בס''ד
It is abundantly clear from many times in the Torah that words are viewed as incredibly powerful. This is particularly so with regard to the curses that are portended in our Parsha. Every word and every nuance of the details outlined by the Torah are incredibly precise in their depiction of the consequences of the Jewish people’s going astray. So in the midst of the rebuke, when Hashem proclaims that He has “remembered my covenant with Yaakov…Yitzchok and….Avrohom”, we may wonder what relevance this has here? The fact that we are descendants of such luminaries should seemingly be advantageous to us, having their merits to act as a counterbalance to our failings. It should surely not be brought as an element of the factors that result in the terrible devastation depicted in this castigation.
The
judgement that a person will have to face at the end of their days will take
into account every possible conceivable factor that would have influenced a
person’s life and effected the choices that they made. Fundamental to that is the parentage to which
they were born to, as this would have had a major impact on the level at which
they are placed. The mention of our
forefathers in the Parsha is explained by the Sheloh Hakodosh to be a rationale
for why the Jewish people would be punished so brutally for their
mistakes. For any other nation to err in
this way would of course be wrong, but for the Jewish people, descendants of
those who were the ones to begin to give light to the world, a descent of this
manner is tantamount to a complete rejection of Hashem and results in catastrophic
repercussions.
An
honest examination of one’s own life is fundamental to achieving what is intended
for us in this world. Without a true
appraisal of where we are and where we should be, we cannot become who we are
meant to be. One of the keys to this is
by looking at all the chances we have been given and all the opportunities that
have come our way, that we have squandered.
This candid assessment can be humbling when we consider how much Hashem
has given to us and how much we have let Him down. The objective however is of course never to
leave ourselves dejected, but rather to try by other means to reach those
levels we should have attained previously and to strengthen our resolve to
never let this happen again. If we are
sincere in our reflections we will see so many open doors that we have closed
or walked by, when passing through them would have brought us so much
reward. Let us ensure we never miss
those pathways to a better life both here and ever after.
*May the we grasp the opportunity Shabbos
brings with both hands*
לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם
לרפואה שלימה: שרה יעל בת
ברכה אסתר
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