Kaisipang Hudyo sa Deuteronomio 29:1: Akeidat Yitzchak

Man faces four major difficulties in life. It is these that make it so hard for him to achieve closeness with his Maker. They are: A) The need to earn a livelihood. Man does not find his needs ready made, like the animals do. B) Due to natural law, man keeps aging, getting weaker and weaker as he gets older. Part of his time on earth is spent fighting disease and counteracting the ravages of time. C) The need to fight those forces that try to deny him those things he has already achieved. D) Competing philosophies that lure us into betraying our traditions.

Lack of motivation results ultimately in inertia. When David illegally ordered the Jewish people counted, and Yoav could see no reason for it, he carried carelessly, failing to count the tribes of Levi and Benjamin (Samuel II 24 and Chronicles 121). Even the tribes he did count, were not reliably tabulated. Had the people known that the war by Saul against Amalek did not have plunder as its objective but had been waged purely at the command of G-d, the tragedy of Saul would have been averted (Samuel I chapter 15). If we observe the larger planets move very slowly, this may be because they are not aware of their destination and ultimate objective. Philosophers are agreed that the greater one's intelligence, the better one appreciates the distance between one's own intelligence and that of one's Creator. The less intelligent deem themselves close to G-d, whereas the most intelligent beings realize the tremendous gulf between their own intelligence and that of G-d. This is why when angels praise the Lord, they are said to refer to Him in the third person, i.e. "blessed be the glory of His Majesty," whereas we humans address G-d in the second person, i.e. "blessed are You." The ultimate objective of our knowledge is to know the limit imposed upon our knowledge and understanding. Moses was told (Exodus 33,20) "You cannot see My face." If one presupposes that heavenly bodies are equipped with intelligence, then the large ones—which are presumably equipped with the highest intelligence because of their awareness of the limits of their intellects—lose motivation and revolve slowly. On the other hand, those stars and lesser intellects which are under the illusion that theirs is a great mind keep racing around the universe in order to achieve what they believe to be their purpose.

