September 7th: Nitzavim
THIS WEEK IN THE TORAH
Rabbi David E. Ostrich
Last week, we looked at the expansiveness of God—how the infinity of God means that God can be imagined in many different ways. We considered the view that God is a heavenly majesty Who Dwells on High and to Whom we appeal, as well as the view that God is omnipresent—existing everywhere at the same time. We also noted the development some 400 years ago of panentheism in Judaism, the notion that God is the fabric of existence—that everything in the universe is part of God.
Jewish mysticism balances these views with the teaching that God has two aspects: the transcendent ruling aspect of God Who dwells far above and the Shechinah, the indwelling presence of God Which is immanent—around us and enveloping us all the time. Part of the Kabbalistic symbolism of Shabbat is that for one day each week, the two aspects of God come together in a glorious union. This Shechinah is the “bride” that God and we welcome in the poem Lecha Dodi.
We also explored, in the prayer for healing, an angle of panentheism that speaks of God acting through us: “At some moments, God exists in the touch and gaze of those around us, human vessels of love who spread the godliness they hold within.”
Scriptural verification for these expansive ideas—or a Midrashically enhanced Scriptural verification—can be found in our Torah portion this week. In Deuteronomy 30.11-14, we have a passage which ostensibly speaks of God’s mitzvot as being very doable:
“Surely this Instruction which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach. It is not in the heavens, that you should say, ‘Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?’ No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that it may be observed.”
The Rabbis, however, take the simple statement, “It is not in the heavens,” and use it to craft a very curious and important doctrine. The setting is an argument about koshering a particular kind of oven. The majority of the Sages say one thing, and one Sage (Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus) holds the opposite opinion. Usually, in such Rabbinic matters, the majority ruled, but Rabbi Eliezer would not relent and proceeded to bring forth a variety of miracles to prove his correctness: a tree jumps from one place to another; the walls of the school house start to fall down; a stream changes direction and flows backwards. To each of these, the majority counters with, “These miracles do not have legal standing.” Finally, totally exasperated, Rabbi Eliezer invokes a bat kol, a voice from heaven, and the bat kol says, “Don’t you see? Rabbi Eliezer is correct!” At this point, Rabbi Joshua counters with the passage from Deuteronomy 30, “But does not Scripture say, ‘It is not in the heavens?’ Even a bat kol has no standing in a Rabbinical court.”
This seems pretty outlandish, but the Midrash continues. One day, Elijah was wandering the world and encountered one of the Sages. When asked about God’s reaction at Rabbi Joshua’s “It is not in the heavens” argument, Elijah reported that God laughed and said, “My children have bested Me! My children have bested Me!” In other words, God accepts the Rabbinic logic and approves the standard: the Law is not in the heavens; it is now on earth in the Torah—which, of course, is the province of the Rabbis.
All we have to do is take this teaching another step. Indeed, if God’s word is “not in the heavens,” but within the province of human wisdom, could we not say that God is, in a sense, within humanity? This was certainly the teaching of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan. He approached the transcendence/immanence aspects of God in the following way. God is the power or process in which the universe functions and in which humans attain self-fulfillment or improvement: “God is the life of the universe—immanent as the parts act upon each other, transcendent as the whole acts upon each part.”
As we approach our High Holy Days—our annual time for meeting God and each other in synagogue, let us consider the Indwelling Presence of God in ourselves and in our possibilities. Let us pray to be our best selves—and to bring forth the spark of Divinity present within.