Dear Friends,
There is a plaque on the bookshelf in my study that reads, “What good shall I do today?” It is a daily reminder to me that every moment of every day presents us with the opportunity to make a difference in our corner of the world. We just need to seize the opportunities presented to us and act in a manner that adds to the goodness.
Each time I look at that plaque I’m reminded of a basic Jewish truth- the fact that, whether we act in large or small ways, the kindness we show, the integrity we display, and the effort we put into helping to heal our broken world matters. To paraphrase a teaching from the small section the Talmud known as Pirke Avot—Ethics of the Fathers—“It is not up to us to finish the task, but we are still obliged to do our part.”
This week we begin Deuteronomy, the fifth and final book of the Torah. The book is a series of farewell speeches Moses delivers to the People of Israel as they prepare to enter Eretz Yisrael—the Land of Israel. In the first speech, Moses describes the history of Israel from the liberation from Egyptian slavery up to this event some forty years later. In addition to being retrospective, however, Moses uses this speech as an opportunity to draw important moral lessons for the community to learn from its first half-century. As the text states,
“Adonai your God has blessed you in all your undertakings. God has watched over your wanderings through this great wilderness. Adonai your God has been with you these past forty years: you have lacked nothing.”
As one scholar put it,
The purpose of this instruction is to convey law as well as teachings that must be studied and pondered, with the intention of molding character, establishing virtues, and making goodness and holiness habitual.
The lessons Moses placed before the Israelites in his first speech were simply a recitation of the experiences and lessons they had already had and learned. So why, I’m left to wonder, is an entire book of the Torah dedicated to reiterating the lessons that had already been taught?
The answer, of course, is that like that plaque, there is a difference between knowing something and taking the time to turn what we know into action.
As the Israelites prepared to enter the land they were no doubt overwhelmed with anticipation. They didn’t know what they would encounter once they crossed the River Jordan and as a result, their anxiety was likely heightened. In such a state of emotional upheaval, it would have been easy for them to forget the basic lessons of social responsibility they had learned as they wandered in the Sinai wilderness. So Moses takes the time to review the fundamentals of their social contract—the mitzvot they had agreed to uphold—and remind them that, regardless of what they might encounter, they should still aspire to live lives of “goodness and habitual holiness.”
Our lives are often challenging. The distractions, stresses, and conflicts each day brings can easily overwhelm us. At such times we need to be reminded of the simple, fundamental truths. For me, that begins with the question, “What good shall I do today?”
As Shabbat approaches I can think of no better time to ask ourselves that question . . . and then set aside our stresses and distractions and act in such a way that answers that question. Doing so may not solve the world’s problems, but it will make our corner of the world a bit kinder.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Daniel Cohen