40 years have passed, and we are still carrying the pain of one sentence.
Someone hurt us.
Maybe they don’t even know they hurt us.
Maybe they are not even in our life anymore.
But inside, we are still going back to that moment.
This week’s Parsha teaches us the mitzvah of Shichecha.
When a person harvests his field and forgets some stalks, the Torah says:
Do not go back.
Leave it there for the poor.
Rashi says something amazing:
When a person fulfills this mitzvah, it is as if he built the Beis Hamikdash.
Why?
Because this is not easy.
A person worked hard on his field.
He planted.
He waited.
He invested time, money, and energy.
And now the Torah says:
Do not go back.
Let it go.
The same is true in our personal life.
We all have a personal Beis Hamikdash:
Our home.
Our marriage.
Our family.
Our community.
But sometimes we keep going back to the field.
Someone didn’t say thank you.
Someone didn’t appreciate us.
Someone hurt us.
And we go back again and again to pick up the pain.
The Torah tells us:
*Do not go back!!!*
Leave it in the field.
Forget the insult.
*Stop calculating!!*
The numerical value of the word שכח “to forget” is 328.
The numerical value of the
word שלח “to send away” is 338.
The difference is 10.
Because sometimes, to truly forget and let go, *we need all 10 powers of our soul.*
*Chochmah:*( Wisdom) to see the story differently.
*Binah:*( Understanding) what really happened.
*Daas:*( Internalizing) that this does not need to control me.
*Chesed:*( Kindness) open our heart.
*Gevurah:*( Strength) having strength not to return to the wound.
*Tiferes:*( Compassion) find compassion to forgive.
*Netzach:*( Victory) not giving up on our life and joy.
*Hod* (Humility)to ask for help.
*Yesod*— ( Foundation) rebuilding healthy connection.
*Malchus:*( Royalty) taking action and choosing to move forward.
It’s easy to tell someone:
“Forgive and forget.”
But the truth is, *letting go can be deep work.*
Exercise of the Week:
Identify one old pain you are still carrying.
Say to yourself:
I am not going back to pick this up again.
I am leaving it in the field.
I am choosing to build.
Accept that you may need help from a rabbi, mentor, good friend, or therapist.
*You may not be able to do it alone.*
It’s not a sign of weakness. It’s a part of the process of building our personal Beis Hamikdash.