Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech
To Fear or Not to Fear,That is the Question
By: Daniel Listhaus
“I call the heavens and the earth to bear witness against you: I have placed life and death before you, blessing and curse; and you shall choose life, so that you and your offspring shall live - to love Hashem your G-d, to listen to His voice and to cleave to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days...”
-Nitzavim 30:19-20
The Gemara1 quotes Rebbe Chanina as saying, “Everything is in the hands of Heaven except for the fear of Heaven”. This seems to mean that the only thing left for us to control is the single choice of whether to fear Hashem or not. How could this be? We strongly believe that man was given bechira (free choice). So how could we say that there is really only one area in which we have a say? If this were true, it greatly limits our privilege of bechira.
However, we cannot argue on the Gemara. So, it must be, that in reality there is only one choice to make in life – to fear Hashem or not to fear Hashem. And once this decision is made, our future intentions and further decisions will be by-products.
Following this approach, however, one runs into a couple of major problems from this week's parsha. Reb Itzele Petterburg2 points out, in his work Sha'arei Ohr3, that the passuk says, “I have placed life and death before you, blessing and curse; and you shall choose life.” This passuk raises many issues which need to be dealt with.
Imagine you go to a restaurant for dinner one night. The waiter comes over to you and says, “Welcome. There are two options on the menu tonight: A nice juicy steak or poisoned soup. By the way, I would recommend the steak”. Although technically the waiter is offering you a choice, in reality this choice does not exist. No one in their right mind would take the poisonous dish. Yet, this waiter not only believes he is giving a choice, but is even naive enough to think that the customer might actually choose the worse choice. As he says, “I would recommend the steak.”
Although this story seems totally absurd, it is strikingly similar to the one in this week's parsha. Hashem tells us that he has “placed life and death before you, blessing and curse; and you shall choose life”. Is this the “major bechira” we have, which makes us superior to animals? The Torah sets up the two options in such an unfair way – life versus death. Why is the choice set up in this manner? Would anyone really choose life over death? Of course not! Death is so unappealing to us that this choice is not really a choice at all. In order to realistically give a choice between two options, the two options must be equal. So if Hashem is offering a choice, it must be that they are equal. How could we understand this?
Furthermore, why is it necessary for Hashem to assist us and offer his advice, “and you shall choose life”? Firstly, the choice seems clear enough for us that we should not need any hints. Secondly, if we were to somehow see from the passuk that the choice is not one which is so obvious, then this is cheating! If, in fact, everything is in the hands of Hashem except for fear of Him, why is Hashem aiding us in the major decision of bechira which we are supposed to be making for ourselves? If the decision is really one that takes contemplation and effort, using our koach ha-bechirah, then why is Hashem winking at us, so to speak, when he mentions the choice He really wants us to choose?
To make things even worse, the Sifrei on this passuk says the following, “The Torah says that 'Behold I have placed before you life and death...' so I might have thought that there is really an option and that we could choose whichever we want. Therefore, the passuk continues and says, “And you shall choose life”.
What is this Sifrei saying? Why would we think that Hashem would actually not mind if we chose death? Did we not accept the Torah on Har Sinai? Do we really need Hashem to tell us to chose the juicy steak instead of the poisoned soup?
The Sha'arei Ohr discusses these questions and writes the following. Really, we should have no other thoughts other than to be filled with yiras shamayim (fear of Heaven). We should live a life scared out of our mind to do anything wrong. We should be trembling over where we stand in Hashem's punishment and reward system, or even better – solely because of Hashem's greatness and expectations. However, the reality is that we do not have such a feeling. Instead, we follow after what we desire, even if it leads us towards death and curse. This is because Hashem removes from us the logical fear that we should have after knowing that there is a punishment and reward system set up. Once Hashem does this, the path that leads to death actually appears to us just as appetizing as the path that leads to life.
If so, we actually do have a good claim of, “Well, if Hashem gave us both options, then we should be able to choose either one”. If both paths seem the same to us, how will we tell the difference? We could sit and rationalize all day about anything, claiming, and honestly thinking, that it is what Hashem wants from us. If Hashem removed from us the ability to actually see “death”, what chance do we have coming out making the right decision? This, Reb Itzele explains, is why the passuk continues to say, “And you shall choose life”. Our job as humans with free choice is to want to do the right thing. If we take the time to analyze and think deeply into every decision we make with an honest, internal desire to do things for the sake of Hashem, then Hashem assures us that he will make it clear to us which way to follow.
The challenge of bechira is the initial decision of whether to care about yiras Hashem or not. It is very easy for one to choose not to care, and rationalize a life of disasters without realizing that he has chosen a life of death. However, if one takes the time and energy to think through one's actions and decide if each one is ratzon Hashem or not, he has, by definition, made a real decision to live a life of yiras shamayim. Once this initial decision is made, Hashem tells us that we will indeed choose life. Meaning, Hashem will remove the fog and ensure that we indeed uncover the right path.
With this way of learning, we can now better understand the true meaning behind the Gemara in Berachos and the passuk in this week's parsha. The only real choice we need to make is – To fear or not to fear Hashem. The choice is not as “clear cut” as the Torah makes it sound, for indeed, the path that leads to death is quite deceiving. The choice is actually one we must think about and decide. One who lets his body decide for itself, will end up on the wrong path. But, the one who cares and spends the time to contemplate what is the will of Hashem, is promised that he will indeed uncover, “and you shall choose life”.
With Rosh Hashana approaching, let us make a conscious decision to start the new year with a direction of searching for the will of Hashem in our actions, thoughts, and attitudes. In this way, we will merit the promise of the passuk that we will indeed choose life.
1Berachos 33b
2A talmid (disciple) of Rabbi Yisroel Salanter (Father of the mussar-movement)
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