No one likes bad news. We don't like to hear it, and we CERTAINLY don't like to deliver it. But the problem is, sometimes there simply IS bad news that must be conveyed. We can cover our ears, run away, sing loudly to drone out the unwelcome "noise," or even attack what we deem to be the source and/or bearer
of it... But none of those things change reality. And not only will those things not improve the situation, but they actually make everything worse. Denial, evasion, and anger exacerbate the problems. It leads to something that every one of us, in 2020, has become all too familiar with: Chaos. The result of refusing to address climate change appropriately? Chaos. Our current predicament with no unified message or coordinated effort to end the pandemic? Chaos. And the disaster that ensues when we endlessly, endlessly deny that there is systemic racism and refuse to change centuries-old practices that continue to harm and kill? Chaos. So yeah, there's bad news to deliver here. But if you close out this blog post and/or stubbornly refuse to listen, the Torah has a very "interesting" and graphic list of consequences that await you...
So, look, I'm not saying *I* have all the answers here. Most of the time it feels like I have closer to NONE of the answers. But if we all agree that
the problems swirling around us are undeniable, doesn't it make sense to start doing a lot more listening and a lot less yelling? Because this week's Torah portion includes a very stark and uncomfortable list of the curses and tragedies that were predicted to befall our ancestors - and yes, us as well... - for non-compliance with the Torah's commandments and laws. The "list" from our
parashah is actually an entire section, a tirade, if you will, that has its own name, The "Tochecha," meaning "Rebuke." Here are some of the unsettling components in the Tochecha, that feel alarmingly relevant in our lives RIGHT NOW:
First, and most painful, the Tochecha speaks repeatedly about disease, plague, and... you know, pandemic. I'll spare you the details, but in Deuteronomy, chapter 28, illness in one form or another is referenced in verses 21, 22, 27, 35, 59, and
60-61. There's also reference to heat, drought, and environmental disasters in verses 22, 23, and 40, that I am sure in NO WAY are meant to make us think of our current forest fires, powerful hurricanes, or floods. In addition, the Tochechah mentions infestations of locusts, crickets, and worms; surely nothing like the spotted lantern flies, murder hornets, or yes, locusts, that plague the planet today. If none of this was on-the-nose enough, the Tochechah includes this verse, which never stood out quite so much as it does in 2020: "[The enemy] shall shut you up in all your towns throughout your land until every mighty, towering wall in which you trust has come down." (v. 52) I read this and thought "quarantine"; and indeed, many trusted institutions are falling by the wayside as a result.
The last section I wanted to mention, which is particularly painful in light of the protests, lootings, and violence ravaging our country at the moment. Repeatedly in the Tochechah, God tells the Israelites that what awaits you is terror, fear, and ultimately chaos (verses 20, 25, 29, 32, 34, 49-50, and 64-67). This sounds
excruciatingly like what's happening across America, and it's tempting to point to one side or the other as the "bad guys," the "instigators," or the "perpetrators of violence." However - and here's the part I think we ESPECIALLY need to hear - it is the act of turning on one another that leads us down the path of curses. All of these awful things I've listed above, they are all the SYMPTOMS of a rot in society, and that toxicity is NOT better or more faithful adherence to law and order. It is about compassion, sympathy, equality, and communication. We are all failing, NOT because one group or another is perpetrating violence, but because we are all vilifying one another and pointing fingers.
When God says "observe my commandments," we should all be thinking "Golden Rule." Treat others as you'd want to be treated. You want the benefit of the doubt? You want the situation to calm down? Then we all need to take greater personal responsibility to BE the change we want to see! The more we ignore this message, the deeper we are going to dig ourselves into this hole of disaster, chaos, and rebuke. The chaos itself is our enemy; not the person on the other side, whose proverbial pitchfork matches mine. Unless we start to see what unites us instead of what divides us, the curses will indeed proliferate without end...
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