R'eih: Being a Blessing in the Real World

This blog is called 'Take on Torah,' because it's my 'take' - my perspective, opinion, and thoughts - on the Torah. The title is also meant as an encouragement to you, dear reader, to engage with the Torah, to be in relationship with it. And it also happens to be a subtle reference 

to the Scandinavian 80's band, A-ha, and their hit song, 'Take on Me'... But I bring all this up because I want to highlight one of my opinions/thoughts on the Torah that you might not hear everywhere: The Torah doesn't focus on ideals; it emphasizes real life. Later prophets talk about utopian societies and world peace. The Torah doesn't really do that. The authors of the Torah ask us to look at who we are, what human behavior is like, what our weaknesses, flaws, and challenges are, and push ourselves to overcome them. I mention that today, because I think the Torah understands gun violence, racial tension, and clashes between police and citizens. This week's parashah appreciates, all too well, what we're up against.

Because again, the Torah understands YOU, and it understands me. One of the things I love about our text is that it ain't fooled by how we'd LIKE to present ourselves. We all present a good face, we talk ourselves up, and we put our best foot forward. But, says the Torah (and, let's face it, God): "I see you; I see who you really are, hiding behind that power tie, firm handshake, and winning smile." 

Our parashah states: "See, I set before you this day blessing and curse: Blessing, if you hear the commandments of the Lord your God that I enjoin upon you this day; and Curse, if you do not hear..." (Deuteronomy, 11:26). God says to us, 'It's a choice.' I can't MAKE you observe the mitzvot, be religious, or even be a good person. I can't make you do any of these things! You have to choose your path, but know that one of them holds blessings and one holds curses. Now, you and I (insisting on keeping up the charade of living in ideals) might respond that this is no real choice. Of course we'll all choose blessing, if those are our only options!! But that's not what actually happens. Life simply doesn't work this way. People choose the curses all the time. It is indeed a choice. And many people use their free will and personal autonomy to bring curses on themselves and on those around them.

This week, at Ohev Shalom, we erected a monument to bring awareness of gun violence. It's called a Memorial to the Lost, and it consists of 144 mounted T-shirts, each with the name and age of someone killed by gun violence in Delaware County in the last five years. The organization 

Heeding God's Call, a partner of ours, created this incredibly powerful memorial. At the dedication ceremony, I recited a prayer which I adapted from another beautiful invocation by Rabbi Menachem Creditor. It included the lines, 'We have so much accursed power,' and 'You have given us the tools of progress, and we wield them to hurt.' The full text of the prayer can be found here. This is what the Torah is talking about. God has given us free will, incredible brains, creativity, and a thirst for progress - and God is IMPLORING us to use these priceless gifts to bring more blessing into the world. But God can't make us do that. We still get to decide, and some people choose to kill other people with illegally purchased hand guns, and some police officers choose to murder unarmed teenagers. 

The Torah urges us to be honest with ourselves. Take on these issues, openly and vulnerably. It's nice to imagine how the world SHOULD be, and how people SHOULD treat one another, but it's also important to engage with our eyes wide open to how we ourselves, and others around 

us, act. That is the beauty of our Torah and our Tradition; it confronts all our insecurities and struggles, and - quite honestly - it loves us anyway. God knows all this about us, and still wants to be in relationship. That is an incredible thing to realize, and something we should never, ever forget. One more thing we mustn't forget: Each one of us DOES have tremendous power. We make choices about how to treat one another, and we make choices about acting responsibly or irresponsibly. Choose to be a blessing, wield your power for good. Lo tishkach - (please) don't forget.

Photos in this blog post:

1. CC image of A-ha in concert courtesy of Romazan on Wikimedia Commons

2. CC image courtesy of U.S. Department of State on Wikimedia Commons

3. Image of Heeding God's Call's Memorial to the Lost courtesy of Ohev Shalom

4. Image of Heeding God's Call's Memorial to the Lost courtesy of Ohev Shalom