Pensée juive sur Isaïe 41:10

G-d says, "Do not be afraid for I am with you" (Isaiah 41,10). The implication is that without Me, you will not prevail since you have no enduring foundations. In Isaiah 31,3, we read, "As soon as G-d withdraws His hand, the helper will fail, the recipient of help will collapse." Here the prophet describes that relying on human help is useless, since human power endures only as long as He does not withdraw His power. For that reason, our sages describe all material wealth as kinyanim medumim, as apparent possessions. On occasion, failure to own such possessions may be preferable to owning them. Our sages teach that whereas virtues fulfill their functions only when we acquire them, material goods may only fulfill their purpose when we spend them. If these material possessions then are useful only as a means to an end, they themselves cannot be of enduring value. Since material possessions evoke in man the desire to amass forever more of them, they cannot be true possessions, since they do not satisfy the owner, but act as a reminder of all the things the owner has not yet acquired. Proverbs 23, 1-4 warns us not to wear ourselves out in the pursuit of riches, but to excercise restraint when a guest at the lavish banquet tendered by the king, since whatever is offered is based on deceit. His advice, if translated into the jargon of Mussar teachers, is, “Do not let the goodies dangled before your eyes by the yetzer hara, evil urge, bedazzle you, since what is being dangled before your eyes is merely a mirage. Sanhedrin 107 describes a small organ, which if fed, becomes insatiable, but which if starved, i.e. kept to strict rations, will find its satisfaction. The organs are the eye and the heart; both have enormous appetites as attested in Numbers 16,39, "Do not follow the dictates of your hearts or your eyes which are apt to lead you astray." The Talmud relates the lesson learned by Alexander the great, who tried to weigh a human eye handed to him from beyond the borders of Paradise; he found that all his silver and gold did not equal the weight of that eye (Tamid 32). When frustrated at this discovery, he was advised to sprinkle some dust on the eye. He was then able to determine the weight of the eye immediately. The lesson conveyed is that while alive, the eye is insatiable in its greed, and all the gold in the world does not suffice to still its appetite. As soon as it is dead however, all these appetites evaporate.

This principle I find also expressed in the Law. Comp. “And I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them: so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?” (Deut. 31:17). It is clear that we ourselves are the cause of this hiding of the face, and that the screen that separates us from God is of our own creation. This is the meaning of the words: “And I will surely hide my face in that day, for all the evils which they shall have wrought” (ibid. ver. 18). There is undoubtedly no difference in this regard between one single person and a whole community. It is now clearly established that the cause of our being exposed to chance, and abandoned to destruction like cattle, is to be found in our separation from God. Those who have their God dwelling in their hearts, are not touched by any evil whatever. For God says: “Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God” (Isa. 41:10). “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee” (ibid. 42:2). For if we prepare ourselves, and attain the influence of the Divine Intellect, Providence is joined to us, and we are guarded against all evils. Comp. “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear; what can man do unto me?” (Ps. 118:6). “Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace” (Job 22:2 1); i.e., turn unto Him, and you will be safe from all evil.