Parshas Re’eh
By: Malka Schneps
“THIS IS INCREDIBLE!” shouted Chaya above the noise of the powerful jet. “I never get tired of flying!” Chaya’s husband Avi was a pilot, and he often brought his wife for a ride in the cockpit. “Maybe that’s why I never get tired of bringing you up with me.” Avi smiled. “Your excitement is contagious!” Chaya looked out the window for some time, enjoying the view from on high. After a while, she began to look around the cockpit with growing curiosity. “There’s one thing I don’t understand about this plane. Why are there so many buttons and indicators everywhere? Isn’t it enough to just turn the plane on and then steer?” “Every single one of these buttons and indicators does something important,” Avi explained. “It took me a very long time to learn what they all do and mean.” “But there are so many! Why should a plane need so many?” asked Chaya. “You’d be surprised!” “That one over there, for example,” said Chaya, pointing to one indicator. “Is it important?” “Extremely!” answered Avi. “Really? I find that hard to believe. I must have flown with you a hundred times, and I have never, not even once, seen you look at that one,” said Chaya emphatically. “That indicator,” explained Avi with a twinkle in his eye, “indicates when it is likely that the plane will stall, which is an emergency mid-flight. Baruch Hashem, so far, it has never yet indicated that something is about to go wrong, but it is most certainly important!” This world is such a complicated place. There are so many types of people, places and things that at times a person might feel lost, wondering what his place is. Each one of us can, at times, feel like a button that has never been pressed, one seemingly useless button lost among a myriad of other buttons. Do I really matter? Am I important? Is the world any different because I am here? Would the world have
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suffered if I were not here? Thankfully, there is a clear answer to these very normal questions and feelings, and the answer is a resounding YES. It says in this week’s parsha, “Re’eh anochi nosein lifneichem hayom bracha uklala — See, I set before you today a blessing and a curse” (Devarim 11:26). The Kli Yakar says that when Moshe Rabbeinu says, “Re’eh — See,” it is in the language of addressing an individual, while when Moshe says, “lifneichem — before you,” it is in the language of addressing a group. He goes on to explain that this is in keeping with what Chazal say, that a person should imagine that the world is equally balanced between mitzvos and aveiros. If he were to perform one mitzvah, it would tip the balance of the world to the side of mitzvos, whereas if he were to do the opposite, chas v’shalom, it would have the opposite effect. This is not just a flight of fancy for our imaginations. Each and every one of us has, in a very real sense, the world in our hands. We each have the power to tip the balance of the world for good. The choice is there before us at all times. A blessing or a curse? Good or bad? Life or death? Likewise, it says in Parshas Nitzavim, “I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life…” (Devarim 30:19). The Torah enjoins us, “Choose life.” It is a choice we must make ourselves. We must choose life and choose bracha; we must turn away from the curse and from death. Every choice we make, big or small, moves us toward one of these extremes. Make a bracha. Daven. Refrain from speaking unkindly about someone — or, especially, to someone. Give tzedakah. Give someone a ride. Look at the world around you, and you will see the power that you possess. A stone cannot move the balance of the world toward good or bad. A stick cannot help or hurt anyone on its own. A cloud has no bechirah and can make no impact on the world and its destiny. But you can. This is a gift and a treasure, and an awesome responsibility. Hashem has not given this gift to just anyone. He gave it to you. Use it wisely.