Lead Tidbit
L'sheim Mitzvat Belief in G-d
[for MEY] The mitzva to eat matza on the eve of the 15th of Nisan is a static mitzva. After preparing to fulfill the mitzva, comes the Seder, one takes a Kazayit (or two) of matza, makes a bracha, chews, swallows. Mitzva accomplished. Kavana might vary from person to person and/or from one year to the other for a given individual, but the mitzva is done essentially the same way each time it is fulfilled. Static. Birkat HaMazon. Basically, it's the same as last time you said it as this time, and it will be the same the next time. Static mitzva.

Not so with Rambam's Mitzva no. 1 and the Chinuch's Mitzva no. 25 (counted among the 613 mitzvot at its first appearance in Parshat Yitro, but repeated this week in Va'etchanan), the mitzva to believe in G-d. This mitzva differs from the two examples above and from almost all other mitzvot, in significant ways. First of all, belief in G-d is a 24/7 mitzva. A constant mitzva, that never has a time that it is not applicable. Unlike a once a year, once a week, once a meal... mitzva. Secondly, the mitzva is dynamic - each performance of the mitzva (so to speak) differs from the last time, the next time, and each time for other people. Think of the mitzva as always "running in the background" every so often brought to the fore to be fulfilled anew.

Take as an example a situation that came up just this week. You hear Hamas say that the Israeli retreat from Gaza is their victory, brought about by the suicide bombers and other martyrs of the Intifada, and by their prayers to their god. And you wonder - how can G-d let this happen?! It's like we just read last Sunday afternoon - Moshe says to G-d: "Why will Egypt (be able to) say that You took them out with evil intentions to kill them..." Moshe says to G-d that punishing the Jews for the Sin of the Golden Calf will be a Chilul HaShem! The Torah tells us that G-d refrained from doing what He had intended to do. This thought disturbs you, let's say. How can G-d allow the Disengagement Plan to happen, when it is perceived as a victory of terror and Islamic fervor? And/or when it is perceived [L'havdil] as a victory of left-wing secularism over religious idealism? [Realize that no matter how much room this takes up on pages 1, 2, 10 or elsewhere, it is not possible to fully develop the idea in a relatively short "Lead Tidbit"; it is hoped that the reader "gets the drift" and can follow through on his/her own.]

For some, the above thought-sequence poses a challenge to their total picture of G-d, and consequently, to the quality and completeness of their belief in Him. BING. The mitzva to believe is activated. It is now not running silently in the background. It is a front and center mitzva to be fulfilled (or G-d forbid, not).

Perhaps first and foremost is a belief and acceptance that "G-d knows what He is doing" and that very often we cannot understand what is going on in terms of what we think He ought to be doing. Even if this is a basic part of a person's hashkafa (outlook), the application - and acceptance - that a particular situation fits into this idea is hard to take. Making it fit is part of the mitzva of Belief in G-d.

There is a concept that G-d sometimes lets evil have its way, within certain bounds, even if the results hurt people. This is the kind of idea that a person needs to "process" so that it becomes a facet of his belief. When this or that idea applies, is not easy to figure out. Sometimes we need advice and counsel of others with a broader grasp of things. This too is part of the fulfillment of the dynamic, fluid mitzva of ANOCHI.

Moshe's "argument" worked for the Sin of the Golden Calf; the people were essentially forgiven. But a year later, when G-d issued a decree that the adult male population shall die out over 40 years of wandering, we can still argue, "What will other nations say?" That did not succeed in canceling the decree against Dor HaMidbar.

Sometimes G-d will bring a salvation for His own sake, to avoid a Chilul HaShem, even if we are undeserving. Sometimes it is a matter of merit. There are so many angles to explore, and many that will elude our attempts to understand. The point is that the process of dealing with reality, whether or not we are satisfied with out results, is all part of the mitzva. A complex mitzva, to be sure, but an important one.