(Sarit Chadad’s beautiful song/prayer. Seems right for this season.)
Dear Friends:
It has been a few weeks since I’ve delivered some small Torah potatoes, but I have harvested actual potatoes and they’re delicious. Thank goodness for Maine.
I’ve also been working on sermons for the High Holidays, and if you haven’t caught them, I’ve been making videos most days in Elul with my kids on Facebook. I know that not everyone is connected to social media, and I’d never encourage anyone to do so, but if you do have access, you can check out the pearls of insight that come out of the morning chaos in the Weisaacs house before shofar blowing and school drop offs.
And now for a baby potato:
Did you know that you cannot say “amen,” to your own blessing? Many of us haven’t learned that fact about Jewish observance, and sometimes American Jewish versions of songs (think “hamotzi”) encourage us to say “amen” after we have said a bracha (blessing). But “amen,” means “I believe this to be true,” and it is bizarre to make a declaration of faith and then say, “I agree with myself.” There are certain rituals and elements in Jewish life that require a call and response, and an active affirmation of relationship. You need someone else to say “amen,” to your blessing, and someone else to respond when saying kaddish for an immediate relative. Judaism is not supposed to be a purely or even primarily self-referential faith. It is about community and covenant, not confirmation of our own power and self-understood value.
In this week’s portion when we explore the receiving of the covenant at Mount Sinai, we are warned about those who do not heed the terms of the contract our ancestors established with God:
פֶּן־יֵ֣שׁ בָּ֠כֶ֠ם אִ֣ישׁ אֽוֹ־אִשָּׁ֞ה א֧וֹ מִשְׁפָּחָ֣ה אוֹ־שֵׁ֗בֶט אֲשֶׁר֩ לְבָב֨וֹ פֹנֶ֤ה הַיּוֹם֙ מֵעִם֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֔ינוּ לָלֶ֣כֶת לַעֲבֹ֔ד אֶת־אֱלֹהֵ֖י הַגּוֹיִ֣ם הָהֵ֑ם פֶּן־יֵ֣שׁ בָּכֶ֗ם שֹׁ֛רֶשׁ פֹּרֶ֥ה רֹ֖אשׁ וְלַעֲנָֽה׃
Perchance there is among you some man or woman, or some clan or tribe, whose heart is even now turning away from our God יהוה to go and worship the gods of those nations—perchance there is among you a stock sprouting poison weed and wormwood.
וְהָיָ֡ה בְּשׇׁמְעוֹ֩ אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֨י הָאָלָ֜ה הַזֹּ֗את וְהִתְבָּרֵ֨ךְ בִּלְבָב֤וֹ לֵאמֹר֙ שָׁל֣וֹם יִֽהְיֶה־לִּ֔י כִּ֛י בִּשְׁרִר֥וּת לִבִּ֖י אֵלֵ֑ךְ לְמַ֛עַן סְפ֥וֹת הָרָוָ֖ה אֶת־הַצְּמֵאָֽה׃
When hearing the words of these sanctions, they may imagine a special immunity, thinking, “I shall be safe, though I follow my own willful heart”—to the utter ruin of moist and dry alike.
(Deuteronomy 29:17-18)
The English translation is misleading here. The words do not say “special immunity,” but rather, “they will say to themselves, ‘I will be bless myself in my heart’.” The word hitbaraich is a hitpael verb which means that is reflexive. It indicates that this individual will believe that he can bless himself with peace. The individual who abrogates the covenant and lets his heart go astray is the one who believes that he can bless himself with abundance and peace. This individual deludes himself into believing that he needs neither God nor community. How does this delusion come to be?
Rashi claims that the second half of the verse explains how one could come to this conclusion. He translates “moist” as “drunk,” and “thirsty,” as “willful and driven by desire.” This individual can act like she is drunk because she is careless and makes multiple mistakes in her behavior and her understanding of her place in the world. She could also be driven to this faulty conclusion because she cannot handle her own desires, follows her impulses, and then tells herself that she can protect herself from the consequences through the ability to bless herself with peace.
As we approach the High Holidays, we are supposed to remember that we stood at Sinai as a community, and we carry our blessings and curses not just as individuals, but as part of a global, eternal people. Our fates are connected to each other, and we should understand that in Judaism the reception of blessings and curses is mostly in the plural, and rarely in the singular. We should also remember that the blessing of peace is not totally in our control. We can act in ways that are peaceful and holy, and pray that God takes notice, and blesses us with peace. But we don’t always get what we want or what we think we deserve. While our behavior is in our hands, the blessings we receive are not totally within our control. Whenever our fortunes are relational, we are reliant not only upon our thoughts and actions, but also on the recognition and grace of others.
This year, let us remember that we need to work on our relationships with community and God to receive blessings. Let us also pray that our relationships can withstand the weight of our inevitable imperfections and sins that we can commit despite our best efforts. Relationships are our ultimate path to return.
May God bless us with peace, and may we deserve it.
Shabbat Shalom and L’Shanah Tovah.