Saying 'thanks, God' doesn't come easily

Torah study

CLAIRE G. METZGER
Ekev/Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25

In Ekev, Moses tells the children of Israel that they will soon enter the Promised Land. After 40 years of wandering in the desert and experiencing many trials from which they emerge - sometimes imperfectly - God will allow them to take the next step. In this chapter, Moses also reminds the people to follow God's laws, for if they do, they will have wealth and well-being. At the same time, they must remember that good fortune is a gift from God and not attained through their own merits.

We work hard to achieve all the things we acquire in life and so it's easy to congratulate ourselves on our success. We tend to think of and even be grateful to God only when times are tough or when we've gotten out of a jam. We thank God when a loved one has recovered from illness or when we land a good job in a bad job market.

Our American standard of living is higher than that of most other people in the world. We have fine houses, plenty of food and lots of "things." Ekev reminds us to be thankful to God for all our blessings. We learn that one way to show our appreciation is to give thanks for the food we eat. Ekev is considered the source for the Birkat HaMazon, the "Blessing after Meals." We also show appreciation by following the mitzvot, "commandments," and by performing g'milut chasadim, "good deeds" - using our wealth and our influence to help others.

In Ekev, Moses tells the Israelites that they are being tested. How can success be a test?

When we are successful, we may become complacent and turn a blind eye to the troubles of others. It's easy to lose focus on what's important. We live in an age of constant stimuli, with television, Internet, radio and print messages that instill hunger, greed and fear. Ads for clothes, toys, cars and cosmetics may make us feel we must spend our lives pursuing material goods. Images of models, actors and other luminaries may urge us to aspire to unrealistic levels of power and beauty.

By the same token, the media deliver a constant stream of negative information about our world. We see footage depicting violence and destruction around the world. Local news is replete with murders, fires, layoffs and homelessness. It's easy to become numb to such stimuli. We can't solve all of the world's problems, so why not just try to deal with our own lives and ignore the rest? How I help someone 2,000 miles away who has lost all her possessions in a fire? How can I help the family of a soldier who has died in Iraq?

Yet there is much we can and should do to help. When we ignore the cries of others, we are guilty of taking God's graciousness for granted. We hurt God and ourselves by doing so. It is said, "One who causes the loss of even one life, it is as if that person caused the loss of an entire world, and one who saves one life, it is as if that person saved an entire world" (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 37a). We must take the needs of others into our hearts and souls.

Claire G. Metzger is the cantor at Temple Sinai in Worcester, Mass. Visit Torat Hayim at the Union for Reform Judaism Web site, www.uahc.org.