Where is the Real Treasure?

By Rabbi Joshua (conventionally known as the Hoffer) Hoffman

As a prelude to the list of blessings that God will bestow on the nation if it observes God’s commandments, Moshe tells them, “If you hearken to God’s voice, to preserve and perform all of his commandments… and all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you hearken to the voice of God” (Devorim 28:1-2). There are two seeming superfluities in these verses. First, what is the purpose of the word “vehisigucha”—and they will overtake you— after the verse already says that the blessings will come upon you? Secondly, why is the proviso of “if you hearken to God’s commandments” mentioned twice?

As far as the word “vehisigucha” is concerned, I once heard Rav Aharon Ben-Tzion Shurin, z”l, explain it based on a story made popular in Jewish folklore. The story has it that a poor Polish Jew had a recurring dream that a treasure was buried under a bridge in Prague. He finally decided to check out the veracity of his dream and went to the bridge, where he encountered a soldier. When he told the soldier about his dream, he laughed and said “do you really believe such dreams? Why, I had a dream that a treasure was buried where a poor Jew lives in Poland. Do you think I would go there to find it?” The Jew went back home and found the treasure there. The message of this story is that people look everywhere for a treasure, but don’t understand that the real treasure is at home. Based on this story, Rabbi Shurin explained the word “vehisigucha” as coming from the word “lehasig,” to grasp, or understand, and explained the verse to mean that the blessings will come upon us, and we will understand what real blessings are.

In regard to the repetition of the phrase “if you hearken to God’s commandments,” Rav Shlomo Rabinowitz of Radomsk, in his Tiferes Shlomo, explains that it serves to imply that the spiritual blessing comes together with the material blessings. Every material blessing brings with it a spiritual blessing because, otherwise, it cannot endure. This principle is hinted at in the promise made by God to Avrohom that if he left his home and followed him to the land that he would show him, He would bless him and, make his name great. Rashi explains that the blessing refers to the material world, and that making Avrohom’s name great means that people would speak of the God of Abraham, which is a spiritual blessing. If we accept the explanations of both Rabbi Shurin and Rabbi Rabinowitz we can say that we are being told that we will receive both material and spiritual blessings if we observe God’s commandments, and understand that the greatest blessing is that of spiritual growth.

Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, zt”l, related that in the Yeshiva of Slobodka, when people wished each other kesiva vechsima tova, or a good inscription for a new year, it was understood that this blessing referred to growth in Torah and spirituality, and they would then add the words, “and in material things as well.” Everyone there recognized that while material needs are important and have their place, the true, ultimate blessing, consists in drawing close to God.