Va’etchanan 5785: Small by Design

GOOD MORNING! The Shabbat after Tisha B’Av is called “Shabbat Nachamu – Sabbath of Consolation.” It is named after the first words of the haftarah (a scriptures reading in synagogue after the weekly Torah portion). This week’s haftarah begins with the opening verse of Isaiah 40, and refers to the Almighty instructing his prophets to bring solace to the Jewish nation, “Comfort my people, comfort them.”

Shabbat Nachamu is no ordinary Shabbat; it is seen as a spiritual turning point. After three weeks of sorrow and reflection on the many tragedies that befell our people, this Shabbat offers the first rays of comfort, signaling a movement toward healing and renewal. In many communities, the atmosphere is notably joyful. Some traditions include special meals, singing, and even communal gatherings or outdoor celebrations. Some sages (see Ritva on Ta’anit 30a) say that the food we eat on this Shabbat should be extra special, like that of a chag – festival.

It is also a popular time for weddings, as the period of semi-mourning known as the Three Weeks has ended and the spirit of hope and consolation makes it an auspicious time to celebrate new beginnings. This is particularly relevant to this week’s Torah reading where we find one of the consequences of straying from the Almighty:

“God will scatter you among the nations, and only a small number will remain among the nations to which God will lead you” (Deuteronomy 4:27).

This, astonishingly accurate, predictive statement can be better understood with the following comparison. According to a Chinese censuses taken around 2 CE, there were about 50 million Chinese people in the world. Today, there are about 1.5 billion Chinese people. Columbia University’s Professor Salo Baron, who was considered among the most important researchers and historians of Judaism of that period, estimated the number of Jews in the world at that time to be about eight million.

If the Jewish population had grown at the same rate as the Chinese, there would be close to 240 million Jews in the world today. Yet, as the Torah presciently foretold, the worldwide Jewish population hovers around 13 million. Obviously, worldwide dispersion, persecution, and outright annihilation all contribute to this rather depressing statistic. However, this week’s Torah reading also closes with a message of hope:

“God did not desire you, nor choose you, because you were greater (in number) than any people. Rather, He chose you because you were the least of all peoples” (Deuteronomy 7:7).

At first blush, the presumption that any people should qualify to be chosen as “God’s Nation” merely on the strength of population size seems rather odd. Why should that be a qualifying feature at all?

The great Biblical commentator known as Rashi takes a novel approach to this verse. He explains (ad loc) that the Torah is not discussing population size at all. Instead, Rashi says that the verse is telling us that the Jewish nation was specifically chosen because they do not ascribe greatness to themselves. As the verse goes on to say, “because you were the least of all peoples.”

Rashi cites examples of Jewish leaders who, despite their lofty status, did not ascribe any greatness to themselves. Abraham was the founder of Judaism and, according to the Torah, took on a role in world leadership (Genesis 17:5). Nevertheless, immediately after that designation, he referred to himself as nothing more than “dust and ash” (Genesis 18:27).

Again, shortly after the great miracles of the Ten Plagues, the Splitting of the Red Sea, and the freeing of the Jewish nation from bondage, Moses and Aaron referred to themselves as “totally insignificant” (Exodus 16:7). If we examine the royal line of Jewish kings, we see a similar pattern – the first king of the Jewish people was King Saul who was chosen for his humble and modest personality. In fact, even after Samuel anointed him king he simply went home and did not even tell his family that he had been appointed king. When Samuel wanted to present him to the people Saul actually hid!

There is an extraordinary lesson here in how Judaism views leadership. The Talmud says that kingship is in reality servitude (Horayut 10a and 10b). When King Solomon died and the people came to his son (and heir to the throne) Rechovam to complain that King Solomon’s tax burdens were too great, he sought advice from the elders that advised his father. They told him. “If you will be a servant to these people and speak gently to them, they will be your subjects forever” (Kings I 12:7). In other words, for a king to be successful must view himself as a servant of the people. He ignored their advice and the kingdom became divided; 10 of the 12 tribes established a separate monarchy.

Elsewhere (Kiddushin 82b) the Talmud suggests the jobs to which certain animals would be best suited, e.g. a fox who is cunning would make a good salesman. The Talmud projects that a suitable vocation for a lion would be a porter. This seems very strange, how is it possible that the king of all the animals would be a lowly porter?

