The Worst Curse of All Is No Freedom

Curse — a solemn utterance intended to invoke a supernatural power to inflict harm or punishment on someone or something.

We are taught not to believe in curses. Why should we? There is no scientific evidence that a curse works, and even the idea that man can command nature to help or hurt seems ludicrous.

And yet nobody is comfortable with a curse — because sometimes they work. Psychologists call this the nocebo effect, or a self-fulfilling prophecy. Joseph Kennedy, the patriarch of the Kennedy clan and a rabid Jew-hater, was cursed by several rabbis before World War II. He lived to watch the death of two of his sons and the near-death of a third. Ariel Sharon was cursed just before he ordered the army to throw more than 10,000 Jews out of the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria. Some 90 days later, that curse was realized.

Our Torah portion, Ki Tavo, contains 98 curses. They come in waves and are introduced in the same way, way, “If you do not obey G-d, your G-d…” This contrasts with the blessings in the same Torah portion, which reflect the Jews following the divine word.

Curses come in all sizes and shapes and those in Ki Tavo are no different. G-d can curse the land, water, skies, trees, crops, animals and finally man. All sorts of diseases can be concocted from the divine laboratory, and don’t count on any vaccine. This pandemic is for real.

But that is not the worst of it. The worst of the curses is the feeling of helplessness: when you bend over and can’t remember how to tie your shoelaces. You’ve played basketball most of your life, but today you can’t raise your arm to make a layup. In other words, nothing seems to work.

You will grope at midday as the blind man gropes in the dark, and you will be unsuccessful in your undertakings. You will be nothing but constantly contested and robbed, and there will be no one who will come to the rescue. [Deuteronomy 28:29]

The history of nations is mysterious. Winners end up losers and the other way around. This might be politically incorrect, but for most of Hitler’s reign, the German people suffered. During World War II, he limited ordinary civilians to 2,000 calories of food per day. By the end of the war, most German cities were destroyed, tens of millions homeless. The Allied occupiers limited the population to no more than 1,500 calories per day, far fewer than the amount needed to maintain health and weight.

And yet when you look at surviving footage of bombed-out Berlin in July 1945, only two months after the war, the Germans seem happy, dressed in their holiday-best as they walk or bicycle through the newly cleared streets or remove the rubble from the 48,000 destroyed buildings. Nobody would say this on camera, but privately the Germans, once intoxicated with world domination, were celebrating the demise of the fuhrer. No more “Heil Hitlers,” no more Gestapo plainclothesmen. Finally, there was freedom, and with that the incentive to live and work. By late 1948, German industrial production rose to nearly 80 percent of that in 1936.

Now, move to post-war Britain. The British were declared the victors of World War II, but you couldn’t have known that from walking the streets. Entire sections of London, Liverpool, Manchester and other cities were wiped out. Food rationing lasted far longer in Britain than in defeated Germany. People waited for hours for an egg or bottle of milk. Reconstruction was slow and the new housing for the displaced was often shoddy. The national economy needed repeated infusions of cash from the United States, which essentially ended most of London’s sovereignty.

So, which country was blessed and which cursed?

Don’t look to the Jewish people for an answer. Israel might have been placed on some type of emergency footing since Oct. 7, 2023, but the average man wouldn’t have known this. There have been no food shortages. Despite threats from the West and China, ships laden with goods dock in Ashdod nearly every day. The tanks in gasoline stations are full. Contrast that with the current shortages of fuel, food and electricity in Iran. We should be laughing all the way to the bank.

But we’re not. Because there is one divine curse that today grips Israel and the Jewish people: It’s the fear of tomorrow. Sure, we can take a vacation in Greece, but will we be able to return when the missiles start flying again? Sure, we can make a killing on the real estate market, but will we be able to draw on our credit card during an emergency? We tell ourselves that our jobs in hi-tech are safe. But what happens when foreign investment dries up?

Your life will hang in suspense before you. You will be afraid night and day, and you will not believe in the reliability of your own life. [Deuteronomy 28:66]

This anxiety not only fuels the drug market but shoves the big issue in our face: What are we doing wrong? Why can’t we enjoy life? Why are we always scared for ourselves and our families? Then comes the last question which most of us won’t even mouth: Are we okay with G-d?

The Talmud in Berakhot 34b helps us focus on the present by discussing the future. What will the messianic age entail? Rabbi Chiya bar Abba points to a glorious period when poverty, war and all troubles disappear. Shmuel’s response: The messianic era will end the occupation of Israel. C’est tout. Poverty will continue, maybe even war. But the Jews, whatever the size of their bank account, will never be slaves again to any power or regime. Israel will be truly independent. Nobody will tell us where to pray. Nobody will stop us from learning Torah and following its commandments. Many of the medieval sages agree with Rabbi Chiya. Maimonides votes with Shmuel.

On paper, we should be ecstatic: A country in a Flash Gordon war in where enemies are vaporized while everything goes on as usual. But we have no freedom, not even the illusion of freedom. We all feel it even if we don’t dare whisper it.

And without freedom, we have nothing.