Shabbos Parashas Re'eh - 5776

Shabbos Parashas Re'eh - 5776

Rabbi Hal Miller

See, I place before you today a blessing and a curse. [Devarim 11:26]

How can somebody place a blessing or a curse in some physical location in

front of somebody else? Who is doing this placing? What blessing and curse?

If we look back into last week's parsha, Eikev, in 10:11, Moshe says, "G-d

said to me". Moshe is speaking to the people, relating G-d's words, whether

directly or in paraphrase is irrelevant for our question. Moshe continues telling

the people what G-d wants. Throughout it, Moshe uses the word "I", as though

relating His words verbatim, but it is pretty clearly Moshe speaking here in the

book of Devarim.

So now comes our verse. Is Moshe telling is that he is putting something somewhere,

or is he relating G-d's words that He put something somewhere?

Rashi says that this refers to Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Eival, meaning the blessings

and curses we've already seen. That would imply that G-d is the speaker here, whether

directly or as quoted by Moshe. He says that this doesn't mean the actual blessing or

curse, but refers to those who did the blessings and curses, that He placed the people

on those mountains.

Ramban disagrees, as Moshe had not yet designated who those people were to be.

Instead he sees the word "place" as referring to the process by which people can obtain

either blessings or curses, that this process, the mitzvos, are what is being presented

here.

Rav Hirsch focuses on the word 'to see'. What is being placed before the people is two

options, either to see and understand that it is G-d behind all these events or not to

see and understand this. In other words, the verse is about accepting G-d's rulership.

This view leaves open the idea that our verse could have been spoken by Moshe from

his own thoughts, rather than repeating what G-d told him, but it does give us an answer

as to what it is that is being placed.

Following Rav Hirsch's argument, Nechama Leibowitz says that this verse demonstrates

"the fundamental Jewish principle of freewill." We are given a choice between believing,

for which we will be blessed, or not believing, for which we will be cursed.

Thus, whether the speaker here is G-d or Moshe, the result is the same. The people are

receiving something--a path by which they can either choose life or choose death. It is

this path, the mitzvos of the Torah, that is being put before us. Choose well.