Ilustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
וְעַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל מָה ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ שֹׁאֵל מֵעִמָּךְ כִּי אִם לְיִרְאָה אֶת ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ לָלֶכֶת בְּכׇל דְּרָכָיו וּלְאַהֲבָה אֹתוֹ וְלַעֲבֹד אֶת ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ בְּכׇל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכׇל נַפְשֶׁךָ׃
And now, Israel, what does God your Lord ask of you? Only this: to fear God your Lord, to walk in God’s paths, to love God, and to serve God your Lord with all your heart and soul.
God commands us to do and think and feel things all the time. But we’re not usually asked; we’re usually just told. Why is this list introduced as things that God is asking us?
וְאָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא: הַכֹּל בִּידֵי שָׁמַיִם, חוּץ מִיִּרְאַת שָׁמַיִם. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְעַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל מָה ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ שׁוֹאֵל מֵעִמָּךְ כִּי אִם לְיִרְאָה.״
R. Hanina said: Everything is in the hands of Heaven, except for fear of Heaven. We know this because it is stated in our pasuk: “And now, Israel, what does God your Lord ask of you? Only this: to fear…”
“Everything is in the hands of Heaven” means that God controls a lot for us. For example, how tall we are, what kinds of talents we’re born with, or whether we’re born into a family with a lot of money or not.
But, R. Hanina points out, if God controlled whether we feared God, then would that be real? Fearing God needs to come from inside your heart; it can’t be forced! This is why God can only ask us to figure this out ourselves.
- Have you ever had a day when things weren’t going your way, and you felt really out of control? Sometimes, the only thing we can control is our own attitude - like choosing to be happy and have fun even if something happened we didn’t like. But that’s not easy! What would you tell someone to help them have a good attitude even if they’re not having a good day? What has helped you do that in the past?
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