Warning!! Blessings and Curses Ahead – The Road signs of Life

26 See, this day I set before you blessing and curse: 27 blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I enjoin upon you this day; 28 and curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn away from the path that I enjoin upon you this day and follow other gods, whom you have not experienced. 29 When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter and possess, you shall pronounce the blessing at Mount Gerizim and the curse at Mount Ebal. — 30 Both are on the other side of the Jordan, beyond the west road that is in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the Arabah — near Gilgal, by the terebinths of Moreh. [Devarim 11: 26-30]

Any of us who have ever driven have seen road signs.  Stop, Caution, Dangerous Curves Ahead, Yield, etc.. This week’s Parasha is Re’eh.  The word Re’eh means not only see, but behold!!  It is Moses way of telling Israel Pay Attention!!

Moses tells Israel that HaShem has set before us blessings and curses.  The blessings are if we keep His Mitzvot (commandments) and curses if we don’t.  Why is this important? 

We are called to be Ohr l’goyim (A light to the Nations).  In Matthew 5:14 our Rabbi, Maran Yeshua says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”  In verse 16 he tells us “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

By living according to the Mitzvot of HaShem we are not only bringing blessings to our lives, but we are also living as an example to others.  Conversely, when we are not living according to the Mitzvot then we bring curses upon ourselves and tarnish our reputation before Hashem and others.

How do we do this?  Devarim 12:2, 3 states “You must destroy all the sites at which the nations you are to dispossess worshiped their gods, whether on lofty mountains and on hills or under any luxuriant tree. 3 Tear down their altars, smash their pillars, put their sacred posts to the fire, and cut down the images of their gods, obliterating their name from that site.”

The way we begin to live according to HaShem’s mitzvot is to destroy the idols in our lives.  For example, do we fear our boss or our debts so much that we feel we must work on Shabbat?  Do we eat non-Kosher, because we are too lazy to bring our own food, or find Kosher alternatives?

Every single day we have blessings and curses set before us.  Which will you choose!!