Among life’s many ironies, I am always amazed by those artists, athletes, actors, musicians and successful talented young people who, as Frank Sinatra sang, have the World on a String. While we may or may not know these people personally, we certainly know of them. We see them play professional sports. We watch them in the movies. We hear them in concert. So it was no surprise that we heard about the death of British Pop Star Amy Winehouse. A talented and troubled Jewish girl from with a long history of addiction, Amy overdosed and died several weeks ago. Here is a young woman, about 28 years old, considered to be talented singer, songwriter, and entertainer, and Grammy award winner. She seemed to be at the height of her success and popularity. So what went wrong? Why do these artistic celebrities and athletic celebrities succumb to such destructive forces? Why do these artistic celebrities and athletic celebrities seem to have such troubled souls?
This week’s Parsha is Eikev. Here in his second discourse, Moshe explains to the new generation how the second set of tablets that contain the Aseret Dibrot came into being. He explains how God forgave their parents for their idolatrous behavior in regards to the Eigel Zahav (Golden Calf), Moshe explains that B’nai Yisroel’s essential task is to refrain from Idolatry, serve God, worship God, and the nation will be rewarded with water, grass and quality lives. Moshe also reminds B’nai Yisroel that they have nothing to fear when they enter into Canaan and conquer the land even though they maybe outnumbered. God has already, and will continue to protect his people. He did so during the Yetziat Mitzrayim (Exodus). He did so when Bnai Yisroel defeated Og and Bashan. As long as B’nai Yisroel keeps its side of the B’rit, God will continue to protect his people.
However it is towards the end of the Parsha, that we encounter a possible answer from a passage of Torah that should be familiar to al of us. V’Haya Im Tishma’u El Mitzvotai Asher Anochi M’tzaveh Etchem Hayom L’Ahavah – It will be that if you hearken to My commandments that I command you today to love Hashem your God and to serve him with all you heart and with all your soul…(Deut. 11:13). This is the second paragraph of the Shema, a part of the daily prayers we say every Shacharit (morning service) and Ma’Ariv (evening service). In this second paragraph of the Shema, we are told that there is a reward for our obeying God’s commandments and there will be retribution for disobeying God’s commandments. Among the rewards is a phrase that, at first glance, does not seem like such a reward. V’Haya Im Tishma’u El Mitzvotai Asher Anochi M’tzaveh Etchem Hayom L’Ahavah Et Adonai Eloheichem Ul’Avdo B’Chol Levavchem Uv’chol Nafshachem. V’Natati M’tar Artzechem B’Ito Yoreh Umalkosh V’Asaftah D’Ganecha V'Tiroshcha v’Yitzharecha – It will be that if you hearken to My commandments that I command you today to love Hashem your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I shall provide rain for your Land in its proper time, the early and the late rains, that you may gather in your grain, your wine and your oil. V’Natati Esev B’Sadcha Livhemtecha V’Achalta V’Savata – I shall provide grass in your field for your cattle and you will eat and be satisfied (Deut 11:15). Among the rewards is grass for our cattle and we will eat and be satisfied. What does this mean and how does it relate to the perils of celebrity?
The simple meaning of the verse suggests that we will eat the grass and or the cattle, but whatever we eat, we will be satisfied –v’Savatah. Satisfied implies that we will not be wanting for anything. Satisfied means fulfilled, content. How can the grass that God will make plentiful satisfy us? Have we ever been too busy to eat? Have we ever been in a place or a situation that cause our adrenaline to pump that we didn’t even feel hunger pangs? Most probably yes, we have all been in situations or places where we were too busy, to wound up, too excited to eat. Yet, we were clearly in a place, both physical and spiritual where we were satisfied. Rashi explains the verse as follows: When you are very prosperous, you must be very careful not to rebel against God, because man rejects God only when he is sated.” Experience shows that the temptations of wealth are among the hardest to resist. People who are rich in wealth but poor in sophistication often succumb to temptation. They succumb due to ignorance. They succumb due to arrogance. Mostly however they succumb to boredom.
These celebrities and many of the “rich kids” are bored and de-sensitized to the world around them. Instead of filling up on something that is fulfilling, Torah and Mitzvot, people have been filling themselves with substitutes. They have substituted money for Torah. They have substituted material trappings for Torah, Mtizvot, and Judaism. These people either forgot how to make their lives holy, or they have neglected the spiritual aspect within themselves for so long that sadly, many have forgotten the point of life. They forgot how to make life holy, and sacred.
As parents and grandparents, it becomes our job to infuse their respective souls with a divine purpose. It is our job to infuse within them a much holier purpose than the next trend, the upcoming party, the next example of idolatry. Sadly for Amy Winehouse, her soul apparently lacked the spiritual courage and strength to be satisfied with the simple pleasure in life. Her soul apparently had been numbed by the drugs and desensitized by the excesses of her life choices that she became spiritually bored. We can avoid spiritual boredom by channeling our energies in Torah study, prayer and the selflessness required to make a Jewish community vibrant. Let us increase the Kedusha (holiness) within our souls through the Jewish enrichment of our souls.
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