See, I have set before you this day a
blessing and a curse; A blessing if you
obey the commandments...And a curse, if you will not obey...but turn aside from the
way which I command you this day, to go after other gods....
The
specific Blessings and Curses are enumerated elsewhere. They reflect mostly material events that will
happen in This World, during one's lifetime.
How
can we explain our perception that good or bad events that happen to a person do
not seem to correlate with whether they obey the commandments?
One
answer is found in the next verse below - [Read it, and point out: God is testing
us].
Deu 13:2-4
If there arise in your midst a prophet...and
he gives you a sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder come to pass whereof he
spoke to you saying: Let us go after other gods...you shall not harken to his
words...for the Lord your God is putting you to proof, to know whether you
love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Is
it fair for God to impose a test by tempting us to heed a prophet who
can work impressive wonders in the world of nature, but whose message is to
follow idols? Aren't God's wonders for
us in the far distant past, not directly experienced by us - unlike what a
contemporary artful prophet might perform?
An
answer to the fairness question is found in the next verse below. The test is fair, because God relates to us today
- as in ancient times - in a way that is loving, unique and exclusive, this
justifies a test.
Deu
14:1
You are children of the Lord your
God...For you are a holypeople unto the Lord your God, and the
Lord has chosen you to be a people of a select portion unto Himself out
of all peoples that are upon the face of
the earth.
Does
saying that we are God's children, a holy people and God's select portion mean
that we are superior to other people?
Isn't this arrogant and demeaning?
One
answer can be found by returning to the very first verses above, about
blessings and curses. We are subject to
them depending on how well we carry out God's will. The essence of our selection, our special
relationship to God is about responsibilities, not privileges. Having a closer relationship to God than
other peoples, like a partner to a marriage, doesn't make us superior. It does escalate the consequences of our
actions - blessings and curses.
What
is the point of this exercise? I find it
interesting that we can read the Torah as a series of questions. A question in one verse can be answered by
another verse, which then asks its own question to be answered by another verse
- and finally the last question can be answered by the verse that asked
the first question. So we can
create new connections and make a lovely chain necklace from verses of the
Torah.
Finally,
What is Torah? Torah means the Scroll,
and also in a larger sense, all of Jewish learning. That larger Torah exists not only in
the text. It is also in our lives, in
how we connect with other people. There
is life in our holy texts; and there is text in our holy lives.
Rabbi
Nachman of Bratzlav said: Two people
separated by space and time can nevertheless take part in an exchange. One asks a question and the other, elsewhere
and later, asks another, unaware that his question is an answer to the first.
So
let me leave you with that one thought: for any question you have, be receptive
to perceiving that another person may be the answer - and also that you may be
the answer to someone else's question.
Perhaps the essence of marriage, or a loving partnership, is that each
partner is the answer to the other's question. Thank you.
