A Thought On Parshas Ha'azinu

A Thought on Parshas Ha'azinu

"...va'yishman Yeshurun va'yivat..."
"...v'oyev'einu pelilim..."
"...and Israel grew fat and rebelled..." (32:15)

"...and our enemies can judge this..." (32:31)

The first of the verses I cite above is quite familiar. We often quote that phrase which seems to link affluence with entitlement and rule-breaking. The second verse is less familiar, and links the clause of "their god is not like ours" with the idea that the nations are judges. The second verse has a variety of interpretations among the commentaries whereas the first seems straightforward with its metaphor of "fat" connoting over-indulged, and how that spoils us to the degree that we dare challenge or even disregard Divine authority.

Let us start with the first verse. We all understand the "fat" reference as a metaphor for having too much. We can understand, thus, how being spoiled and affluent can indeed lead one to feeling haughty and to flaunt consequence. That may be what the verse intends by saying, "the Jews grew fat and rebelled."

The Ralbag offers an original angle. "Fat" can be a synonym for "having too much" but it has a more concrete meaning as well. At an anatomical level, fat covers the body's core. It conceals and pads the insides. It blankets the heart. It is a cushion and a buffer. This is what, says the Ralbag, the Torah is intending with the image of fat. Whereas affluence can be a threat to a person's piety and religious outlook, there are other factors which can do damage to the soul. At times, it is the habitual and automatic approach to acting religious which can lead to a discounting of one's inner sensitivity. One can, over time, be much less "present" and much less conscious of HaShem and our role in His world. When that happens, whether or not we are affluent, our "heart" grows dull and insensitive. It is as if we have developed a thick blob of "fat" around our inner selves. This too can lead us to strike out, to defy, and to lose interest in the world of the heart and soul. We grow "fat" in the sense that we are immune to sacred influence.

The second verse also takes on another meaning according to the Ralbag. What does the Torah intend by connecting the clause of "their god is not like ours" with the phrase about the nations being judges? The Ralbag observes that there are many nations who create many faith systems and their respective deity images. Yet, says the Ralbag, amidst each one's ethnocentric stance about their own superiority, there can be found some level of acquiescence that the G-d of the Jews is very different. They recognize generally that our system is organic, is structured and that when the Jews adhere to the word of HaShem, we have a special quality and spiritual beauty. Nobody does it better.

The Ralbag says that the verse means that with the very same breath in which the nations may assert their prowess and pride, they still concede that somehow their god is just not on par with ours. The verse captures this with the clause "and even our enemies can discern this!" That is in contradistinction to our own problem wherein we grow insensitive about all that we have. We do not tend to our own vineyard, as King Solomon says, and we try to graze in foreign pastures. This is the damage of growing "fat" about matters of the spirit. Even our enemies can see what we have, while we lose feeling and become out of touch.

I had a patient who was a devout Catholic, referred by a priest who had seen me professionally while struggling with spiritual matters. The patient once mentioned that during Lent, which is a yearly interval of becoming more abstinent as a form of sacrificing something important to the individual, that she refrains from shellfish and pork and uses separate dishes for meat and milk. She explained that this is a time for spiritual growth for her, and she looked into the Old Testament (the Torah) in order to find an act of spiritual devotion that the G-d of the Jews would find worthy and favorable. She reasoned that true religion began with HaShem and His commandments, and that this has remained the higher standard.

Now, how many of us observe kashrus with the feeling that this is an expression of the soul? Have we become too fat?

Wishing you a good Shabbos and gmar chasima tova. D Fox