28 Menahem Av 5781
The Power of
Free Choice
by Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher
|
The
Torah states in Parshat Re’eh, “You are a holy nation to Hashem, your
G-d; G-d has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be His own
treasured, special nation” (Devarim 14). Rashi explains that your
holiness comes to you from your forefathers; but also, G-d has chosen
you. In other words, not only did G-d choose our ancestors, but each and
every one of us as well, as we say in the Bracha before the Shema, “G-d
chooses His People Israel with love.”
All
of us, the entire Jewish People, according to our various streams, down
through the generations past, present and future, belong to this unique
holiness. We were born that way.
However,
it is not just a matter of our having been born Jews and our having
been chosen by G-d. Each and every one of us has a duty to choose the
path by which we will be able to elevate the goodness of the soul from
the level of potential to actual.
This
idea is alluded to by the juxtaposition of the verses that we are “a
holy nation” (Devarim 14) and the Mitzvah, “Do not eat any detestable
thing.”
What
is the connection between these verses? The Baal Haturim explains that
by the act of eating, we demonstrate our free choice in being able to
put into our mouth whatever we want. This is a tangible expression of
how we exercise our free choice. Not just food to nourish the body is an
option for us, but also spiritual foods, which are the Mitzvot which
nourish the G-dly soul.
We
must be proud of the fact that we are the Chosen People. G-d chose us
lovingly from among all of the nations to be for Him a special people.
We have to recognize our own special worth to be, in the words of
Isaiah, “a light unto all the nations.”
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