RaYBaSH’s Ponderings of the Perkei Avot
Chapter 1:14
By: Yehudah ben Shomeyr
“If I am not for
myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I?” 1:14
Yes, God is
Omnipotent, yes, God still performs miracles, but we shouldn’t depend on them.
Many people use God as a magic genie in the lamp and they give Him a rub
whenever they want out of a pinch. But it doesn’t work that way. God is not a
maid who cleans up after our messes. God is not a dog who fetches us our
slippers at our command. God is a loving parent who will let us sober up a
night in jail if we get thrown in the slammer for DUI. He will let us get
punched in the jaw by a bully for allowing our mouth to run while the brain is
not engaged. Some scrapes He will not let us out of because there is a
priceless lesson to be learned that we wouldn’t learn any other way. God is
that loving parent that if we slip and fall into the deep end of the pull He
will jump in after us without a second thought. He is the one who will jump in
front of an on coming car we are oblivious to knock us out of the way.
However, many make
the mistake in thinking God will drop a miracle from the sky into our lap and
when He doesn’t we get mad and blame Him for our predicament. This is an old saying that people often
mistake for Scripture, but it is nonetheless true; “God helps those who help
themselves.” If one reads the Torah carefully one will see how often God
expects Israel to do things on their own before He will move. He made them
build the Tabernacle before He promised to dwell in their midst. He told them
to sanctify themselves before He would meet with them. He didn’t do those things
for them as many expect God to do today. If we have a splitting headache and
cry out to God for a healing, do you think He will do it when you have Advil
sitting in your medicine cabinet? If our community is suddenly being persecuted
as in the days of the pogroms, or even like unto the conflict between Tibet China Israel Israel
We must work with
in the confines of our physical limitations, yet at the same time reach beyond
and believe (have faith) through ADONAI that we can obtain it. A good verse to
remember that accents this passage well is, “If God is for us, who can be
against us?”
Sadly, the value
of one’s word, a promise of a family member or a friend doesn’t mean what it
once did; it isn’t as strong and dependable as it once was. In ministry I have
learned the hard way to have a backup plan when someone fails to follow
through. I have learned that people will break a commitment and to be prepared
when it does happen. So few nowadays are truly dependable; I am just thankful
that there are still a few left. The point being, “If I am not for myself, who
is for me?” This is not saying we should be selfish and only look out for
number one, but we shouldn’t confuse weakness for meekness either. We have to
stand up for ourselves. The last half of the passage balances this out, “And if
I am only for myself, what am I?”
While we stand up
for ourselves we must never forget those who are helpless and have no voice of
their own and be that voice for them. The unborn baby, the government oppressed
minority, the abused wife or child, the mentally handicapped, the elderly, the
orphan, etc. You see, Rav Sha’ul basically answers this question in I
Corinthians 13. “If I am only for myself what am I?” Read it for yourself, but
basically he answers, “You are nothing.”
Shalom,
-- Yehudah ben
Shomeyr
