We Deliver Adult Jewish Edur.t'

Pars
e Deuteronomy 1126-16:17;
Isaiah 54:11755:5

We Deliver Adult Jewish Education
What can we deliver to

his week's Torah Portion,
Re'eh, begins with verses that
explicitly present the very
foundation of authentic
Judaism — that human
beings have free will to
choose to do right or wrong,
and that this choice is pres-
ent in practically every
aspect of their behavior.
Deuteronomy 11:26 28
states: "See, I put before you
today a blessing or a curse:
the blessing, that you listen
to the commandments of
the Lord, your God, that I
command you today, and
the curse if you do not listen to the
commandments of the Lord, your God,
and you turn away from the way that I
command you today ..."
What is clear from these verses is
that the blessings and curses are not
extraneous rewards or punishments,
but that the blessing is the fulfillment
of the commandment itself, and the
curse is non-compliance. The Torah
lays out for us a program of behavior
that will result in success and blessing
if we follow it properly. If we do not
take advantage of the Torah's man-
dated behavior, and we reject the Law,
the consequence will be the curse.
It is also clear that the opportunity
to make these choices comes "today"
— that is, at all times, in whatever we
do. Jewish Law is called Halachah —
"the way to go:' because this is literally
what it is — the guideline to "go in the
ways of God:' Throughout our Torah
portion, and, in fact, throughout the
Book of Deuteronomy, this immediacy
— "today" — is emphasized over and
over again.
The Torah is telling us that "doing
the right thing" — keeping God's
commandments — will make us bet-
ter people and make our lives better
by fulfilling the human potential with
which we were created in harmony

-

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34 August 25 2011

with the glorious world that God cre-
ated for us. What greater reward is
possible?
Through Halachah that is
observed the right way, we
become better people, and
our community and world
become a better place to
live. These blessings are the
consequences of a commu-
nity dedicated to the social
justice and righteousness
demanded by the Torah. It
is the love of mankind, the
responsibility for the needy,
the respect and concern for
all human beings, that are
the "blessing" the Torah is referring to.
It is such a community that, because
of its very nature, will as a conse-
quence be successful. Likewise, the
ritual laws of Halachah should be a
constant reminder of our relationship
with a loving God Who created human
beings as His partners in perfecting
this world.
Those who observe the command-
ments of the Torah and Jewish tradi-
tions because of an expectation of
some "reward" or who refrain from
prohibited activity to avoid a "punish-
ment" are denigrating the manifest
beauty, goodness and wisdom of the
Laws of the Torah itself. Such motiva-
tion is tantamount to superstitious
magic, a futile attempt to "control"
God. It is a denial of the truth of our
own experience; the world doesn't
work this way.
Similarly, those who minimize
observance of the Halachah in a way
that does not allow it to really change
them in every area of behavior, mis-
understand the nature of the continual
mandate of "today."
We truly have before us "every day"
the choice for a blessing or a curse. E

Eliezer Cohen is rabbi of Or Chadash of

Oak Park/Huntington Woods.

Conversations

What is meant by "Judaism is reality-based"?
Are the "religious" people we know really "better people"? If not, why not?
In what ways can Halachah make us better people and our community a
better place?