Actions Have Consequences
August 8, 2012 
8 Comments
Actions have consequences. That is the message of Ekev. It is the message each time we recite the full Shema.
On the positive side, we read:
“If you will obey the commandments that I enjoin you today, loving the lord your God and serving God with all your heart and soul. I will grant the rain for you in the Land of Israel.”
On the negative side, the passage continues:
“Take care not to be lured away to serve other gods and bow down to them. For the Lord’s anger will flare up against you and God will shut up the skies so that there will be no rain. The ground will not yield its produce and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving to you”
Taken to its logical conclusion, does this mean that every time something bad happens to Israel, the country or the people, it is because we as a people failed to observe a commandment? Are rockets falling on southern Israel because people are not following God’s word, or as some would say, a strict interpretation of Jewish law?
On a personal theological level, I reject this as a strict reading of this passage. However, on a human level, it is clear that actions have consequences. It is generally accepted science that it is the actions of human beings that has led to global warming. It is our personal actions – some say lifestyle – that has led to an epidemic of Type II Diabetes in America.
How do we understand this concept of actions and consequences when it comes to the State of Israel? The action by then Prime Minister David Ben Gurion to grant just a small number of exemptions from service in the Israel Defense Forces to “orthodox men” has turned out to be a disaster for Israel. In addition to the cost of the publicly supported yeshivot, their students and families, the act has made the relationship of the ultra orthodox community tenuous to the Jewish state. Yeshivah students and the school system and the way of life that has produced most of them are a drain on the Israeli economy and societal morale for a country more under siege today than at any time in the last 30 years.
However, it is possible to ameliorate the consequences of an action. One can provide support for folks who are unemployed, struggling with life, or just simply need a shoulder upon which to occasionally lean. In Israel, it is possible to ameliorate the consequences of the Ben Gurion compromise. Instead of trying to craft a law that addresses all the exceptions to the law of universal national service (Hok Tal), simply enforce it.
All 18 year old men and unmarried 18 year old women should have to enter into national service, either in the Israel Defense Forces or into social service support. Length of service should be the same as the requirements for service in the army. Exemptions from service should be handled on a case by case basis, but not en masse. Sometimes life is best lived by category. Universal service of all 18 year olds in Israel is one of these cases.
Israel needs a renewed sense of purpose and shared national goals. A society cannot thrive with a long term siege mentality, even when the threats are real. Israel, along with Jews everywhere, needs a renewed belief in Zionism; the most successful movement of national liberation in world history. Yes, there are consequences for actions. Not the kind that do or do not provide rain, but that perhaps provide a different kind of sustenance; the spiritual health of a pluralistic, inclusive, democratic Israeli society.
Originally published in Ten Minutes of Torah, a daily e-mail on a topic of Jewish interest. Sign up now to add 10 minutes of Jewish learning to your life each day!
No, it is not our “life style” that is bringing on the epidemic of obesity and type-2 diabetes. It is the FOOD we eat.
NO FOOD TODAY IS KOSHER if the meaning of kosher is “fit to use.” All beef, chicken, turkey, etc. in the United States of America are NOT kosher because cattle are not fed grass as nature intended, chickens are fed, in addition to the genetically modified corn and other grains they eat, they are fed GROUND UP CHICKENS!
The Federal Death Administration (FDA) has NO WAY OF TESTING THE ALTERED FOODS TO SEE IF THEY ARE FIT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.
Doctors want to blame individuals for using too many antibiotics when, in fact, antibiotics are rife in the meat we eat!
Girls are maturing early, breast cancer is increasing in MEN!
GMO foods are KILLING us!
Canada and all European countries refuse to use GMO; there is a good reason.
We overeat because the growth hormones in our beef, chicken, etc. causes the animals to overeat so that they will be ready for slaughter in a shorter period of time!]
Dr. William Davis has written one of the most important books to come to market in decades: “Wheat Belly.” Buy it, study it, and study it again.
My family and I eat ONLY grass-fed beef and buffalo, organically produced FREE RANGE chicken and their eggs.
