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5778

YEARS

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בבוקר תאמר מי יתן ערב ובערב תאמר מי יתן בוקר מפחד לבבך

In the morning you will say, “Who can give back last night?” And in the evening you will say, “Who can give back this morning?” for the fright of your heart. (28:67)

Rashi explains this practically, with conditions deteriorating on a daily basis to the point that the anguish of today will be so painful it will make one yearn for the suffering of yesterday. This can also refer to those who wake up too late to realize that the life which they led yesterday (in the past) was the precursor to the tzaros, troubles, which they experience today. Whether it be satisfaction with one’s personal spiritual growth or the lack of nachas, satisfaction and pleasure, derived from one’s children – nothing happens in a vacuum. The decisions that we make today…

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והיית ממשש בצהרים כאשר ימשש העור באפלה

You shall grope at noon, as the blind man gropes in the darkness. (28:29)

The Yalkut (also Talmud Megillah 24b) questions the implication of this curse. Does it matter to the blind person whether it is dark or not? He does not see anyway. Rabbi Yosi explains that he once had an experience which provided an answer for him. It was late one night when he saw a blind man walking down the dark street with a torch in his hand. “I questioned him, ‘What is the torch to you?’ He replied, ‘When the torch is in my hand people see me and prevent me from falling into pits.’” What a powerful lesson for…

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ובאת אל הכהן אשר יהיה בימים ההם ואמרת אליו הגדתי היום לד' אלקיך כי באתי אל הארץ

You shall come to whoever shall be the Kohen in those days, and you shall say to him, “I declare today to Hashem, your G-d, that I have come to the Land.” (26:3)

The mitzvah of bringing Bikurim, the first fruits, is paradigmatic of the middah, character trait, of hakoras hatov, gratitude. This middah is one of the most fundamental principles of human and Heavenly relationships. Indeed, one who is makir tov, acknowledges his debt of gratitude to Hashem, even in the areas that affect his interpersonal relationships with people (he understands that what he receives is from Hashem, with people serving as His agency) will ultimately achieve shleimus, completion/perfection, in his relationship with Hashem. The nature of man is to focus on what he is still missing, rather than on what he…

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