“See (ANOCHI) I place before you today blessing and curse. The blessing if you listen to the Mitzvos of HASHEM your G-d that I am commanding you today. (Devarim 11:26-27)

Here we are again, today, face to face with the mandate to SEE HASHEM – is placing the opportunity for either blessing or curse before us. It is a binary choice. Which will we opt for?! So, the drama of free will unfolds for each and every one of us! The Ohr HaChaim reminds us that the phrase “REEH ANOCHI” – “SEE I” haunts back to the first word pronounced when the Torah was being presented to the entire Jewish Nation. “ANOCHI HASHEM ELOKEICHEM…” – “I AM HASHEM YOUR G-D…”. This is what we are meant to see! These are the lenses that lead us on a blessed path.

Here’s the major challenge we all face. In Moshe’s review of the events of that glorious episode, Matan Torah, he says the following, “ANOCHI OMED BEIN HASHEM U’BEINEICHEM” – “I stand between HASHEM and you” (Devarim 4:4). Of course, Moshe was referring to himself, as the “I” and was describing how he was playing the role of broker at that time. The Baal Shem sees the initial phrase as a freestanding message, with a powerful point. Literally, it is the “ANOCHI that stands between you and HASHEM”. The ego, the overwhelming sense of selfhood that blocks us from SEEING the ANOCHI of HASHEM! It is the contest of ANOCHI versus ANOCHI! This is a classic and unrelenting battle within our beings. Who will win?

There are two exact same words, with just five letters in Hebrew that when spelled in a different order, stand at opposite ends of the spiritual universe. When those Ten Commandments were pronounced, the 2nd cautioned against idolatry, which is not less than an open betrayal against HASHEM. The verse states, “LO TAASEH LECHA PESSEL” – “Do not carve for yourself an image”. Those two words “LECHA PESSEL” refer to the creation of an idol. There is nothing more detestable than an image whose sole aim is to distract from and compete with HASHEM. Now, well after the 1st Tablets were shattered by Moshe, HASHEM commanded MOSHE to carve out a 2nd set of Tablets. The initial phrase employed was, “PESAL LECHA” – “Carve yourself”. This 2nd set of Tablets were placed within the Holy Ark which resided in the Holy of Holies. You cannot get holier than that. Now, on one end of the spiritual spectrum we have the 2nd Tablets, “PESAL LECHA” and at the other extreme end we have idolatry, “LECHA PESSEL”.

One of my Rebbeim asked, “What is the difference between them?” He answered, “Where you put the LECHA! Where do you place yourself! If it’s at the beginning then it may just be a self-serving deed. If it’s afterward, then not! In English, for example, if you want to say, “I wrote this poem!” The word that expresses “I” is the biggest letter in the Alpha Bet and it stands at the head. In LOSHON HAKODESH – the Holy Language, “KATAVTI”. The letter indicating “I” is the smallest letter, YUD, at the very end. “This poem was written by me” is a world different than, “I wrote this poem!”

A psychiatrist asked his brand-new patient why he had scheduled an appointment. The man said, “I don’t know! My family sent me.” The psychiatrist probed further, “Why did your family send you?” The man answered with a shrug of his shoulders, “I have no idea!” Puzzled, the psychiatrist said, “Tell me about yourself!”.

Again, the man asked back, “What should I tell you?” The psychiatrist told him emphatically, “Tell me the story of your life!? “Where shall I begin”, he asked back. The psychiatrist, getting frustrated, now said, “Start from the beginning!” To which the man replied, “In the beginning I created the heavens and the earth…” That’s his big problem and our problem!

To the extent that we can see that it is not we who create and guide the myriad matters of the universe, and we can SEE ANOCHI HASHEM in each micro and macro detail of our daily lives, so we are treading on a blessed path.