GOOD MORNING! About two weeks ago the well-known author Harold Kushner passed away. In 1981, Kushner, who was a pulpit rabbi for the Conservative movement, wrote the bestselling book When Bad Things Happen to Good People. It was meant to be a reflection on the age-old question of “why me?”

The author had experienced immense pain when his son Aaron died of progeria, a rare disease that causes premature aging, and the book was his attempt to come to terms with this tragedy. The book spent over a year on the bestsellers list and went on to sell millions of copies. Kushner’s overall approach was to try to deal with his anger at God for putting him through such an ordeal and to search for ways to move forward.

From a strictly philosophic perspective many of the ideas set forth in his book run counter to traditional Jewish thought. The main tenet of Kushner’s ideology is its emphasis on the idea that God is not responsible for the bad things that happen to us because, as Kushner asserts, God is not all-powerful and all-knowing, and therefore cannot control everything that happens in the world. Sometime in the late 1980’s I remember hearing a lecture from my father taking umbrage with the ideas set forth in Kushner’s book.

Kushner’s approach is in direct opposition to the classic Jewish philosophy of hashgacha pratis – divine and very specific heavenly providence, a concept we touched upon last week. Judaism’s view of the Almighty is exactly that: God is an all-knowing and all-powerful being who is responsible for everything that happens in the world. More importantly, we, as finite beings, cannot presume to have any real understanding of the whats or the whys of things that happen. Thus, Kushner’s basic issue, which is how can a loving and kindly God cause such immense pain and suffering to good people, is really a non-starter when we begin to grasp the true limitations of our understanding of divine providence.

Still, Kushner does get some things right. He does highlight the importance of human agency. Meaning, it is much more important to take note of our ability to act and that we examine our response to adversity to effect positive change. By focusing on what we can do to make the world a better place, rather than focusing on what we cannot control, Kushner offers an empowering and hopeful approach for those who are grieving.

Nevertheless, a far better example of authentic Jewish ideology can be found within a vignette that is told about one of the most famous rabbis of the 19^th and 20^th centuries HaRav Yisroel Meir Kagan (1838-1933), better known as the Chofetz Chaim.

Meeting a former student after many years, the rabbi asked about his welfare. The student, who was suffering and in difficult straits, responded, “Unfortunately, things are very bad.”

The Chofetz Chaim immediately cut him off, “God forbid! You are not permitted to say that. Do not ever state that things are bad, instead rather say that ‘they are bitter.’” But the student was perplexed, “Bad, bitter – what’s the difference? My life is terrible.”

The Chofetz looked at him with kindly eyes and answered him softly, “No, my son, there is a huge difference in the two statements. A medicine may be bitter and difficult to swallow, but it isn’t bad.”

In other words, there is a real purpose as to why things happen to us. But rather than spending our time totally focused on our pain and the question, “Why are all these terrible things happening to me?” We should be far more concerned with how we internalize and react to those situations that are “our medicine” and how we will learn, grow, and change for the better from these experiences.

This is not to say that it is easy. Professor Shalom Carmy in his book Jewish Perspectives on the Experience of Suffering, makes a fascinating statement, “Those who place truth over happiness often get both, while those who choose happiness over truth are liable to get neither.”

It’s the well-known challenge of the blue pill versus the red pill. Do you want ignorant bliss or the unvarnished truth, which may be initially painful but ultimately much more fulfilling and meaningful? In Professor Carly’s view, the challenges of living within the truth will ultimately prove to provide genuine happiness.

As fragile and myopic humans, we superficially desire that blue pill; wanting to live in the moment and longing to ignore the consequences of our actions, searching for momentary bliss. But we must realize that ultimately there are consequences for everything that we do; both right and wrong.

If you walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit [...] (Leviticus 26:3-4).

This week’s Torah reading consists of two Torah portions; Behar and Beckukotai. The second portion, Bechukotai, opens with a recounting of all the blessings that will arrive on account of keeping the Torah and following the Almighty’s commandments.

  The famous ancient Aramaic translation known as Targum Yonason Ben Uziel explains that the word “commandments” refers here to “dinnim – laws of social justice.” But this interpretation seems a bit problematic, after all the word “mitzvot – commandments” is all encompassing. There are many types of mitzvot; why should it be limited here to the laws of social justice?

  Maimonides, in his commentary to the Mishnah (Peah 1:1), states a very interesting principal of how a person is rewarded for doing the mitzvot: “There are two types of mitzvot;

1. those mitzvot that are between an individual and God such as teffilin (phylacteries) and tzitzit (fringes on four cornered garments), observance of Shabbat, and the prohibition against idol worship, and
2. those that are between an individual and his fellow man, such as the prohibition against stealing and otherwise hurting another, the obligation to love others, and honoring one’s parents.”

  Maimonides continues: “Those mitzvot that are between man and the Almighty are rewarded in the next world. Mitzvot that are between an individual and his fellow man are rewarded both in this world and in the next.”

  Maimonides is explaining to us the basic principal of God’s system of divine reward: mitzvot as they relate to the development of the human soul, in general, are an eternal concept. Therefore, their proper reward is in the next (eternal) world. But there are also mitzvot that have substantive benefits to others in this world. These mitzvot are also rewarded in the next world, but because they have positive effects in this world, the “interest” on the “principal” is paid to the individual in this world as well.

  This week’s Torah portion is introducing all the worldly benefits and rewards in this world for keeping the mitzvot. The reason Targum Yonason Ben Uziel translates “commandments” as being related to laws of social justice is because he agrees with Maimonides that those are the only mitzvot that are rewarded in this world, as well as the next.

  Fascinatingly, the Mishna equates the study of Torah to all the mitzvot. In other words, Torah study provides tangible benefits to this physical world as well. Perhaps this is what the Talmud (Brachos 64a) means when it says, “Torah scholars increase peace in the world.”

Behar-Bechukotai, Leviticus 25:1 - 27:34

  Behar begins with the laws of Shemitah, the Sabbatical year, where the Jewish people are commanded not to plant their fields or tend to them in the seventh year. Every 50th year is the Yovel (Jubilee year) when agricultural activity is also proscribed.

These two commandments fall into one of the seven categories of evidence that God gave the Torah. If the idea is to give the land a rest, then do not plant one-seventh of the land each year. To command an agrarian society to completely stop cultivating every seventh year one has to be either God or a meshugenah – a “crazy person.”

Also included in this portion: redeeming land that was sold, to strengthen your fellow Jew when his economic means are faltering, not to lend to your fellow Jew with interest, and the laws of indentured servants. The portion ends with the admonition to not make idols, to observe the Shabbat, and to revere the Sanctuary.

The second portion for this week, Bechukotai, begins with the multitude of blessings you will receive for keeping the commandments of the Torah (truly worth reading!). It also contains the tochachah, words of admonition: “If you will not listen to Me and will not perform all of these commandments […].” There are seven series of seven punishments each. Understand that God does not punish for punishment's sake; He wants to get our attention so that we will introspect, recognize our errors, and correct our ways. God does not wish to destroy us or annul His covenant with us. He wants us to know that there are consequences for our every action. He also wants to get our attention so that we do not stray so far away that we assimilate and disappear as a nation. I highly recommend reading Leviticus 26:14 - 45 and Deuteronomy 28.