From the Divre Torah of Rabbi Yaakob Savdie, Brooklyn NY:
They are astonishing & all encompassing, tremendous & terrible. The kelalot (curses) in this week's parasha strike & shock the reader. 98 curses in total, one worse then the other... droughts, extreme hunger & starvation, cruel exiles & debilitating illness, insanity, death... The list goes on. One cannot help but shudder as they read through the graphic & gruesome images portrayed in these curses. (I'll spare you the gory details. You can read it yourself- Debarim 28- the link is below. Warning! it's not for the faint of heart)
Throughout our history this entire parasha has tragically come true. One by one each curse has been realized.
Hurban Habayit, the Revolt at Beitar, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Pogroms & worst of all the Holocaust have brought about these condemning curses.
Why are Am Yisrael to be punished with these terrible curses? What is the underlying cause? What sin can evoke such harsh events?
The Torah provides us with the answer:
"Because you didn't serve the Hashem your G-d with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things (Debarim 28)"
Is that all? Is that reason enough? A lack of happiness when one has abundance is the cause for such harsh punishment?!
I believe we can answer based on the Rambam in Hilchot Teshuba (Chapter 9)
The Rambam explains that all of the good which we receive from Hashem in this world, is to enable us to serve him. Wealth, health, peace, securty & sustanence allow one to fulfill the mitzvot properly. (They are not the true reward for mitzvot- that comes in Olam Haba- they are enablers). If one suffers the opposite they cannot perform mitzvot & serve Hashem.
If Hashem blesses a person with wealth, health, peace, securty & sustenance they must be used for the right purpose.
If one does so they merit 2 worlds. Hashem gives them more beracha in this world, which enables them to do more mitzvot, thereby earning sachar towards Olam Haba
If one does not do so they lose two worlds. Hashem takes away the beracha, brings curses upon them to prevent them from fulfilling mitzvot, thereby causing them to forfeit their Olam Haba.
All that Hashem asks from us is- to use the beracha we receive to serve him besimha & he takes care of the rest...
Sounds like a good deal to me!
Yaakob
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