Rabbi Eric L. Abbott
This week’s Torah portion is Va’etchanan: Deuteronomy 3:23 – 7:11
Sometimes, when I feel especially contemplative, I try to see the world through my children’s eyes. Both are toddlers, and when I look as they look, I swell with awe. Getting caught in the rain on a hike for the very first time, touching a crab at the bay — how astonishing these experiences must be! Then, not only do I see the universe in a new light, but I also feel a greater sense of gratitude.
When we gaze upon the world, when we take it all in, two options often lie before us: positivity or negativity. Do we see the world as half full or half empty? Do we recognize the meaningful and hopeful or dwell in sorrow and despair?
We see this dichotomy in our Torah portion, Va’etchanan. Overlooking the Promised Land, Moses concludes his first discourse to the Israelites. The parashah opens with Moses pleading with God to let him into the Promised land. “Let me, I pray, cross over and see the good land on the other side of the Jordan, that good hill country, and the Lebanon” (Deuteronomy 3:25). Unfortunately for Moses, God denies his request.
Itturei Torah, a collection of commentaries on the Torah, notices how Moses frames his request. “Moses saw ‘the good land’ (3:25), that is, the good in the land, unlike the scouts who saw the bad in it.” Back in Numbers, when the scouts surveyed the Promised Land, they brought back a realistic report: the land is rich and fertile — and there are great enemies. Unfortunately, they only focused on the latter aspect of the report: on the danger. Moses, on the other hand, appreciated the goodness of the land, a land flowing with milk and honey. He saw opportunity; he saw hope.
There is much to worry about in our world today; there is much negativity. Our political landscape feels more divided than ever, with a rift that seems to only grow deeper and deeper. Online propaganda and social media bubbles spread lies and hatred. War continues in Israel: fighting with Hamas and Hezbollah, hostages’ unknown fate, IDF soldiers risking their lives, innocent Palestinian suffering — the list goes on.
It could be so easy to focus only on these realities of life. Do not get me wrong — we must acknowledge them. I believe the scouts were right to bring a truthful, honest report, and I think we too need to engage with the realities of the day to fix our broken world. And — can we also be like Moses? Can we acknowledge the good things in our lives, find opportunities to acknowledge and embrace our blessings?
At my synagogue, Bethesda Jewish Congregation, we do that every Shabbat (inspired by my wife, Rabbi Eliana Fischel, at Washington Hebrew Congregation). We go around the room and share the things for which we are grateful: as big as a wedding, as small as a deer passing through our backyard. Congregants share updates on their children and grandchildren, we celebrate birthdays and engagements, we name the highlights of the week — blessing after blessing after blessing. After each statement, drawing from our liturgy, we recite, “Modim anachnu lach,” that we gratefully acknowledge God as the source of these gifts. In so doing, we set a tone to end the week, and we shift our lens toward gratitude as we move toward a new one.
May each of us set our own intentions toward gratitude. May we be like Moses, seeing the good in our lives. And may we be like toddlers, looking at the world through awe, wonder, and thanksgiving.
Modim anachnu lach.
Questions to consider:
• What are the aspects of your life for which you are grateful?
• How can you develop a daily practice of gratitude?
Rabbi Eric L. Abbott is the Spiritual Leader of Bethesda Jewish Congregation in Bethesda, Maryland.
