A Pool of Blessing: Why the Curse Waits
Hashem promises Avram, “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.” With the blessing the verb comes first; with the curse the order is reversed. Why should one verse change its word order between blessing and curse?
Bereishis 12:2–3
וְאֶעֶשְׂךָ לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל וַאֲבָרֶכְךָ וַאֲגַדְּלָה שְׁמֶךָ וֶהְיֵה בְּרָכָה וַאֲבָרֲכָה מְבָרְכֶיךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ אָאֹר וְנִבְרְכוּ בְךָ כֹּל מִשְׁפְּחֹת הָאֲדָמָה
I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed through you.
17“I will make you a great nation … and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.” Notice the order of the words. With the blessing the verse puts the verb first, va'avarechah mevarechecha, “I will bless those who bless you.” With the curse it reverses the order, umekalelcha a'or, “the one who curses you I will curse.” Should it not have said in the same way, ve'a'or mekalelcha, “I will curse the one who curses you”?
וְאֶעֶשְׂךָ לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל כּוּ׳ וֶהְיֵה בְּרָכָה, וַאֲבָרֲכָה מְבָרְכֶיךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ אָאוֹר. וְלִכְאוֹרָה יֵשׁ לְדַקְדֵּק דְּאֵצֶל הַבְּרָכָה נֶאֱמַר וַאֲבָרֲכָה כּוּ׳ וְאֵצֶל הַקְּלָלָה נֶאֱמַר הַמִּלּוֹת בְּהֵיפֶךְ, וְהָיָה לוֹ לוֹמַר ג"כ 'וְאָאוֹר מְקַלֶּלְךָ'?
In shortWhy does the verse put “I will bless” before those who bless Avram, but “the one who curses you” before “I will curse”?
18It seems to me that the tzaddik who sanctifies and purifies himself becomes a berachah (ברכה), a blessing, himself: a bereichah (בריכה), a pool on high that pours out blessing to all. But those who want to receive the flow of blessing through the tzaddik must be of one mind with him, and then they are blessed with abundance as a matter of course. Someone who is not of one mind with the tzaddik certainly cannot receive the flow through him. This is the meaning of “and you shall be a berachah”: you yourself will be a pool that pours out blessing. “Va'avarechah mevarechecha”: at once, whoever is of one mind with you, I will bless. For everything is already prepared, since the tzaddik is the blessing itself; that is why the word is read as if it were mi-berechecha, “from your pool.”1 “Umekalelcha a'or”: the curse does not come on its own, as the blessing does, but only after a deed, so that I curse him only after he has cursed you. This answers the question of the word order: “I will bless” comes first because the blessing is ready at once, while “the one who curses you” comes first because the curse waits for his deed.
ונ"ל דְּהִנֵּה הַצַּדִּיק אֲשֶׁר מְקַדֵּשׁ וּמְטַהֵר עַצְמוֹ, נַעֲשֶׂה הוּא בְּעַצְמוֹ 'בְּרָכָה', דְּהַיְינוּ בְּרֵיכָה עֶלְיוֹנָה לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ לַכֹּל, אַךְ אוֹתָם הָרוֹצִים לְקַבֵּל הַשְׁפָּעָה ע"י הַצַּדִּיק, צְרִיכִים לְהַסְכִּים עִם הַצַּדִּיק וְאָז הֵם מִמֵּילָא מִתְבָּרְכִים בְּשֶׁפַע רַב, אֲבָל מִי שֶׁאֵינוֹ מַסְכִּים עִם הַצַּדִּיק, בְּוַדַּאי לָזֶה בִּלְתִּי אֶפְשָׁרִי שֶׁיּוּשְׁפַּע לוֹ הַהַשְׁפָּעָה ע"י הַצַּדִּיק. וְזֶהוּ "וֶהְיֵה בְּרָכָה", דְּהַיְינוּ שֶׁאַתָּה בְּעַצְמְךָ תִּהְיֶה בְּרֵיכָה לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ, "וַאֲבָרֲכָה מְבָרֶכְךָ", ר"ל מִיָּד אוֹתוֹ שֶׁיַּסְכִּים עִמְּךָ אֲבָרֵךְ אוֹתוֹ, כִּי הַכֹּל הוּא מוּכָן כנ"ל שֶׁהַצַּדִּיק הוּא הַבְּרָכָה עַצְמָהּ, וְזֶהוּ כְּמוֹ 'מְבָרֶכְךָ', פֵּירוּשׁ מֵהַבְּרֵיכָה שֶׁלְּךָ, "וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ אָאוֹר", פֵּירוּשׁ אֲבָל הַקְּלָלָה אֵינָהּ בָּאָה מִמֵּילָא כְּמוֹ הַבְּרָכָה, רַק אַחַר מַעֲשֶׂה עַד שֶׁאָאוֹר אוֹתוֹ אַחַר קִלְלָתְךָ.
