Rabbi Yossi's Blog

I don’t drive a racecar, nor operate radar. But I do enjoy a palindrome or two. 

And I’m not confusing cars and cats, I’m just using a sentence that reads the same forwards as it does backwards.

Why? Because I want to bring your attention to a profound palindromic message embedded in this week’s Torah portion. 

The portion begins with the words: רְאֵ֗ה אָֽנֹכִ֛י נֹתֵ֥ן לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם בְּרָכָ֖ה וּקְלָלָֽה See, I place (i.e. give, Notayn) before you today a blessing and a curse.

The Hebrew word, Notayn, give, (or Nossayn, in the traditional pronunciation) is spelled here as a palindrome. 

Life is not filled with objective blessings and curses; G-d guides us through life and we choose how to perceive it. 

If we observe life through the lens of blessing, we experience blessings. And the opposite is true if we do otherwise. 

We experience life as we choose to perceive it. 

That’s not to say that everything is always rosy. But what we highlight, what we give our attention to, is what becomes the defining part of our story

Just yesterday I heard someone relating about their fathers experience in the holocaust. He would talk about how a Nazi guard threw a raw potato at him. A cruel and degrading gesture - but one that saved his life, since he then had food for the day. 

On a similar note, our Torah portion discusses the mitzvah of giving Tzedakah. The same Hebrew letters we discussed above, נתן, Natan (or Nosson) mean to give. 

We often think about giving as depleting our resources when we give. And of course when we give our time or attention, food or money to another, we no longer have that time or that money. 

But the Torah reminds us that giving is never one-sided. Like the palindrome itself, what we send out comes back to us. Often in ways far greater than we expect.

Our perspective shapes our reality. Our giving shapes our returns. 

And while G-d controls the world, we hold the power to choose how we experience it. 

“But, I need it!” is an expression that my kids like to use.

And they roll their eyes when I prompt them to consider if it's a real need or just a want.

But it’s not just kids. “I need a new car” usually means my car is a few years old, I’m bored of driving it, and there are some cool new features that would be fun to have.

 “I need a new phone” usually doesn’t mean my current one doesn’t work, and “I need a new shirt” likely doesn’t mean I have nothing to wear.

Modern American life is often criticized as overly consumeristic—and there’s certainly truth to it. It’s no surprise that our perception of “needs” shifts as our wealth increases. 

In fact, this is exactly one of the warnings Moses shared with our ancestors as they prepared to enter the Holy Land for the first time.

To paraphrase: “You will have beautiful homes, plenty of food, growing herds, and everything you have will increase.”

Then Moses warns: “And you start feeling proud and self-important, forgetting the L-rd your G-d, who brought you out of Egypt, out of slavery…”

“And you’ll think to yourself, ‘I’m the one whose own strength and hard work earned me all this wealth.’”

Then he reminds them: “But remember the L-rd your G-d—it’s He who gives you the ability to earn wealth, so that He can fulfill the promise He made to your ancestors, as He is doing today.”

While Moses’ speech, found in this week’s Torah portion (Deut. 8), sounds like pure admonition, it’s actually a guide on how to live well with blessing. 

It’s about maintaining a healthy relationship with our possessions so they don’t end up defining or controlling us.

After listing specific examples of wealth - homes, food, herds etc - the Torah adds something broader: “and everything you have will increase.”

Commentaries explain this refers to the lifestyle changes that often come with success. People shop in different stores, move to different neighborhoods, and refine their tastes. 

The question is: As our physical lives improve, are we also growing spiritually?

The Torah’s guidance is clear: As “everything you have” increases, your mitzvot, your kindness, your Torah study, your generosity, all need to increase too. Otherwise, we risk slipping into the illusion that our success is ours alone.

Yes, our effort matters - but it’s only the vessel. 

The blessing comes from G-d. It’s possible to work endlessly and still not see results; it’s also possible for unexpected blessing to flow in with minimal effort. The Source is always Above.

Maintaining this perspective helps us keep a healthy attitude and a positive relationship with the “things” in our lives. 

It encourages gratitude instead of feelings of lack and guides us to make wiser, more thoughtful decisions as we navigate daily life.