The Talmud is teaching us that a king’s main function is to empower others. A king, to be both effective and accepted as a leader, must ensure that his position is never solely about him; his focus must be on making everyone around him great. Regarding the Almighty Himself, the Talmud states, “Said Rabbi Yochanan, ‘Everywhere you find His greatness you’ll also find His humility’” (Megillah 31a).

This means that God Himself ensured that creation is not about Him; it is about man fulfilling his ultimate potential. The essence of creation is for man to have a space he perceives as his own and then to use his free will to build a relationship with the Almighty and achieve the most blissful existence possible, in this world and the next.

To summarize Newton’s Law of Universal Gravity, objects exert a force on one another equal to their mass. Imagine an elephant playing tug of war with a mouse; even though they both exert equal force on the rope, the mouse does all the moving. This gravitational force or “attraction” of smaller objects to larger ones is a law of physics and simply a reality of life. This concept is used all the time to get individuals to join larger groups; Apple, McDonald’s, and Amazon continually urge people to join the hundreds of millions of others who enjoy their product.

Because of this tendency to want to belong to something “bigger” the Torah dispels the presumption that the Almighty chose the Jewish people because of their large population. In theory, one might think that it would make sense for the Almighty to choose the largest and most influential people as his emissaries in this world; this way everyone would “see the light” and quickly hop on the popular bandwagon. But that would be a colossal mistake.

When one simply joins a movement to belong to something larger, it also means giving up personal development and growth. Consider monolithic societies like communism where individual achievement is meaningless. Nobody in that society has any incentive to develop themselves. Because man was created to develop himself and achieve, this arrested development leads to overall misery, low morale, and a downward spiral of the human spirit.

It is exactly for this reason that, according to Rashi, the Almighty chose the Jewish nation to be His ambassadors to the world. We are small in number; we are not seeking more adherents; in fact, Judaism wholeheartedly discourages it! Judaism is totally unique in that it has a non-threatening universal message for the world: “You do not have to change your affiliation. You can develop yourselves through the seven Noachide laws – i.e. worship the one true God (monotheism), be moral (don’t kill, don’t steal, etc.), don’t abuse animals, and set up a just society through court systems.” That’s it!

Simply put, Jews believe that you do not have to be Jewish to build a relationship with the Almighty and go to heaven. As Jews, our goal should be to practice the leadership of our founding fathers Abraham and Moses whose approach to others was always about making them great and never focusing on their own personal achievements. We should focus on helping others build an awareness of the Almighty and teach how they too might live in a theocentric universe. This is the role of the Jewish nation in the world.

The superiority complex that many Jews maintain as “God’s chosen people” is totally unjustified. We were chosen to help others become great; we are not “better” than others. Moses – for all his greatness – did not feel that he was “better” than anyone else. The example set by the founders of Judaism is that true leadership is about helping others achieve greatness and not focusing on your own self-aggrandizement.

Sadly, this very message is lost on many. There are whole segments of Jewish society that have chosen to live within large monolithic communities and have all but forsaken helping their brethren achieve similar personal development. There is an air of elitism about them that should be particularly alarming to anyone who is paying attention. This self-congratulatory attitude results in self-absorption, which leads to moral decline.

Unfortunately, when we forget our roots and Jewish society becomes too self-absorbed then division grows within our ranks. Subsequently, the Almighty has to remind us, painfully, that we need one another and that we should be focused on others’ needs. This is the message of Shabbos Nachamu. It is a beacon of light after darkness, inviting individuals and communities to console one another and restore unity, and embrace hope as they move forward and heal as a unified nation.

Va’etchanan, Deuteronomy 3:23 - 7:11

Moses pleads with God to enter the Holy Land, but is turned down. (Remember, God always answers your prayers – sometimes with a “yes,” sometimes with a “no,” and sometimes with a “not yet.”) Moses commands the Children of Israel not to add or subtract from the words of the Torah and to keep all of the Commandments. He then reminds them that God has no shape or form and that we should not make or worship idols of any kind.

The cities of Bezer, Ramot, and Golan are designated as Cities of Refuge east of the Jordan river. Accidental murderers can escape there to avoid revengeful relatives. They then wait there until tried.

The Ten Commandments are repeated to the whole Jewish people. Moses expounds the Shema, affirming the unity of God, Whom all should love and transmit His commandments to the next generation. A man should wear tefillin upon the arm and head. All Jews should put a mezuzah (the scroll is the essential part) upon each doorpost of their home (except the bathroom).