Parshat Eikev 5766 Deuteronomy 7:12- 11:25
This week Moses continues his lecture. He goes through several admonishments, and recalls the embarrassing episode of the golden calf. Yet in reading this I noticed a contradiction which interested me. We read towards the beginning of the portion:
17. If you shall say in your heart, ‘These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?’ 18. You shall not be afraid of them; but shall well remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh, and to all Egypt; 19. The great trials which your eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the Lord your God brought you out; so shall the Lord your God do to all the people of whom you are afraid. [Deuteronomy 7:16-19]
The problem is this contradicts what we read in the book of Numbers earlier this summer:
22. Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, then have tempted me now these ten times, and have not listened to my voice; 23. Surely they shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of them who provoked me see it; [Numbers 14:22-23]
The reason for wandering in the wilderness for forty years was to kill off that generation. So if Numbers is true, then no one did really witness any of the miracles is standing in front of Moses in Transjordan. All those people are dead. So who is Moses talking to who saw these miracles? One of two exceptions is explicitly mentioned in the next verse in Numbers.
24. But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and has followed me fully, him will I bring into the land where he went; and his seed shall possess it.
Caleb is the exception. As we read further on in Numbers, so is Joshua, who of course is leading the people into the land. But in Numbers 14:24 only Caleb is mentioned. Interestingly given the context of what our passage in Deuteronomy states about being afraid of conquering the land, is Caleb’s response to the people after the spies return.
30. And Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.’ 31. But the men who went up with him said, ‘We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.’ [Numbers 13:30-31]
One of the interesting things about parts of Deuteronomy is the grammar indicates that this is said not to the group as a whole but to an individual. This passage has a second person singular for both the verbs and pronominal suffixes. This is Moses addressing one person, which happens throughout Deuteronomy. Another of course familiar one we read last week, the V’ahavta. Conventionally we believe that in these cases Moses is addressing the entire congregation but in a more personal way, as part of his rhetoric. However, in the beginning of Eikev, I’d like to think differently. One interesting thing is Moses switches the address in the center of the portion from the plural to the singular in the first line of the portion:
12. Therefore it shall come to pass, if you(plural) give heed to these judgments, and (you plural) keep, and (all of you) do them, then the Lord your God shall keep with you( singular) the covenant and the mercy which he swore to your(singular) fathers;
All of this leads me to believe that Moses, in mid speech singles out Caleb from the congregation for some reason and rebukes him. The question now becomes why. Once again we need to remember what Caleb’s report was at the time of the Spies in Numbers 13:30 “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” Something is missing here, which is very different than what he says jointly with Joshua, in Numbers 14:8-9
8. If the Lord delights in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us; a land which flows with milk and honey. 9. Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land; for they are bread for us; their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us; fear them not.
Here it may be that Joshua added the missing part, which Caleb did not. Of course that part is God. In Deuteronomy 8:17-18, we read:
17. And when you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth. 18. then you shall remember the Lord your God; for he is who gives you power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Moses singles out and rebukes Caleb for stating things in terms of human power and ability only. There is always a God component to everything. One cannot say “I did it” in any type of success, but only “I did it with the help of God” One can of course take this to the literal simplistic view that if we do all the mitzvot, then we get the rewards.
Yet there is a more complex idea that appeals to me. The early Hasidic masters believed that in everything in the world there was a little bit of God in it, a divine spark. I agree, that there is that divine spark, and that it brings an element which cannot be found in the human controlled world. I don’t believe in a rational God, because rationality sets limits on God, and God is infinite and trancendent. God is inherently irrational, yet humans in order to organize and achieve success, use a model of the world we call rationality. The idea of doing good work and getting a reward for that deed is a rational one. Random opportunities popping up at various unpredictable times, like thunderstorms on a summer day, are not rational. The phone call from someone you haven’t heard from in years, comes from a source far from rational. In a recent personal case for example, I did get a very a large client. I had done work for this client before, and my reputation definitely helped me here. On the other hand, I had no control over the client buying a property that was in such bad shape it needed my help. It was God who made the conditions right that I would be trekking there often.
With my current obsession with self improvement, It’s an important lesson. We do not just self improve; we improve ourselves with the help of God. Leaving out the spiritual element leaves out many opportunities for growth we would otherwise not have. When we believe in God, the opportunities appear before us. When we do not, they evaporate like water in a drought.
Eikev also mentions something that is one way to remember God: saying thank you by blessing. For the first and, as far as I can find, only time in Torah, we are told to bless God for what we have been given, in particular the basic need of food:
10. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which he has given you. [Deuteronomy 8:10]
Ultimately all success comes down to the need to feed ourselves. Yet it is vital in remembering in every interaction God actions are there, in the background. To bless, is to acknowledge that God is in the process, and keep God in the process. This is not just Caleb who is to do this, however. Moses changes the wonders from the deliverance from Egypt in the earlier passage, to one that are found in the everyday world of the Israelites at the time he is talking to them: dangerous serpents, scorpions, and their current food source, manna. Yet he keeps it in the singular, to again address every person individually.
As much as some of us try, we do not do anything alone, we always need help. And we always get it in the form of some kind of God-stuff, divine sparks if you will. When looking at this week’s portion I do not see the pashat answer of doing good and getting good or doing bad and getting nothing. I see that God is everywhere and in everything. When we see God in all things, then we can take advantage of the God stuff, God’s blessings, in our lives. The best way to see the God stuff is to thank God for being there, which we do with blessing God. We then will see more God stuff and begin an escalating cycle of holiness.
So remember to bless today.
No comments:
Post a Comment