It has been two full weeks since our twenty-year-old daughter had ACL replacement surgery. Since the surgery, she has passionately focused upon rehabbing her knee. Three times a week either her mother or I shlep her to rehab. Every day she insists upon taking a walk down the street She has gradually increased her distance and now walks approximately 100 yards on relying upon her crutches as little as possible. She walks these100 yards slowly, carefully and it is terribly exhausting. Every day, after the walk, we ice her knee and she takes a nap. When she wakes up, she begins doing her rehab exercises, then more ice. She has worked incredibly hard and I suspect that she will continue to do so. As impressed as her mother and I are with her dedication, we have been even more impressed with her attitude and mental toughness. She has learned to take nothing for granted. Getting herself in out of bed, going up and down the stairs, washing up, and even sitting with us at the Shabbat tables, she has been nothing but thankful and appreciative of these activities that the rest of us don’t even think about.
This week’s Parsha is Eikev. Here, in his second discourse, Moshe explains to the new generation how the second set of tablets that contains the Aseret Dibrot came into being. He explains how God forgave the 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 may be outnumbered because God has already demonstrated that he will protect his people. He did so during the Yetziat Mitzrayim (Exodus), and 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 all 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 your 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. We won’t be ecstatic, we won’t be overjoyed. Rather we will be content and satisfied. This notion of Savata “you will be satisfied”, suggest satiety. It assumes that we know when we have “had our fill”. It suggests that in moments of quiet and perhaps anxiety and despair and we ask “is this all there is?” We are supposed to be able to say “Yes, this is all there is…. And it is enough to fill me.” Certainly, the Torah’s words are suggesting a means by which we are able to control our expectations and minimize our disappointments.
For some, the notion of “satisfied” suggests an acceptance with mediocrity, after all, a final grade of a “C” suggested, “satisfactory” while a “B” suggested “Good and an “A” suggested “Excellence”. However, that notion of “satisfactory” is an external evaluation. V’Savata suggests that the person’s soul is at peace. Satisfaction is a form of wholeness and completeness. V’Savata suggests that you hve the strength and are at peace with the present, with “what is”. Our daughter understands that recovery takes time. She understands that her recovery from surgery is a process that takes time. She has learned to appreciate each physical accomplishment. She has learned that frustration only detracts from her recovery. She has learned to find satisfaction from the most mundane and ordinary and in doing so she remains motivated to do a little more each day. B’nai Yisroel needs to learn to appreciate the blessings that God has given them, and that requires an ability to find blessings in the smallest of places and activities.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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