Parshat Shoftim
August 29th-30th, 2003
2 Elul, 5763

Revised version of a previous edition from our Archives

Sometimes, I admit, I'm tempted to pay a visit to a fortune teller. Though I have not done it yet, maybe I will succumb one day if the pressures of work, or parenting, get to me too much.

Whether I'd want a palm reading, a tarot card session, or a good astrological profile-- especially now, with Mars so intriguingly close to planet Earth--I'm not sure. (Hey, speaking of that, maybe it’s because Mars is so nearby that I’ve felt like waging all-out war against my kids this past week!) Don't know.

I don’t really mean to be ironic. Many people believe in astrology, necromancy, sorcery, omens, black magic and the like. (I myself, for instance, know for certain that the Boston Red Sox are under some extremely powerful hex.) Certainly, we see references to such things in the Torah--including in this week’s portion. Although Rambam (Maimonidies) denies that there is any reality to black magic, and that practitioners of these arts were merely charlatans, many other great Jewish thinkers opposed him on this subject. They maintain that in ancient times there were those who had real knowledge of the "occult," and could make (limited) use of "unholy forces" in the Creation. (In any case, I think we can agree that most of the modern-day crystal gazers, psychics and horoscope-peddlers are not experts in anything except conning people out of their money!)

Here’s what the Torah says in this week’s parsha:

"When you come to the Land that Hashem, your G-d, gives you, you shall learn to act according to the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you...a diviner, an astrologer, one who reads omens, a sorcerer; or an animal charmer, one who inquires of Ov or Yidoni, or one who consults the dead. For anyone who does these is an abomination to Hashem, and because of these abominations, Hashem, your G-d, banishes them [the nations] from before you." (18, 9-12; modified from the translation of the Artscroll Chumash, p. 1033)

Rashi quotes from the Midrash (Sifre) to explain the differences between these various occultists. For example, a "diviner" is, "one who grabs his staff and says, 'Shall I go, or shall I not go?" An "astrologer" is the subject of a dispute among the Sages: Rabbi Akiva says he declares which times are propitious to begin undertakings, while the Rabbis say he, "captures the eyes (i.e. performs optical illusions)." One who "reads omens" predicts the future based on the slightest unusual occurrence: "His bread fell from his mouth, a deer crossed his path, his staff fell from his hand [and, therefore, some bad thing will happen]." Ov is "a type of witchcraft...[where] he [the practitioner] speaks from his armpit and brings up the dead in his armpit." Yidoni involves placing the bone of a certain animal "into his mouth, and the bone speaks by means of magic."

I couldn’t resist giving you a taste of the juicy specifics of these practices, but have a look at Rashi's complete comments on the passage for a full catalogue of "abominations!"

Which brings us to an important question. Perhaps we could have guessed that the Torah would not have a favorable view of these professions (certainly not for a nice Jewish boy or girl to go into), but why are they outright "abominations?" What exactly is the problem with an occasional trip to a fortune-teller, or an occasional recourse to the Ouija ball?

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (great 19th century Torah leader in Germany) explains that one who places his faith in "the realm of dark, unfree, mysterious powers" will abandon his belief in free will. He will conclude that the moral worth of his actions have no effect on his life and his destiny, and will, therefore, become degenerate in his behavior. As Hirsch bluntly puts it, "The whole moral degeneration of the Canaanite nations came from these things, which supported and were the mainstay of immorality." (Commentary on the Torah: Deuteronomy, p. 352)

In other words, why be righteous if the cards say you're doomed anyway?! Your fate is sealed, bud. Might as well crank up the Stones, take out the Bud (with a capital "B") and really PARTY!

Okay, so knowing what will happen to us might well be hazardous to our moral (and physical) health. But how should we proceed in relation to "the (frightful) future"?

The Torah goes on to tell us: "You shall be wholehearted (tamim) with your G-d." (verse 13) Rashi explains: "Go with Him in wholeheartedness (or, simplicity) and depend on Him, and do not seek into the future; but whatever befalls you, accept it with wholeheartedness..." In other words, don't brood about what the future will bring at all! (Note: Of course, I’m not referring to intelligent planning for tomorrow, but of obsessive desire to uncover one’s "fortune.")

As Hirsch beautifully elaborates, we must accept G-d Himself as

"...the sole Director of our fate and Guide for our deeds; it is He alone Who
decides our future, and Whose satisfaction is the sole criterion by which we
are to decide what to do and what to refrain from doing...And, in fact, the
tamim is so completely engrossed in G-d that he lives entirely in the thought
of doing his duty all the time and leaves the result, with his whole future, to
G-d." (Hirsch, ibid.)

Seeing what will transpire in the future is not important; it is quite irrelevant to our job on earth, which is to grow continually as human beings and as Jews. Moreover, the Torah is telling us to abolish all notions of other guiding forces or determining influences in the universe. G-d alone is our Guide, and His Law as contained in the Torah is what should occupy our gaze. As for the role of Prophecy--which did sometimes include glimpses into the future--, it was bestowed on great men and women of Israel chiefly for the specific purpose of admonishing the people to keep the Torah, and inspiring them to do teshuva [repentance]. True prophecy was given by G-d to inspire the Jewish people to live more righteous lives now, in the present. (What’s more, prophesied destruction could often be averted by repentance.)

There is such a thing as mazal, as "fortune" or, better, "destiny." Think of it as the collective parameters of our lives that we don’t seem to have control over. However, the Talmud explains that we Jews can rise above the dictates of mazal. The first of our patriarchs did! The Rabbis explain that Avram knew from astrology that he was not destined to have children from Sarai. What he couldn't foresee in the zodiac--in the study of which our Sages say he was expert--was that G-d would change his name to Avraham (and hers to Sara), and therefore, his mazal. He would become a new person, in effect--the father of a great nation. Through his prayer and his righteous deeds, he transcended his "fortune!"

Interestingly, at that very point in the book of Bereishis when he is given his new name, "Avraham," Hashem addresses him using the same phrase we have in our parsha: "...walk before me and be wholehearted (tamim)." (17, 1) This is the same idea we mentioned above: G-d was commanding Avraham to abolish any notion of a force apart from G-d that was determining his life, or the life of the Jewish people.

We have our own modern versions of fortune-tellers for those who don't like the antiquated kind: genetic determinists. There are those who believe: "Whatever's in your genes, that's how you'll turn out." It’s certainly true that genes affect the parameters of one's personality…and, who knows, maybe the stars have an effect on our lives as well. Mazal is real...but it's not the final, absolute word. Not for the Jewish people, certainly. There is nothing "in the cards" that--at least in principle--is unalterable. As we'll be saying on Rosh Hashanah, in a similar vein, "Teshuva, tefillah and tzedaka [repentance, prayer and charity] remove the evil of the decree." (Rosh Hashana Machzor) Even IF a fortune teller sees our future clearly in the crystal ball, we can change it through our prayer, charity and righteousness!

The bottom line is that we need to focus on our actions, and realize that they have a decisive influence on our lives. We can bring blessing into our lives by studying and practicing our Torah to the best of our ability, wholeheartedly. All the rest we can leave (happily) to G-d.

May we all be inspired to become more tamim this Elul, more wholehearted in our trust in G-d alone as our Director and Guide. And do call me if you need help selling your crystal ball.

GOOD SHABBOS.

My e-mail address is yosefe@comcast.net

Archives

Insights Into Genesis | Insights Into Exodus | Insights Into Leviticus
Insights into Numbers | Insights Into Deuteronomy

Rabbi Yosef Edelstein, Savannah Kollel. Phone: 912-351-0469; fax: 354-9923