If a case is too baffling for you to decide, be it a controversy over homicide, civil law, or assault—matters of dispute in your courts—you shall rise and ascend to the place that the Hashem your God will choose. (Devarim 17:8)
“It is easier to believe in one G-d than millions of mutations. So why are there people who don’t believe in one G‑d but believe in evolution? The answer is that they have an agenda.” (Rabbi Avigdor Miller)
Most questions can be answered if we search hard enough for the answers – but there are times that we avoid searching for the truth because of a personal benefit, or a personal agenda. There are people who can manage most situations that they encounter in life, yet there will be times when presented with a simple situation they suddenly become confused and cannot figure out what they are supposed to do.
As ehrliche Yidden, we understand that Hashem puts us in situations so that we should learn and grow – and even to sometimes change our definition of “success” so that we can grow even more and become better Jews. (Note that just because we have a new definition of “success” does not mean that our previous working definition – and everything else that we did until now – is incorrect.)
Some 25 years ago I had a son who woke up one morning in a semi-paralyzed state. We took him to the doctor, but the tests had inconclusive results. However, within a few days all signs of paralysis disappeared. A week or two later a different son came down with a life-threatening infection. We could not come to any conclusion as to where it came from, and as we searched for a solution, I asked the doctor if there could possibly be a connection between the ailments of my two sons? This led to an interesting conversation between us, regarding the medical ethics of how to deal with these kinds of situations, in contrast to the Torah approach. The doctor stated, “We always tell the patient that they didn’t cause the problem in order that they should not become depressed. This is a rule, and it is important to act that way to keep the patient in a positive state of mind.” I told the doctor, “We, as religious Jews, have a different approach: If there is something wrong, we have an obligation to do some soul searching in order to find the spiritual reason which could have brought about our present situation.” Those healthy in mind, body and soul will gain from dealing with a difficult situation, coming out even stronger. Even with COVID, the medical community seems to say that those who had the virus and naturally developed antibodies have less of a chance of contracting the virus again than those who received the vaccinations.
The Chasam Sofer tells us that sometimes a person will have a question in matters of halacha or emunah, and he will be at a loss. He is supposed to take this as a sign from Hashem that he should catapult himself to a new level of service of Hashem. This is the way to interpret our verse: “After you have your doubts, you should rise and ascend to the place that Hashem, your G-d, shall choose.” We can take chizuk through having difficulties in life, with the understanding that Hashem is just trying to prod us so that we should rise and ascend.
In Elul in particular, often we ask ourselves, “Do I owe that person an apology or not?” I am not sure if I know the answer in each specific case, but it is clear to me that if you go above and beyond by stepping forward and asking for forgiveness, you will rise and ascend to greater heights in your service of Hashem and come to appreciate the importance of your fellow Jew.
