A Thought On Parshas Re'eh

"...Re'eh Nosati lifnei'chem ha'yom..." (11:26) "...Look - I place a blessing and a curse before you..." Our parsha opens up with the sobering words that we have been given a world where the choice is all ours: we can live a meritorious life of bracha or we can make poor choices. When we follow the Torah and its commandments, we are promised a life of bracha. The Panae'ach Raza breaks somewhat from his style and instead of addressing the verse head-on, he offers an account, a story, of a conversation between a great ba'al Tosafos and an apostate. A min once asked HaRav Rabbeinu Nosson son of Rabbeinu Meshulam why the current exile of Jews in the Diaspora has gone on for so long, relative to the Golus Bavel - the Babylonian Exile - which was a punishment for Jews having served idols, the gravest of sins, yet that exile ended after only 70 years. In contrast, Jews have remained in exile now for over a millennium! The min insinuated that the Jews have been punished for so long because we rejected their deity. Rabbeinu Nosson responded: the idols and icons which the Jews created which provoked the Babylonian Exile did not endure. They did not last, and we eventually recognized the impermanence of avoda zara. The avoda zara which led to the destruction of the Temple and this exile which has followed, however, was that fellow Jews proclaimed themselves as god. "That person" and his disciples distorted the Divine prophecies and made an enduring religion out of being human avoda zara. This belief has endured and has become widespread, which makes it more severe than the manufacture of wooden and metal icons which don't last. This exile is more severe. Meanwhile, the author of the Garden (remember this source) responded differently: the exiles to Egypt and to Bavel each culminated in the destruction of a single nation - theEgyptians, and the Babylonians, whose civilizations deteriorated once our nation returned to our Homeland. The current exile is very different, for our people are scattered now across the globe. This is a very greatchallenge, for there is no rapid way to bring about the redemption whensome many cultures and civilizations are involved in keeping our people hostage. This exile will take longer to resolve. The Panae'ach Raza goes on to say that later on (13:3) when the Torah describes the "navi sheker" - the prophet who strays and instructs people to follow his own words, which were not given to him prophetically - we are meant to infer that if we cannot heed the words of a prophet who ceases authentic prophecy, we certainly are not to heed the words of "ha'me'taeh ha'gadol" - "the Great Misleader" - who was never a prophet of HaShem to begin with and whose acts were never in accordance with the Divine plan. Jews! Anachnu maaminim bnei maaminim. Keep the faith. Good Shabbos. D Fox