For the Love of God
We are very used to expressing and committing our love to God, we recently restated it in the portion of Ve’etchanan and of course do so two or three times a day. Paradoxically, moments where God expresses love for us are less frequent so when they do, we inevitably become somewhat weak kneed.
There is a striking example in this week’s portion of Ki Tetze. The context; Moses is outlining the way we are to relate to certain peoples in the future when we move from being vulnerable, powerless to powerful. We have a sad and often brutal history with them, yet the lessons to be drawn are often counterintuitive, particularly, to the Edomite and the Egyptian, 23:11;
לֹֽא־תְתַעֵ֣ב אֲדֹמִ֔י כִּ֥י אָחִ֖יךָ ה֑וּא לֹא־תְתַעֵ֣ב מִצְרִ֔י כִּי־גֵ֖ר הָיִ֥יתָ בְאַרְצֽוֹ׃
You shall not abhor an Edomite, for such is your kin. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, for you were a stranger in that land.
Yet when relating to the Ammonite and Moabite, a few verses earlier the stipulation is remarkable. They are barred from being “…admitted into the congregation of God; no descendants of such, even in the tenth generation, shall ever be admitted into the Jewish People…” Why?
עַל־דְּבַ֞ר אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹא־קִדְּמ֤וּ אֶתְכֶם֙ בַּלֶּ֣חֶם וּבַמַּ֔יִם בַּדֶּ֖רֶךְ בְּצֵאתְכֶ֣ם מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם וַאֲשֶׁר֩ שָׂכַ֨ר עָלֶ֜יךָ אֶת־בִּלְעָ֣ם בֶּן־בְּע֗וֹר מִפְּת֛וֹר אֲרַ֥ם נַהֲרַ֖יִם לְקַֽלְלֶֽךָּ׃
Because they did not meet you with food and water on your journey after you left Egypt, and because they hired Balaam son of Beor, from Pethor of Aram-naharaim, to curse you.
That is worthy of reflection and I invite you to consider this reasoning as opposed to the seemingly more forgiving reasoning for those that performed far greater atrocities.
Let’s get back to Love! We receive an additional insight into the infamous Shrek like tale regarding Bilaam, 23:6
וְלֹֽא־אָבָ֞ה יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ לִשְׁמֹ֣עַ אֶל־בִּלְעָ֔ם וַיַּהֲפֹךְ֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֧יךָ לְּךָ֛ אֶת־הַקְּלָלָ֖ה לִבְרָכָ֑ה כִּ֥י אֲהֵֽבְךָ֖ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃
But the Lord your God refused to heed Balaam; instead, the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, for the Lord your God loves you.
This is beautiful and heartwarming, but we must wonder about where these isolated portrayals occur. We surely could have used and continue to need that love in oh so many other instances throughout our history, perturbingly on October 7[00].
As we re-embrace אני לדודי ודודי לי “I am my beloved, and my beloved is mine”, the exquisite phrase from Song of Songs 6:3, and fittingly an acronym for the Hebrew month of Elul אלול, symbolizing the theme of love and connection between God and the Jewish people, we pray that this love becomes more discernible, for we desperately need and surely deserve it.
