Virtual Drasha: It's in Your Hands (Re'eh)

Rabbi Silber's Virtual Drasha on Re'eh opens with Moshe's stark framing of free choice -- "I place before you today a blessing and a curse" -- and draws out a Chassidic insight in the words "Re'eh anochi nosein": just as we work to give ourselves over to Hashem, Hashem is telling us that He gives Himself over to us, entrusting us with real power to shape our own lives. Rabbi Silber teaches that true bitachon does not mean outsourcing responsibility -- it means trusting Hashem while still owning our choices and effort. Arriving as Elul begins, the message becomes practical chizuk: however the year has gone, there is still time, and even a single month, used well, can accomplish what feels like a lifetime.

• Free will means every moment offers a real choice between blessing and curse; there is no comfortable middle ground.
• Just as we work to give ourselves over to Hashem, Hashem reciprocates by entrusting real power and control to us.
• Genuine bitachon is not an excuse to outsource responsibility -- we still have to own our choices.
• You have far more power to shape your life than you realize, even amid real constraints and limitations.
• However the year has gone, there is still time; a single month used well can accomplish what feels like a lifetime.