(יט) הַעִידֹ֨תִי בָכֶ֣ם הַיּוֹם֮ אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ֒ הַחַיִּ֤ים וְהַמָּ֙וֶת֙ נָתַ֣תִּי לְפָנֶ֔יךָ הַבְּרָכָ֖ה וְהַקְּלָלָ֑ה וּבָֽחַרְתָּ֙ בַּֽחַיִּ֔ים לְמַ֥עַן תִּחְיֶ֖ה אַתָּ֥ה וְזַרְעֶֽךָ׃
(19) I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day: I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life—if you and your offspring would live—
(עח) ומה שאינו נעלם ממנו בהם כבחירת העבודה והעברה והכונה וההסכמה על המעשה הבטחון על האלהים בזה טעות וסכלות כי הבורא יתברך הניח ברשותנו בחירת עבודתו והמרותו כמו שכתוב (דברים ל יט) ובחרת בחיים
(78) [Of these three factors,] two are not beyond our control, namely, (1) the choice of service or sin and (2) intent and resolve to carry out the choice. For these, trusting in G-d would be a mistake and a foolishness, because the Creator left free choice in our hands whether to serve Him or rebel against Him, as written "...[life and death I have set before you] and you shall choose life" (Devarim 30:19).
(ה) ונמצא בספר התורה מה שחולק עליו מה שמורה כי המעשים הנראים מן האדם נתונים ברשותו והוא בוחר בהם בחפצו והם הווים ברצונו ובחירתו וע״כ התחייב בגמול ובעונש על העבודה ועל העבירה והוא מה שאמר הכתוב (דברים ל) ראה נתתי לפניך היום את החיים ואת הטוב ואת המות ואת הרע ואמר (שם) ובחרת בחיים ואמר (מלאכי א) מידכם היתה זאת ואמר (איוב לא) כי פעל אדם ישלם לו ואמר (משלי יט) אולת אדם תסלף דרכו. וכל מה שיש בספרנו מתורה ומצות ומוסר מורה על בירור הענין הזה וכן מה שיש בו מגמול העבודה ועונש העבירה הכל מורה כי מעשי האדם מונחים אליו וכי כבוד האלהים נקי מטובתו ורעתו וצדקותיו ומעוותיו
(5) We find, however, in the book of the Torah a contrary view, namely, that a human being's visible acts are in his own power. He can choose then as he pleases. They are effected by his choice and free will and he is accordingly liable to reward or punishment for service and transgression respectively, as it is said, "See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil" (Deut. 30:15). ". . . therefore choose life" (Deut. 30:19). "Through your hands this has come" (Malachi 1:9). "For according to a man's act, He requites him" (Job 34:11). "A man's folly perverts his way" (Prov. 19:3). Everything in our religious literature, whether it be instruction, precept or moral exhortation, demonstrates this view. And whatever is there set forth concerning reward for service, and punishment for transgression, indicates that a human being's acts are left to himself and that the Divine glory does not interfere in his prosperity or in his ill-fortune, in his righteous deeds or in his perversities.
Aish.com: Adam Lieberman
In this week's Torah portion, God tells the Jewish people that He placed before them life and death. God then implores them to:
"...choose life, so that you will live..." (Deuteronomy, 30:19)
A LIFE LESSON
It's obvious that if one chooses life, then he or she will live, and if one chooses death, then he'll die. But our physical life and death wasn't what God was referring to. We all know that except for the rare few who are mentally ill, no one proactively chooses physical suicide. However, all of us - yes, ALL of us - commit spiritual and emotional suicide every day.
Just like God says, we all have before us the option to choose life or to choose death. Again, not in the physical sense but rather in the spiritual and emotional sense.
From the moment our alarm clock goes off in the morning there is life and death before us. You see, when you went to sleep the night before you did so with perfect clarity that you wanted to wake up early and "hit the ground running." You decided to choose life. But when the alarm clock goes off, you then immediately come up with powerful and compelling reasons to stay right in bed. And as you sleepily smack the snooze alarm you've chosen death. When the body's desires win over the soul's desire, death wins. If the soul wins, then life is chosen.
While it might sound harsh to call seven minutes more of extra sleep death, it's exactly what God was referring to. We can only have life when we make soul choices and do what's hard and right over body choices which are easy and wrong. The fact is, if you had a plane to catch for an exciting vacation, you would spring out of bed and wouldn't come up with even one good reason to stay there.
There's not a better or more satisfying feeling one can have than making good choices. If you're able to pass on an unnecessary second portion of cake, you choose life. Gobbling it down is choosing death. If you do what's hard by making an unexpected call to thank someone who helped you in the past, this is choosing life. Talking yourself out of it is choosing death. Running on your treadmill that you haven't used in months is choosing life. Using it as a coat rack is choosing death. Giving your time and money to those who need it is choosing life. Passing on this same opportunity is choosing death.
Basically, anything that takes effort and is hard to do, but makes you feel on the top of the world when you do it, is choosing life. But choosing death is easy. Not growing or challenging yourself is easy. Anyone can do that. And most of us do.
We choose death all day long. And we wonder why we're lifeless, unmotivated, discontent, and lacking all zest for living. This is because we're really not living. Instead, we're choosing death by distracting ourselves and killing ourselves one poor decision at a time.
Use the strength you know you have to start choosing life. God couldn't tell us to do this unless He also gave us the ability to fight the body and let the soul win.
We're ALL designed for greatness. We're designed for life. Make the right choices and you'll feel richer than you can ever imagine. Like God said, "... choose life, so that you will live." Choose life and you'll know what living really is.
What connection can you make between these four sources? Can you narrow it down to one sentence?
Nice sheet! A student would write an answer here. The last step of the assignment is to write a comment below. This is a great way to give feedback to students.
Thanks for the feedback! I'm loving sefaria!