Parshas Nitzavim - To Fear or Not to Fear,That is the Question

~Thoughts on the Parsha~
Parshas Nitzavim

To Fear or Not to Fear,That is the Question

By: Daniel Listhaus

רְאֵה נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ הַיּוֹם אֶת הַחַיִּים וְאֶת הַטּוֹב וְאֶת הַמָּוֶת וְאֶת הָרָע

הַעִידֹתִי בָכֶם הַיּוֹם אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת הָאָרֶץ הַחַיִּים וְהַמָּוֶת נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ הַבְּרָכָה וְהַקְּלָלָה וּבָחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה אַתָּה וְזַרְעֶךָ

“See - I have placed before you today life and good, and death and evil...”

“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 30:16; 19-20

Rashi¹ comments that Hashem places two choices before us – good and evil – of which we must choose one. The consequences are clearly defined. Choosing good results in life, and choosing evil results in death. Furthermore, as the Torah continues, it is our responsibility to choose life. Rashi on this passuk offers a moshol (parable). He writes that Hashem instructs us to choose life just like a person says to his son, 'Choose for yourself a nice portion in my estate,” and he then directs him to the nicest portion, and says to him, “Select for yourself this one...”

These passukim and Rashi are difficult to understand for a number of reasons. First, it sounds from the Torah that there is only one choice we have to make in life. Similarly, the Gemara² 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 believe that an integral part of the purpose of our existence is that man was given bechira (free choice). If so, how could we say that there is really only one area in which our decisions have control over? If this is indeed true, it seems that our privilege of bechira is greatly limited.

Moreover, this single decision we have to make does not seem to require too much judgment. The aforementioned passuk says, “I have placed life and death before you, blessing and curse; and you shall choose life.” Imagine one goes to a restaurant for dinner one night. The waiter comes over and says, “Welcome. There are two options on the menu tonight: A nice juicy steak or poisoned soup.” He then continues, “By the way, I would recommend the steak”. Although technically the waiter is offering a choice, there is no question that 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 given us an option to choose either life or death, a blessing or a curse, and that we should 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 death over life? 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 items, 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, given this simple decision, why is it necessary for Hashem to assist us and offer His advice that we should choose life? 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 by 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? Do we really need Hashem to tell us to choose the juicy steak instead of the poisoned soup?

The Sha'arei Ohr³ is bothered by many of these questions and answers based on the following approach. Logically speaking, anyone who grows up in a religious Jewish home should be constantly trembling our of fear of Hashem. After all, one who spends time thinking about and truly realizes the fact that he is living in a world with a defined punishment and reward system, should really be too scared to do anything wrong. However, as we very well know, 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 this logical fear that we should have after knowing that there is a punishment and reward system set up. Once Hashem does this, the battlefield is even. Now that all things are equal, the path that leads to death actually appears just as appetizing to us 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 could we tell the difference? The Sha'arei Ohr explains that this 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. Indeed there is only one real choice we need to make – To fear or not to fear Hashem. This decision is what creates a mold within our minds to then apply to every future decision one makes. Every thought and action which fits the mold is good, while the ones which do not lead one to death.

The choice is not as clear cut as the Torah makes it sound, for indeed, the path that leads to death is well disguised. 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 wanting to lead a life incorporating 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.

1Devarim 30:15

2Berachos 33b

3Sha'arei Ohr 3

Photo Credit: via Google Images http://www.shipulski.com/2012/04/11/choose-your-path/