Spirituality

Torah Portion/Synagogues

Responsible, Yet Reliant: A Paradox

Shabbat Behar:
Leviticus 25:1-26•2;
Jeremiah 32:6-27.

I

remember learning to swim with
my father when I was a child.
He would stand in the pool,
holding me afloat where it was too
deep for me to reach the bottom.
When I was ready, he would let go
and take a step back; and I would move
my arms and legs until they were coor-
dinated enough to propel me toward
him — but then, instead of catching
me, he would take another step back-
ward and encourage me to go further.
It was exhausting and difficult — but
I learned to swim, and eventually, exhil-
arated and accomplished, I would feel
my father's supporting grasp once more.
His technique begs the question,
though: How often do parents protect
and provide for their children, and
when do we need to allow children to

Eric Yanoff is a rabbi at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek.

flail their arms a bit, so that they learn
God to heal, God to bring goodness,
to swim on their own?
regardless of human agency or morality.
Our Torah portion this week speaks
With such a God, we as humans
to this very tension. The parashah
would never learn to swim.
recounts the laws of the yovel the 50-
In fact, this is Rabbi Akiva's response
year jubilee cycle in the Land of Israel
to Tinaeus Rufus, when the Roman
that partially bridged the gap between
governor challenged him over the ten-
rich and poor through a redistribution
sion between Israel's status as God's sub-
and return of property.
servient, completely sheltered servants
The jubilee featured a
(Leviticus 26:55), or God's
reversion of land holdings to
protected, but proactive and
their original ownership, Ki li
redemptive children
ha-aretz — "Because ultimate-
(Deuteronomy 14:1).
ly," God emphasizes, "the land
Tinaeus Rufus says to
is Mine" (Leviticus 25:23).
Rabbi Akiva, "If your God
It is a humbling reminder:
cares so much for the poor,
When all is said and done, we
why would God not just step
are little more than tenants on
in and provide for them?"
God's earth — without com-
Rabbi Akiva replies, in
plete control, simply reliant
essence, that the need to care
on the goodness of our
for others less fortunate than
RABBI ERIC
Creator for our use of the land
us affords humans the oppor-
YANOFF
for our existence.
tunity
to effect our own
Special to the
But with this humility
redemption
from evil, by
Jewish News
comes a danger, that such
offering kindness to those
redemption might encourage
who suffer (Babylonian
inaction, our complete surrender to
Talmud, Tractate Bava Batra 10a).
God as Owner, Proprietor and
The yovel reminds us of our depend-
Maintainer of the world. A complete
ence upon God, that we are not com-
dependence on God to save, God to fix,
pletely self-sufficient. But in the same

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CONGREGATION SHAAREY ZEDEK

parashah, this is countered by Rabbi
Akiva's understanding that we must bal-
ance this reliance on God with our
potential to improve our world by our
own, self-empowered actions.
We should support and help chil-
dren, but children also must be allowed
to seize the opportunity to grow, by
striving and learning and adding good-
ness to the world on their own. So too,
in a world that ultimately belongs to
God, we can look to God.
But if we lean on God, and when
God has the good judgment to step
away and to let us move forward on our
own, then we need not fall; we can
stand tall and act strongly on our own.

Conversations

How do we strike the balance
between providing (1) a support
structure for children and (2) an
over-protection that stifles their
ability to grow? How can we feel
empowered to make change in our
world? How can reliance on God
provide comfort or inspiration for
such empowerment?

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ownroDox

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CONGREGATION

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TEMPLE ISRAEL

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DOR CHADASH

—

U. OF MICH.

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1429 Hill St, Ann Arbor, 48014. Rabbi: Rod Glogower.
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minutes before sundown; weekdays during the academic
year 7:30 am.; Sunday 9 am.

IIIDEPENwar
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2910. Rabbi: Chaim Bergstein. Services: Friday sundown;
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413 N. Division St., Traverse City, 49684, (231) 929-4330.
Rabbi: Chava (Stacie) Bailie. Weekly Shabbat celebrations,

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