Blessings, curses, and choices
BY MOSHE KATZ 
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL

August 27, 2024, Georgia, USA

Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if ye shall hearken unto the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day;  and the curse, if ye shall not hearken unto the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known. And it shall come to pass, when the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt set the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal

(Dvarim, Deuteronomy Chapter 11, Verse 26 - 9)

This week our Torah portion begins with the classic proclamation of the blessings and the curses. When we the nation of Israel cross the Jordan river, about 3,300 years ago, we are warned, we have a choice, blessings or curses. Until this very day the so called Samaritans, remnants of an ancient group of Israelites, still cling to Mount Gerizim, as they believe this mountain is blessed. 

And I ask, is it really so? Is this about one patch of land being blessed while another is cursed? While we know that some land is more fertile than others, can we really say that any part of God's good earth is cursed? Even land that was contaminated by human destructiveness, even the area of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, is not cursed. It is a blessing that now animal wild life can blossom without the cruel interference of the cruelest of all creatures, human beings.

So what is the meaning of the blessings and the curses, and is this still relevant to us today, in our modern lifestyle?

I say yes. 

No land is truly cursed, and no blessings come automatically to anyone. Everything is a choice. What I believe the passage is trying to teach us is that after we cross the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land, each one of us crossing our personal river and entering our own promised land, we have choices presented to us. We are given two mountains; two options and we must choose. No one has an automatic blessing. We need to make the proper choices. We must get up in the morning and do the work that must be done, we must strive everyday towards our goals. We must choose life!

At a certain crossroad in our lives we cannot remain indifferent, not choosing is also a choice. We need to make a decision and a deliberate choice, what do we want and how are we going to get it? We cannot allow ourselves to sink into nothingness, we need to be proactive. 

Behold I have blessed before you options, choices, and I have advised you to choose the better path, this is the message, and it is very relevant today. Those of you who have begun your Krav Maga self-defense training, have made a very powerful choice, It will change your lives, It will change who you are.

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Moshe Katz, 7th dan Black Belt, Israeli Krav Maga. Certified by Wingate Institute. Member Black Belt hall of fame, USA and Europe.

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