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Torah portion
Photo: Yisrael Bardugo
Weekly Torah portion: BeHar-BeHukkotai
The inexorable fact of life is that we can build self-confidence by living through hard circumstances
In this Shabbat’s Haftarah, Jeremiah sums up his perception of human nature: “Most devious is the heart; it is perverse – who can fathom it?” (17:9) The prophet’s disquiet over mankind’s propensity for deceit is matched by his posing, elsewhere, (chapter 12) a most profound question to God: “Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are the workers of treachery at ease?” (12:1).
Jeremiah could hardly have anticipated the answer he receives: “If you race with foot- runners and they exhaust you, how then can you race against horses?” The Almighty sidesteps Jeremiah’s incisive query, informing him instead that he has yet to learn the meaning of intense anguish and pain. Up to this point, his life, relatively speaking, has been a breeze compared to the pressures he is about to face. Competing against athletes is one thing; it takes perseverance and endurance of quite another order to sprint and keep up with the horses.
Jeremiah is every person. There is no running away from devious and perverse hearts: and the running invariably becomes more labored as we age. Work expectations, the anxieties and responsibilities of parenthood, all contrive to make life more complicated. Even retirement only shifts the nature, not the substance, of the challenge of how best to fill moments with personal significance.
Very often, our handling of a difficult situation gives us the wherewithal to cope with stress. The inexorable fact of life is that we can build self-confidence by living through hard circumstances. A reservoir of strength and capability may come to us after being sorely tested in the crucible of tough times. Hopefully, maturing also makes us more adept at coping with crookedness, and more skilled at competing with the “horses.”
Jeremiah received no explanation, must less comfort, about why he was destined to contend with frustration and heartache. Instead, he harnessed his stamina to race with the horses. His legacy remains our challenge.
