Parshas Va'etchanan: A Life Affirming Endorsement

Moses continues his review of the Jewish experience since the Exodus in this week's Torah portion, Va'etchanan, Devarim (Deuteronomy) 3:23-7:11. Imagine the sense of anticipation and excitement among the tribes as they prepare to cross the Jordan river and start a new life in the Land of Israel. They are thinking about where to live, building homes and businesses, raising families, and protecting themselves from enemy attack. Moses foresees they will soon lose their understanding of the spiritual aspects of life embodied in Torah law that must accompany them for a successful future. He won't be there to refresh their memory, so he spends a lot of time reminding them of Torah fundamentals before they embark.

He covers a lot of material. He cautions them to curb the tendency to revise the law to suit circumstances or to satisfy personal preferences; to constantly think of God in all things rather than seek other sources of leadership and inspiration; to recognize the unique experience at Mt. Sinai as a signature moment in Jewish history that animates the future of all humanity; to reject idolizing nature in all its beauty and splendor.

He predicts the future collapse of Torah principled living, the exiles and dispersions, the suffering, challenges, heartache and upheaval that will result from replacing Torah guidelines with secular ideologies of all sorts. Moses reminds the people of God's mercies and His promise to keep the covenant with His people in a future time when we repent and renew the covenant.

This covenant rests on our adherence to an extensive legal code summarized by the Ten Commandments. After reciting the Ten Commandments, Moses pronounces the Shema, a central prayer in Judaism that endorses God's supremacy in human affairs, our obligation to surrender in love to all of His laws, to teach these laws to the next generations, to frequently praise God in our daily routine, and to stay in close proximity with the word of God through wrapping tefillin and placing mezuzahs around our home.

Included in the extraordinary meaning of the Decalogue, we think the Ten Commandments also represents a formidable life affirming argument. 1. God as the Creator of Life has sovereignty over life and death. 2. Idolatry causes long term suffering and death. 3. Don't use God's name to justify unholy practices. 4. Keep the Sabbath but saving a life is more important. 5. Honoring your parents requires being born. 6. Do not kill innocent human beings. 7. Sexual sin imperils generational integrity. 8. Abortion steals precious lives. 9. It's a baby, not a blob. 10. Don't destroy pre-born babies for personal gain.

In our Haftorah this week, Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 40:1–26, Isaiah channels the Divine word of God regarding Israel's corrupted civil and religious policies. He points out that current troubles result from a societal detachment from God. He tells how people suffer from ill advised military actions, unfair tax codes, and religious practices that promote idolatry.

Isaiah isn't popular with the establishment. He preaches Torah ethics and morals over progressive politics and valueless religious practices, arousing antipathy in the ruling elite of his day whose power and authority is threatened by the prophet's calls for a return to dependency on God for sustenance and safety.

Chapter 40 of Isaiah concludes with an eloquent and timeless reminder of our source of strength. Let's teach this message to our children, friends and neighbors as we navigate turbulent waters that tempt us to rely on our own understanding and energy for resolution, ever making matters worse.

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? An everlasting God is the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth; He neither tires nor wearies; there is no fathoming His understanding. He gives the tired strength, and to him who has no strength, He increases strength. Now youths shall become tired and weary, and young men shall stumble. But those who put their hope in the Lord shall renew [their] vigor, they shall raise wings as eagles; they shall run and not weary, they shall walk and not tire."

Cecily Routman

May there be abundant peace from Heaven, and good life upon us and upon all Israel. Amen.

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