The first of this week's two Torah portions includes dire warnings to those who ignore rules of conduct. In that sense, it is a declaration of strict justice. Yet the parsha also includes seeds of mercy -- of being judged not strictly but rather with kindness and compassion.
For example, we learn here that no matter how large a gap there is between the goals we set for ourselves or no matter how large a gap there is between us and God, or matter how far we stray . . . even from there we will be redeemed, restored, or taken back. (Deut. 30:4)
What a powerful message for this time of year -- the end of one year and the beginning of the next. Sometimes we look back with regret over the gap between our goals and our accomplishments, the gap between our generosity and our selfishness, or the gap between our kindness and our anger, or the gap between justice and mercy.
These gaps are chronic; they will always be there. Torah reminds of this when it promises we will be redeemed no matter how big, in effect, the gap becomes.
At this season there are even times when we seek the gap, when its existence is comforting. For example, when we stand before the divine throne of Justice, we hope that divine judgment will be tempered by divine mercy -- that we will not be judged with too much justice. We fear that the place of pure justice may be too black and white for us even as we know that a place of pure mercy might be too uncertain for us.
A folktale to illustrate. Once upon a time there was a very poor woman, Hinda. She was so poor and caring for so many children there were days she had nothing to feed them. One day walking through the farmers’ market Hinda quietly took vegetables from a few carts and hiding them in a satchel to feed her family. A King’s guard saw her putting some potatoes in her bag. He arrested her and brought her to the King for sentencing.
The King's magistrate demanded that Hinda be put sentenced to 10 years in the dungeon for her offense of stealing potatoes. (He was a strict justice kind of magistrate). Hinda pleaded with the King. But he also believed in strict justice, so he rejected her pleas and sentenced Hinda to 10 years. As she was being led away Hinda had one last idea. She pulled an old, hard pomegranate seed from her pocket. Holding it up Hinda exclaimed, “Your Highness, before sending me to the dungeon, let me share a secret that will otherwise surely be imprisoned with me.”
That got their attention, Hinda held up the seed saying, "this seed is magical and will grow to produce fruit in a single night. Enough fruit to feed an entire village. But only if it is planted by someone who has never told a lie or done anything wrong the entire year.”
Hinda turned to the King asking, "To whom should I give this magical seed?”
The King hesitated then looked down at the ground remembering he had taken something that belonged to another just the day before. The royal ministers also all looked down recalling little or big lies they had told during they year. It was silent. No one stepped forward to take the seed because everyone had fallen short in some way during the year. There were many gaps between their ambition and their accomplishments. After a few minutes the King saw no one could take the seed.
Hinda put the "magic" seed back in her satchel. The King realized 10 years might be Justice but it was Justice without any Mercy. It was too harsh for her crime. So the police released Hinda.
The parsha and this folktale remind us of the power of recognizing the gap between our actions and our aspirations -- of seeking and offering mercy to mix with our sense of justice.
May the new year of 5775 bring you the strength to share both justice and mercy and the wisdom to know the difference.
the downside of being human-- imperfection! :-)
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