section of reading in the Torah that consist of only three verses but if we would split up the cles if we split up the curses into many different readings a few people read it that's that's the question is that okay can we do that we don't split it up we don't separate it and the reason is says the why don't we read it multiple with multiple readers why do we have one person gets up to the Torah he says the blessings we read through all of the curses we finish with the curses and even though it's an extensive list of curses but they're all read by one reader why the first principle here is that's very important is do you want to succeed in life do you want to have blessings so you got to be able to listen to you got to be able to hear what happens it's uncomfortable you got to be able to hear what happens when we don't do what's right because we need to be warned you know we're human and we understand negative consequences we do get that and when we hear about that we need to not turn away from mus we need to not turn away when someone comes over to us and tells us something that we're doing wrong we need to not reject that kind of statement it's a hard thing to do to accept criticism I'm not interested in criticism no when gives you when directs you when hasem gives you challenges difficulties because of the negative behavior that we done so then we should not reject that so if we would stop in the middle of reading the curses so that would indicate that I just can't I can't handle hearing it I don't want to hear it so let someone else listen to it no one person reads the whole thing to to as representative of the fact that when we hear the hard facts when we hear the hard difficult negative situation we could find ourselves in if we don't keep the Torah properly I'm not rejecting that I got to hear it all the way through I got to hear it till the end all in one shot bring it all Don't Bring It On We're not interested in the negative consequences but we got to hear the negative consequences says another more positive spin on it another explanation as to why we don't stop in the middle of reading the clist the the curses God says like this and speaking about himself God writes it's a verse into God speaks through his through His prophets King David was one of the prophets he said hasem says I am with the Jewish people in their challenge in their pain in their difficulty which really means right when are we in difficulty we've done something wrong we've turned away from God but hashm says I am still with them when they've turned away from me and they are experiencing pain as a result of their negative behavior so being that God Is With Us in that time says look when the Jews have done something wrong so they get punished they experience negative situations but I am there with them so if I'm there with them and they're being they're experiencing Kal they're experiencing curses doesn't make sense that Hashem says about himself it doesn't make sense that I should get extra blessings in that situation what does that mean right the way that we do things today wasn't always this way but the way that we do things is we each person who gets called out to the Torah says he says the blessings before and after the reading so if we would separate the cles the curses into multiple readers if we would have multiple people reading so then each and every one would say blessings to Hashem as we have more and more curses heaven forbid you know so Hashem is like I'm not interested in you giving me extra blessings cuz I'm with you when you're down I'm with you hasm is saying and I'm not interested in experience ing as it were a positive situation when you guys when you the Jewish people are experiencing a negative situation so indicated or implicit in the fact that we read only one reader reads all of the cles implies that Hashem is with us he doesn't want extra he doesn't want to be positively uh I don't want to say affected cuz God is not affected as it were but he doesn't want to be called in positive way over and over again when the Jews are down in a negative situation the rabbi say this that I gave them blessings and curses was not a negative thing the fact that I also mention you know it's like a father who says to his son if you do what's right I'm going to give you an ice cream party if you do what's wrong I'm going to really give you terrible punishments when he threatens us so to speak when he mentions that there's going to be a negative repercussion for our actions he's not coming with anger and with malice he's not coming to to as a as a mean a mean person to try to destroy us heaven forbid no he's like a father who wants us to choose the right way the point is not the negative repercussions of our actions the point is the positive the blessings that come so that we should get we should get reward [Music] says look at what I'm doing look look at the options I'm placing before you examine them well look you can choose if you keep the T if you dedicate yourself to my will it's going to be good but if not it's not going to be good so Hashem is placing it in front of us clearly for us to be able to choose okay that's the bottom line of the first section of the Mish we have a choice we have a choice every day and as we are entering into El and as we are going back to rashash Shana and we are involving ourselves in reaffirming our commitment to Hashem this is the time to contemplate what are the results of doing God's will what are the results of turning away from his will well just take a take a look around those who rejected hem let's say the reformed conservative movements over the last 300 years look what happened to them they' they don't exist anymore at almost at all they're dying out those who choose to serve AEM re re re strengthen themselves reaffirm their commitment to God the the Yeshiva World the Orthodox world gets stronger and stronger that's the difference between blessings and curses now I'd like to read to you from another section or two of the mes it's interesting when we look at the so it says two different things it says see that I'm giving to you blessings and curses okay so Hashem is like placing in front of us with a he's giving us a full perspective right he's giving us a a picture but at the same time right so the P refers to seeing and it refers to hearing which we spoke about last week that the idea of seeing is all Inc compassing you see a whole picture you see many things at once but the idea of Shia the idea of hearing is something you have to deduce it's it's related to intuition so this part of the measure speaks about the the hearing as aspect the says in I like to read it to you inside Jeremiah chapter 13 verse 15 it says listen and hear don't become too high altic b means don't become too high don't be egotistical be this is the word of Hashem now the PK doesn't say what what Yi Jeremiah the prophet is telling us to listen to listen don't be egotistical what is it talking about so the Mish is going to discuss what exactly is it talking about by comparing it to other places where it speaks about shim listen what are we supposed to listen to says that God says what does it mean listen it means listen to the words of the Torah and don't speak in a way which is egotistical what does that mean the Maru explains that the tah is compared to water we find that the Torah is compared to water and just like water when it flows it flows from a high place to the lowest place right it always tries to get to the lowest place gravity pulls it down so too that's how it is with Torah you can't be egotistical if you want to learn Torah if you want to become a Torah person if you want to become someone who spiritual