We are now into the second week of the Seven Weeks of Consolation, during which we read special readings from the Prophets (primarily Isaiah and Jermiah) to remind us of the importance of teshuvah (repentance) and self-reflection during the time leading up to the High Holy Days. To grow, personally and spiritually we must make time to do our spiritual work.
In this week’s Torah portion we read one of the best known verses from the Torah, “God subjected you to the hardship of hunger and then gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your ancestors had ever known, in order to teach you that man does not live by bread alone, but that one may live on anything that ADONAI decrees.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
The traditional interpretation of this verse is that we should avoid the dangers of consumerism: that we are what we possess. But our Torah teaches something more nuanced. First, that although bread is a staple of the human diet, God has provided us with many life sustaining foods. We do not have to stick with any routine, including diet. We can change what we eat to sustain or improve our health. Second, that a materialistic life is not all there is. In fact, without a spiritual component, a commitment to higher ideals, we are not truly alive. In Pirkei Avot (a Second Century CE collection of Jewish wisdom) we read, “If there is no flour, there is no Torah; if there is no Torah, there is no flour.” (Avot 3:17)
Human beings need both the physical and the spiritual to live. Without sufficient resources we cannot exist. Without a focus on our religious, spiritual, moral and intellectual commitments we are not really alive. This is the time of year to focus on the latter. Let’s all commit to living fully this year.
Eikev, Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25, Parshat Hashavua for Shabbat, August 20, 2022
August 19, 2022 by Dean Kertesz • Drashot
We are now into the second week of the Seven Weeks of Consolation, during which we read special readings from the Prophets (primarily Isaiah and Jermiah) to remind us of the importance of teshuvah (repentance) and self-reflection during the time leading up to the High Holy Days. To grow, personally and spiritually we must make time to do our spiritual work.
In this week’s Torah portion we read one of the best known verses from the Torah, “God subjected you to the hardship of hunger and then gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your ancestors had ever known, in order to teach you that man does not live by bread alone, but that one may live on anything that ADONAI decrees.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
The traditional interpretation of this verse is that we should avoid the dangers of consumerism: that we are what we possess. But our Torah teaches something more nuanced. First, that although bread is a staple of the human diet, God has provided us with many life sustaining foods. We do not have to stick with any routine, including diet. We can change what we eat to sustain or improve our health. Second, that a materialistic life is not all there is. In fact, without a spiritual component, a commitment to higher ideals, we are not truly alive. In Pirkei Avot (a Second Century CE collection of Jewish wisdom) we read, “If there is no flour, there is no Torah; if there is no Torah, there is no flour.” (Avot 3:17)
Human beings need both the physical and the spiritual to live. Without sufficient resources we cannot exist. Without a focus on our religious, spiritual, moral and intellectual commitments we are not really alive. This is the time of year to focus on the latter. Let’s all commit to living fully this year.