Our eggs do not taste like chicken, they taste just like eggs used to prior to the mid 1960s.
The chemical companies are currently spreading the false notion that GMO started in the ’80s. That is patently FALSE.
We purchase ONLY organic vegetables from reliable sources. All of our food is fit to eat although not “kosher.” We even go so far as to purchase only milk produced organically, although when we can get it, we buy milk from grass-fed cows.
Consider this: Although the food is more expensive, after you become an organic consumer, you will discover that you eat much less! I lost 70 pounds in 11 weeks! I’ve since lost another ten pounds and have a bit more to go to get to my old “fighting” weight.
You have been warned, if I could, I would purchase a copy for each and every person who reads this but I’m too poor, but VERY happy and content with what I have. I don’t need money; I just need Hashem.
Regarding Israel. Our greatest sages all worked in secular occupations; why are not the ultra orthodox men not able to follow their example and at least serve in the IDF or alternative service to the country?
As a woman, I was not eligible for the draft in the U.S. However, I was so grateful for my grandparents emigrating to America that I had to repay my country for the safety that it gave all Jews who were here.
Had I been in Russia or Poland during the Shoah, I would either never have been born or would have had my head smashed into a wall, killing me.
I SERVED THE U.S. And afterwards, I went to work helping to defend our country in defense work, helping to produce nuclear submarines. I worked in nuclear quality control; that is all I can say to this day.
I am a Jew, proud of being one, but 47 of my aunts, uncles and cousins were enslaved and murdered DURING MY LIFETIME!
Both Israel and the United States were born with the blood of many heroic individuals. I love the ultra orthodox as I love ALL Jews. But I disdain their resistance to even help protect Eretz Yisroel or serve her in any way.
The drag they cause to the economy is shameful. They need to follow our highest and holiest of sages and leaders of old who studied AND worked.
I agree that all able bodied people should serve. The US might be better off if we had such a system. My question is “How many members of Reform Congregations have ever read the full 3 paragraphs of the Shema? The 2nd paragraph does not appear in most Reform prayer books and even where it does appear it is not used.Maybe it should be, as you point out.
Well, I too wonder where that paragraph went. While in a Torah study once I said “that Hashem had given us blessings above and beyond what any of us deserved…BUT…and remember G-d’s buts are BIG.”
The laughter was puzzling to me until I realized what I had said. I never knew anyone could blush that particular shade of red.
Being raised Conservative, I had to join a Reformed shul because although I don’t particularly like some of the liturgy they use, I love the congregants and the rabbi. He is the most compassionate, empathetic man I have ever met; I’d never consider another shul as long as he is the shul’s rabbi.
A few years ago I fell (I’m a stroke survivor) and managed to break my back in three places. Both the administrator and the rabbi knew about my injury but chose not to mention it to the congregation. After being a member of that place for over a decade, it hurt me deeply that I never heard from any of them.
NOBODY was told a thing about me. That hurt and angered me until I discovered that people had been asking about me and the “rabbi” kept his yap shut.
What amazes me is how conservative many of the reformed congregations are becoming. Please be patient with us, we’re moving forward, not backward.
With love for all Israel…
You might want to take a look at this post from a while back http://blogs.rj.org/blog/2010/11/03/too_conservative
I think you’ll find plenty of evidence that the Conservative movement is moving towards Reform practice, more significantly than the reverse.
Why should married women receive an exemption from service? That seems sexist to me. All types of families–straight, gay, married, unmarried, and single-parent–raise children. Since all people raise children and all women (married or unmarried) bear children in contemporary society, why should anyone have an army exemption?
When the U.S. had a draft, married men were eligible for exemptions? Was that sexist?
The crazy thing is that I’m an Air Force veteran. I joined in March, 1958 and got out in March 1964. I’d just become pregnant, so I would have been kicked out back then because women were not eligible for the draft and pregnant moms were NOT permitted to remain in the service.
I joined out of gratitude for the safety my grandparents discovered on these shores, but this Republic is in danger of becoming an Oligarchy run by the Plutocrats. If the GOP takes over the whole enchilada, this kid is getting OUT of this country.