D’var Torah – August 15
I hope this finds you well.
There’s this kid, like 7 or 8. He sees his dad building those small model airplanes, and it sparks his interest, so he says to his dad, “Hey Dad, can I have my own to build.” His dad agrees and gets him his own kit. Well, everything is going well…until it isn’t. The kid accidentally breaks a part, gets flustered, throws a tantrum, and throws the kit in the trash. Well, the dad scolds his son for his outburst and sends him to his room.
Later, he goes to his son and they talk it out. And honestly, you’d expect a dad to do that. It’s typical. But here’s where the story gets interesting. The kid comes home the next day from school, and on his desk is… another kit with a note on it: “we’ll build this one together.”
Failure, setback, defeat, and loss…whether at the hands of another or by our own doing is bound to happen to us all; some more than others. It’s simply inevitable and part of life, a feature of the human condition.
If the world was based on paradigms of zero-sum success wherein any deficiency, no matter how slight, would not only not be tolerated, but in fact be seen as a total and irreversible failure, humanity would have ceased to exist long ago.
To be human is to stumble and fall. But what makes humanity great is the ability to pick oneself, dust off, and get back into the fight.
Case in point: in this week’s parsha of Eikev (Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25), Moses reminds the People of Israel of how the generation that left Egypt lost patience in Moses and faith in God while Moses was receiving the law, and crafted the golden calf as their deity. Angered by their betrayal, Moses smashed the tablets of the law (Deuteronomy 9:9-9:21).
God could have destroyed Israel right then and there for their disloyalty, but Moses intercedes on their behalf: “O Lord GOD, destroy not your people and your inheritance, that you have redeemed through your greatness, that you have brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.” (Deuteronomy 9:26).
The people repent and God commissions Moses to bring up another set of tablets that He (God) inscribes with the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 10:1-4). It is, without a doubt, the ultimate second chance.
Call it what you want – resiliency, come-backs, redemption…it can truly be said that God ordains such things. It also says a great deal about humanity that we have the capacity to come back from our worst moments and darkest defeats and achieve more than we ever thought or dreamt of.
We have a choice in life – accept defeat or get back on the horse. Two great leaders of the Jewish people, Golda Meir and Shimon Peres gave us valuable insight on this. It is said that Meir declared, “Pessimism is a luxury that a Jew can never allow himself,” while Peres is purported to have said, “Optimists and pessimists die the same way. They just live differently. I prefer to live as an optimist.” [1]
As Jews we are all but commanded to be optimists, to come back from our failures stronger, more learned, humbler yet more confident, and even closer to God as a result.
Bizrat HaShem, may we all learn from our setbacks and go forward, living lives of resiliency, optimism, and holiness as God intended.
Have a Good Shabbos and a great weekend.
Bivrakha,
Rabbi Aaron Stucker-Rozovsky
Beth El Congregation | 520 Fairmont Ave, Winchester, VA 22601
(540) 667-1889 (office)