Only Blessings

Criticism helps to eradicate negative traits. Positive reinforcement helps to reveal and actualize our positive traits. We live in the age where we need the latter rather than the former.

Six and Six

Prior to their entry into the land of Israel, the Jewish nation was lectured to by Moses. The entire book of Deuteronomy is devoted to Moses’ last will and testament in which he strongly rebuked them for their past misdeeds and exhorted them to take the Covenant made at Sinai seriously.

In this week’s parsha, Moses gives them instructions what they should do after they will cross into the Promised Land. According to the Biblical account, with the Talmudic interpretation of it, the following scenario was to take place:

Six of the tribes were to stand on Mount Gerizim and six were to stand on Mount Eival.

The Kohanim (Priests) and the Levites and the Ark containing the Tablets, were to be situated in the valley between these two mountains. They were then to turn their faces towards Mount Gerizim and commence to proclaim the blessings that were to be bestowed on the Jewish people for heeding G-d’s commandments. All of the 12 tribes would answer Amen.

Afterwards they would turn their gazes towards the other six tribes stranding on Mount Eival and then proclaim a series of curses that would befall them if they violate the commandments. Again, all of the twelve tribes would answer Amen.

Now, despite the fact that the blessings were directed to six of the twelve tribes, the blessing was intended for all of them. Likewise, the curses, though they were spoken as they were focusing on the other six tribes, they were intended as a threat to all of the Jewish people.

Why Divide the Nation?

This raises an obvious question: If all the blessings and curses were intended for all of the twelve tribes equally, why were they divided into two groups?

To answer this question it would be helpful to see which six tribes were to stand on Mount Eival, towards which the Kohanim and Levites looked when they uttered the curses.

The Torah tells us that they were: Ruvein, Gad, Asher, Zevulun, Dan and Naftali.

One might suggest that the reason these tribes were chosen for the curses was due to certain weaknesses they possessed. The recitation of the curses was the means by which these weaknesses were addressed.

The Ruvein and Gad Syndrome

Ruvein and Gad were the two tribes that wanted to stay on the east bank of the Jordan river because they desired the good pasture for their flocks. Their desire to get their portion immediately was seen by G-d as a negative. They were willing to settle for an inferior level of the Land of Israel because of their desire for some ephemeral gain.

In our own lives, we can identify this trait as the desire for instant gratification, which blinds our sense of judgment as to what is the best course of action.

The Asher Delicacies Effect

Asher was the tribe whose share of the land was known for its delicacies. It was the land which produced olive oil, the fat of the land. This is a metaphor for the sybaritic pleasures that are associated with the material world.

This trait, of preoccupation with worldly pleasures, has the capacity to degenerate into hedonism.

Thus, the Trobe of Asher possessed this spiritual vulnerability and had to be included in the six tribes to whom the curses wee addressed, as a way of tempering that threat to the future of the Jewish nation in the Land of Israel.

The Seafaring Zevulunites

Zevulunites were successful sea merchants. It is very easy to see how their involvement in business could lead them astray.

In general the metaphor for worldly involvement and distraction from spiritual matters is the turbulent waters of the sea.

Tus King Solomon declares:

“Abundant waters will not be able to extinguish the love and rivers will not drown it.”

Chassidic thought explains that these waters that threaten our passion for G-d refer to the preoccupation with and distraction from earning a livelihood.

People who are so inclined, need additional support to tackle their weakness.

Judgmental Dan

Dan is suggestive of judgment. The Talmud says that overly litigious individuals are very likely descendants of Dan.

Here too, we have a personality type that can be destructive. While justice is a virtue; people who are constantly judging others can cause undesirable social experiences.

Likewise people who rush to judgment can misjudge people. This is why the Men of the Great assembly exhorted us in Ethics of the Fathers “Be deliberate in judgment.” It is interesting to note that this is the very first ethical teaching in Ethics of the Fathers.

People who have a propensity for judgment must be given the tools to soften their nature.

Naftali Youthful Zest

Naftali was known for his agility. His trait was a characteristic of youth. The life, zeal and passion that goes along with youth, can also be a negative.

While energy is a positive thing in many situations it can lead to impulsive negative choices. Occasionally, youth need to be “put in their place.”

In short, all of these tribes possessed certain traits that could easily go both ways. However, since there was a greater likelihood that they would be channeled the wrong way, they—more than the others—needed to hear about the pitfalls and challenges that they were likely to encounter.

The Other Tribes

Conversely, the six other tribes who were associated with the blessings were: Shimon, Levi, Yehudah, Yisachar, Yosef and Binyamin.

The tribe of Shimon’s “punishment” was that he would be scattered throughout Israel and serve as teachers.

The tribe of Levi produced the Priests and the Levites, and a significant representation in the Sanhedrin.

Yehudah produced kings and legal scholars.

Yissachar, were arguably the greatest scholars who were especially well-versed in the most abstruse area of Jewish knowledge.

Yoseph was the leader of the Jewish people in Egypt, and his descendant Yehoshua led the Jews into Israel. The breakaway Kingdom of Israel was led by a descendant of Yosef.

Likewise Binyamin produced the Shaul the first monarch and subsequently Queen Esther and Mordechai the saviors of the Jewish people in the Persian Exile.

What these tribes had in common was there role as spiritual leaders, mentors and teachers. And though their traits could also be abused and harnessed for evil, a leader must be given much more positive reinforcement, so that he can actualize his powerful talents and be a successful leader.

Bringing an End to Curses

We are presently not only at the end of the Jewish year, but we are also at the end of the long, arduous exile. The Talmud states that we read the curses recorded in this week’s parsha at the end of the year, as if to say, “let this year end with its curses.” We can also paraphrase this statement and apply it to our generation: “let this exile finally end with all of its curses.”

Translating this prayerful wish into a practical lesson, it can be said that now at the end of our journey—as opposed to the Jewish nation at that time who were first starting their journey—is the time when every Jew must be a leader, who is in need of all the blessing he or she can get.

We no longer need to expunge the negatives, as was the case with the six tribes to whom the curses were directed. The curses of exile that we endured were far more than anyone can have imagined and certainly sufficed.

Now, the focus has to be on revealing the positive qualities within our exalted generation.

Hence, even those who identify temperamentally with the other six tribes can assume the role of the leaders who need all the blessings that will help to reveal the phenomenal resources we possess.

Standing on the threshold of the Messianic Age, every Jew must share whatever knowledge he or she has with someone who knows less. And even if one is involved in business and other more earthly pursuits, akin to the six tribes that stood on the mountain to which the curses were directed, he or she must utilize these business opportunities and the like, as a way of helping others and sharing their knowledge and experience of Judaism with them as well.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Ki Savo by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.