Free Choice - Ordained by Torah

A most fundamental Judaic principle relates to "free choice". Man, and only man, benefits from this privilege. The opening verse of Torah portion "Re'eh" teaches this tenet. It says, "... I offer you blessings and curses ...".

Two words here deserve focus. The word "I" is the same word with which the segment of the "Ten Commandments", in an earlier portion, starts off with. The word "offer" connotes a gift; As this verse does, which speaks of offering blessings. But how then can these two words that imply beneficence also be used to provide curses?

Every aspect of Torah is perfect and therefore we must understand how the offering of curses is indeed a good feature.

Imagine then the world without the presence of bad. If goodness were the only reality, if humans had no tendency to do bad, thereby being forced into constant good behavior, man would lack the capability for free choice.

Of all creatures in the world, only man has free choice. Without capability to also choose bad, mankind would be no different than any other, lower creature.

It turns out, therefore, God's granting to man "curses" as well as "blessings", raises mankind to a unique position among the world's creatures. By implanting the inclination for evil as well as for doing good renders mankind its exalted status, without which it would be relegated to being merely another specie of animal.

The rewards for choosing right from wrong is another issue, and in fact involves another tenet of Judaism - how rewards for free choice are distributed. For this also involves the belief in the world-to-come, the world of truth that awaits one who passes on from this world of good-mixed-with-bad. For rewards for deeds in this world can be held back until the person reaches the world-to-come. So let not the irony of seeing a righteous person who suffers while an evil person enjoys a lavish lifestyle in this world confuse you.

For if the free choice option embedded in your psyche be misconstrued as an arbitrary device, you will have missed the whole point of its benefit, for which you can only hurt your own destiny.

To See or Not to See, with Your Mind's Eye

A recurring maddening issue in Jewish history is the need to fight reformism. Prior to World War II, the "Haskallah" movement sought to reform Judaism, with their motto, "Be a Jew at home, but blend in among society." In earlier times we had Hellenists and Saduccees, and today we have "Reconstructionist, Conservative and Reform" movements. The Previous Rebbe, while his chassidim fought against Soviet atheism (and finally won), came to America in 1940 to take up the fight to bring religious Judaism to this hemisphere as well. One strategy of his was to publish the "Reading and Holiness", a monthly journal, and distribute it freely to all synagogues and Jewish organizations. Here's an article therefrom, translated from Yiddish, written in Aug. 1941, p. 172.

This week's Torah portion starts out discussing blessings and curses, later to be cited on Mounts Grizim and Eival. The first words are, "See! I offer you today blessings and curses," and the Torah portion's name is "See!"

Understandably, we all prefer blessings over curses, yet most people still bring upon themselves the curses. Spiritual blindness is at fault; We either do not see, or we see the curses as blessings. To recognize the difference between them, we must be able to see.

For the main difference of a blessing and a curse has to do with seeing, for, put a blessing in front of a blind man and beg him to choose it or try to persuade him, and he'll purposely choose the curse and do the wrong thing and become cursed, unfortunately.

We don't need a better example of this than the current burning question among most of society regarding the future course of world civilization or the question among Jews regarding the future fate of the Jewish people. Too few people see the cursed direction the world is taking, blind to the destruction that will take place. And too few Jews see the blessing in returning to God and the approaching Era of Ultimate Redemption.

Generally, mankind does not want civilization to decline, yet still it takes the criminal path that undermines civilization. The depiction "And the earth filled with violence" (Gen. 5:11) prevails and nobody figures to take the blessed path by desisting from all the criminality, all the wars, all the oppression, and removing all the burden imposed upon the weak - the only means by which civilization can be saved.

The same goes for Jews; Most of us do not see the blessed path of earnestly returning to God, by which we can avoid the coming "birth pangs of Moshiach" and merit very soon the Era of Ultimate Redemption. This era is definitely arriving, yet despite this people choose the wrong path, the cursed path, by waiting for a redemption that relies on the dubious hope for social righteousness.

Neither society at large sees where lies its blessing or curse; Nor the Jewish people see the correct path. They all seek blessings but cannot see; And they all hate curses but blindly draw these upon themselves. This is the very issue Torah here addresses: For, in having recourse to blessings or curses lies the danger of not seeing, the danger of not seriously contemplating to see where, in fact, lies the blessing and the curse.

The name of this Torah segment therefore bears a great lesson for us Jews. Each Jew must see, ponder and envision - not go blindly, nor trust dubious hopes, nor take a path that hasn't proved its worth to the Jewish people. The blessing lies in the following (Deut. 11:27): "A blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God." The wrong path too is defined for us: "And a curse, if you do not obey ...."

"See!" - No one should be blind. We can see if we want to see. Were this not so, Torah would never enjoin us to see in the first place.

The First Commitment Upon Entry into The Holy Land

This week's Torah portion (Re'ay) teaches a lesson that applies today as well:

Once they crossed the Jordan River, the first thing the Jews were asked to do upon entry into The Holy Land was to go to the hills of Grizim and Eival and there proclaim allegiance to G-d's commandments. In this manner the Jews demonstrated that the intention of living in this land was not just to work and settle the land, but, primarily, to accept upon themselves the yoke of heaven.