“And when all of these things befall you, the blessing and the curse that I have placed before you” (30:1).
The Ohr HaChaim asks why our pasuk could not have been shortened and written concisely as follows: “And when the blessing and curse befall you, which I have placed before you”. Why does the pasuk add the apparently superfluous words “all of these things”? What added meaning do they give to the pasuk? The Ohr HaChaim explains that the words “all of these things” serve to connect the blessing and the curse. Had our pasuk said simply, “And when the blessing and curse befall you, which I have placed before you”, I might have read the pasuk as two separate and distinct statements: first, “when the blessing befalls you”, and second, “the curse that I have placed before you”. Here, blessing and curse are separated. The reason for connecting them is that the opening word of the pasuk, vehoya, is a loshon of simcha – a linguistic term that signifies a joyous occasion.
The Ohr HaChaim cites the Gemora in Berochos 54a: “We are obligated to recite a blessing over bad news just as we do regarding good news”. The Gemora (60b) then goes on to tell us that we must recite these berochos besimcha, teaching us that with joyous feelings we must accept even bad news. This is why the pasuk begins with the word vehoya. The Ohr HaChaim now rereads the pasuk and explains it thus: “Happily accept them, when all of these things befall you, both the blessing and the curse”. Whether they are blessings or curses, be prepared to accept them equally – besimcha.
