Harav Shaul Yisraeli – from Siach Shaul 500-501 (address from 1940) <> “See, I place before you today the blessing and the curse. The blessing – that you shall listen to the commandments of Hashem …” (Devarim 11:26-27).
In addition to a person’s reward in the World to Come for doing mitzvot , they also bring him blessing in This World. Clinging to one’s Maker negates the concepts of curses. Even when something looks like a curse, when one who clings to Hashem goes through the type of painful times that make others scream with pain and see their lives as totally dark, he has a different experience. He not only does not feel the pain but feels indescribable pleasure. This is the rare level of Rabbi Akiva, who smiled when he saw foxes coming out of the Holy of Holies and was able to say during his cruel execution: “All my days I was concerned about this pasuk ‘You shall love Hashem … with all your life’ – when will I have the opportunity and I will fulfill it” (Berachot 61b). This explains the hope of the incarcerated in the courtyard of Warsaw, who sang: “I want to survive!”
Blessing is not a simple reward, external to the mitzva . It is the mitzva itself! Listening to the mitzvot is a blessing and the greatest feeling, as we should understand our pasuk .
As we experience this time of great anguish, when not only Mt. Eival but even Mt. Grizim spews forth only curses, we must not take comfort in the fact that the torment has not reached us [in pre-State Eretz Yisrael , as it has the Jews of Europe]. Insensitivity and shielding our faces is not legitimate and is catastrophic. It shows a decay of the soul, which only hastens destruction. Such complacency stemming from a hard heart is strictly forbidden. Chazal tell us that during the destruction of Beitar, people on one side of the city were being killed, while people on the other side were involved in feasts (Gittin 57a). When one feels that “I have saved my life,” tragedy can befall the person who is ostensibly at peace.
We are commanded to feel the great pain of the Jews of the exile. When we put bread in our mouths, we should remember the many who are starving. When we walk free, we should remember the thousands in detention camps and urban ghettos. We should carry the yellow star on our clothes and actually in our souls. We must see ourselves as lucky to be standing on Mt. Grizim.
On the other hand, we should know that the joint burden of our brethren and us is not for either of us to bear alone. “Throw your requests on Hashem” (Tehillim 55:23). He has wide “shoulders” and we have upon Whom to throw our burdens and pain. We have a “chest” upon which to cry and call out. We must accept everything with love and belief, as even the curse can turn into a wellspring of life and blessing.
May the days of Elul, the month that “sums up the year,” turn into days of inspiration and contemplation. Let us free ourselves from worrying what will befall us personally and focus on spending time in Torah study. Let us sanctify ourselves with prayer and facilitate mercy for us and the entire House of Israel who are in distress and captivity. We should come increasingly to shul for public prayer and be careful regarding the fulfillment of mitzvot . May the merit of these matters turn the curses into blessings and usher in a new year successfully – a year of liberation and salvation, speedily in our times.