There was a chasid who came to visit the Chiddushei HaRim. The chasid entered the room and stood in front of the rebbe and did not say anything; he just stared at the rebbe. After a minute, the Chiddushei HaRim asked the chasid, “Do you have a question, or do you want to share something with me? Why are you just staring at me?” He replied, “Because the Ohr HaChaim explains that the words ‘re’eh anochi’ are an instruction for one to look at the ‘I’ (self) of each person—especially to look at a tzaddik, since a tzaddik has a special ‘I.’” The Chiddushei HaRim responded, “The navi says ‘ve’ameich kulam tzaddikim, your entire nation are tzaddikim.’ Everyone is a tzaddik, so there is no need to stare at me. You can stand in front of a mirror and look at yourself!”
The Gerrer Rebbe, Rav Simcha Bunim Alter, comments that one could listen to this story and think that the rebbe was giving a sharp retort to the chasid. But that would be incorrect, as the rebbe’s role is to lift up his chasidim. The message the rebbe was telling the chasid is: “True, there is a benefit to looking at tzaddikim, but that will not turn you into a tzaddik. You need to look at yourself and see the tzaddik inside of you. If you view yourself as a tzaddik, then you will act and live like a tzaddik.”
The opening pasuk of Parshas Re’eh is quite remarkable. Hashem tells Klal Yisrael, “See, I have placed in front of you today a blessing and a curse.” What’s odd is the next two pesukim: A bracha occurs when we listen to Hashem and a curse occurs when we do not listen. Yet, the Torah does not list the actual blessing or curse that one will receive! The Ohr HaChaim explains that the reason for not listing a specific bracha or curse is that the greatest form of bracha comes from the performance of Hashem’s mitzvos, while the greatest curse comes from not performing the mitzvos. Hashem is the source of all blessings. Each time we perform a mitzvah, we connect ourselves to Hashem.
Rav Chaim Volozhin says that the word bracha has the same letters as the word breicha, a spring. A blessing flows like a spring from Hashem to the individual. The word bracha also has the same root as the word berech, a knee. A knee connects the upper part of a leg to the lower part. A bracha is received when we perform mitzvos which connect us to Hashem. The root of the word mitzvah is tzevet, which means to connect. Pliers are called tzevet, since two separate pieces are connected to form one pair of pliers.
People run to rebbes for a bracha to help them with issues. While this is a positive thing to do, Hashem tells us that the greatest bracha we have is our ability to connect to Him. When we daven Shacharis in the morning, we open the faucet for bracha that morning. When we recite a bracha on our food, we bring blessing to our food and to our digestion. Observing the mitzvos of Hashem is the greatest pipeline for bracha in our lives.
When I make shidduch reference calls, I find that the comments regarding the person in question are very neutral. People describing individuals don’t want to present any characteristics as too extreme. For example, the girl is friendly but not overly friendly, talkative but not too loud, or quiet but not too quiet. On the other hand, the Seforno says that the Torah tells us that in the case of mitzvos, there is no “middle of the road.” Performing the mitzvos wholeheartedly connects us to Hashem, the source of blessing. Not performing the mitzvos … disconnects us from Hashem.
People have all sorts of ways to connect to Hashem, including prayer, meditation and studying Torah. But there is more to it than that. We connect to Hashem when we perform each simple mitzvah, such as wearing tefillin, putting up a mezuzah, reciting Shema and giving charity. Whether you feel it or not, the performance of each mitzvah serves as a direct conduit to the Almighty. Don’t miss out on your bracha!
Rabbi Baruch Bodenheim is the associate rosh yeshiva of Passaic Torah Institute (PTI)/Yeshiva Ner Boruch, where he leads a multi-level Gemara learning program. PTI has attracted adult Jews of all ages from all over northern New Jersey for its learning programs. Fees are not charged, but contributions are always welcome. Rabbi Bodenheim can be reached at [email protected]. For more info about PTI and its Torah classes, visit www.pti.shulcloud.com.
