ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה

Look, I place before you today, a blessing and a curse.

“See” — pay attention and realize that the very place where you currently find yourself, “I have given it to you today.” Depending on how one accepts it, it can manifest as bracha, or chas v’shalom, as k’lalah. The word ראה — to “see” — connotes perspective. The outlook we choose determines the outcome.

This plays itself out in countless situations of life. A person may find himself on a plane that is diverted, or whatever it is that seemingly went awry. We may not understand why, but one thing is certain: der Aibishter hut a cheshbon. Of course, when we daven to HaShem, we are enjoined to pour out our bakashos, yet at the same time, we must affirm that whatever the result, it is unquestionably the best outcome — for that is what HaShem has ordained.

The Gemara in Berachos (8a) teaches: לעולם יכנס אדם שני פתחים בבית הכנסת — “When entering for tefillah, a person should enter through ‘two doors.’”

The Meforshim explain this in different ways:

Rashi and Rabbeinu Yonah write that sitting near the entrance looks as if one is ready to run out, uninterested in tefillah. (Of course, if that is his fixed seat, this concern does not apply, though many are careful to avoid such a seat altogether.)

The Tur explains that one should not “run into davening” hastily, but rather pause — at least the time it would take to walk the span of two doorways. (Naturally, this is difficult for those who are chronically late!)

The Maharam Mi’Rotenberg interprets that one should not daven near a door opening onto a busy street, lest distractions intrude.

A novel pshat is brought based on our parsha (Devarim 15:8): כי פתח תפתח את ידך לו — “You shall surely open your hand.” Chazal derive the mitzvah of tzedakah from here. Even if the opportunity arises again and again, one must repeatedly open his hand. Accordingly, some meforshim connect this to our Gemara: before tefillah; that time when one will be saying the possuk of poseach es yadecha twice -two “pesachim”- a person should be careful to give tzedakah, thereby fulfilling the gemara of entering the two pesachim.

There is yet another beautiful approach, based on the Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 66) concerning Yaakov and Eisav. The pasuk relates (27:30): ויהי כאשר כלה יצחק לברך את יעקב ויהי אך יצא יצא יעקב מאת פני יצחק אביו ועשו אחיו בא מצידו — “And it came to pass, when Yitzchak had finished blessing Yaakov, and Yaakov had just left his father’s presence, that Eisav his brother came back from the hunt.”

Based on the words יצא יצא , the Midrash describes: there were two doors. As Yaakov was leaving through one, Eisav was entering the other (Rav Ayvo). Another opinion (Rabanan) is that it was a double-swinging door, and as Yaakov slipped through, Eisav entered from the opposite side.

Had Eisav encountered Yaakov in that moment, the result would have been catastrophic. Gone would be Yaakov, and Klal Yisrael would never have come into being. Yet Yaakov himself may not even have realized how narrowly he escaped certain death.

How often in life do we merit similar nissim of a “double-door system” without ever knowing? A missed call, a delayed train, a red light, a canceled flight — and one feels dejected, perhaps even complains, “Why, HaShem? Why me?” But do we know what might have awaited us had things gone “our way”? The truth is: we rarely fathom the magnitude of HaShem’s hidden salvations.

The Vilna Gaon famously comments on the pasuk in Hallel (Tehillim 117): הללו את ה' כל גוים שבחוהו כל האמים כי גבר עלינו חסדו ואמת ה' לעולם הללויה — “Praise HaShem, all nations… for His kindness has prevailed over us.” The Gaon explains: the nations themselves will ultimately be compelled to acknowledge HaShem, for they know the plots they hatched against Klal Yisrael. They saw what could have happened — and how HaShem thwarted it. We, meanwhile, were oblivious, spared by His mercy.

With this in mind, we can understand the Gemara’s teaching: לעולם יכנס אדם שני פתחים בבית הכנסת — when we enter tefillah, we must enter with the recognition of HaShem’s “two-door system.” A person can say to HaShem: “I may have many unanswered questions — I don’t understand the why, when, or how. But I know, with absolute certainty, that You, HaShem, orchestrate all with purpose and for my ultimate good.”

Approaching tefillah this way is an act of complete bitachon. A baby in his parent’s loving arms may sense bumps in the road, but he knows one thing: his parent will never let him fall. So too, when we are nestled in HaShem’s embrace, we can be sure — whatever the journey brings — we will always have exactly what we need.

Good Shabbos, מרדכי אפפעל