This sheet on Deuteronomy 28 was written by Rachel Barenblat for 929 and can also be found here
“Because you would not serve your God in joy and gladness over the abundance of everything, you shall have to serve -- in hunger and thirst, naked and lacking everything -- the enemies whom Adonai will let loose against you” (28:47-48).
Many struggle with the notion of a vengeful God who repays the breaking of faith in these ways. But what happens if we read the verse not prescriptively but descriptively? In other words: this isn't about what God will "do to us" if we turn away, it’s the natural consequences of choosing to turn away from a path of holiness.
Does the idea of serving make us uncomfortable? Maybe we want to say, I'm nobody's servant -- I live for my own self! But in the Torah's frame, that's an impossibility. We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt until God rescued us with a mighty hand, not so that we could be self-sufficient and serve our own needs, but so that we could enter into covenant and serve God.
Everyone serves something. That's a fact of life. The question is what or whom we will choose to serve.
In the Torah's understanding, either we can dedicate our lives to serving the Holy One-- through the practice of mitzvot; through feeding the hungry and protecting the vulnerable; through cultivating gratitude for life's abundance; through working to rebuild and repair the world; through teshuvah, turning ourselves around -- or we can turn our backs on all of that.
And if we turn our backs on all of that, we will find ourselves serving a master who is cruel and uncaring. Maybe that master will be overwork. Maybe that master will be a political system that mistreats the immigrants and refugees. Maybe that master will be whatever we use to numb ourselves to the brokenness around and within us.
But there really isn't any other choice. We can't choose not to serve. We can't choose to be completely self-sufficient-- that's not how the world works. In the Torah's stark framing, either we serve God or we serve something else, and the inevitable fruits of serving something else will be disconnection and not facing down internal enemies.
Being servants of the Divine doesn't mean we'll be spared these challenges. But the Torah says that if we turn away from the obligation to serve, we'll meet with enmity. If we turn away, we'll experience lack -- maybe because our needs won't be met, and maybe because we have not cultivated a mindset of gratitude.
Choosing to serve God means choosing to be in relationship. It means choosing love, and hope, and ethical actions, and spiritual practice, and choosing to work toward repairing both the broken world and our broken hearts. Choosing to serve God means choosing to be attentive both to the needs of others and to our own neshamot, our own souls.
Many struggle with the notion of a vengeful God who repays the breaking of faith in these ways. But what happens if we read the verse not prescriptively but descriptively? In other words: this isn't about what God will "do to us" if we turn away, it’s the natural consequences of choosing to turn away from a path of holiness.
Does the idea of serving make us uncomfortable? Maybe we want to say, I'm nobody's servant -- I live for my own self! But in the Torah's frame, that's an impossibility. We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt until God rescued us with a mighty hand, not so that we could be self-sufficient and serve our own needs, but so that we could enter into covenant and serve God.
Everyone serves something. That's a fact of life. The question is what or whom we will choose to serve.
In the Torah's understanding, either we can dedicate our lives to serving the Holy One-- through the practice of mitzvot; through feeding the hungry and protecting the vulnerable; through cultivating gratitude for life's abundance; through working to rebuild and repair the world; through teshuvah, turning ourselves around -- or we can turn our backs on all of that.
And if we turn our backs on all of that, we will find ourselves serving a master who is cruel and uncaring. Maybe that master will be overwork. Maybe that master will be a political system that mistreats the immigrants and refugees. Maybe that master will be whatever we use to numb ourselves to the brokenness around and within us.
But there really isn't any other choice. We can't choose not to serve. We can't choose to be completely self-sufficient-- that's not how the world works. In the Torah's stark framing, either we serve God or we serve something else, and the inevitable fruits of serving something else will be disconnection and not facing down internal enemies.
Being servants of the Divine doesn't mean we'll be spared these challenges. But the Torah says that if we turn away from the obligation to serve, we'll meet with enmity. If we turn away, we'll experience lack -- maybe because our needs won't be met, and maybe because we have not cultivated a mindset of gratitude.
Choosing to serve God means choosing to be in relationship. It means choosing love, and hope, and ethical actions, and spiritual practice, and choosing to work toward repairing both the broken world and our broken hearts. Choosing to serve God means choosing to be attentive both to the needs of others and to our own neshamot, our own souls.
(מז) תַּ֗חַת אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹא־עָבַ֙דְתָּ֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בְּשִׂמְחָ֖ה וּבְט֣וּב לֵבָ֑ב מֵרֹ֖ב כֹּֽל׃
(47) Because you would not serve the LORD your God in joy and gladness over the abundance of everything,
Rabbi Rachel Barenblat of Congregation Beth Israel in Western Massachusetts, blogs as the Velveteen Rabbi.
929 is the number of chapters in the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, the formative text of the Jewish heritage. It is also the name of a cutting-edge project dedicated to creating a global Jewish conversation anchored in the Hebrew Bible. 929 English invites Jews everywhere to read and study Tanakh, one chapter a day, Sunday through Thursday together with a website with creative readings and pluralistic interpretations, including audio and video, by a wide range of writers, artists, rabbis, educators, scholars, students and more. As an outgrowth of the web-based platform, 929 English also offers classes, pop-up lectures, events and across North America. We invite you to learn along with us and be part of our dynamic community.
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