February 5th: Yitro
THIS WEEK IN THE TORAH
Rabbi David E. Ostrich
There is a tension in our Tradition between Yir’at Hashem and Ahavat Hashem, between the Fear of God and the Love of God. We are taught to love God: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6.5), and we are taught that God loves us. In the morning service: “Ahavah rabbah ahavtanu. With a great love have You loved us.” In the evening service: “Ahavat Olam Bet Yisrael am’cha ahavta. With eternal love do You love Your people Israel.” Indeed, the idea is for us to receive and return this Divine love—a dynamic described later in that morning blessing: V’ha’er aynaynu b’toratecha, v’dabek libenu b’mitz’votecha, v’yached l’vavenu l’ahavah ul’yir’ah et Sh’mecha. Enlighten our eyes with Your Torah; focus our minds on Your mitzvot, and unite our hearts and minds to love and revere Your Name.” The blessing concludes with: “For You are God Who…draws us near to Your great Name in utter truth so that we may give thanks to You and unite You in love.” The loving nature of our relationship with God creates the sensibility in which we regard God as someone with Whom we can converse—like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. We might not go as far as calling God a friend, but that is the way Abraham is characterized in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Abraham, the Friend of God. (II Chronicles 20.7, Isaiah 41.8, James 2.23, and Quran Sura 4.125).
On the other hand, we are reminded continually of God’s extreme and frightening power. As much as God loves us, getting too close to God is dangerous. Notice the trepidation taught in the description of God’s revelation to us at Mount Sinai. On the third day after the Israelites arrived: “…as morning dawned, there was thunder, and lightning, and a dense cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the shofar; and all the people who were in the camp trembled. Moses led the people out of the camp toward God, and they took their places at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for the Lord had come down upon it in fire; the smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently. The blare of the shofar grew louder and louder. As Moses spoke, God answered him in thunder. (Exodus 19.16-19) It was so frightening that the people insisted on Moses going forward alone to receive God’s word: “All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the blare of the shofar and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they fell back and stood at a distance. ‘You speak to us,’ they said to Moses, ‘and we will obey; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.’” (Exodus 20.15-16) The idea of the Infinite coming in contact with our finite selves is more than we can imagine, and we are overwhelmed. As God explains later to Moses, “You cannot see My face, for humans may not see Me and live.” (Exodus 33.20)
This extreme allure combined with great danger is represented in the famous Talmudic story of the four rabbis who ascended to heaven to behold the Holy One. “The rabbis taught: Four men went up into the heavenly garden, and they were: Ben Azzai and Ben Zoma, A'her and Rabbi Akiba. Ben Azzai gazed and died; to him the scriptural passage may be applied: "Grievous in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his pious ones." (Psalm 116.15) Ben Zoma gazed and went mad; to him the scriptural passage may be applied: “Hast thou found honey? Eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou consume too much of it, and have to vomit it forth." (Proverbs 25.16) A'her cut the plants. Rabbi Akiba departed in peace.” (Talmud Hagigah 32)
While we are supposed to have a great love for God, we are also supposed to be very wary of the incredible power of God—and not get too close.
It is for this reason that we do not pronounce God’s Name—using Adonai / The Lord whenever the Divine Name is written in the Torah or prayer book. There was, apparently, a time when it was pronounced but only by the holiest of the priests and at very specific and holy moments. It is a name so full of power that humans dare not even pronounce it. And, for the last 2000 years, the actual pronunciation has been purposely forgotten.
This is the context in which we can understand the third of the Ten Commandments: “You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold blameless one who swears falsely by The Name.” (Exodus 20.7)
Most people interpret this commandment as prohibiting the use of the word “God” with “damn,” a disrespectful usage that treats God as an expletive to express anger. The usage is also a problem because of what it is ostensibly asking. Let us imagine someone walking in the dark and stubbing his/her toe on a dresser. When that person angrily says, “G—dam that dresser!” is the God of the Universe really being asked to destroy a piece of furniture? If God were to respond by sending a lightning bolt and eviscerating it, one suspects that such a miracle would not be considered an answer to a prayer. Indeed, the angry shout was not a prayer—though it was phrased as one. This is one example of what the Tradition calls a Beracha L’vat’halah, A False or Vain Blessing.
We are taught to be very careful in our prayers—praying only what we really mean. We should concentrate on our prayers—speaking the words with kavannah and using them to connect to God. One can even interpret a famous prayer phrase to express this notion on a deeper level. In Mah Tovu, we have the verse from Psalm 69.14: “As for me, may my prayer come to You, O Lord, as a favorable moment.” However, one can also read the words, “Va’ani t’filati” as “May I be my prayer:” My prayer comes at a favorable moment when I put myself into my prayer completely, becoming my prayer.
If this seems extremely serious, it is. The idea of our mortal and vulnerable selves standing before the immensity of the Infinite One should fill us with reverence. We should also, of course, feel God’s overwhelming love. Indeed, this is our blessing: to be able to perceive and live in relationship with HaKadosh Baruch Hu, the One Who is Eternal and Awesome and Loving.