Eikev 5772

In this week’s parsha, Moshe (Moses) continues his final address to the Children of Israel. “And you shall remember the entire way on which the L-rd your G-d led you these forty years in the desert, in order to afflict you, to test you, to know what is in your heart…You shall know in your heart that just as a man chastises his son, so does the L-rd your G-d chastise you.”

When he references a man’s chastisement of his son, what does Moshe convey about our relationship with G-d during difficult times?

This parsha always is read during the sheva d’nechmosa, the seven weeks of consolation between Tisha B’Av (the fast day commemorating the destruction of both Holy Temples and our exile from Jerusalem) and Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year). Each week, we read a Haftorah from the prophet Isaiah, whose stirring vision of future redemption and return provides hope and consolation.

Writes Rabbi Naftali Reich on torah.org: “The message of Isaiah is an enduring one, for each of us experiences moments of challenge and exile, grief and suffering, where we feel estranged from and rejected by our Creator...Isaiah’s message that suffering always has a meaningful end result is important to internalize as we grapple with life’s setbacks and disappointments.”

Rabbis Yisroel and Osher Anshul Jungreis explain: “Our parsha teaches that G-d never punishes, in the sense of meaning to inflict pain without a constructive purpose…So even in the midst of our pain, we have to know that G-d, our Father, is with us and has not abandoned us. And this knowledge cannot merely be cerebral, but must be ‘felt in our hearts,’ for only thus will we be able to stay the course.”

“A father only has love for his children and his intention is never to punish, but to correct. King David reinforces this teaching in Psalm 23, ‘Your rod and Your staff shall comfort me’, meaning that even when G-d’s rod causes me pain, it comforts me, because I know His purpose is to help me improve me.”

Rabbi Reich continues: “Throughout the sheva d’nechmosa, we seek to internalize the message that only when the process of exile is complete and the redemption a reality, will we fully understand that even its most destructive phases were integral to the ‘harvesting’ of our nation’s ultimate goodness and beauty.”

“By extension, we must try to survey the landscape of our personal lives with a similar perspective. Simply assuring ourselves that all will work out well does not always suffice. If we absorb Isaiah’s message, however, that we are Hashem’s [G-d’s] children at all times, and even in the grip of pain and suffering, Hashem’s love is pulsating beneath the surface, we can then rest assured that all will truly end well.”

As parents, we must teach our children to accept and even to embrace life’s challenges and difficulties. Just as G-d loves and supports us in difficult times, we must provide our children with the love and support they need to discover new strength and to deepen their relationship with G-d.

Read Rabbi Reich’s commentary at torah.org/learning/legacy/5772/eikev.html