Re’eh

This parsha speaks about an ir hanidachas, a city in which most of the people worship avodah zarah. The Torah states that they all get the death-penalty by the sword, and their belongings must be burned. The following passuk states, “v’nasan lecha rachamim v’rechamcha v’hirbecha, and He will give you mercy and He will have mercy on you and make you many.” The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh wonders: Why does Hashem first give the people rachamim and only afterwards has mercy on them? What are these two leshonos of rachamim? Lastly, why is Hashem sending mercy here at all?

The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh explains that when Bnei Yisrael fulfill the mitzva of killing out the entire city they create in themselves the trait of cruelty. Such people are unable to receive kindness or mercy from Hashem. It is compared to a broken cup that cannot hold or contain anything inside it. Hashem always wants to send us good; however, we have to be fitting to receive it. Therefore, Hashem first sends a feeling of rachamim and only then acts with rachamim toward us.

When a person kills an animal, he too creates in the world a feeling of killing. This is hinted at after the mabul, where Hashem told Noach that he could kill animals to eat for food. Afterwards the passuk states that Hashem will seek out the blood of a person from any animal who will kill a person. The Ramban writes that since people were allowed to kill animals this would affect animals for them to kill also. Hashem therefore warned that animals will be held responsible for killing people.

The Nefesh HaChaim writes that Hashem created man similar to Hashem. People were granted rulership over the entire to be able to affect it with proper action, speech, and thought for good, or chas v’shalom improperly for bad.

May we realize how important our actions are; not only do they make a difference to ourselves but they affect the entire world!