Today I am going to speak about three things:
The issue of reward and punishment.
Suicide, which led to a discussion of problem solving.
The discovery of who we are and rejoicing in one’s self.
Up front this Parsha lists the rewards which will be ours when we observe and perform God’s ordinances.
It begins by saying God will love, bless and multiply us.
He will bless the Land He swore to our forefathers He would give us.
Every illness and bad malady known from Egypt will be removed and placed on our foes.
Nations will not be more numerous than ours as He will drive them out.
Wherever we place the sole of our foot it shall be ours -- from the Wilderness, Lebanon, the Euphrates River to the Western Sea.
And, no man will stand up against us.
These are just some of the things we have coming to us for Observing God’s Commandments, Loving him, Walking in his ways and Cleaving to him.
A pretty simple quid pro quo, don't you think?
Further rewards are mine when I do a Drash. For instance, research is a great learning device, which in itself is rewarding.
While studying this Parsha I read Rabbi Joseph Radinsky’s “Book VII of Torah Concepts.” The Ekev chapter, entitled Solutions, Critics and Hope, opens with a discussion about suicide and eases into a discussion of problem solving. We all know that taking one’s life is forbidden to us Jews. But that doesn’t mean we have never thought about it. There have been times when I was brought so low by an ongoing problem with no solution in sight I became convinced it would be better if I were not here.1
As convinced as I may have been, I don't have the guts for that. Just getting into it - how would I do it? A plastic bag over my head? Jump off a bridge – I don’t like water, the Bradbury Building would work better for me. Round and round it went and somehow I set myself free from the thought. Perhaps because of that Jewish view: there is always a solution to our problems. In this case not only are we prohibited from committing suicide, but we are fortified against it. For instance, at school we are trained to solve problems. Solve one, and then go on to solve the next and the next and the next.
As Jews we learn the Talmud's way. The Talmud teaches us not only about the text of the Torah and the oral law, but also how to look at life and how to deal with problems. We are given a problem. After we solve that we are asked if there is another way to solve it. Now, with the mind cracked open we search for other solutions and pretty soon we see how many there are to one problem, maybe 20 or even fifty. It's this questioning nature of the Jews that gives us wiggle room. If this doesn't work, try that, if that doesn't work, try this. And with all those answers we have plenty of choices to help us find the one that works best. Remember, life is filled with different solutions to the same problem. We have the opportunity to see how empowered we are if we permit ourselves to think and find answers. Then we will no longer feel our problems are insoluble. This is why Judaism has been able to continue throughout all these thousands of years.
Here's a list I put together of creative, powerful people who have made the only commitment that is theirs - suicide.
Cleopatra, Socrates, Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway, Sylvia Plath, Primo Levi, Vincent Van Gogh, Amschel Rothschild, Admiral Burda, U.S. Naval Chief of Staff.
It would be interesting to know how many of them were familiar with the tools of religion. I don't mean the suicide bombers who toss God's name around as if He is their master and they are doing His work. To live a life that benefits from religion it is necessary to study and become familiar with its precepts. Many of the names on this list belonged to artists who confidently announced that there is no God. For them, of course there is no God since their art is their God. On the other hand, many artists attribute all their creativity to God and say they are simply vessels through which the work flows.
Those whose God is their art do not have a God they can call upon for support. As creators they are so used to "their way or no way" that when they get to the end of the rope they don't even know how to tie a knot. They don't see that life is like the tide it goes in and out and is always here. They don't understand that one problem is not worth stopping that tide.
Suicide is the final stroke but what about the self-destruction we see all about us? Not suicide, but as good as. For instance, our society is way out of shape. I see men who wear hip-huggers to accommodate their stomachs. People feel so empty they have to keep filling themselves but they are reaching for the wrong fulfillment. I believe we were not put on this earth to suffer. I believe God gave us a brain to use to enhance life, not to destroy it. We have free choice and must use that wisely. The literature says, “We have always believed that God has created the Refooah – the cure, before He created the Makah, the disease.
Problems have solutions. We may not be able to see how to solve certain problems right now, but they do have solutions. Consistent with God’s way, they appear in more forms than one can imagine. Our Faith encourages us to search -- whether for the interpretation of the Torah or to find solutions to problems.
Vision is also important in solving problems and it is a timely word since traditionally, the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av is called “Shabbat Chazon” and the Haftarah begins with the word “Chazon” – vision. In solving problems we need a vision of how we want things to be. As long as we retain our vision we have a road map and can get to where we want to go. Bear in mind this Torah portion admonishes us that we don't live on bread alone but the words that come out of God's mouth. The beginning of this parsha spells out what God intends to provide for us. “Bread alone” may refer to the riches and fame to which many of us aspire. How empty that is. We can be as rich as a Rothschild and commit suicide or as famous as a Hemingway and still commit suicide. It is being partners with God who created us and has a plan for us that gives us comfort. Once we know who we are no one can threaten us. We were all created uniquely. Our responsibility is to discover what that uniqueness is, develop it, hone it and send it out to the world. There's no need to try to be like anyone else. We are who we are because God created us that way -- no two faces are the same, not even identical twins and no two people are alike. How thrilling to be aware of who we are and see how strong each one of us is in his or her our own way.
In preparing this Drosh I was truly rewarded. I pursued many avenues. I confronted my own thoughts on suicide; was reinforced by the problem solving section; once again, inspired by the concept that God is my partner; became more aware of who I am and continued to feel blessed to be born a Jew.
Let me encourage you to write a Drosh some time and have the same rewarding experience.
____________________________
[1] I am not suicidal. This Drash is dedicated to the millions of people who are.