An enlightening look at commentators through the centuries on the question of the wording of the verses on the blessings and curses regarding Torah observance.
Our Parasha opens with the exhortation of Moshe Rabbeinu to each and every one of Bnei Israel:(11:26-27) ’See, I give before you today a blessing and a curse. The blessing that you hearken to the commandments of Hashem, your G-d, that I command you today. And the curse, if you do not hearken to the commandments of Hashem, your G-d.’
The Alshich Hakadosh directs us to note that:’ראה: see, is in the singular, yet לפניכםֶ: before you’, is in the plural.
Further, what need is there to say ‘today’: who does not know that it was said ‘today’?
‘The answer is that Moshe Rabbeinu sought to instill and sow in the hearts of Bnei Israel foundations in their service of Hashem, prime amongst them being the following two: To preclude any one, in his heart, saying that, just as a mortal king who rules over a lot of subjects, will not be strict if one of his subjects will not engage in the fulfillment of the king’s command, since the others will carry it out - more so, since His commandments - the Torah - was given to six hundred thousand men, ensuring that the command will be carried out, by the rest of the people.
‘Lest this thought - which has no foundation - enter the minds of any of the people, Moshe here adjured each and every one of them, that the entirety of the Torah was given to each of them - no one exempted from its observance.
‘Second, lest any one, in his heart, harbor the false thought - as would be true in the case of the service of a mortal king who rules- that he will be rewarded for his service, by the king, that being the only recompense that he will receive for fulfilling the king’s will - the service itself not giving him any pleasure or completeness in itself- we are here adjured that each mitzvah of the mitzvot of Hashem which a person performs, in itself brings him sanctity - as we say in the blessings of mitzvot:’אשר קדשנו: Who has sanctified us by His mitzvot’ - as the mitzvot themselves sanctify the one who performs them.
‘As to the first one, Moshe began, saying :’See, I give before you today..’, this resulting from what Hashem wrought at Har Sinai, when He purified all of the people, preparing them to be able to receive prophecy face-to-face, gathering them all together.
‘In in speaking to them, He spoke to each person of Bnei Israel, as seen by His saying:’I am אלקיךֶ your G-d’, in the singular - and not אלקיכם- in the plural: ‘your G-d’.
‘Our Sages say (Shir Hashirim Rabba), that the speech was to each one separately, asking him:’Do you accept Me over you..’.
‘So too here - though Hashem wanted them to all assemble together - as the mitzvah performed by many, is unlike one performed by a few - with this, He informed them that to each one He gives His Torah.
‘This is what Moshe alluded to, in saying:’See, I give before you.. ‘- meaning: See and reflect- each individual amongst you - what I am giving before all of you, that though you are assembled to hear - as this is more meritorious than a few individuals hearing - with this, I am speaking to each of you:’See, I give before you..’- the word ‘give’ alluding to it being a goodly gift, lest they think that it was a burden on them.
‘As to the second, he said:’A blessing and a curse’: let it not enter your minds that the reward for a mitzvah is a separate matter from the mitzvah itself, or the punishment for transgression - as this is not the case
‘Rather, ‘that you hearken’ is itself the blessing, as the mitzvah enriches and refines the person - and, the opposite, in the case of the transgression - which is why it is referred to as ‘the curse’.
‘This is ‘the blessing: if you hearken..and the curse: if you do not hearken..’.’
The Netivot Shalom adds: ’The Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh queries the choice of the word ‘See’, when describing speech - should it not have said ‘hear’ or ‘know’, as we find in the Kriyat Shema, and in other instances?
‘He. further queries the choice of the word אנכי, which seemingly is superfluous, as it could have simply said - as it says in Parashat Nitzavim - ‘See I give before today life and the good..’, without writing אנכי.
‘Further, queries the Sage, why is ראה written in the singular, whereas the rest of the parsha is in the plural - also, we need to understand the language ‘today, which has already been said earlier.
‘All of this can be explained by the exposition of the Ba’al haTurim, as to אנכי': See the ten dibrot, which opened with ‘אנכי’, and observe them, as all the mitzvot are included in them..
‘This alludes to the comment of our Sages, on the passuk - at Matan Torah - ‘All the people saw the voices’ - saw that which is heard, as the voices of the ten dibrot, were unlike any other voice - which are heard, but not seen - as they were seen, so that the voice of אנכי that the people heard from Hashem, was seen by all the people.
‘The instilling of emunah that: ’אנכי: I am Hashem your G-d’, was in full brightness, in a way that it was seen- as a man sees with his eyes, as it is written:(Devarim 4:35) ’You have been shown, in order to know that the Lord He is G-d; there is none besides Him’
‘So too, it is written: in that parsha:(4:9)’Lest you forget the things that your eyes saw.’.
‘The emunah this instilled is eternal, and every Jew is able to have this clarity of emunah, in the way of ‘seeing’ that אנכי: I am Hashem your G-d’- this is the meaning of: ’See, אנכי - the eternal command of the ten commandments: emunah in the way of ‘see’, that can be seen by our eyes.
‘Knowing this, is the greatest blessing - as we read: ‘the blessing that you hearken to the mitzvot of Hashem your G-d’, this being the greatest source of satisfaction in life - and, conversely, the greatest curse is ‘if you do no hearken to the mitzvot of Hashem, your G-d.’
