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August 10, 2001/Av 21, 5761, Vol. 53, No.44
What does God require of us?
Torah Study
RABBI JULIAN COOK
Eikev/Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25
A pious hermit was meditating by a river when a young man interrupted his thoughts. "Master, I wish to become your disciple," he said.
"Why?" asked the hermit.
The young man thought for a moment and replied, "Because I want to find God."
Upon hearing this, the hermit jumped up, grabbed the young man by the scruff of his neck, dragged him into the river, and plunged his head underwater. After holding him there for several minutes while he kicked and struggled to free himself, the master finally pulled the young man out of the river. The neophyte coughed up water and gasped for breath.
When he eventually quieted down, the master asked: "Tell me, what did you want most of all when you were underwater?"
"Air!" answered the young man.
"Very well," said the master. "Go home and come back to me when you want God as much as you just wanted air."
To most people today, God is not an essential for life, the way air is. Many people think about God only under rare circumstances, such as when a tragedy or death occurs. Rarely do we think of God in relation to the good things in our lives.
Our forebears did not question the existence of God: It was a given. What did trouble them was what God wanted from them. What did God expect from humans in return for divine love?
That penetrating question is raised in this week's Torah portion, Eikev.
After reminding the people of their previous trespasses, which brought severe punishments, the Torah explains that God chastises us out of love, much as a father disciplines a child.
Then Moses asks, "And now, O Israel, what does Adonai your God demand of you?" (Deuteronomy 10:12) Moses answers with three precepts: Fear God; walk only in God's ways; and love and serve God with complete devotion.
Much later, the prophet Micah answers the same question with slightly different wording: Do justice, love goodness, and walk humbly with God. (Michah 6:8)
What does the Torah mean by "fear God"? The Hebrew yirah is a troublesome concept for moderns, almost impossible to translate. Our understanding includes profound respect and awe mixed with love, just as one both fears and loves a parent.
For the prophet Micah, this translated into practicing justice: One stands in fear before a judge, knowing one's fate hangs in the balance.
And how can you and I best love God? According to the Torah, by performing mitzvot. Each mitzvah is an act of loving God. Such an act includes "love the stranger," an unparalleled statement of legislation by any ancient people but a common refrain in the Torah.
We are urged to remember the plight of others because we know what it's like to be strangers, based on our experience in Egypt. This commandment has become the ethical standard of Jewish life.
We do not need a mystic master to teach us about God: We can see God all around us, in nature and in each other.
But we need to do mitzvot, deeds of love and kindness. We need to serve God and walk in God's ways. And there are opportunities to serve all around us if we but open ourselves to them and seize the possibilities.
Julian Cook is the rabbi of The Central Synagogue in Rockville Centre, New York.
Torat Hayim, produced by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, is on the Internet at www.uahc.org/growth.
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