I
was introduced to a new four lettered word about three months ago. Frankly, I
thought I had heard them all. The new four lettered word that I learned was “Diet”.
Well, I had heard of the word before; but it was in terms of religious ritual,
Kashrut. I had heard the word in the context of New Years’ resolutions, and
other people’s health issues. I had even
heard it whispered about me as something I should think about. Even my doctor
had used the word with me, suggesting that my indigestion and bad back were
exacerbated by my weight and “maybe if you lose a few pounds those issues would
go away.” Yes I had heard of the word “Diet”, but I didn’t begin listening to
what it meant and what it didn’t’ mean until I decided to begin a Diet. So for
the past three months I have been on a low fat, no carb diet in which I try to
restrict my caloric intake to below 2000 calories. I am allowed 7 oz. of protein,
and an assortment of vegetables and only those fruits that are low in sugar
such as apple, strawberries, cantaloupe and strawberries. Yes, I have lost
weight. Yes there are foods that I missed. At various points during these past
few months, I have missed pasta, I have missed a hamburger. Even this week, my
son and I went to a baseball game (the New York Yankees were in Toronto playing
the Blue Jays), and I stared at my son as he enjoyed his hot dog. What I wouldn’t
have done for a “dog and a beer”! Yet as each day and as each week goes by, I
don’t feel as if I am starving, I don’t feel hungry, and I don’t feel
dissatisfied. Actually, it’s quite the opposite, I have even found some clothes
that I forgot that I owned!
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 (Ten Commandments) came into being. He explains how God forgave
their parents of their idolatrous behavior in regards to the Eigel Zahav
(Golden Calf), and all B’nai Yisroel must do essentially 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, because God has already demonstrated that he will protect his
people. He did so during the Yetziat Mitzrayim (Exodus from Egypt), and as long as B’nai
Yisroel keeps its side of the B’rit (covenant), God will continue to protect his people. 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.
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. 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, the great 11th
century French commentator, 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.” Our relationship to God is synonymous with
our own health. We need to pay attention to this very vital and simple
relationship in order for us to appreciate the layers of complexity that life
ultimately presence. When we are in poor health, when we violate this very
simple and vital relationship, the rest of life seems insurmountable and
overwhelming. When we are very comfortable, when we are perhaps too
comfortable, when we are full, when we are bored, when we take things for
granted; that is the time to worry about our relationship with HaShem.
So it turns out that “Diet” is not such a dirty four
lettered word after all. Instead the
word “Diet” requires those who engage in a “Diet” to understand a much a word
three times longer: “Satisfaction”. Like our physical health, when we have our
spiritual health, we are able to appreciate the layers of complexity and the
beauty of life. When our health, physical or spiritual, is poor, then we are
too overwhelmed to see any of life’s beauty. However, when we understand that
often times, we can derive satisfaction from less quantity, we began to find
the beauty in the world around us, the goodness and the fulfilling nature of
the food we eat, and the holiness of the life we are capable of leading.
Peace
Rav Yitz
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