It's Up to Each of Us

Re’eh

Deuteronomy 11:26 - 16:17

Précis: Moses begins by quoting God, saying “Behold (re’eh), I set before you a blessing and a curse this day.” The outcome will depend on whether or not the people obey the commandments. A concern with idolatry permeates the ensuing verses. The parasha explains that there will be only one site for sacrifices. A test for a false prophet and the punishment of an idolatrous city are included. The parasha then shifts to other subjects: the prohibition against self-mutilation, the biblical basis of the laws of kashrut, tithing so that the Levite, the "stranger, the fatherless, and the widow” are taken care of. Remission of debts, freeing of Hebrew slaves, and the dedication of firstborn cattle are discussed, as are the commandments for the observance of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot.

Deuteronomy 11:26–28 “Behold I set before you a blessing and a curse this day; a blessing if you obey the commandment…and a curse, if you will not obey the commandments…”

As Nahama Leibowitz has suggested this verse is the fundamental expression of the Jewish idea of free will. This concept has been a gift of the Jewish People to all of humanity. Without free will, there can be no justice, because no individual could be responsible for his or her actions unless free will exists. We would, like other ancients, simply blame the “gods” or other outside forces for the impacts of the choices we make.

We have free will, this verse declares, but the gift carries consequences with it in the form of blessings or curses. Each one of us has the burden of choice and the knowledge that we are responsible for the outcomes.

In the first decade of this new century, Americans are bitterly divided. We are divided between Republicans and Democrats and Tea Party adherents. We are divided between those who think government is to blame for our society’s problems and those who think that only government can solve them. Perhaps not since the late 19th century have we been so starkly divided between rich and poor. We remain divided by class and by status. Perhaps most troubling, we are divided between those who have hope and those who have lost the ability to hope.

Because of these divisions, it has become easy to blame others. “It’s their fault” we say, and point fingers at each other. It is so easy and so tempting to lay the responsibility off on others.

The verse I am looking at this week stands in stark contrast to the blame-game. Each of us has free will, and each of us can make the right choices. We Jews have a rich ethical heritage which we can call upon to help us see the proper path to follow. According to Thomas Jefferson (or perhaps it was H.L. Menkin or maybe Eldridge Cleaver) “the people get the government they deserve.” Perhaps if we each make more correct choices, the government we “get” will be better than the one we have.

It's in our own hands

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 10:1–2 “Thereupon the Eternal One said to me ‘Carve out two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain; and make an ark of wood. I will inscribe on the tablets the commandments that were on the first tablets that you smashed, and you shall deposit them in the ark.’”

Jonathan E. Blake, writing in Reform Voices of Torah (8/18/08), cites Nachmanides to explain the importance of the second set of tablets. The first set was the work of God, and ‘the writing was God’s writing’ (Exodus 32:16). The second set was inscribed on tablets made by Moses, a mere mortal. Nachmanides concludes that while God inscribed the first set of tablets, Moses, a mere mortal, carved the second set.

Moses’ action has an important implication for us. While it is our obligation to learn and study what has transpired before (what we call “tradition”), we still need to create our own “copy” with our own “mortal hands.” While some may suggest that we human beings have no right or power to “tinker” with what has been handed down from Sinai (whether by hand of Moses or as part of an oral tradition), I suggest that the Judaism of today (regardless of how observed) is substantively different that the Judaism practiced 1,000, 1,500, or 2,000 years ago. Change has happened, and continues to happen.

Whether these changes in practice are human invention or Divine guidance ("continuing Revelation”) I leave others to discuss.