Dvarim -- 5776

Moses describes the wilderness as “great and awesome/hagadol v’hanorah,” (Deuteronomy 1:19), using two of three adjectives used later to describe God: “great, mighty, and awesome/ha gadol, hagibor v’hanorah” (Deuteronomy 10:17, cited as well in the Amidah).  God, then, shares important qualities with the land.

The land represents the unknown to the newly-freed slaves.  Similarly, God represents the unknown to many contemporary Reform Jews.

The Hebrews believe the land is a land of punishment – home of war, starvation, and beast.  Many Reform Jews believe that God is a God of punishment.  After all, this is the image of God presented to us when we were children: the wizened male God who punishes and rewards.  Who wouldn’t fear such a Being?  Sadly, our theological education typically ends when we turn 13 or 15.  The turbulent world we encounter after high school doesn’t jibe with such just and orderly God.  The view of God we were taught can’t accommodate adult questions and problems.  No wonder so many reject the idea of God.

As the Israelites mature, they come to see the land in a more nuanced manner.  What was once overwhelming becomes nourishing.  What was once impossible becomes possible.  After their slave mentality, incapable of nuance, drops away, they are permitted to enter. 

The same is true for us.  If we consider God through an informed, thoughtful Jewish lens, we can find a God idea that meshes with our experience of the world and that helps us in times of trouble. 

• ·         Instead of seeing God as an actor in the world, determining the course of human events, we might see God as the Source of the World. 
• ·         Instead of a God who Rules Over, we might understand a God who Dwells Within. 
• ·         Instead of a God in heaven, we might feel God everywhere. 
• ·         Instead of a God who wants to be worshipped, we might envision God as the Source of Energy and Abundance. 

These God-concepts are far more expansive than the one we were taught as children.  And they are fully grounded within the Jewish tradition. 

We can see God as punitive.  Or we can see God as Great as the Rockies, Mighty as the Colorado, and Awesome as the Grand Canyon.

How do you understand God?