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June 11, 2004/Sivan 22 5764, Vol. 56, No. 38
Promises, promises
Torah study
RABBI PETER LEVI
Sh'lach Lecha/Bemidbar 13:1-15:41
This election year reminds me of the old story of the dance teacher who talked of a very old dance called "The Politician." "All you have to do" she told her class "is take three steps forward, two steps backward, then side-step, side-step and turn around." Make a promise to get elected, then spend the rest of the time doing the avoid-dance - and the promises go unfulfilled. For many of us, this is not just true in our political lives, but our spiritual lives as well.
What if God makes a promise to us and then lets it go unfulfilled? The great medieval Torah commentator Rashi (in his comment on Exodus 6:4) explains that God made great promises to our ancestors, but God did not fulfill them during their lifetime. For example, God swore that they would have numerous children who would inherit and prosper in the land of Israel.
What happened? Abraham left his homeland to go to the Promised Land but experienced famine forcing him to leave. Even though he does return, he doesn't inherit the land but describes himself as a ger v'toshav, a resident alien. He had great difficulty having children. At an advanced age, Abraham finally does have a few children - hardly fulfilling God's promise that his children will be as numerous as the stars.
Similarly, God's promise to Isaac and Jacob goes unfulfilled in their lifetimes. While Jacob certainly has many children, they are not as numerous as the stars and nor do they prosper in the Promised Land. In fact, their nomadic lifestyle made it extremely difficult for them to experience the promise of inheriting the land.
In this week's parsha, the promise to the children of Israel to inherit the land, once again goes unfulfilled. Rather than live out their days in the Promised Land, they will die in the wilderness.
Why are promises made and unfulfilled? Is Torah teaching us something important about our own lives? After all, we lead lives filled with all sorts of promises made but unfulfilled. Our Torah promises us over and over again that if we are good, all will go well. But we know another truth: the Israelites' truth. The promise goes unanswered - it turns into disappointment and a spiritual malaise. "It would be better for us to go back to Egypt," the Israelites bemoan. With the promise unfulfilled, they would rather have just stayed slaves.
How can our Torah, our religion, make all these promises, then let them go unfulfilled?
Our biblical tradition itself does not leave us on the horns of this dilemma, but shows us how to live when the promise runs afoul. Job, who lost all his wealth and tragically, his 10 children, never lost faith under the burden of his woes. He never abandoned God. Rather, he accepted the truth that this is what life is like east of Eden. There is no avoiding the vicissitudes of what life brings. Life is in the wilderness. Despite the fact that bad things do happen to good people, Job's response was to remain steadfast in his belief, and to rebuild his life on the hope of overcoming the blight of sickness and hopelessness.
Our biblical ancestors' faith was awesome. Despite what life had promised and not delivered, they never lost their belief that life is filled with purpose and meaning. Somehow, they never gave up. They sustained a Judaism that was built on faith and hope. And because of it, they lived better lives. That is the bottom line of our faith. Despite our broken promises and disappointed expectations, to live with a powerful faith that makes our lives better, more fulfilling - more blessed with caring and love.
Rabbi Peter S. Levi is a rabbi at Temple Chai in Phoenix.
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