“Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted.” — Isaiah 1:5
The Torah portion for this week is Devarim which means “words,” from Deuteronomy 1:1–3:22, and the Haftorah is from Isaiah 1:1—27.
We’ve all heard the expression “when it rains, it pours,” describing the phenomenon when unfortunate events seemingly happen in clusters. A person might lose his or her job, experience marital problems, and discover an illness — all in the span of a few weeks.
As people of faith who believe that the Master of the Universe is in control of all things, the question then becomes, why? Why would an all-loving, all-powerful God give us so many painful experiences at one time? Couldn’t He at least space them out?
From a Jewish perspective, there are three possible answers. One possibility is that it’s a test. God will give you double for your trouble, so just be faithful and press on. The second answer is simply that we don’t know. As finite beings, we can’t possibly understand the ways of our infinite God. He is not limited by our human understanding. The third possibility – and I would venture to say the most common reason – is that God is trying to get our attention.
In our daily prayers, one of the blessings that we recite is: “Bring us back, our Father, to Your Torah, and bring us near, our King, to your service, and influence us to return in perfect repentance before You. Blessed are You, God, who desires repentance.”
The Sages explain the wordy language in this prayer. First we ask that God gently steer us back to Him with soft reminders. However, if we don’t get the message, we ask that God more forcibly bring us near to Him with even stronger messages. If we still can’t hear Him, we pray that He exert His influence – even if it means hitting us over the head – so that we hear Him and return to Him.
Very often, when it feels like God is stopping us in our tracks, it’s because He is steering us in another direction. One that leads back to Him.
In this week’s Haftorah reading from the book of Isaiah, the prophet was scolding the children of Israel who had strayed greatly from God. God said to the Israelites: “Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted.” God had tried so many times to get their attention, but it was all useless. It was only after the children of Israel were brutally exiled from their homeland that they finally got the message.
Friends, let’s listen closely for God’s messages and heed His Word. Don’t wait for the hard stuff to hit. Listen for the gentle whisper and follow it.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
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