…
But We’re Afraid To Ask
Parshas Behar Bechukosai
The Torah does not usually leave room for official
questions of faith. It tells us, in no uncertain terms, what our
responsibilities are and the commitment we must make to be observant Jews.
Every mitzvah entails sacrifice. Sometimes it requires a monetary commitment,
sometimes a commitment of time and morals. Not often does it consider the human
trials one encounters in mitzvah performance. They are our problem and we must
deal with them as human beings and as Jews.
Yet this week the Torah uncharacteristically
provides leeway for those who may waver in their commitment.
In Parshas Behar the Torah charges the Jewish
people with the laws of shmittah. Every seventh year, we are told that the land
of Israel is to lie fallow. No work is to be done with the earth. There is not
to be a harvest, nor may the ground be sown or reaped.
Observing shmittah is a true test of faith.
Imagine! One must not harvest his grain but instead rely on pure faith for his
daily fare. Yet the Torah does not leave us with the austere command. The Torah
deals directly with the human emotion related to the issue. In Leviticus 25:20
the Torah foretells a human side. “And if you will say in your heart, ‘what
shall we eat in the seventh year, behold the land has not been sown nor has it
been reaped?'” Hashem reassures the people that His bounty will abound in the
sixth year and they will live the seventh year in comfort.
This is not the only time the Torah realizes
human wariness. In reference to the command of conquering the Land of Canaan, the
Torah states in Deuteronomy 7:17: “Perhaps you shall say in your heart, ‘these
nations are more numerous than me. How will I drive them out?'” Once again
Hashem reassures His nation that He will not forsake them.
The question is glaring. Why does the Torah answer
to human psyche? Why doesn’t the Torah just command us to let the land lie
fallow, or conquer the Land of Canaan? If there are problems or fears in our
hearts, they are our problems. Those fears should not be incorporated as part
of the command.
Isidore would meet his friend Irving every
other week while doing business. “How are you Irving?” Isidore would always
ask. “How’s the wife and kids?” Irv would always grunt back the perfunctory
replies. “Fine.” “A little under the weather.” “My son Jack got a job.”
This one sided interrogation went on for years
until one day Isidore exploded. “Irv,” he said abruptly. “I don’t understand.
For six years I ask you about your wife, your kids, and your business. Not once
mind you, not once did you ever ask me about my wife, my kids, or my business!
Irv shrugged. “Sorry, Izzie. I was really
selfish. So tell me,” he continued, “how is your wife? How are your kids? How
is your business?”
Izzie let out a sigh of anguish and began to
krechts. He put his hand gently on Irv’s shoulder, tightened his lips, and
shook his head slowly. “Don’t ask!”
Reb Leible Eiger (1816-1888) explains that there
are many questions of faith that we may have. The faithful may in fact fear the
fact that there is fear. “Is it a flaw in faith to worry?” “Am I committing
heresy by fearing the enemy?” “Am I allowed to ask?” The Torah tells us in two
places, “you will have these questions. You will ask, ‘how am I going to
sustain myself and family?’ “You will worry,” ‘how will I conquer my enemies?’
‘Will I be destroyed?'” The Torah reassures us that there is no lack of trust
by asking those questions. We mustn’t get down on ourselves and consider
questions a breach of faith. Life and sustenance are mortal attributes. They
warrant mortal fear.
Adam, the first man was originally blessed with
eternal life without having to worry for his livelihood. After sinning, he was
cursed with death and was told that he would eat by the sweat of his brow. The
Torah assures us that it is not only human but also acceptable to worry about
these two issues — one’s livelihood and survival, as long as we believe in the
reassurances about those worries.
Good Shabbos!
Copyright © 1997 by Rabbi M. Kamenetzky and Project Genesis, Inc.
Then
Peace Has a Chance
Parshas Behar Bechukosai
Posted on May 17, 2012 (5772) By Rabbi Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah | Level: Beginner
If you will follow My decrees and observe My
commandments and perform them, then I will provide your rains in their time,
and the land will give its produce and the tree of the field will gives its
fruit. Your threshing will last until the vintage and the vintage will last
until the sowing; you will eat your bread to satiety and you will dwell
securely in the land. I will grant (Shalom) Peace in the land…. (Vayikra
26:3-6)
If you will follow My decrees: That you should
be striving in Torah learning. (Rashi)
I will grant Shalom: Maybe you’ll say well there’s
plenty of food and there’s drink too but you should know that without peace
there is nothing. All these things and then “I will grant you peace” teaches us
that peace is equivalent to everything. And so is written “Who makes peace and
creates bad” (Isaiah 45:7) (Rashi)
What is this crucial ingredient called
“Shalom”? How do we define it. Sometime the Torah itself can be used as a
self-referential dictionary. By observing the context of a word’s use we can
discern its meaning. How so?
Quoting the entire verse from Isaiah that
Rashi refers to above, “Who forms light and creates darkness, Who makes peace
and creates bad, I am HASHEM Who does all these!” the Talmud (Bava Basra 58A)
infers that elements are presented in contrast to one another. Just as dark and
light are opposites so “Shalom”-peace and bad are opposites.
That’s sounds strange at first. The opposite of
peace might be war and the opposite of bad we might presume to be good but that
peace is the opposite of bad is a new angle, a different perspective on one or
both of those extra big words. What is “bad” and what is “peace”?
The Chovos HaLevavos with his “Eye Hospital”
analogy explains how, when untutored, people naturally miss out on perceiving
the continuous flow of goodness from HASHEM, because of an intense
preoccupation with and a profound misunderstanding about the tribulations of life.
“How closely they resemble in this regard to blind
men who are brought to a house prepared for them with everything that could
benefit them; everything in it is arranged perfectly; it is fully equipped and
ideally suited to benefit them and provide for their welfare. In addition,
effective medications and a skilled physician to administer them are provided
for their treatment, so that their sight might be restored.
Nevertheless, the men neglect to undergo treatment
for their eyes and disregard the advice of the physician who had been treating
them. They walk about the house handicapped greatly by their blindness,
stumbling over the very things that had been prepared for their benefit,
falling on their faces; some suffer bruises, and others broken limbs.
They suffer much and their troubles are
compounded. They complain bitterly about the owner and builder of the house and
condemn his actions. In their eyes he has been negligent and a poor leader, and
they believe that his motivation had not been to do them good and show them
kindliness but to cause them pain and injury. This leads them to deny the
benevolence and the kindliness of the owner.”
I had a very thoughtful phone conversation just
the other day with someone suffering with the subject of suffering. It’s not to
be taken lightly. Near the end I quoted the oft repeated phrase, “If someone
wants to believe in G-d he has to explain the suffering that goes on in the
world but if he wants to not believe in a Creator then he has to explain
everything else.” I left him with a challenge-a homework assignment to
guestimate the proportion of “Goodness” to “Bad”. I have not heard back from
him yet! Not a bad question to ponder! Hmmm!
The situation of bad is
actually a lack of harmony- “peace” not a void of good. All the ingredients for
improvement and harmonious living are there whether misappropriated or not.
Like navigating in traffic, when all drivers are careful and constantly mindful
of their responsibilities-“following My decrees”- “striving to learn”, “bad”
stays home and then peace has a chance.
DvarTorah, Copyright © 2007 by Rabbi Label Lam
and Torah.org.
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