AND This is the Bracha וזאת הברכה
On the interconnection of Anava, Bitul & Bracha ... Aligning to our Nefesh Elokis by heightening our “natural thinking”
🔶“Make Your self a Bracha” -Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis
🔶“AND This is the Bracha וזאת הברכה”
🔶"Let the good in me connect with the good in others, until all the world is transformed through the compelling power of love.” -Rebbe Nachman
🔶This mida (humility) makes a person so great, he becomes a receptacle to receive blessing from Hashem and is able to give others berachot as well. Everybody could reach this level and if we are able to not only forgive, but even love and bless the people who we should naturally have ill feelings towards, then we become even greater, we become a Ish Eloki – A Man of G-d. - Rabbi Ashear
RABBI ASHEAR / Rise To The Level
Why does the pasuk starts with the letter vav?
On the final day of day of Moshe Rabbenu’s life, he gave blessings to the People and the pasuk introduces those blessings with the words, “וזאת הברכה אשר ברך משה איש האלוקים – this is the blessing that Moshe Rabbenu blessed the People with, the man of G-d.” The Mefarshim are bothered, why the pasuk starts with the letter vav which means “And this is the beracha?” Why didn’t it just say “זאת הברכה – This is the beracha?”
Furthermore, why specifically here is Moshe called by this new, special name – איש האלוקים – A Man of G-d.
The Ohr HaChaim answers based on what it says in the Torah right before these blessings, at the end of the previous parasha. The Torah mentions that Moshe was going to die now because of what happened at the Meh Meriva. There, the Jewish People provoked him and, because of it, he hit the rock and didn’t bring about the ultimate Kiddush Hashem and had to die now before they were going to enter Eretz Yisrael. It is only natural that at the time the decree is being carried out that Moshe Rabbenu should have some negative feelings towards the People for being the cause of what led to his death, especially since he was being denied the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvot in Eretz Yisrael. If at this time, Moshe would have just worked on himself to remove any ill feelings towards them, that would have been a great achievement, but Moshe went even further. Not only didn’t he have any negative feelings, he had so much love for the People that he gave them the most beautiful blessings. So the vav is coming to connect these blessings to what was stated previously. Even though they played a role in causing his death, he still blessed them with love and Hashem, kavayachol, was so impressed with Moshe for this that He called him an Ish Elokim because only a Man of G-d could reach such levels. This also made the beracha so much more powerful.
When someone rises to these levels, his power of beracha increases and perhaps this could be a source for the well-known segula to ask for a beracha from a person who was hurt or insulted or embarrassed and managed to keep his mouth closed.
Rabbi Mugrabi told a story about a man who was chazzan in a shul on Yom Kippur. He got so involved in his Amida, he lost track of the fact that he was the chazzan and long after the entire congregation finished their silent Amida, he was still going. The people were getting impatient. The head of the shul went over to him and gave him a slap on the back of his head yelling, “We’re all finished. You need to start already.” The chazzan quickly finished, made Oseh Shalom, and began the chazara.
At the end of Yom Kippur, one of the wealthy men from the congregation approached this chazzan and asked him if he could buy the shame that he experienced that day. The chazzan said, “I don’t have anything to sell you.”
“What do you mean?” the wealthy man replied, “You were publically humiliated.”
The chazzan said, “The same moment that he hit me, I forgave him. I wanted to be fit to pray to Hashem. How could I be a chazzan and harbor animosity towards my fellow Jew? So now that I forgave him, I have nothing to sell you.”
That year, Hashem rewarded this chazzan with something way more valuable than money could ever buy – a baby boy who grew up to become the Rav HaKadosh Rebbe Aharon of Karlin. That child came from the shame that he endured and his ability to forgive.
This mida makes a person so great, he becomes a receptacle to receive blessing from Hashem and is able to give others berachot as well. Everybody could reach this level and if we are able to not only forgive, but even love and bless the people who we should naturally have ill feelings towards, then we become even greater, we become a Ish Eloki – A Man of G-d.
Rabbi Ashear Lesson # 1545
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