In A Complicated Time, Perhaps Simplicity Can Save Us

It is not an easy time for Israel and Jews worldwide. The war, the hostages, the resurgence of global antisemitism – the past 11 months have been an ongoing nightmare, and there doesn’t seem to be any respite in view. Perhaps the worst of it is not the conflict with those sworn to our destruction, but the infighting that is threatening to tear us apart from within. There are no simple answers to the existential questions that we are forced to ask one another in this moment. Yet it is possible that there is an approach of simplicity that can help guide us through our many current challenges.

In this week’s parsha, Shoftim, we are instructed, “tamim tihyeh im Havaya Elokecha/You shall be innocent/simple with the Lord your God” (Devarim 18:13). What does it mean to be “simple” with God?

We have recently entered the month of Elul, throughout which we blow the shofar every day in preparation for Rosh Hashana. The shofar blast is called a “kol pashut/simple voice.” Yet the word shofar is from “shefer,” which means grace or beauty. What is beautiful about the “simple” blare of the shofar? Aren’t there many instruments that produce more dulcet and aesthetically pleasing sounds? The answer is that simplicity is beautiful. There is nothing more exquisite than unadorned and unadulterated purity.

To be “tamim” with God is to be simple, guileless and innocent. This is how we are to approach Him always, but particularly in Elul, the time of intensified teshuva when we work to “return” and repair any breaches in our relationship. We do so not with complex arguments, excuses, or rationalizations, but with simplicity and humility:

‘I am Your child, G-d. Just an imperfect child, trying my best and falling frequently. All of my many words and diatribes are nothing more than plain and unsophisticated sounds like those blown through the ram’s horn. What matters is not what I say, but that I am calling to You. Every utterance is just another crying out for Your love, acceptance and forgiveness. I don’t need to explain myself to You – You know me, You created me, You love me in all of my imperfection. In Your eyes I am innocent even as in my own eyes I am blemished and ashamed. As much as I try to portray sophistication, maturity, and wisdom, You will always see me as Your naive and harmless child. Even as I grow old, to You I will always be Your babe. Help me to see myself as You see me. Help me to surrender my toughness, my entitledness, my pride. Let me be humble so that I need not be humbled. Give me the wisdom to know that I know so little, and the strength to stop insisting that I am strong.’

The Sages teach that when we approach God with this type of humble simplicity, then even if we have created distance and discord in the past, we will be embraced with forgiveness, acceptance, and love. Perhaps this Elul, it is time for us to apply this lesson not only to our relationship with God, but to our relationships with our fellow countrymen as well.

‘I am a person of strong opinions and staunch convictions. I believe I am right, but like all of us, I have been wrong at times. I desire the safety and security of my loved ones and of our people more than anything, and I know that is what you desire as well. We should not fight each other, but we should together defend our people and our nation from those who would destroy us and who want nothing more than for us to be at one another’s throats. Their every move is designed to divide us, and it is working.’

Though there are clear differences of opinion and perspective between us, an approach of “tamim tihyeh/you shall be simple” can remind us of our mutuality and our common cause. While the verse is commonly translated “you shall be simple with the Lord your God,” it has also been read as “you shall be simple, and then you will be with the Lord your God.” When we approach one another with simplicity, humility, and unity, then we will not only mend the gaping rifts within our extended family, but we will strengthen our bond with God and refortify the divine blessing that has protected us throughout the ages.

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