Parshat Nitzavim

Posted

Good old-fashioned pessimism? Not exactly.

By Rabbi Avi Billet

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

Devarim 30:1 states: “And it will be when all these things come upon you, namely the blessing and the curse that I have given you, you will take it to your heart among all the nations where G-d has displaced you.”

Then, the Torah claims, “You and your children will return to G-d and hearken to His voice, as per all I have commanded you, with all your heart and with all your soul.” As a result, “G-d will return to you and have an ingathering from all the exiles to which the Jews were sent.”

These are beautiful sentiments. In our time, some people view the state of Israel, a place of ingathering exiles, as “the” fulfillment of this Torah prophesy. This, of course, is a subject of debate.

However, one component of the statements is rather troubling. After last week’s wallop of a tochacha and a general message of “you won’t be able to do anything right because you’ll always be seeking false gods,” one would think there might be a ray of light to look toward, somewhere. But even when there is a hint of a blessing, it is packed in with a curse.

“When the blessing and the curse come upon you... You will return to G-d.” Many commentaries ask: “How can there be ‘a curse upon you’ and ‘a blessing upon you’?” It will either be one or the other!

There are suggestions that the curse of the dispersion refers to the 10 lost tribes. But the general consensus is that the 10 lost tribes are “lost” because they did not return to G-d! Therefore, either the prophesy was not fulfilled, was never completed, or the interpretation of the prophesy cannot refer to the 10 lost tribes!

Perhaps the meaning of the simultaneous curse and blessing refers to the ways of our lives. We all have great days in which it is a joy to be alive, and rotten days or moments in which we look to the sky and say “Why me?” We can experience true joy on the one hand, and complete life-shattering tragedy on the other. And in some cases, we need to balance both in the same breath.

To use a general example, how many of us have gone to a bris in the morning, a funeral in the late morning and a wedding at night?

Life has its ups and downs. This is no revelation; it is the reality we all live. We can always enjoy and appreciate blessings and when things are going well. The challenge is for us to recognize that when we feel cursed, deserved or not (and sometimes we know we have erred!), it is meant to steer us, to have us reflect, and to “Return to G-d and hearken to His voice.”

At this time of year, on this Rosh Hashana, may we merit to see the Jewish people take that collective turn, as we all reflect on the need for unity and the fulfillment of that great prophesy, “You and your children will return to G-d and hearken to His voice, as per all I have commanded you, with all your heart and with all your soul.”

We will surely have negative and positive turns in the coming weeks, months and year. But we are challenged to find G-d’s graces in the apparent negatives as well as in the blatantly obvious (though we sometimes forget to notice) positive experiences we have.

As we all turn to Jerusalem, the epicenter of the ingathering of the exiles, in collective prayer, and as we hope for good blessings for the coming year, let the sound of the shofar provide the wakeup call it is meant to be to bring us all to return to G-d.

If we will it, it won’t have to be a dream.

Avi Billet welcomes your comments and thoughts at avbillet@gmail. com.