has a relationship with hasem with God so it's only possible when a person limits his ego when a person makes himself subservient to Hashem subservient to the Torah the more we study the Torah the more we understand hashem's will the more we have to really lower ourselves because really I want to do whatever I want to do I want to do it my way I want to do everything my way why are you telling me how to do things in order to become a greater person in order to become the kind of person who experiences blessings we need to be we need to subdue our ego we need to listen to the words of the Torah and that has to subdue that has to push down our ego that has to be the net result the end of the verse says for Hashem has spoken where didm speak says in that it's disgusting to the one who's egotistical the one who's full of himself the one whose heart is very high up it's something that Hashem doesn't like if you want to have a manifestation of blessings in your life you have to you have to limit your ego another explanation here another possible way of thinking about it is not just in the literal sense of of lowering your heart lowering your ego but it could also mean listen to words of Torah and don't turn your ears away from hearing words of Torah right let's say you know I don't it's it's hard to hear words of Torah in a certain sense it's hard to do that which the Torah says it's important to know that it's not always easy it's I have to go against my nature often but don't bring your ear away from listening don't don't don't defy Hashem by saying look I just don't don't tell me the I'm not interested in knowing I'm better off not knowing this I'm doing it by a I'm doing it by you know if I didn't know about it so I'm doing a ver by accident no don't make that mistake interestingly it says what does it mean that hasem has spoken it means to say that if you turn away if I turn away if we turn away heav forbid from hearing from seeking to listen to seeking to listen and find out what is hashem's will the result of that is that the person's prayers are rejected it's very interesting right CU what are prayers prayers are my requests of God prayers are the things that I'm saying Hashem please provide me with my parosa please give me the blessings please help me have have a good life help me pay my bills help me have parosa of livelihood have joy and happiness have friendships have success for myself for my spouse for my children but if I'm not listening to God as it were if I'm running away from listening to hashem's will then the result is as we said before the our we don't see the blessings we won't see the blessings the prayers will not be answered oh wow me says there's another reason I need to listen there's another reason when I choose the blessings when I listen to the tah I'm not only doing myself a favor and bringing those blessings into my life I'm doing the entire world a favor because if I don't listen to God's will so then the goodness that God wants to bring into the world it's there's like a a wall between God and the world every time I lower myself and I lower my ego and I listen to Hashem I'm lowering that wall between God and the world so I'm facilitating that all the goodness should come into the World by doing H's will plus he says in Isaiah 1: 19- 20 if you do so if you listen if you fulfill the word of Hashem so then you will eat the good of the land but if you refuse excuse me and heaven forbid you defy God so then the result is that the sword comes the sword comes what does this mean interesting listen to this what does it mean if you listen and you if you if you indeed do as you're supposed to says that there's a sword and a book that came down intermingled from heaven the sword was wrapped up in the book and hasem says here here's this book you see the sword that's wrapped up in the book if you do what it says to do inside of this book you'll be saved from the sword but if you don't so non-compliance with what it says in in the book comes along with the sword that's that's the result is the sword comes heaven forbid if we don't do as we're supposed to do so it's it's like it sounds scary it sounds mean but it's the loving parent the loving father who wants us to know that this is the good path I want to give you blessings Hashem is saying don't choose the path don't choose the path of distance from me which results in the curses final it's like a it's like a uh a servant who his master said to him I have for you a sack full of gold if you do my will if you do what I say you'll get the gold but if not I will put upon you manacles you'll be chained chains of iron this is what hasm says to us if you do my will you're going to get good and blessings is going to be curses you have these two paths in front of you so we got to know we got to see we got to understand this is the this is the the two extremes sounds very extreme but it's true it's simple it's it's straightforward hasm wants us to choose the good I do want to read one last idea which is a short piece in the mes here right immediately following so this is Al gimmel in section said this at says that from God from the mouth of of the exalted one that's not where good and bad comes from what hasem is saying here is he's laying down a spiritual principle which became true which started to be actualized at the moment of of har of Mount Si when we reive the Torah and this spiritual axiom is that if I do good the automatic result is that blessings come upon me if a person does bad heaven forbid the automatic result is that bad comes upon them this is not something that's like Hashem contemplates if we've done good or bad and then uh the result is good or bad based on what we've done no it's instant if I do good I get blessings if I do if someone does wrong they get [Music] curses and the end of the mag here which I'm not reading the whole thing it's just you shall choose life we have two choices good blessings relationship with Hashem good family situ situations subduing our ego all the things that are difficult but end up with an awesome result or having forbid the opposite but the amazing thing is that you can look around this is what the m is teaching us you can look around and you can see the instant result of good of those who pursue good of those who choose good of those who choose to fulfill hashem's will the instant result is their lives are good they lives are good maybe it's not instant okay I'm saying instant here the Mish is not saying exactly that per se but the we could say you know if you look out if you look at the long-term result of living a life of Tyra of trying to pursue God's will trying to do God's will the long-term result is Untold blessings it's so clear all you got to do is look just look around and the long-term result of those who do not have him forbidden who do not pursue a relationship with hm who do not develop their understanding of T and do not subdue their egos so the long-term result heaven forbid is only curses I want to bless you and I ask you to bless me that we should get the ultimate blessing and the blessing is something that we really choose should help us to to make that right choice should help us to choose life Shem should help us to choose the blessings to choose to listen to hear to choose to see the re to choose to see the truth the big picture and hear the words of Hashem fulfill reaffirm fulfill the words of the Torah fulfill the Commandments and reaffirm our relationship with Hashem with God thank you so much for listening have a wonderful Shamus this podcast was made possible through the gracious donations of listeners like you for more 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