‘We can now understand why ‘See’ is written in the singular, as it relates to the ten dibrot, all of which were said in the singular - the reason being that they were said to every Jew, irrespective of his stature.’
Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch elucidates:’’See..’, is the conclusion of the introduction, as well as being the crossing to the mitzvot in brevity, which were written for the needs of the generation about to enter the Land.
‘’See’: this is not a Torah that one needs to accept on the say-so of another, but I turn to you on the foundation of all the things that you saw with your own eyes, a contemplation of which will bring them to your attention.
‘On the basis of all these, you attain the acceptance of the certainty that Hashem has placed your future in your hands - be it to blessing or to curse - through the Torah that he gave you, by the hand of Moshe.’
Rav Ahron Kotler offers a different exposition, as to why ראה: ‘See’, is said in the singular, whilst the subsequent word: לפניכם:’before you’, is written in the plural.
Expounds the Rav:’Behold, ראה is written in the singular, and לפניכם, in the plural.
‘The explanation for this is: that even if the many will, ח'ו, choose not to go in the good path, the mitzvot are given to each and every individual.
‘You : ‘See’, because you are obligated to see that you perform them - the choice is given to all - but every individual is commanded to keep them.’
Rav Moshe Sternbuch adds:’We can explain the change in the language of the Torah - ראה being written in the singular, and לפניכם in the plural, as the Vilna Gaon expounded: you might say to yourself that there are many people ‘lesser’ than me, in their observance, but look at yourself - are you fulfilling your obligation in its completeness?
‘Look at those who conduct their lives in the way of the Torah, and see that they are blessed in what they do - you ‘see’ this, and do not hear it, as you have seen with your own eyes.’
Rabbeinu Bachya proffers another understanding for the change from the singular, to the plural:’Moshe said ראה in the singular, and לפניכם in the plural, because he spoke both to individuals and to the masses, and as the blessing and the curse derived from the two attributes by which the world was created - the attribute of דין: of strict justice and the attribute of רחמים: of mercy - whose meaning is only revealed to the few learned individuals, he said to them - ‘see’, in the singular, meaning ‘see in your mind’s eye’.
‘As the blessing and the curse they are to hasten the masses to perform the mitzvot, by instilling fear if transgressed, he therefore spoke to the masses, and it therefore says לפניהם: before you, in the plural.
‘We find that Moshe did likewise in another instance:(Devarim 4:5)’ראה: See i have taught you חקים ומשפטים: statutes and ordnances’- he said ראה - in the singular - regarding the statutes, whose reason is known only to individuals, and used the word לפניהם’ before you - in the plural - regarding the ordnances, as these were equally known, to all.
‘Our passuk makes clear that permission and choice is given to each person, as to which path he chooses to follow - Hashem leaves this to each person, not decreeing that he be either righteous or wicked, as then the person would have no choice in this critical matter, on which reward and punishment - blessing or curse - depends.’
Rav Zalman Sorotzkin brings a teaching of our Sages, to expound the change in language:’Our Sages (Kid’ 40) instruct us, that a person should always regard himself as half innocent, and half liable, and - further - the whole world, similarly, is half righteous and half wicked, so that when he performs a mitzvah, he determines himself, and the whole world, as righteous.
‘Conversely, if he transgresses - the opposite results, as the world is always adjudged according to the majority.
‘It follows that the blessing and curse of the whole of Bnei Israel are in the hands pf each individual - therefore the Torah - in our passuk - says- speaking to each individual: ‘See, I give לפניכם : to all of you today a blessing and a curse’ - and it is in the hands of each of you, not only your own fate, but the fate of the whole of the people.
‘Therefore, each of you needs to be concerned not only for for your observance of the Torah, but also, by all the people - more so, once they became ערבים זה לזה: ‘guarantors one for each other’.
Rav Yosef Salant elucidates on this last matter: ‘This is why, when they arrived at Har Grizim and Har Eibal - were they entered the covenant to be guarantors one for the other - the tribes were equally divided, six on Har Grizim, on which the blessings were given, and the other six on the other mountain, on which the curses were given - and were not commanded to all be together, that all receive the blessings and the curses, equally.
‘We learn from this, that the people were divided into two equal camps because of the teaching of the Sages’ , which we brought, ‘as to the individual determining the judgement on the whole of the people.
‘To instill this in the heart of each individual - that he should at all times see himself as half innocent and half liable - like the image of the equal division, on the two mountains - he is enjoined to aleays ‘see’ before his eyes, how the whole people were equally divided there, and that the scales are balanced, and that whatever he does, determines whether blessings or curses, are adjudged for the world.
‘This is why the passuk starts in the singular, and concludes in the plural::that each person should contemplate that the fate of all, is dependent on him.
‘It therefore says: ‘Today, as this should be before his eyes, each and every day, and each and every hour.’
A parting gem, from Rav Moshe Sternbuch:’Why does it say the obvious:’today’?
‘To teach that the fact that you fulfilled Hashem’s mitzvot yesterday - by giving tzedaka or the like - does not exempt you from performing mitzvot or deferring them today, thinking that you will perform them tomorrow .
‘You are to have in your mind every day what stands before you, to fulfill the Will of Hashem, your G-d, and be sure to perform it ‘today’.’
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