“Do not deviate right or left from the commandment so that you live long” [1]. We of course understand the importance of not deviating from the commandments, but what is added by the words “right or left”?
A lady, Rivka, was involved in a serious road accident and had to have an emergency operation as her blood began to clot, which was thankfully successful.
Shortly after she recovered though, she fell and was rushed to hospital.
Again she was told that she needed an emergency operation. She was diagnosed with a high blood pressure in her head. The doctor instructed the nurses to notify him immediately if there was any increase.
“Perhaps it was just because of fear?” Rivka and her husband expressed to each other. They had left their children alone and, being that her condition was stable albeit serious, Rivka persuaded her husband to go home to look after the children.
The hospital shifts switched and after being briefed, the new doctor wanted to operate immediately. As he began getting ready, Rivka summoned the doctor who complied begrudgingly.
For some reason she requested that the doctor first check her file. The doctor complied. A few minutes later the doctor looked at Rivka. “Which side are you experiencing pressure?” he asked.
“The right side” she replied.
“The x-ray was accidentally printed the wrong way around”, he cried out incredulously, “I nearly operated on the wrong side!”
It was later discovered that at that exact moment – in the middle of a major ruckus at home – Rivka’s husband broke himself away and had donated money to charity.
She saved herself from an unnecessary operation and just as well: because when they finally operated on the correct side they discovered that the situation was much worse than they had imagined and that they operated just in time!
We are living in a topsy-turvy world. Only when we are connected to spirituality can we see from the correct perspective. [2]
Sometimes the consequences are more significant than others, namely differentiating between right and left!
Now we can also understand why in addition to receiving reward for the commandments, there is an additional reward of long life for not deviating from them: If a person follows the commandments without deviation, he is by definition connecting himself to the world to come, the world of truth where he will eventually tit-for-tat receive the ultimate of long life – eternal reward!
Have a non-deviating Shabbos,
Dan.
Additional sources:
Story: Kupat Ha’ir, ‘6 zavios, 6 yeshuos’
[1] Devarim 17:20 [2] Pesachim 50a; Bava Basra 10b
