Re’eh: The Blessing Of Today
By: Rabbi Judah Mischel
A wealthy Jew and clever businessman approached Reb Yisrael Meir, the Chofetz Chaim, zt’l, with what he thought was a winning proposition: “In my tzva’ah (will), I will divide up my estate into seven portions. Each of my six sons will receive one chelek (portion) and the seventh portion I will leave to the yeshivah on condition that you will learn Mishnayos for the sake of my neshamah. The talmidim of Radin will benefit, and I will enjoy the merit of your Talmud Torah in the Next World!”
The sagely Chofetz Chaim answered, “Why wait until after you’re dead to dedicate one-seventh of your belongings to tzedakah? Give the money to the yeshiva today, and instead of me learning Torah for the sake of your neshamah, you can learn those Mishnayos right now!”
“Re’eh, Behold, I set before you hayom, today, a blessing and a curse. A blessing if you will heed the commandments of Hashem, which I command you hayom…and a curse if you will not heed the commandments, but turn away…to follow other gods, which you did not know” (11:26-28).
The directive is simple and clear: We are empowered to choose to make the most of our lives, to determine our fate and create the reality in which we live. The choice is up to us and we have the responsibility to embrace a path of blessing and revealed good—or the opposite. We are the masters of our own fate, and the Torah places the ultimate responsibility for the life we lead directly upon us.
One of the details in this directive that draws attention and hints at deeper meaning is the repetition of the word hayom.
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches (Likutei Moharan 272) regarding the verse in Tehillim (95:7): Hayom, today, if you heed His voice: “It is an important rule in Avodas Hashem to focus only on today. Whether it is regarding one’s livelihood and personal needs, one should not think about one day to the next…with regard to serving Hashem, he should not consider anything beyond the present day and present moment. Sometimes the world of Avodas Hashem can seem overwhelming, heavy, even burdensome. However, when a person considers that he has only hayom (that day) …he will find it no burden at all.”
Rebbe Nachman’s advice parallels the directive of our sidrah and is the essence of the wise words of the Chofetz Chaim. When we feel moved to grow and strengthen our relationship with Hashem, we ought to immediately attach an action-point to this awakening, and capitalize on a feeling of inspiration or desire for self-improvement and responsibility in our lives:
“A person should not procrastinate from one day to the next, saying, ‘I’ll start tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll pray more attentively and enthusiastically.” And the same for other devotions. For a person’s world consists only of the present moment. Tomorrow is a different world entirely” (Likutei Moharan, 272, continued).
Hayom: As soon as Hashem sets before us a blessing or presents a mitzvah, may we merit to swiftly ground it in this world of action. As the Chofetz Chayim urges us, “Why wait?”
Excerpted from Baderech: Along the Path of the Torah, forthcoming (Mosaica Press, Elul 5786).
Rabbi Judah Mischel is Executive Director of Camp HASC, and Mashpiah of OU-NCSY.
