Blessings and Curses Upon New Beginnings

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלקֵינוּ מֶלֶך–הָעולָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָנוּ בְּמִצְותָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסק בְּדִבְרֵי-תורָה.

Blessing Over the Study of Torah

Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu laasok b’divrei Torah.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who hallows us with mitzvot, commanding us to engage with words of Torah.

דברים י״א:כ״ו-כ״ח

(כו) רְאֵ֗ה אָנֹכִ֛י נֹתֵ֥ן לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם בְּרָכָ֖ה וּקְלָלָֽה׃ (כז) אֶֽת־הַבְּרָכָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר תִּשְׁמְע֗וּ אֶל־מִצְוֺת֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י מְצַוֶּ֥ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם הַיּֽוֹם׃ (כח) וְהַקְּלָלָ֗ה אִם־לֹ֤א תִשְׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־מִצְוֺת֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם וְסַרְתֶּ֣ם מִן־הַדֶּ֔רֶךְ אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י מְצַוֶּ֥ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם לָלֶ֗כֶת אַחֲרֵ֛י אֱלֹהִ֥ים אֲחֵרִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־יְדַעְתֶּֽם׃ {ס}

Deuteronomy 11:26-28

(26) See, I give before you blessing and curse this day: (27) blessing, if you obey the commandments of יהוה your God with which I charge you this day; (28) aand curse, if you do not obey the commandments of יהוה your God, but turn away from the path with which I charge you this day, following other gods, whom you do not know.

Thoughts to Consider:
1. What's a blessing?
2. What's a curse?
3. What relationship do these two things have to one another?

דברים י״א:כ״ט

(כט) וְהָיָ֗ה כִּ֤י יְבִֽיאֲךָ֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֥ה בָא־שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּ֑הּ וְנָתַתָּ֤ה אֶת־הַבְּרָכָה֙ עַל־הַ֣ר גְּרִזִ֔ים וְאֶת־הַקְּלָלָ֖ה עַל־הַ֥ר עֵיבָֽל׃

Deuteronomy 11:29

(29) When יהוה your God brings you into the land—there, that which you will come to and possess—you shall give the blessing at Mount Gerizim and the curse at Mount Ebal.—

Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzchak (best known as Rashi) was a medieval (11th century) commentator on the Torah and Talmud. Though he studied in the yeshivot in Worms and Mainz, Rashi was born and returned to France, where he supported his family by growing grapes and selling wine--or my inspiration for creating the hit phrase "Drinking and Drashing."

רש"י על דברים י״א:כ״ט:ב׳

על הר גרזים. כְּלַפֵּי הַר גְּרִזִּים הוֹפְכִין פְּנֵיהֶם וּפָתְחוּ בִּבְרָכָה – בָּרוךְ הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר לֹא יַעֲשֶׂה פֶסֶל וּמַסֵּכָה וְגוֹ'. כָּל הָאֲרוּרִים שֶׁבַּפָּרָשָׁה אָמְרוּ תְחִלָּה בִּלְשׁוֹן בָּרוּךְ, וְאַחַר כָּךְ הָפְכוּ פְנֵיהֶם כְּלַפֵּי הַר עֵיבָל וּפָתְחוּ בִּקְלָלָה (סוטה ל"ג):

Rashi on Deuteronomy 11:29:2

על הר גרזים means “towards Mount Gerizim”: they (the Levites) turned their faces towards it and began with a formula of blessing: “Blessed be the man that doth not make any graven or molten image etc.”.

For each of the paragraphs beginning with the expression ארור as set forth in the chapter (Deuteronomy 27:15-26), they first recited in a converse form, beginning with the expression ברוך, “Blessed be etc.” and only afterwards did they turn their faces towards Mount Ebal and began to recite the corresponding curse (Sifrei Devarim 55:2; Sotah 32a; cf. Rashi on Deuteronomy 27).

This inversion of blessings and curses aren't necessarily unfamiliar to us! We have had the opportunity to play with them before. One of our daily blessings originally read:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁלֹּא עָשַֽׂנִי אִשָּׁה:
Blessed are You, Adonoy our God, King of the Universe, Who did not make me a woman.
(נשים אומרות: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁעָשַֽׂנִי כִּרְצוֹנוֹ:)
(A non-male says: Blessed are You, Adonoy our God, King of the Universe, Who made me according to His will.)

Thoughts to Consider:
1. How do we invert, change, reject, or blend our blessings?
2. How might we do the same things with curses?
3. Does it make a difference when they are internally or externally focused?