It would be lovely to live in a world where people did not judge one another, where the way one dresses, or the neighborhood one lives in, or the family into which one was born did not have any impact on what someone else thought of them. It would be wonderful if we lived in a world where people were patient enough to listen to the whole of a story, from all perspectives, before deciding who is right and who is wrong, or more drastically, who is righteous and who is wicked. Alas, until we enter the promised future of messianic times when the "wolf will dwell with the lamb" (Isaiah 11:6), we must focus on recognizing this predisposition to judgementalness and learning what purpose it can serve in ourselves. For this, we can turn to this week's parsha, Parshas Eikev
About to send B'nei Yisrael to conquer the promised land, Moshe warns the people: "And when the Lord your God has thrust them from your path say not to yourselves,'the Lord has enabled us to possess this land because of our virtues,' it is rather because of the wickedness of those nations who the Lord is dispossessing before you " (Devarim 9:4). The important part of this pasuk is not that the people of the land were wicked, but that the people of Klal Yisrael should not see the punishment - or the reward, for that matter - of others as a reflection on themselves. They were destroyed for their wickedness, therefore, we are righteous? No, quite the contrary. Seeing the consequences doled out to others should be a warning, a cause for questioning - if we are to have this land, what must we do to avoid such a fate?
Moshe spoke these words to Bnei Yisrael in the wilderness, but it can certainly apply to interpersonal interactions in any era. When someone acts in a way that upsets you, do not speak ill of them or berate them, rather take a few moments and assess whether you act in a similar way and if this is a character trait that you yourself can improve on.
Interestingly, the next verse sounds almost verbatim to 9:4. "It is not because of your virtues and your rectitude that you will be able to possess their country; but it is because of their wickedness that the Lord your God is dispossessing those nations before you, and in order to fulfill the oath that the Lord made to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (9:5). No actions occur outside the vacuum of history and concurrent life. When politics do not go your way, recognize and acknowledge that the long term plan is very long and extremely well hidden in front of our faces. Someone might be elected today due to a cause that began a hundred years ago or for an effect in an as-yet-unknown future. When that person that cut you off speeds into traffic and get pulls over, do not take it as a time to gloat. Maybe he was late for a job interview or maybe his being pulled over saved him from an accident. The ticket is punishment for his actions not a reward for anything you did. Perhaps you merely witnessed these events as an opportunity for you to become a more conscientious driver.
In case the message was missed, the text does it again! "Know, then, that it is not for any virtue of yours that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff necked people” (9:6). Because human nature likes to gloat, one should never settle on one’s high-horse and assume their own virtues - that their right is the only way. In fact, Moshe immediately reminds Bnei Yisrael just how prone to misdeeds they are when he says: “Remember, never forget, how you provoked the Lord your God to anger in the wilderness” (9:7).
We are in a time of supreme judgementalness. Our society has become a hot-pot of assumptions about what other people are thinking, wanting, doing… Moshe’s triple warning toward self-reflection is thus particularly pertinent for us to contemplate. God will dole out the consequences as needed, our job is simply to work on being our best selves as ovdei Hashem.
No comments:
Post a Comment