So, how did you all answer the big question?  Yeah, I’m talking about the question in the title:  Are you willing to commit?  This is the big question that starts this week’s parsha (weekly Torah portion).  Ok, it isn’t really a question; it is really instructions to the ritual of choosing between a blessing and a curse.  So, I started by asking you a trick question, for the question doesn’t really get asked until we go into the land, which is what the next book in the Tanach (Bible), the book of Yehoshua (Joshua), is about.  However, we are not there yet, so let’s stick with the parsha at hand.

In our parsha, the instructions to answering the question tell us what is involved in making the choice.  Thank haShem (god) we have a god who doesn’t hide stuff from us.

The parsha warns us not to take on the practices of those who were on the land before us, for their ways were not ways that haShem wants to be worshiped.  It continues by telling us what to do with those that try to lead us down the path of worshiping other gods, and then it goes into a discussion of what foods a Jew can eat.  We follow this with a discussion on tithing and money lending and slavery, which includes what to give a slave when it is time to set him or her free, and what to do if they do not want to go. We end with a quick reminder of what the three main holy days are about:  Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (literally means weeks in Hebrew), and Succot (which means huts in Hebrew).

As usual for the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), a lot is covered.  Above is a very quick overview without much detail.  As I sit here writing this, I am debating with myself how much detail to give.  I could go into each section and talk about it, discussing why haShem  goes into so much detail regarding how to get the blessing or the curse, for example, or the details of slavery in Jewish tradition, for another example.  But instead I wish to do a major zoom in from this general overview, past the detail of each section, in an attempt to get to the central theme of the parsha.  For me, this central theme is found in verses 2 -5 of chapter 13.  It reads:  “When a prophet or dreamer of a dream rises up near you, and gives to you a sign or a proof (of who he is), and the sign or proof comes as he said it to you, to say, ‘We will go after other gods that you-all do not know and we will serve them,’ do not listen to the words of that prophet or to the dreamer of a dream because haShem, your god, is testing you to know whether you love your god with all your heart and all your soul.  After haShem, your god, you will go, and to him you will be in awe/fear, and her mitzvot (commandments/connections) you will keep, and in his voice you will hear, and to her you will serve and in him you will cleave.”

Now, outside of the obvious literal meaning, what else is going on here?  I see this as an analogy to love and commitment, and I see it on three levels.  The first level is that we have made a commitment to haShem, and we should stick to it.  In the abstract, this seems like a no-brainer.  But we aren’t talking here in the abstract; we are talking in the real world and about real people.  What does it mean when it says to serve gods you don’t know?  Before I answer that, I want to talk about the other two levels.  The second is the marriage between the nation of the children of Israel and haShem.  And the third level is the marriage between two people.

What is a major thing that keeps somebody from committing to another?  It is the idea that somebody unknown might come along and provide that magic, that spark, that great emotional high.  So, rather than commit, one waits around going from relationship to relationship, searching for a connection that only comes from getting intimately close with somebody.  In truth, if they would commit, heart and soul to somebody, commit so much so, that they are willing to be constantly amazed and in awe of them, commit so much that they are willing to learn what that person likes and doesn’t like, and then, do what that person likes, and not do what that person doesn’t like, THEN they would find that great emotional, magical spark/high!  The prophet/dreamer of dreams in the parsha is trying to tempt you to not commit, to jump from person to person searching for what you can only get by sticking to the one.  This is the test the Torah mentions.  And this is not only true for two people falling in love and committing, but it is also true for the nation committing to haShem as a whole.  Why chase after other gods that promise this and that, when if we love and totally commit our whole being to haShem, haShem will give us the highest of the spiritual highs?  Yes, we can get higher then the Dalai Lama, or Buddha, or whomever.

So, how does this tie back into the rest of the parsha?  Well, when you commit so totally to another, the resulting experience will be a blessing.  However, if you let yourself be sweet-talked away by every exotic unknown, you will be cursed with forever seeking.

And the rest of the parsha is us learning what haShem likes and doesn’t like, so we can act in accordance with the desire of making our partner happy.

It is interesting that we should talk about this as we are about to start the month of Elul (the month before Rosh haShannah – the Jewish new year), for this is the time when we start looking at how we have acted in the past with an eye towards how we want to be in the future.  With this in mind, I bless everybody that you can identify those voices that are trying to sway you from making the commitments to god and/or to your partner, and that you have the strength and courage and conviction to tell those voices to BUG OFF so you can find/be with your partner and with god.

Chodesh tov/Have a good month and Shavuah tov/have a good week,

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.