Dvar Torah by Mayer Frenkel ’25
The Parshat HaShavua of the first week of school is Parshat Re’eh, which begins with Moshe’s message to the Jews right before they cross the Jordan and enter the land of Israel:
“ראה אנוכי נותן לפניכם היום את הברכה והקללה.” “See that today I have placed before you the blessing and the curse.”
Moshe reminds Israel that HaKadosh Baruch Hu created a world where everything has the potential to be a blessing and to benefit us, or the potential to be a curse. For example, phones can be a blessing and allow us to learn new things, connect, befriend, care for and inspire others, amongst many other benefits. However phones can also be a curse, distracting us, wasting our time, getting us in trouble in class, harming our relationships, and even making us feel lonely or stressed, and the same is true for everything else in creation.
But even though everything has the potential to be a blessing or a curse, we are the ones who decide which it will be.
Moshe made sure that the Jews would remember this important lesson as they crossed the Jordan into Israel, and entered a new phase of life. Just like those Jews who crossed the Jordan, entering a new state of existence, we are about to cross a river of our own, into a new year, a new state of life and a new us.
As we cross over the metaphorical river and begin this brand new school year, Moshe’s Message to Israel is also the message we need to hear:
“ראה…לפניכם הברכה והקללה.”
See, before you is the choice of whether to make this year a blessing or a curse.
Do not go into the year blind like a piece of driftwood letting the flow of the ‘river’ take you along, but rather see the year ahead of you, with its potential to be the best year of school you have ever had, or the worst, and be active and make the year into a blessing, because the choice of berachah o’ kllala is in our hands!
