Jonah Zakem, Class of 2027
In Parashat Ki Tavo, the Israelites are on the brink of entering the Holy Land, after having wandered in the desert for forty years. The Holy Land was promised to the Israelites by God and because they recognize what a blessing the promise of this land is, Moses commands the Israelites to say certain things as they bring the fruits of the land to the temple for the first time. They are told that they should say: “The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. We cried to the God of our ancestors, and God heard our plea and saw our plight…God freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand…by signs and wonders, bringing us to this place and giving us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”
The declaration teaches us that when something good happens to you, you shouldn’t just appreciate the good thing, you should appreciate everything that led up to it. The Israelites didn’t just thank God for being in the Holy Land, they also reminisced about overcoming hardships. I’ve found this perspective very interesting, and I’ve noticed that it’s a helpful one to apply to my own life. Having the chance to be in a beautiful place, like the Shabbaton, doesn’t just warrant one blessing, one thing to be thankful for, but rather several things. Everything that led up to this blessing is a blessing in itself.
Interestingly, Moses’s gratitude and optimism about entering the Holy Land comes before the Israelites have entered it at all. He has an explicit positive outlook about how everything is going to turn out in the Holy Land, envisioning fruits, and even a Temple. Even though he is looking to the future, Moses still tells the Israelites to look back on the past and be grateful for it once they bring fruits to the temple in the Holy Land. This is very similar to what we do on Rosh Hashanah, which is coming up soon, because on Rosh Hashanah we look back at the previous year, and we look forward to what we want to do and who we want to be in the upcoming year.
When I look back on the previous year, even though it can sometimes feel difficult or embarrassing, I feel more grateful for how well I feel I’ve fit in at JCHS, and for all the amazing people I’ve been able to meet. I also feel like I have a clearer idea of what I want to do this year at JCHS, whether it’s something I’ve already gotten to experience, like volunteer work, or something new to me, like giving a d’var Torah.
Similarly to the optimism shown by Moses in the face of uncertainty, I encourage everyone to look back on what Keira said on the first day of school about embracing uncertainty, and I encourage everyone to think about which unknowns then remain unknowns now, and think optimistically about what we want to happen in the future. Additionally, like how Moses told the Israelites to look back on both the hardships and the blessings of the past, I encourage everyone to reminisce on both what went well and what didn’t go as well, and think about how they want to build on the past. Then, when another blessing comes in the future, we can reflect on what led up to that blessing. By doing this, we can be grateful for all the things that needed to happen to create something good, the blessings within a blessing
