The key word in both pesukim – blessings and curses – is v’hisigucha, “and overtake you.” Does it have the same connotation, or are the meanings different? The Bais Yisrael quotes Horav Bunim, zl, m’Peshischa that the blessings will arrive at a time which is propitious for him to benefit from them. Otherwise, a person can be blessed with an abundance of good at a time when he is gravely ill and unable to partake in — and benefit from — them. If this applies to blessing, how are we to understand v’hisigucha with regard to curse?
The Sifsei Tzaddik explains that when one receives a curse as a punishment, it is therapeutic, not punitive. Hashem does not take revenge. He expects every punishment to arouse us from our deep slumber, so that we will change our ways. V’hisigucha means that the curse will have its desired effect immediately and inspire the sinner to repent. The Bais Yisrael explains this further with an insightful mashal, parable, cited by Chazal (Mechilta Beshalach). A king sent his servant on a simple mission to purchase a fish in the market. The servant was thoughtless and, instead of buying a fresh fish, bought a rotten, foul-smelling fish. The king was incensed, but, since his servant had always been devoted, he gave him a choice of three punishments: he could be fined one hundred gold coins; he could be subject to one hundred whiplashes; or he could eat the rotten fish. The servant was not the smartest of men, in addition to the fact that he was cheap, refusing to spend a penny he did not have. He decided that he would rather eat the fish than spend the money. He ate part of the fish, and he was miserable. He could not stop throwing up from the taste and the smell. He then said he would go with option two and subject himself to the whiplashes. He did not fare much better with this punishment. After fifty lashes, he fainted from the pain, and he begged to be allowed to pay the one hundred gold coins. Thus, in the end, he suffered all three punishments. Had he possessed half a brain and not been cheap, he would have paid the money and been reinstated to the king’s good graces. Unfortunately, he was neither. Hisigucha means that the curses will immediately have their desired effect without necessitating any added punishments. After all, the will of Heaven is that a person repents quickly without undergoing undue suffering.
Perhaps we may offer an alternative approach to understanding the meaning of v’hisigucha, and how it plays out with regard to blessing and curse. The word v’hisigucha shares a root with hasagah – comprehension, perception, and understanding. We find that the Raavad employs this term in his famous hasagos on the Rambam, where he challenges and questions the Rambam’s conclusions and rulings.
Many people spend their lives lamenting what they lack. They focus on the opportunities that have never materialized, the dreams that have not been fulfilled, and the blessings granted to others. Rarely do they stop to contemplate the abundance with which Hashem has already blessed them.
The Torah teaches that the blessings themselves will one day “overtake” a person. They will stand before him and ask a piercing question: “What exactly are you complaining about? What are you implying concerning the wisdom of the One Who bestowed these gifts upon you? Do you not recognize the countless blessings that surround you every day?” Like the Raavad’s hasagos, these blessings will challenge our perspective. They will force us to confront how often we have overlooked Hashem’s kindness because it arrived in a form different from the one we expected or desired. The issue was never the absence of blessing; it was our failure to appreciate it.
A person endowed with faith understands that Divine Providence custom-tailors every blessing. What appears to be a deficiency is often a blessing in disguise, and what seems ordinary may, in truth, be extraordinary. When one learns to view life through the lens of gratitude, the blessings no longer need to pursue him and demand an accounting. He recognizes them immediately and thanks Hashem for them while they are still in his possession.
