Dear TBZ Community:
My dear friend and colleague Rabbi Sharon Brous, gave the invocation on the second day of the Democratic National Convention. Her words were inspiring and powerful. In her prayer she invited us to believe that everything is possible, that redemption is possible and that we can not give up on that possibility: “Some say this story is impossible but we know that the God of redemption specializes in the impossible—and so must we.”
What does it take for us to believe that we can turn things around from what seems an impossible place to one of possibility, of opportunity?
In many ways, that is the story of our people. That is the story of the Israelites in the wilderness and that is the story that we read in this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Ekev.
In it, Moshe continues his second address, reminding the people the principles of the covenant the Israelites made with God, and what it demands of them: If they are faithful to the covenant, they will be blessed. Moshe reminds the people of the sins during their journey in the desert, the Golden Calf, the Korach rebellion, and other such episodes. But he also reminds them that God is forgiving and that there are second chances along our journey.
The last verses of the parasha are known to us from the daily recitation of the Shema: Deuteronomy 11:13-21:
וְהָיָה אִם־שָׁמֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶל־מִצְותַי אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם הַיּוֹם לְאַהֲבָה אֶת־יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וּלְעׇבְדוֹ בְּכל־לְבַבְכֶם וּבְכל־נַפְשְׁכֶם׃
If, then, you obey the commandments that I enjoin upon you this day, loving your God Adonai and serving [God] with all your heart and soul…
If you do the right thing, you will be blessed and if you do not, you will be cursed.
We know the world doesn’t really work in the literal way of many of these teachings that we find in our texts (or in the words of Rabbi Harold Kushner: “Bad Things Happen to Good People”). So, how can we understand the notion that our faith, our trust in God, will define our fate?
Perhaps that is what Rabbi Brous comes to teach us: Faith means believing that we have the capacity to emulate God. Not only do we have the capacity, but active faith means our commitment to do so.
I am reminded of the teaching from the Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 14a:
ואמר רבי חמא ברבי חנינא מאי דכתיב : ״אחרי ה’ אלהיכם תלכו״
וכי אפשר לו לאדם להלך אחר שכינה
Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says:
What is the meaning of the verse: “follow Adonai your God,” . . . .
Is it possible for a mortal to follow the Divine Presence?
And the response is:
אלא להלך אחר מדותיו של הקב”ה
One should follow the attributes of the Holy Blessed One
The text then illustrates this with examples of God’s actions that we should imitate in order to follow God’s path:
Just as God clothes the naked (clothing Adam and Eve), so too, should you clothe the naked.
Just as God visits the sick (visiting Abraham after his circumcision), so too, should you visit the sick.
Just as God comforts mourners, (comforting Isaac after Abraham’s death), so too, should you comfort mourners.
Just as God buried the dead, (burying Moses) so too, should you bury the dead.
The four examples presented as the core of following God’s path are rooted in empathy and in our capacity to see each other. Our capacity to see a person who lacks clothing, to understand and respond to this basic need. To see a sick person and be present for their pain. To comfort and be present for someone who has suffered a loss. And to give a person their final rest on this earth.
God manifests in this world through us and not (just) through pillars of cloud and fire and through miracles. We become conduits and vessels for that manifestation of God.
On parshat Ekev, Moshe also re-tells the story of the breaking of the first set of the Ten Commandments and the giving of the second ones (Chapter 10:1-5)
בָּעֵת הַהִוא אָמַר יְהֹוָה אֵלַי פְּסל־לְךָ שְׁנֵי־לוּחֹת אֲבָנִים כָּרִאשֹׁנִים וַעֲלֵה אֵלַי הָהָרָה וְעָשִׂיתָ לְּךָ אֲרוֹן עֵץ
Thereupon Adonai said to me, “Carve out two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain; and make an ark of wood.
וְאֶכְתֹּב עַל־הַלֻּחֹת אֶת־הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ עַל־הַלֻּחֹת הָרִאשֹׁנִים אֲשֶׁר שִׁבַּרְתָּ וְשַׂמְתָּם בָּאָרוֹן
I will inscribe on the tablets the commandments that were on the first tablets that you smashed, and you shall deposit them in the ark.”
The story of our people is one of many chances and possibilities that open again and again in front of us.. After failing, after destruction, after the golden calf, there are new tablets. In a journey that redemption seems impossible, God allows and creates new opportunities for the possibility of redemption and of Torah.
Just as God takes us through the impossible into redemption, we are conduits of God to do the same. That is what we are here to do in this world.
May we feel inspired to emulate God in bringing what feels impossible to possibility.
Justice to the places where there is injustice
Peace where there is war.
Love where there is hate
Trust where there is skepticism, doubt and uncertainty.
Humanity and dignity where there is dehumanization and humiliation.
Hostages to their homes embraced by their loved ones.
May God bring blessing and comfort to all of us and our loved ones. May we find strength, courage, and patience, and open our hearts with generosity. May all those who are ill find healing.
May the hostages soon be returned to their families and friends; may peace prevail and may the leaders of the world know to prioritize life. May those who are working for peace be granted strength and courage to continue their sacred work, and may we soon see peace and dignity for all.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rav Claudia