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Simchat Shmuel Rabbi Sam Shor
SIMCHAT SHMUEL
BY RABBI SAM SHOR
Program Director, OU Israel Center
‘Re’eh Anochi notein lachem hayom, bracha uklala” - See, I set before you today, a blessing and a curse...”
Rabbi Yisrael Grossman zt’l notes that we must understand this verse as presenting us with the potential inherent within each and every day.
Re’eh Anochi notein lachem hayom - Hashem has given us Hayom - Todaythis day - to either bring blessing into the world through our actions, or chas v’shalom to bring further harm and damage into this world through inappropriate or destructive choices and behavior.
This idea of the ability to grasp the potential in the here and now of each and every “today,” is an important perspective. Perhaps we might also see this message as an instruction for us to reflect, take stock, and note where we are today, within the greater context of Jewish history, to reflect on where we are as a people and a nation.
Similarly, each year on the first night of Pesach, the youngest child present at the
Seder table asks : “Ma Nishtana HaLayla Hazeh Mikol Halaylot - How is this night, different from all other nights?”
Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Ateret Cohanim in Jerusalem’s Old City has a powerful explanation of this question- Ma Nishtana HaLayla Hazeh Mikol Halaylot.
Ma Nishtana Halayla Hazeh, Rav Aviner explains, is not asking what makes the 15th of Nisan different from the 4th of Adar, or the 6th of Elul, or any other night on the Jewish calendar; rather it is stating this night of Pesach this year is so different than Pesach ten years ago, than Pesach fifty years ago, than Pesach 2,000 years ago.
Rav Aviner writes so vividly:
“What makes this night different from all other nights? This night is so different indeed! During all other ‘nights’ of our exile, the Jewish people found themselves oppressed in foreign lands, on this ‘night’ we are home in our Land. On all other nights we served foreign kings and governments, on this night we are independent and free.
On all other nights in our history we built foreign cities like the Egyptian store-cities of Pitom and Ramses, on this night we’re building right here in Tel Aviv. On all other nights in our history we spoke Russian or German, tonight we speak Hebrew. During all other “nights’ of our dispersion we were in foreign nations, tonight we are home in our State. On all other nights we were forced to enlist in foreign armies, tonight we proudly adorn ourselves with the noble garments of the Armed Forces of the State of Israel...
Thank G-d, this night is so different, through Hashem’s unending kindness toward us...”
Rav Aviner’s insight into the significance of this moment, of where we are in Jewish history is powerful. There is so much to be thankful for, so much to recall and appreciate.
‘Re’eh Anochi notein lachem Hayom,’ is an eternal reminder to us, to both reflect on how far we have come, how much we have achieved as a nation, and to be makir tov to the Borei Olam for the many blessings that come into our lives each and every day.
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