Impossible to Inevitable

Change. There’s something so interesting about it. Before it happens, people think it’s impossible. After it does, people decide it was inevitable. This observation from Abraham Accords architect Tal Becker. 

How then could we find relief from today’s most ominous problems? How could change be realized to see expansive Muslim-Jewish coexistence in and around Israel, a new era of forward-thinking trusted leadership, and a steep decline in antisemitism? So much so that, like the Abraham Accords themselves, after the fact, people would claim such things were inevitable.

Consider an example from a century ago. It’s a compelling one. Israel’s territory had been described around WWI as “one of the most malaria-infested countries in the world.”  633 people were treated for the disease in 1923. The following year, the number dropped to 347. By 1928, the number was reduced to 16. What was done to make barely inhabitable land livable in 5 short years?

Three things. Dr. Hillel Yaffe first planted eucalyptus trees to drain the swamps. Next, he sprayed the swamps with oil to interfere with the incubation of mosquitos. Lastly, he introduced the use of quinine from the bark of a South American tree to treat those who were infected. This three pronged approach made the seemingly impossible into the inevitable. 

A multi-pronged approach that 1) improves the habitat, 2) slows down the growth of harmful agents, and 3) treats those already infected, isn’t a bad way to approach problems that are raging out of control. 

A detail in this week’s portion commends this. In Moses’s retelling of the Ten Commandments, the phrase “it will be good for you” (yitav lecha) is added to the command to honor your parents (Deut. 5:15). That same phrase recurs three more times in the portion, each instance related to living well in the Land (Deut. 4:40, 6:3, 6:18). The takeaway? It’s good for you to bring a multi-pronged approach to building positive momentum.

True, today’s problems are headed in the wrong direction. And wishful positivity won’t change matters. But it would not be right to consign tumorous troubles to inevitability. 

May we honor our parents by honoring the ingenuity and resourcefulness of their generations. As the Torah makes clear this week, doing so will be good for us.