Cause and Effect
May 22, 2008
During the past several years as the new (and soon to arrive!) prayerbook for the Reform Movement was being created, discussions took place regarding a great many aspects of the content to be included. After all, since the earliest expressions of American Reform liturgy began to be published in the early and mid-19th century, considerations of theology, of our beliefs and our faith, shaped the way in which our contemporary patterns of worship have evolved. Certain passages from the traditional siddur, many of which are still included in Conservative and Orthodox worship today, were deemed theologically untenable in the modern age. Such passages included supplications for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, the re-establishment of the Priestly sacrificial rites, the return of the Davidic monarchy, and the ultimate hope for the coming of God’s anointed Messiah. Over time, some passages which were long absent from Reform prayerbooks were once again included (such as the Kol Nidre for Yom Kippur, and the ceremony for Havdalah), while other traditional readings remain absent.
Among the significant questions for the new prayerbook was whether or not to include a section of Torah that appears as a second paragraph of the Shema in Conservative and Orthodox practice (immediately following the V’ahavta (“And you shall love…). The passage, which was again left missing from our newest prayerbook, is a statement of Biblical belief that the prosperity and well-being of our people is directly correlated with our faithful observance of the mitzvot of Jewish life. It is taken from The 11th Chapter of Deuteronomy, and asserts:
“If you obey the commandments that I enjoin upon you this day… I will grant the rain for your land in season, the early rain and the late…I will also provide grass in the fields for your cattle — and thus you shall eat your fill. Take care not to be lured away to serve other gods and bow to them. For the LORD’s anger will flare up against you, and He will shut up the skies so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its produce…”
Although I would not personally lobby for the re-introduction of that passage in our liturgy, I am not so quick to dismiss the notion it presents. True, I do not believe that the laws of physics that animate nature are either suspended or manipulated by Almighty whim or favor. Earthquakes and disease, hurricanes or drought can strike regardless of the moral standing of their victims. And I find particularly abhorrent certain statements of belief such as posit that the destruction visited upon New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment for the sins of her citizens; or that AIDS is God’s judgment upon homosexuals.
However, history has taught us, even as the Torah declares, that there is, most definitely, a cause and effect relationship between upright conduct and the overall well-being of a community or nation. And we’ve seen that truth operating, sadly, in these very days, as calamity unfolds in Southeast Asia.
It is true that Cyclone Nagis, which struck Myanmar a week ago (at the time of writing), would certainly have caused great loss of life and property. Yet by far, the greatest cause of the suffering now being inflicted upon the people of that nation, and by far, the most significant reason for the tragic loss of what may in the end total more than 100,000 lives, and which is unfolding into a public health nightmare for well over a million, is the corruption, greed, brutality and callousness of the reigning, military junta. The generals’ deep mistrust and their desire to maintain power and control over the populace has led to the confiscation of sorely needed supplies, the denial of entry visas to relief workers, the refusal to receive assistance from Western nations (including the United States), and a continuing campaign of propaganda designed to show the leaders in a falsely-positive light.
Hopefully, as the days and weeks unfold, aid and assistance coming from around the world will finally reach the affected survivors. But even then, it will be too late to undo the calamity that, for the most part, was the result of human evil rather than catastrophe either natural or Divine. Once again, it’s a matter of understanding the cause and effect.
(Donations for disaster relief can be made by credit card online at www.jdc.org. Checks can be sent to JDC: Myanmar Cyclone Relief, P.O. Box 530, 132 East 43rd Street, New York, NY, 10017)
