by Avi Feldblum

In the mid-1980s, a group of Orthodox Jews on the early Usenet network maintained a "Dvar Torah Project" — weekly Torah commentaries distributed by email and newsgroup to a growing online Jewish community. Avi Feldblum at AT&T Engineering Research Center in Princeton, New Jersey was one of the project's regular contributors.

This commentary, for Parashat Re'e (Deuteronomy 11:26–16:17), was posted on August 14, 1985. It opens with the context of Shabbat Rosh Chodesh Elul — the beginning of the month of repentance — and the Ashkenazi custom of shofar-blowing traced to Rabbi Moshe Isserles' glosses in the Mappah. The theological core draws on the Malbim's reading of "I set before you today a blessing and a curse": not a simple promise of reward and punishment, but a statement that human actions have direct cosmic consequence — that the state of blessing or curse in the world responds to the moral state of the "small world" that is man. The Sifre's parable of the two roads addresses the apparent failure of this principle in experience. The commentary closes with two quick halachic tidbits drawn from the same parsha.

This Shabbat is the beginning of the month of Elul, the last month before Rosh Hashana (New Year) and Yom Kipur (Day of Atonement). During the month of Elul, the custom among Ashkenazi Jews is to blow the Shofer (ram's horn) every day following morning services. [This custom is brought down by R. Moshe Isserles (RAMAH), while R. Yosef Caro brings down the custom to recite Slichot from the beginning of Elul. R. Yosef Caro wrote the Shulhan Arukh (Prepared Table) which codified Sephardi practice, and R. Moshe Isserles wrote a set of glosses to the Shulhan Arukh called the Mappah (tablecloth) which contained the Ashkenazi customs.] The explanation given for these customs is that during these 40 days, 1st of Elul to 10th of Tishre, Moshe Rabanu went back up Mt. Sinai after breaking the first Luchot (tablets) to receive the second Luchot. The verse in Song of Songs — "I am to my love and my love is to me" — whose first initials spell out Elul, is interpreted as meaning that this month is a time when a person's heart is closer to Hashem, and Hashem is ready to accept his repentance with love.

These ideas are also found in this week's Parsha, Re'e. The parsha starts off by saying: "Behold, I set before you today, a blessing and a curse." The blessing, if you listen to Hashem; and the curse, if you do not listen. At its simplest level, this is a statement of reward and punishment: if you do good, then Hashem will reward you. The Malbim, however, understands this to be a much more fundamental statement. One thinks of the world operating according to the laws of nature (Tevah), while one's actions and deeds go into some separate heavenly reckoning, which is totally separate. This is not so, according to the Malbim. What Moshe is telling Bnei Yisrael is that each and every action has cosmic impact. Man is described as an Olam Katan — a small world. The state of blessing and curse in the world at large is a response to the heeding or lack thereof of Hashem in the "small world" that is man. Rather than saying "if you do good, Hashem will reward you," the more correct statement is: the positive actions you do cause blessing in the world.

This appears to be a perfect positive reinforcement situation. The only problem is that we don't see it working. We do not see the blessing that comes as a result of our actions. The Sifre, a collection of Tanaitic commentaries on Devarim, deals with this issue by giving an example. There was a person sitting at the crossroads, and before him were two roads. The first was clear and smooth at the beginning, but later was full of thorns, while the second had thorns at the beginning, but was clear and smooth afterwards. He warned all those who passed by, saying: the first looks clear, but after 2–3 paces it turns thorny, while the second, once you get past the first 2–3 thorny paces, turns smooth and clear. So too Moshe told Israel: you may see the wicked prosper for a period of time in this world, but their end will be crushed in the world to come, while the righteous, though they may suffer for a time in this world, will rejoice eternally in the world to come.

Two quick tidbits for the end. There are two topics which have been discussed recently on the net, and the source is found in the Sifre to this week's parsha. The first is the question of eating Hadash (new wheat before the second day of Pesach) in grain that was grown outside of Israel. On Chapter 12 verse 1, the Sifre says that those commandments that depend on the land do not apply outside of the land of Israel, except for Arlah (not eating the fruit of a tree for the first three years) and Kelaim (mixing of species). R. Eliezer says, also Hadash. The second is the issue of erasing the name of Hashem. In verse 4 it says, "do not do so to Hashem your Lord." The Sifre says this refers to chopping down a brick from the Temple or Altar. R. Ishmael says it refers to erasing a letter from THE NAME. R. Gamliel says: who can imagine a Jew breaking down the Altar? Rather it is saying, do not follow the evil ways of the nations and cause the Temple to be destroyed.

May the true reign of Hashem over the world come to us soon.

Avi Feldblum

Colophon

Written by Avi Feldblum, AT&T Engineering Research Center, Princeton, NJ. Posted to net.religion.jewish, August 14, 1985. Message-ID: [email protected].

Part of the Dvar Torah Project, an early Usenet initiative to distribute weekly Torah commentaries to the nascent online Jewish community. Feldblum was one of the project's regular contributors throughout 1985. This commentary draws on the Malbim (Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Wisser, 1809–1879) and the Sifre (a Tannaitic midrash on Numbers and Deuteronomy). The Ashkenazi-Sephardi distinction between R. Moshe Isserles (RAMAH, 1520–1572) and R. Yosef Caro (1488–1575) is standard in halakhic literature: the Shulhan Arukh codifies Sephardi practice, the Mappah its Ashkenazi modifications.

Preserved from the Usenet archive for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

🌲