"כל-הַמִּצְוָה, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם--תִּשְׁמְרוּן לַעֲשׂוֹת: לְמַעַן תִּחְיוּן וּרְבִיתֶם, וּבָאתֶם וִירִשְׁתֶּם אֶת-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר-נִשְׁבַּע ה' לַאֲבֹתֵיכֶם
דברים ח:א
דברים ח:א
If we are to succeed as a people, that is, to live and multiply and inherit the land as was promised to our forefathers, then we must keep every mitzvah commanded by Hashem. Elaborating on the texture of such a lifestyle, pasuk ג reads:
וַיְעַנְּךָ, וַיַּרְעִבֶךָ, וַיַּאֲכִלְךָ אֶת-הַמָּן אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יָדַעְתָּ, וְלֹא יָדְעוּן אֲבֹתֶיךָ: לְמַעַן הוֹדִיעֲךָ, כִּי לֹא עַל-הַלֶּחֶם לְבַדּוֹ יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם--כִּי עַל-כָּל-מוֹצָא פִי-ה' , יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם ...
Hashem afflicted us, made us hungry, AND fed us manna... Why? "In order that He would make known to you that man shall not live upon bread alone..."
Life, real living, is not just about physical sustenance, not just about working for material reward. Sefer Devarim, the book of Deuteronomy, emphasizes the covenant between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael. The covenant is about being part of something larger than yourself, about living in relationship with GD, inviting in the שכינה, infusing even mundane living with "the grace of great things."
The verse "Man shall not live upon bread alone," finishes with: "but upon everything that issues from the mouth of Hashem shall he live." 'Real' living, the kind that is infused with a sense of purpose and of the sublime means standing up to encounter the Eternal, and living a life where threads of sensitivity, passion, perseverance, and faithfulness support the cross-threads of life's vicissitudes, weaving Divinity into the texture of life.
It is of note that in testing the mettle of Bnei Yisrael, Hashem both afflicts and makes us hungry, as well as feeding us. The reality of life is that it's not always a picnic, that our lot, aka everything issuing from the mouth of Hashem, is not always pleasant. As such, we are instructed with mitzvot aseh and mitzvot lo ta'aseh, both positive and negative commandments. We know, for instance, that for children to grown into health, compassionate, responsible adults, they need both love and boundaries. So we have both. Our faithfulness to engage the Divine via restraint, to sanctify that relationship with self-limitation, means that there is more to our lives than just ourselves. With such a commitment we empower ourselves to bring to the dark valleys of our journey the same engagement of the Divine which we feel at the peaks.
'גם כי אלך בגיא צלמות לא אירא רע, כי אתה עמדי.'
May we all have the strength and prescience to immerse ourselves in real living.
וַיְעַנְּךָ, וַיַּרְעִבֶךָ, וַיַּאֲכִלְךָ אֶת-הַמָּן אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יָדַעְתָּ, וְלֹא יָדְעוּן אֲבֹתֶיךָ: לְמַעַן הוֹדִיעֲךָ, כִּי לֹא עַל-הַלֶּחֶם לְבַדּוֹ יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם--כִּי עַל-כָּל-מוֹצָא פִי-ה' , יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם ...
Hashem afflicted us, made us hungry, AND fed us manna... Why? "In order that He would make known to you that man shall not live upon bread alone..."
Life, real living, is not just about physical sustenance, not just about working for material reward. Sefer Devarim, the book of Deuteronomy, emphasizes the covenant between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael. The covenant is about being part of something larger than yourself, about living in relationship with GD, inviting in the שכינה, infusing even mundane living with "the grace of great things."
The verse "Man shall not live upon bread alone," finishes with: "but upon everything that issues from the mouth of Hashem shall he live." 'Real' living, the kind that is infused with a sense of purpose and of the sublime means standing up to encounter the Eternal, and living a life where threads of sensitivity, passion, perseverance, and faithfulness support the cross-threads of life's vicissitudes, weaving Divinity into the texture of life.
It is of note that in testing the mettle of Bnei Yisrael, Hashem both afflicts and makes us hungry, as well as feeding us. The reality of life is that it's not always a picnic, that our lot, aka everything issuing from the mouth of Hashem, is not always pleasant. As such, we are instructed with mitzvot aseh and mitzvot lo ta'aseh, both positive and negative commandments. We know, for instance, that for children to grown into health, compassionate, responsible adults, they need both love and boundaries. So we have both. Our faithfulness to engage the Divine via restraint, to sanctify that relationship with self-limitation, means that there is more to our lives than just ourselves. With such a commitment we empower ourselves to bring to the dark valleys of our journey the same engagement of the Divine which we feel at the peaks.
'גם כי אלך בגיא צלמות לא אירא רע, כי אתה עמדי.'
May we all have the strength and prescience to immerse ourselves in real living.
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