Newsletter February 7, 2013 - 27 Shevat 5773
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I Will Wait For You
Mazaltov to Betzalel & Adina Weinberg on the birth of a boy
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Robert Frost was chopping wood, "I loved my task," when,
Out of the mud two strangers came I knew pretty well why he dropped behind
And caught me splitting in the yard. And let the other go on a way.
And one of them put me off my aim I knew pretty well what he had in mind:
By hailing cheerily "Hit them hard!" He wanted to take my job for pay.
Nothing on either side was said. With what was another man's work for gain
They knew they had but to stay My right might be love but theirs was need
And all their logic would fill my head And where the two exist in twain
As that I had no right to play Theirs was the better right - agreed.
The poet had something he loved, something two men needed. He, unintentionally, had power over them. You can smell the power at play when one desperate candidate for a job observes another exuding confidence that the job is his even if his need is less. There's power between employer and employee, lender and borrower, parent and child, teacher and student, judge and defendant, master and servant. All relationships described in this week's portion blatantly squeezed smack in the middle of Revelation, itself a tale of power at play.
A nation of newly freed slaves, standing vulnerably in the desert, insecure, totally dependent on God for food, water and protection, witnesses a display of God's infinite power and then, is invited to enter a covenant with Him. Terrified, they ask for distance (So Close & Yet So Far), which is granted, and in the pause, God presents them with a long list of laws, all of them seeking balance, Mishpat, in situations in which one person has power over another. The One Who Loves Righteousness and Mishpat begins this list to former slaves with the laws of master and slave, and then, just two paragraphs before the final scene of Revelation, describes Himself as "Adon," "Master (Exodus 23:17)." Is "Master" how God wants Israel to accept the Covenant of Sinai? Why spend so much time speaking of the Torah as a way to restore balance only to conclude with an assertion of His power, His "Mastery?"
No matter how well designed are these laws to constantly seek a balance in power, inevitably, any legal system creates an imbalance of power. Those who decide the law and issue rulings have power. God warns the people of such power, even in the hands of angels, "Behold! I send an angel before you to protect you on the way...Beware of him - hearken to his voice, do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your sin (23:20-21)." As if the people were not already terrified, before committing to the covenant God speaks to these powerless people of their next great challenge, that of conquering Canaan.
The Master then speaks words that change everything, "I shall not drive them away from you in a single year. Little by little shall I drive them away from you, until you become fruitful and make the Land your heritage (29-30)." God, the Master, offers the final Mishpat, an absolute promise of balance, "I will wait for you. It will be at your pace, not Mine."
For what does God wait? The ultimate balanced Mishpat, unification of our vocation and avocation, when our observance is an expression of love. As Frost concludes his "Two Tramps in Mud Time,"
But yield who will to their separation, Only where love and need are one
My object in living is to unite And the work is play for moral stakes
My avocation and vocation Is the deed ever really done
As my two eyes make one in sight For heaven and the future's sake.
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Simcha L. Weinberg President If you are interested in sponsoring our  winning Newsletter, please email info@thefoundationstone.org Go to our Blog  Follow us on Twitter   Become a Fan  |
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