Ra'anana Community Kollel

                                  Standing Here Today

                                                 Rabbi Binyomin Lipson

               Adapted from “Rabbi Frand on the Parsha” by Rabbi Yissocher Frand

Immediately after hearing the list of ninety-eight curses they were destined to face if they did not lead their lives on the correct path, Moshe brought the Jewish people together and told them, “You are all standing today before Hashem, your God . . .” (Devarim 29:9). What is the meaning of this cryptic message, and why precisely did it need to be stated now?

Rashi quotes the midrash which relates that by the time the Jewish people had finished listening to all of the terrible curses enumerated in last week’s parsha they had literally turned green with doubt and despair. “In the course of history we will certainly make mistakes, and then what will become of us? How can we possibly stand up to all of those curses?” It was just then, when all hope seemed completely lost, that Moshe saw the need to intervene. He called them together and reassured them, “Don’t worry! The very fact that you are “standing here today” is proof positive that no matter how far you stray Hashem will never completely destroy you.” Indeed, Moshe’s message remains for us a powerful one. We must never forget that we are Hashem’s eternal nation that carries the message of spiritual priorities to the ears of the nations of the world.

However, there is one thing here that seems rather strange. After all, Moshe had just concluded relating Hashem’s message that life as a Jew is filled with responsibilities and consequences for our actions. So powerfully in fact, did he relate it that that several faces actually changed their color with worry. Why then would he want to weaken the intensity of this vital message by going on to say, “really it’s not so bad.” Over the past forty years in which you have wandered in the wilderness you have certainly made many mistakes, often to such an extent that in truth they were worthy of being destroyed. And yet, every time they managed to escape the full wrath of Divine retribution. If so, explained Moshe to the people, then in the long run as well, you will certainly survive.

What possible intention could Moshe have had for choosing to relate this message immediately after the completion of an intense session of rebuke? Did this not undermine the very essence of giving the rebuke in the first place?

Rabbi Yissocher Frand explains there is an essential difference between fear that is helpful and motivating and that which is terrifying and paralyzing. It is a good thing to be realistically apprehensive about the future. While it is unhealthy to live in a fool’s paradise, with the belief that no matter how we live our lives everything will be completely fine, the other extreme is also counterproductive. It is emotionally and spiritually destructive to allow one’s uncertainty about the future to cause him to become depressed and hopeless. Undoubtedly, a person who fools himself into believing that he can do whatever he wants without worrying about suffering any consequences for his actions will never be motivated to change and improve himself for the better. However, one who is depressed about his situation will not be motivated to change it simply because he has given up all hope.

Moshe observed that after the Jewish people heard the curses in parshat Ki Tavo they simply lost hope. It was for this reason that is was necessary for Moshe to calm them down by reassuring them that after all the calamities that would befall the Jewish nation over the course of the generations they would still come out alive on the other side. Just as Hashem made this promise to the Jewish people as a whole, our tradition tells us that it is also relevant to the individual as well. Just as the Jewish people, despite their many transgressions, will never be totally destroyed, so too, every Jew, no matter how far he distances himself from his Creator, can always return in sincere repentance by awakening the spark of holiness that lies concealed within.

In fact this obligation to always remain hopeful of our ability to improve our situation is one of the essential traits of the Jewish people. The Izhbitzer Rebbe comments that the very name Jew is derived from the name of the tribe of Yehudah. Why is it that the entire Jewish people are called by the name of one of the twelve tribes? This is because when the brothers stood accused before Yosef in Egypt, the Torah tells us that it was Yehudah who stepped up to argue in their defense. When all seemed to be lost, when the situation was seemingly hopeless, Yehudah never gave up hope. That, explains the Izhbitzer Rebbe, is is the idea that lies at the very essence of a Jew; a person who knows that the Almighty will never abandon him - a person who never gives up hope.

May we all merit to enter the coming year with a realistic outlook on who we are - and who we are capable of becoming.
the idea that lies at the very essence of a Jew; a person who knows that the Almighty will never abandonhim - a person who never gives up hope.

May we all merit to enter the coming year with a realistic outlook on who we are - and who we are capable of becoming.