Detox #2
January 15, 2023Pastor Patrick presented today's 2nd message of a series called "Detox." A video of the message is here.
[Conversation Starters will begin again with the start of the next official life groups session.]
The first Torah-related thought I had given this message was that God had to detox the soul of His chosen people before they could enter the promised land, much like we must detox ourselves before we can enter into all that God has in store for us. It got to the point that the Israelites could not forgive God/Moses for taking them out of Egypt. They were constantly comparing their life in the wilderness to what they had back in Egypt. They were angry to the point of rebellion, several times. And they worried that they could not conquer the "giants" living in Canaan, among other things. Some were so sure of their position that they agreed to a firepan test by God, and lost their very lives (Numbers 16:1-35). Their souls were poisoned by slavery and had developed a slave mentality over those 400 years.
The Torah provides very concrete stories and laws which, if understood and followed, would purge us today and the Israelites back then of these toxic ways. God recognized early on Man's propensity for following their natural inclinations which include all four of the soul toxins Patrick enumerated.
Unforgiveness. "You shall not take revenge" (Leviticus 19:18). This is part of the "love your neighbor as yourself" verse. Joseph's brothers asked for forgiveness, and it was granted: Joseph said, "Fear not, for am I instead of God? Although you intended me harm, God intended it for good" (Genesis 50:16-20). The real message here is that we do not have the power to take revenge, only God does.
Comparison. This is also included in the Joseph story. Joseph's brothers compared their position in life to Joseph's, Jacob's favored son. This went to the point of conspiring to be rid of Joseph. Other comparison stories in the Torah include: Genesis 29:17, Leah didn't compare favorably with Rachel in appearance; Genesis 30:1, Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and Genesis 30:15a, Leah was also envious of Jacob's love for Rachel.
Anger. Getting angry was a major downfall of Moses. When he brought down the tablets from Mt. Sinai and saw the Golden Calf, he got very angry. When the Isreailtes complained of no water, Moses got so angry he claimed he and Aaron got water from a rock. This led to God not letting Moses into the promised land. See the theme developing here? Soul toxins can lead to not getting the promises of God.
Here's an interesting quote from "Ask a Rabbi": "It is puzzling that "anger" is so destructive and is nevertheless not the subject of a direct commandment. There is no mitzvah [commandment] "Thou shalt not be angry." Rav Chaim Vital in his classic work "Sha'arei Kedusha" addresses this question, and answers it with a very profound concept. Before we ever get to the point of performing mitzvot there is a need to develop our basic character. The traits that comprise our character determine the way in which we fulfill the mitzvot. We must spend our energy in perfecting these aspects of ourselves - once these are properly developed we can perform the mitzvot with relative ease." And clearly, overcoming these soul toxins is part of developing character.
Worry. First note that worries and anxieties are normal. And right from the get-go, God had a plan. Consider the opening verses of Genesis. Darkness precedes the light. The light had to be created. Both exist, but the light overcomes the darkness. You know, it's darkest before the dawn. There's an interesting Hebrew word that means several things in dealing with anxiety and worry: yaschenah. It has three meanings: suppress it, ignore it, and articulate it (talk about it, find the good in it). From "A Torah Approach to Anxiety Relief" on chabad.org (here). See also "10 Verses From The Torah That Can Help You During Difficult Times," here.
Bonus
On one of Prager's "Ultimate Issues" hour (2018 #3), he talks about a fundamental difference between a Biblical view and a non-Biblical view of Man. A Biblical view is that the world was created for Man making Man extremely significant. Any other view (world view, scientific view, humanistic view, etc.) reduces Man to total insignificance or, as physicist Steven Hawkins put it, "nothing more than a collection of fundamental particles of nature." Which way you lean will determine whether or not you support abundant, clean, on-demand energy through fossil fuels and nuclear energy or if you relegate Man to using only energies he can get without any disruption of nature. It will determine if you support the construction of dams to support human needs or object to dams for the protection of smelt.
The difference can be seen in, of all places, translations of the Creation story with how the word radah is used. It's in Genesis 1:26 where God says Man should rule over (dominate, have dominion over) nature. Those words I just used are what the Hebrew meant. What the Hebrew did not mean is be a caretaker, a steward, and the like. While those are good, they are not strong enough. As Dr. Andrew Spencer put it, "Only humans have both the ability and the responsibility to influence the created order in a way that changes it. This is part of dominion."
This does not mean we can abuse nature. But it does mean that human needs can supercede the needs of fish.
Bonus
To Life: How Israeli Volunteers are Changing the World
From the website (ToLifeTheMovie.com):
"In celebration of Israel’s 70th anniversary, CBN Israel presents To Life: How Israeli Volunteers are Changing the World. To Life is an amazing look at five Israeli organizations dedicated to helping people across the globe."
"This is a story about Israel you won’t see in the news. In keeping with the Jewish tradition of tikkun olam (“repairing the world”), Israel has been at the forefront of humanitarian and disaster relief work since the 1950s, less than a decade after becoming a nation. Since then, the Jewish state has provided humanitarian aid to millions of people in 140 countries around the world."
"Featuring stunning cinematography and moving interviews, To Life follows Israeli volunteers in Uganda, Nepal, Greece, Kurdistan, and the Palestinian territories to find out how and why, with so many security challenges of their own, they reach out so effectively to help other nations."
"To Life: How Israeli Volunteers are Changing the World, is the newest Israel-related production by CBN. In 2017, In Our Hands marked the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War - premiering to sold-out showings across America. In 2015, the Emmy-nominated docudrama: The Hope: The Rebirth of Israel, told the extraordinary journey through the 50 years that preceded the founding of the modern State of Israel. And, in 2014, CBN produced Made in Israel, which was nominated for three Emmy awards."
Jamie: This is being a light to the nations... You'll recognize some phrases and quotes in the movie that we've talked about in our Torah chats. Quite impressive for a country the size of New Jersey. Well worth the 90 minutes! You can watch the movie at the link above: ToLifeTheMovie.com
To Life! (לחיים)