We are at the beginning of the end of the 5 books of Moses. I wonder if the people of Israel know this. Moshe is speaking to them as if they are imminently about to enter the promised land, but these people are no fools. It should not have taken 40 years to get from Egypt to what would become Israel to begin with. Fool me once, shame on you… I imagine them jaded, and sarcastically thinking, “I’m sure we’ll be there soon,” placing bets on how long it will take them to be in the clear.
We have in front of us a people who do not know when their uncertainty will end. We are no longer only speaking about Israelites. It is strange for us to not be able to plan receptions and school calendars. We plan and readjust, we change the make-up, and wait. One of the understandable by-products of living in limbo is to think the worst. Instead of seeing all possibilities, we zoom in on the most negative. We then often use worrying as a tool to try to predict what will happen. Worrying doesn’t prepare us for the future, it sucks the life out of today.
Moses is experiencing something very different. He knows when his end will come soon. He no longer lives with uncertainty. I imagine him wishing he had some more time even if he did not know what he would do with it. The Torah portion encourages us to challenge our need for certainty. Do we ever truly know what tomorrow will bring? If we are left without knowing the future, all we have is this moment. Personally, I am doing my best to live in the present, although it is challenging. I’m trying to keep my worrying in check so that I can live and breathe in this moment.
Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Bernstein
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