Our Parshah addresses itself to this very problem. The way to salvation is the straight and narrow, whereas the alternative is threefold. "The blessing, that you listen to the commandments of the Lord your G'd." (11,26) However, the curse "you do not listen, you depart from the path- to follow other deities whom you have not known." (11,28) At Sinai we were given three imperatives. " anochi, I am the Lord; lo yihyeh, have no other deities; zachor et yom hashabbat lekadsho, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. It is these three commandments that remind us that there is a hashgachah peratit, personal Divine Providence that guides our lives here on earth. Ever since Eve had sinned, true freedom has been denied man since the yetzer hara, evil temptation has gained entry into man through her to all subsequent generations, leaving us with less than a fifty-fifty chance to totally defeat the temptation to do evil. But now, after Sinai, that chance had been restored. This is the meaning of Rabbi Eleazar who said that from now on we are the architects of our own evil if we choose the wrong path. Between the time of Eve and Sinai, men were fatalists to whom doing good made no sense, since they were convinced that history was decreed and the future unalterable. As long as the belief existed that all had been pre-ordained, all good and evil emanated from Heaven. Only when the Jewish people were disabused of the idea that all had been pre-ordained, did good and evil, reward and punishment truly become man's choice. The reversal in man's fatalistic outlook on life began with Abraham, of course. In our Parshah, G'd not only offers the choice, but almost makes sure that we make the right choice by telling us to choose life. (chapter 30) All of mankind may be viewed as guests at G'ds table. Because of the special relationship that exists between Israel and G'd, the former is offered a choice portion by having its attention directed towards it without depriving Israel of the ultimate decision of what to opt for. "You shall choose!" (Deut.30,19) The public declaration at Mount Gerizim and Mount Eyvol immediately following the conquest of the land, point to the urgency of assimilating this lesson especially in the land of Israel, which, since it is under the unceasing surveillance of G'd will not long tolerate non observance of the mitzvot. This is in contrast to Egypt, where pursuit of a hedonistic way of life went unpunished for long periods of time. The first task is destruction of all vestiges of idol worship remaining. Therefore, (12,2) "destroy utterly all the places that served as centres of idol worship." Next comes the need to establish a central place of worship, to minimise the opportunities for any deviationist movements within Judaism. At any rate the message is that it is not man who chooses where he wants to worship, but G'd determines where and when He can be successfully prayed to. After that, the Torah limits sacrificial service to the central site of worship, and states that only certain types of animals will be acceptable as potential sacrifices. In this way, many abominations practiced by the pagans were eliminated as a form of worship, foremost among them child sacrifice. Since a great part of the animal offerings were concentrated on the various holy days that involved pilgrimage to the temple by all males, the Torah stresses that on such joyous occasions the less fortunate must not be forgotten, and must be made to share in these expressions of joy. For that reason, the Levite, the stranger, (convert to Judaism), the widow and the orphan are especially mentioned. Since the true measure of acknowledging G'd lies in one's appreciation of G'ds tremendous generosity to man, man can reflect this pious feeling only by extending his own generosity towards the less fortunate in his society. In order to underscore the serious nature of the sin of idol worship, the Torah reminds us once more that the former inhabitants of Canaan were dispossessed and destroyed because they indulged in these abominable practices. Not only was their philosophy faulty, even their deeds were corrupt, involving sacrificing their own children. We are asked not even to investigate their actions or to enquire into the reasons underlying their philosophy. A second danger the Jewish people may be faced with in their new home, is the call of the false prophet to deviate from the path of tradition. Coming as it does from someone who may have acquired the reputation of being a prophet, such danger is very real indeed. The Torah warns that the surfacing of such people advocating practices inimical to normative Judaism is a test of our faith in G'd, our loyalty, and must be reacted to a such. The third danger, and by far the most difficult to combat, is seduction by one's intimate friends and relatives. (13,7) "When your brother, son or daughter tries to seduce you, privately, saying let us worship other deities that you have not known." We are warned to ignore sentiments of protectiveness for the welfare of family in such cases, and to bring such people to justice. We must not corrupt our sense of pity by applying it to the undeserving. Only when we do not abuse feelings of mercy, pity etc. can we in turn expect the Almighty to employ His sense of pity, mercy etc. when we are in need of it. When G'd sees that we deal with cities in which idol worship has become rampant, according to Torah law, then His wrath that such things have been allowed to happen can be assuaged. Actually, display of sympathy for the corrupt few is equivalent to subjecting the majority to their evil machinations. Cruelty,- if such it be- must be reserved for use against unrepentant sinners. G'ds purpose in educating us, is to eliminate negative character traits and elevate us to a level of banim attem tashem elokeychem, you are true children of the Lord your G'd. We would almost cease to be beney adam, "sons of man," and become "sons of G'd" instead. The fact that the Jewish people or G'd are referred to as children, daughter, mother and sister in their reciprocal relationship in various places in the Bible, indicates that the intimacy of such relationship undergoes changes. Psalms 45,11, speaks of "hearken daughter and see!." Song of Songs 3,11, speaks of "the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding." Song of Songs 4,12 speaks of "My sister is like a fenced in garden." The relationship between Israel and its G'd is one that should become progressively more intimate. For these reasons, "do not make incisions on yourselves," is to remind us that the loss of human relatives notwithstanding, the continued presence of G'd, who represents to us all the above listed human relationships, must help us put any personal grief over the loss of dear ones into its proper perspective, and not to "cut ourselves up" over such loss. When members of one's family die,- seeing that theirs was the same relationship with G'd as ours-, He has suffered a loss similar to ours, and it is not fitting therefore for us to disfigure ourselves as a sign of mourning. "Do not make a bald spot on your forehead." (14, 1)This is the true meaning of the verse "for you are a holy nation to the Lord your G'd." (14,2) See our commentary in Parshat Emor. The reason this legislation follows that of the ir hanidachat, the city of idol worshippers that has to be destroyed, is to remind us that inflicting wounds upon one's body in mourning, for people who died as a result of punishment for such sins as idol worship, is just as wrong as treating such people with less than the full force of the law. Finally, to reinforce the holy character of the Jewish people, and to insure their continued adherence to Torah standards, the legislation concerning forbidden foods is appended.