Rabbi's Blog 17/6/13

Weeds Grow Wild

17/6/2013

Someone recently sent me the following story: A small shul in a rural town had a garden that had become completely overgrown. Years of neglect have turned it into a veritable jungle of thorns, bushes, and weeds. Among the members of the congregation was a man who was quite a talented and accomplished gardener. The sight of the overgrowth bothered him week after week, until he finally decided to do something about it. He put on his gardening gloves and began pulling weeds, removing bushes, tilled the earth, planted grass, transplanted flowers, and over several days, the garden started to look really lovely. He worked up to the last minute before Friday services, and was on his hands and knees in the garden, finishing up, as the Rabbi walked by. Looking around appreciably, the Rabbi said “My word isn’t it amazing what man could accomplish with the help G-d!” The member stood up, brushed of his hands, and responded. “With all due respect, Rabbi, you should have seen this place when G-d had it all to Himself!”

The gardener was clearly making the point that it was his actions that brought about the beauty in the garden. The Rabbi was emphasising the fact that without a G-d to cause seeds to germinate, grass to grow, flowers to blossom, and beautiful colours to sprout forth, all of the work the gardener would have been futile.

This is the concept of what we call in Jewish philosophy as hishtadlut, loosely translated as “requisite effort” that is basic to the Jewish faith. Throughout the course of history, G-d effectively demanded of mankind hishtadlut. Already at the beginning of time we are told that G-d created the world but then sent man out into it to work it and safeguard it. G-d’s instruction to Abraham was leave your land, your birthplace, your father’s home - step out of your cocoon and out into the world, to engage it and transform it. It’s time to do your hishtadlut. When the fledgling Jewish nation experienced their Exodus, G-d commanded that they travel into the Sea before He split it. In simple terms G-d is saying, “I will do My job but you must be prepared to do yours.”

This responsibility of hishtadlut extends itself to every sphere of living. You want G-d to keep you healthy, that’s fine. But you have to keep yourself fit as well. You want G-d to provide for you, that’s OK. But you have to go out and earn a living. You want G-d to give you pleasure your children, that’s perfectly acceptable. But you have to be willing and prepared to invest time and into their lives.

The extent to which one should apply oneself and the fine lines to be drawn between requisite effort and indulgence to the detriment of other fundamentals may be a matter of debate. But what is not up for debate is that whatever hishtadlut entails, one is obligated to do, to apply, to involve oneself.

This might explain Moses’ thinking when he hit the rock even after G-d instructed that he speak to it. You’ve got to wonder how he, the bona fide leader of the Jewish nation who admonished the people time and again for not adhering to G-d’s word, could himself choose to simply disregard an instruction he was given.

Yet when we consider hishtadlut there is logic to Moses’ actions. Perhaps his perspective, speaking to the rock in order for it to produce water is fine. But that’s totally G-d driving the result. Rocks don’t typically produce water when you talk to them. So when he was not getting his desired effect he thought, “I need to do my hishtadlut – I need to apply myself more personally into the venture,” and so he proceeds to hit the rock.

To be sure, he did attempt several times to speak to the rock. At first that was his participation – his involvement. But nothing was happening. And if you are continuously failing in what you are trying to accomplish, you must change your game plan.

The question then arises: How do you reconcile the notion of: “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again” with the idea that “if it’s not working, it’s time to try something else?” I suggest that sometimes it is obvious to you as to why your efforts didn’t bear fruit. Maybe you didn’t exert enough energy or maybe your lack of confidence was palpable. On that basis, it makes sense to try again. But if you truly believe in your heart that you’ve tried everything, and still have not had the success you had been hoping for, then hishtadlut necessitates that you change your game plan to one that will work and get you the results you desire. At that point continuing what you had been doing previously is no longer an option.

So when G-d says to Moses, “you got it wrong, you didn’t have enough faith in Me,” what He was saying in effect was you were too quick to switch course. You were at the stage when you should have still tried again rather than trying something else.” And for that he endured the consequences.

What all that says to you and me is that it is about finding balance. There’s a fundamental pre-requisite to apply yourself – to involve yourself – to do your part. And that in turn is complimented by the very real need to recognise how sometimes you have to change your game plan as well.

There seems to be a growing intolerance in the Jewish ultra-Orthodox world today with statements and behavioural patterns that one may have always typically associated with radicalism else. One of the biggest issues staring Israel at the moment is the new draft regulations to be implemented. All of a sudden Rabbis and leaders of all sorts – who live off the fat of the land but hardly give anything back into it - start pontificating the sidelines airing mass protests in the most vile terms and I have to ask, “Who are you to criticise when you aren’t even prepared to engage with the world that you seek to condemn?” You want to reap the land but is your hishtadlut? You want G-d to protect the land in which you live whatever surrounding threats but are you prepared to do your part to protect your land as well?

When these self righteous Jews air their protests through violence on the streets of Jerusalem or with vile placards that can only be described as fodder for anti-Semites every - on the streets of New York - then I must conclude that there is something deeply disconcerting in the very leadership of Ultra-Orthodoxy today. These leaders are engendering a veritable jungle of fear, an undergrowth of distrust, with the thorns of intolerance becoming increasingly manifest.

To be sure this is not limited to just the latest draft laws. Rock throwing, intimidation, and most recently one leading Rabbi referring to another as a “wicked man,” prompting his followers to manhandle the other, without a word of protest – begs the question of what sort of Judaism do they claim to represent.

Sure there are all sorts of issues at stake and yes, there needs to be a more thorough thought through process. It is important to be mindful and respectful of a different way of life, and a people who are used to living and doing things a certain way. But contrary to what some of those leaders might think, they don’t have the monopoly on Judaism. “G-d is on our side,” they will argue. Yes, but only when there is hishtadlut. You involve, you engage, you speak to the rock – you don’t strike it.

Throughout the ages, the good and G-dly led us, guided us, inspired us in areas of Jewish law, ethics and philosophy. In that arena they might well represent G-d. But when the jungle life in the garden is continuing to wreak havoc through unabashed Chilul Hashem (desecration of the religion) then frankly, maybe it’s time for them to change the game plan. Maybe it’s time they wake up and weed out the negative and damaging tactic in order to allow the inherent beauty of all Judaism really stands for, to emerge in the garden.

Judaism was always intended to enhance the landscape of our world – to enable a beautiful garden of peace and serenity to grow. And on so many levels that has been happening but make no mistake about it – it’s being done by the gardeners performing their hishtadlut not those pontificating behind their ghetto walls. And when certain Rabbis and leaders tell us that we should leave matters in their hands with their special help above, we must stand up, brush our hands off, and tell them “You should see what a jungle this place is when you have it all to yourselves.”