Are you Satisfied?

Ekev

Deuteronomy 7:12 - 11:25

Précis: Moses continues his recapitulation of the commandments to the people, reminding them to be obedient to God’s laws in their forthcoming struggle with the Canaanites. Moses describes in detail all of the blessings which God had already provided them, and reminds them to bless and thank God for the bounty they receive. On the other hand, they should learn the lesson of rebelliousness of their fathers, including the incident of the Golden Calf. Moses reminds the people that he brought down a second set of tablets, which require their continued obedience to God.

Deuteronomy 8:10  “When you have eaten and are satisfied, give thanks to Adonai your God for the good land which He has given you.”

            

             In response to a prior d’var Torah, one of my teachers and correspondents, Rabbi Tzvi Marx, noted that I always seem to find the “bright side” of difficult questions. He the posed me a challenge about the interpretation of this particular verse: what if you have eaten and are not satisfied? Are you nevertheless obligated to be grateful? Is it ill-mannered of you not to be satisfied with what you have received?

            If we expand this concept outside of the specifics of food to all of life’s experiences, we ought to acknowledge that we cannot be grateful for all that happens to us. Not everybody has it so good that he or she can be grateful. Too many are hungry, too many are ill, too many suffer from the ills of the 21st century (and the ills of the 11th century as well!).

            The Talmud tells us of Rabbi Nahum, the teacher of Rabbi Akiva, who was beset by many misfortunes and ills, but responded to all of these misfortunes and setbacks with “gamzu letov” (“this is also for the good”), with the belief that all that occurs is the will of God, and therefore must be good. He repeated the statement so often that he became known as Nahum Ish Gamzu.

             But what does Moses say to those human beings who are not so fortunate? This verse seems to ignore them. Moses assumes that we will (or should) be grateful for what we receive. Should those who suffer feel guilty about their inability to thank God? Or should they rail against the unfairness life presents? How can a parent with a hungry child thank God for what He has provided? I personally reject the lame excuse that “God works in mysterious ways.”

            As is usually the case, Rabbi Marx challenges me with a difficult question. Perhaps I can respond to his hard question by responding that thinking about them is important, whether or not we can come up with satisfying answers. Gam zu letov.