- The verse has מברכיך, mevarechecha, “those who bless you,” as the sefer quotes it in the question above. Here the sefer spells it מברכך, without the yud, which can be read mi-, “from,” and bereichah, “pool.” ↩
In shortThe tzaddik is himself a pool of blessing, so it reaches those of one mind with him at once; a curse comes only after a deed.
19So too “You have done good to Your servant, Hashem, according to Your word.”2 The good, the flow of blessing, You have placed in the hand of Your servant, the tzaddik who is the pool of blessing for the whole world. But it is given only in the way of “Hashem, according to your word”: everyone must be of one mind with him, and all must say of the tzaddik that Hashem agrees with him, “according to your word.” Then all of them receive, through the tzaddik, an abundant flow of blessing.
וְזֶהוּ "טוֹב עָשִׂיתָ עִם עַבְדְּךָ", פֵּירוּשׁ הַטּוֹב, דְּהַיְינוּ הַהַשְׁפָּעוֹת, נָתַתָּ בְּיַד עַבְדְּךָ שֶׁהוּא הַמַּשְׁפִּיעַ לְכָל הָעוֹלָם כנ"ל, רַק בְּאוֹפֶן "ה׳ כִּדְבָרֶךָ", דְּהַיְינוּ שֶׁיַּסְכִּימוּ עִמּוֹ הַכֹּל וְיֹאמְרוּ כּוּלָּם עַל הַצַּדִּיק שֶׁה׳ מַסְכִּים כִּדְבָרֶךָ, וְאָז כּוּלָּם נִשְׁפָּעִים ע"י הַצַּדִּיק בְּשֶׁפַע רַב וּבְרָכָה.
- Tehillim 119:65. In the verse, “Your word” is Hashem's; here it is read as the tzaddik's word. ↩
In shortThe tzaddik holds the world's blessing in his hand, but it flows to all only when everyone agrees with him and says that Hashem agrees too.
R’ Elimelech asks why the verse says “I will bless those who bless you” but “the one who curses you I will curse.” The tzaddik who sanctifies and purifies himself, he answers, becomes a berachah, a bereichah, a pool on high that pours blessing out to all. Whoever is of one mind with the tzaddik is blessed at once, as a matter of course, for the blessing is already prepared; so “I will bless” comes first, and the word can be read “from your pool.” The curse does not come on its own; it waits for a deed, so “the one who curses you” comes first. “You have done good to Your servant, Hashem, according to your word” says the same: Hashem has placed the flow of blessing in the tzaddik’s hand, and it reaches all when they agree with him and say Hashem agrees too.
Takeaway
The blessing a tzaddik carries is already prepared, and it flows at once to anyone who is of one mind with him. Drawing close to the tzaddikim and standing with them in heart opens us to the abundance Hashem has placed in their hands.
Learn this in the merit of Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk. His yahrzeit and life ›
More on Parshas Lech Lecha
See all ›Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzKnowing Hashem in All Your Ways: Avraham's TestAvraham's test was to go only because Hashem had spoken, though he had been promised that the journey was for his good. We meet the same test when we eat, work and do business…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzFaith and Fellowship: Avraham's Legacy for ExileAvraham did not keep his recognition of the world's Master to himself: he gathered people together and planted faith in their hearts. That pairing of faith and fellowship carried…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzAvraham's Eager Going: Keeping the First Fire of a MitzvahAvraham longed for the mitzvah so strongly that his waiting was counted as doing, and when he finally set out he went with the same fire he had felt when Hashem spoke to him. Our…
English translation, notes and summaries © Zechusam.