RABBI NACHMAN (NEIL) WINKLER PROBING BY Faculty, OU Israel Center THE PROPHETS l
A
n elementary school teacher in Chu”l discussed the challenge of teaching a Hebrew text to young students who had partial-but not yet complete-grasp of the Ivrit. He related that, as he discussed with his students the Torah’s demand of “V’ahavta l’re’acha kamocha”, loving one’s fellow, he quoted the well-known comment of Rabbi Akiva that this mitzvah was a “klal gadol baTorah.” One student quickly raised his hand to translate Rabbi Akiva’s statement and said: This is a great curse in the Torah.” The student had confused the Hebrew word “klal”-principle-with a similar sounding word “klala”-curse. A simple difference!
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This bulk of this week’s (second) parasha is taken up by the “curses” that would be befall Am Yisrael for a failure to follow the laws of the Torah. In truth, the term “curses” is not a valid description of this section of the parasha. Like the student in elementary school, we make a simple mistake that makes a big difference. The Biblical curse is not the act of using “nivul peh”, foul language, against another (as our society mistakenly believes.) To “curse” is, simply, the opposite of to ‘bless”, to wish someone well: health, success, nachat, etc. A curse, rather, expresses the wish 24
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that an evil should befall another. In this parasha Hashem is warning the peoplenot, G-d forbid, wishing them evil. He is predicting the punishments that could be sent against them for their faithlessness to Him and to His commands but it is certainly not the Divine hope that they will. Therefore, Moshe is delivering Hashem’s “tochacha”, a (early) reproof, an admonition; it is a warning-not a curse. This is a simple, more accurate translation-but what a difference! It is interesting to note, and also quite important to understand, that this list of could-be disasters is preceded by a list of could-be blessings. Chazal understood this and, perhaps for this very reason, chose precisely this haftarah that we read from Sefer Yirmiyahu 16:19-17:14). Rav Yehuda Shaviv presents suggests the problem that our Rabbis might very well have faced when selecting a fitting nevuah to reflect of the primary theme of the parasha. There are certainly many prakim in the sifrei nevuah that are filled with warnings, punishments and chastisements. But how insensitive (and perhaps even senseless) to have our nation read yet another source that lists only tragedies that could-and over the years did-befall the Jewish people. How terrible to establish a practice of reading
