by Rabbi Josh Buchin, Dean of 11th & 12th Grades
In this week’s Torah portion, Moses delivers his farewell address to the Israelites as they stand on the verge of entering the Promised Land. Moses presents the people with a clear choice between a life of blessing if they follow God’s commandments, and a curse if they turn to idolatry or disobedience. Contained within this parsha is a great lesson for us as we start the new school year.
As it says in the Torah, “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.” (Deuteronomy 11:26–28)
Moses is essentially giving the people a choice. They can choose to follow the commandments of God or choose to stray from this path. But, ultimately, what Moses is providing for the people is this: a choice. And it will ultimately be up to each individual person to make that choice.
Viktor Frankl, the psychologist and Holocaust survivor, wrote that “Everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” While Frankl was writing this about his experience surviving Auschwitz, this lesson can be applied to our own lives.
One of the great gifts given to us is our ability to make choices. We can choose how we spend our time, who we want to be friends with, and, as Frankl reminds us, what we get out of any given situation. This is the same lesson that Moses is imparting to the people in this week’s parsha. He is telling us to make a choice. Yes, depending on the choice there may be consequences, consequences that we may not be able to control. But, as Frankl writes, we have control over that initial choice.
This new school year gives us the opportunity to make thoughtful choices. We can reflect on who we want to be, what goals we want to set for the year ahead, and what areas would be most meaningful for us to focus on. We can also learn from this week’s Torah portion, following its instructions to make choices that are positive, grounded, and supportive of our growth, both for this school year and beyond.
