Top of creation folks,

This shabbat, according to the Yaakov (Jacob)/Israel family tradition is the anniversary of the first day of creation.  Rosh haShanah, one of the 4 Jewish new years, celebrates the anniversary of the creation of the Adam.  With the beginning of a new creation, we find in this parsha (weekly Torah portion), an explanation of what the last few parshas have been leading up to…

But first, let us review the parsha.  This is actually a double parsha, the last double parsha and the 3rd from last parsha of the year.  It starts with Moshe (Moses) addressing the people:  men, women, children, converts, wood-cutters, and water-drawers, saying that it is now time to decide whether to join into this covenant with haShem (god).

Moshe continues by mentioning the idol worshipers that the people have encountered and then warning anyone who might think they are immune from haShem’s wrath if they have thoughts of worshiping these other gods, they had better think again… haShem will not be happy with them and will throw the book at them (all the curses in the book that is).  Moshe doesn’t stop there, but tells of how the land will become so ill, grasses won’t grow on it.  All due to the people straying from haShem’s ways.

However, the tribes will see the light and return to haShem and he in turn, will bring them back to the land, and life will be better then ever.  He then tells the people that the Torah is not in some distant place like the heavens or across the ocean, but inside of each and every one of them.  Once again the people are told the options, life or death, and then are told to choose life.

Moshe goes on to tell the people he is 120 and Joshua will be leading them across the Jordan river, and to be courageous for haShem will defeat the peoples living there just as she did to Og and Sichon.  Moshe then hands the cohanim (priests) a copy of the Torah to put in the ark, and also a copy went to each elder and he told everyone that every 7 years the entire nation must gather to hear the Torah being read in order to hear and learn to be in fear/awe of haShem and to know what they needed to do.

Moshe and Joshua then go to the tent of meeting where haShem joins them as a cloud pillar and Moshe is told that the people will certainly go against haShem and haShem will hide his face from them and trouble will come upon them, and that Moshe should teach the people a song that will be a testimony to all of this (god’s way of saying, “See, I told you so”).  The parsha ends with Moshe saying,  “Considering how you acted when I lived, I hate to think of how will act after I am dead,” and then proceeded to teach the people the song.

So how does all this complete the message of the last several week?  For the last several weeks we have been going in a spiral.  First we talked about the peoples currently in the land doing what was evil in the eyes of haShem, and so they were to be pushed off the land and/or killed.  Then we spiral in a little closer and are told that if we do good we will be blessed and if we do not do good in the eyes of haShem, we will be cursed, with great detail given to the curses.

Now the spiral completes with verse 31:20 (in D’varim/Deuteronomy)  which states:  because I will bring them to the land that I promised to their fathers, flowing with milk and honey, and he will eat and be satisfied and become fat and he will turn to other gods and serve them and revile me and violate my covenant.

Here, we are being told specifically that humans fall into a cycle where they are close to their deity when times are rough, but once times get better and all is good and they, “Grow fat,” it is at this time that people tend to forget the god that brought them to this place of goodness, this promised land flowing with milk and honey.  What do people tend to do?  They tend to explore other ways, eventually finding other gods to worship and forget to worship their own god – the very things their god said was the big no-no, in capital letters, quotated, and in the center of the page.  And then we are told what to expect when we follow such a path.  Given that our Torah is telling us this will happen, it is a wonder that we get surprised when things go south for us after we stray.

What this parsha is telling us, and as the climax to the last several weeks of parshas, is that we must break out of this cycle, and stay with haShem, with what got us to this wonderful place we have been dreaming about.  If we can break the cycle, things will forever only get better.  There will be no wars, disease, etc.  It is all up to us.

The question now is why did haShem make us with this tendency?  The answer I think is twofold:  one is to give us free choice, and two for us to appreciate it when we finally are able to break this cycle.  It will not be easy, but it will be worth it.

And as I reread this, I realize this is not the first time we have seen this.  We also saw it as we tried to be free of Pharaoh.  I believe in the second parsha of Shmot (Exodus), we have the the plagues and the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart.  At the time I said this represented a cycle of us falling back into the old patterns we were trying to break out of, that were enslaving us.

Once again, we find ourselves, this time as a nation, trying to break a habit that haShem put into us/is about to put into us, into the Adam, at the time of Rosh haShanah.  Maybe we are reading this now so we can ask haShem not to include this trait into us when she creates the Adam.  Maybe this year we can be free of this habit of biting the hand that feeds us.  Maybe this year, we can stay the course.

As I said at the top, this shabbat is the first day of creation, according to our family tradition.  Hashem could have made the world instantly, but instead he took 7 days.  Why?  To show us that building what we desire takes time and steps.  This shabbat is the first step each of us takes in making the world we wish to live in.  I bless all of you to take the time, and do each step completely in its order, without skipping a step, in order to bring about the world you wish to live in.
Shanah tovah (Happy New Year).  May you-all be written into the book of Life for all your needs to be met and for joy.

If you want to see what I wrote about these two parsha last year, click here for Nitzavim and here for Vayelech.

About the Author

Shmuel Shalom Cohen spent 10 years studying Torah in Jerusalem. Six years ago, he started Conscious Torah to help Jews connect to their tradition in ways they didn’t think possible. Shmuel also started, and is the executive directory of Jewish Events Willamette-valley, a non-profit whose mission is to build Jewish community, pride, and learning. In his free time, Shmuel likes walks in nature, playing music, writing poetry, and time with good friends.