In the valley of bewilderment
Shock. Anger. Sadness. Fear. Grief.
When aspects of our world feel broken, when we experience a rupture, we enter what’s known as the liminal space – or what the writer and philosopher David Brooks calls the valley of bewilderment.
Life can be seen as a journey across two mountains, according to Brooks. The first is a climb that most of us know well: becoming independent from our parents, cultivating our talents, building a career, chasing success and personal happiness.
Then, for some, something unexpected “knocks us crossways” – something life-altering that was not part of the plan. “Whatever the cause, these people are no longer climbing the mountain. They are down in the valley of bewilderment or suffering.”
As the superficial flow of the everyday is shattered, these valleys have a way of breaking us open, exposing the deepest parts of ourselves.
Some shrink in reaction, becoming more afraid, more resentful.
For others, this valley is their making: “Their life is defined by how they react to their moment of greatest adversity”.
While we conquer our first mountain, identifying the summit, and working our way towards it, the journey through the valley of bewilderment is in sharp contrast: “You are conquered by your second mountain. You surrender to some summons, and you do everything necessary to answer the call and address the problem or injustice that is in front of you.”
Brooks observes that when people reflect on what shaped them most, they never credit a holiday in Hawaii. They point to times of struggle.
“It is so delightful to pity ourselves, to yield to the ‘luxury of woe’ ” wrote Israel Abrahams in 1893. Yet Viktor Frankl, from the extremity of his own suffering, understood that “It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.” And that “Sometimes the situation in which a man finds himself may require him to shape his own fate by action”.
This notion is woven into the fabric of our story. Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery and thrown into prison. Yet, he chose not to drown in despair.
In interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams and acting strategically on what they revealed (advising Pharoah to use the years of plenty to survive the years of famine), he saved an entire nation – and his own family. More than this: in a culture fixated on the idea of fate, Joseph had the courage to introduce the radical idea that human action could change the future – a theology that would change the course of history.
This response-ability – this hope and will to re-shape the future – is visible in the modern State of Israel. When the British White Paper of 1939 cited inadequate water supply as one of the reasons to limit Jewish immigration, rather than accepting this devastating verdict, the leaders of Israel channeled their energies into responding to the challenge. As a result, they developed water technologies that are now used in over 150 countries worldwide, generating more than $2 billion in exports annually.
“Only beings who can imagine the world other than it is, are capable of freedom. And if we are free, the future is open, dependent on us.” Rabbi Sacks emphasises in Future Tense.
How we choose to respond when we are in this valley of bewilderment – both as individuals and as a community – will define who we become.
Will we despair and contract?
Will we repress and try to continue as if nothing happened?
Or will we respond in a way that enables us to shift our position for the better?
In his book Lessons on Leadership, Rabbi Sacks wrote that “To defend a civilisation, you need education”.
Where can you spot the gaps in our education?
Which actions can we start taking to better educate ourselves, our families, our communities – and the broader societies that we live alongside?
What acorns can we plant today that will grow into oak trees for future generations?
As Rabbi Sacks highlights, “to be a Jew is to be an agent of hope in a world serially threatened by despair.”
“There is work still to be done, the journey is not yet complete, and it depends on us.”
With thanks to Dr Tanya White, philosopher and teacher, whose course The Work of Becoming: Jewish Resilience through Biblical Narrative at the Matan Institute inspired and informed this piece.
References:
- Brooks, David. The Two Mountains. Random House, 2019. pp.xi-xvii, 49
- Abrahams, Israel. Joyous Service. Ed. J.H. Hertz, 1893. p.240
- Frankl, Viktor. Man’s Search for Meaning. Beacon Press, 1946
- Siegel, Seth M. Let There Be Water. Thomas Dunne Books, 2015
- Sacks, Rabbi Jonathan. Lessons on Leadership. Maggid Books, 2015
- Sacks, Rabbi Jonathan. Future Tense. Hodder & Stoughton, 2009
- Sacks, Rabbi Jonathan. To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility. Schocken Books, 2005. P.166
