The story is told about the members of a certain Shul who
were all terrified of being called up for the Aliya of the Tochecha (the rebuke
and curses found in Parshat Ki Tavo).
They called a special Board Meeting, and decided to hire someone to take
the aliyah of the Tochecha. It wasn’t
easy, but finally a willing candidate was found and hired.
Parshat Ki Tavo arrived and the Gabbai looked around for the
contracted individual to call him for shishi.
But he was nowhere to be found in the Shul. “Perhaps he’s running late,”
suggested one of the Ba’alei Batim, “let’s wait a few minutes for him.” They
sat for about a quarter of an hour, getting more and more impatient by the
minute. After all, this was not
proper. An agreement had been made. Money had been paid. Where was he?
Right when things were about to get out of hand, the
contracted man entered the Shul. The
Board members ran to him and demanded to know his reason for being late. The
individual calmly turned to the angry group, and replied, “I was davening in
the shul down the block. Do you really
think that a person can make a living from only one Tochecha?”
Rav Chayim ben Betzalel, the brother of the Maharal of
Prague, relates in his Sefer Ha-chayim that this “fear” of the Tochecha in
Parashat Ki Tavo led to some serious disruptions and lack of honor for the
Torah. He describes that in some
synagogues, the Torah would remain open, in the middle of the reading, for
several hours, as no congregants were willing to come and recite the berakhot
over this aliya. The Biur Halacha
records that there were synagogues in which they actually cancelled Torah
reading on the Shabbatot during which the curses should have been read (i.e.
Bechukotai and Ki Tavo).
In regards to the custom of some communities skipping Torah
reading this week to avoid the curses, the Biur Halacha 428 writes:
V’Kamah Ra’ot Osin- they are doing multiple things wrong:
First, they are not fulfilling the ancient obligation to
read the Torah on Shabbat, established by Moshe Rabbeinu himself.
Second: They are ignoring the advice given to us by Shlomo
Hamelech in Mishlei (3:11): “My son, do not loathe the criticism, rebuke of
Hashem.”
Third: Their premise is mistaken. Do they actually believe
that by not hearing or seeing the words of these curses they can spare
themselves and avoid that which is laid out in those verses?!
He ends with three powerful words: V’Aderabba, Chas V’Shalom-
it would seem to be, unfortunately, that the opposite is more likely.
Not reading the Tochecha to avoid confronting the notions of
rebuke and punishment is juvenile behavior. It’s like when a young child plays
hide and seek- by covering his eyes. He assumes that if he can’t see you, then
you can’t see him. It’s also what I call the Emperor’s New Clothes Syndrome:
that if the truth of the matter is left unsaid then somehow it has not really
happened. We know that this is not the case. The emperor was not wearing any
clothes even before the young child said anything.
Nobody likes to hear difficult truths. Nobody wants to be
criticized. Nobody likes to hear about their failings. But we must remember the
sage advice of the Biur Halacha: Does not hearing about it do us any good? If
we think the situation through, we will realize that not listening to our
shortcoming or the negative consequences of our actions is a recipe for
disaster.
If we are willing to hear the Tochecha, to face the truth
that at times must come across as criticism and rebuke, if we are willing to
recognize and admit our mistakes- then indeed we have nothing to be afraid of.
And in response may Hashem decide that the time has come to bring us blessings
in the New Year- individually and as a community.
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