The Return to Anavah

This year, during the fall feasts of Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot, the Chazal revealed some interesting connections between these feasts.  As you know, Rosh Hashanah represents the time of judgment, while Yom Kippur represents the progressive nature of our cleansing.  Each of the Moedim is a picture of HaShem’s redemptive plan through Yeshua.  We know this because Yeshua talked about it in John 5:39-47 when confronting those who had accused Him of violating the Shabbat when He healed the man at the pool of Bethesda who had been ill for 38 years. In this discussion, Yeshua makes some important comments that are relevant to us today.  He said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.  I do not receive glory from men, but I know you that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe when you receive glory from one another, and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses,  in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

This statement ties Yeshua with all of the Torah, including the Moedim. This parsha, Ha’Azinu, found in Deuteronomy 32:1-52, takes place on the last day of Moses’ life. This parsha is a song written by Moses, and it is connected to the Song of Moses at the splitting of the Sea of Reeds. The purpose of connecting these two songs is to show the progressive change in space from the wilderness to the promised land.  There is indeed a very strong progression in this parsha, but it is difficult to see because it is so subtle. It is about learning to occupy your space at any moment in time. The space occupied at any moment in time is called “place.” The word space and place will be used interchangeably in this article.

Occupying your space is a concept called anavah (אנוה). Anavah is an active verb that means occupying your God-given space in the world, not overestimating yourself or your abilities, and not underestimating them.  However, that is not the only conceptual understanding of anavah.  Anavah also means to be proudly humble.  The Sages tell us that if we want absolute truth, we must consider its opposite.  The opposite of anavah is arrogance and false humility stemming from the yetzer hara and surfaces when we compare ourselves with others.  The only outcome of that evaluation is that we will feel better or worse than others. Such evaluations are a total waste of time and mental acuity. These comparisons will present only two possible outcomes. It can cause a deep sense of insecurity, separating us and others. The other outcome of these comparisons is that they create a spirit of competition, which causes an attitude of judgment toward others or us. From a spiritual perspective, no human being is in competition with another.  We each have our own unique gifts and purpose that only we can accomplish.  This personal mission is the reason we are in this physical world in the first place: to fulfill our tafkid (תפקיד).

Rav Kook wrote an excellent explanation of tafkid. He said, “Rav Kook, in his commentary on tefilla (Olat ReIyah, Yom Kippur page 356), further develops this idea based on the tefilla of Yom Kippur: “My God, before I was created, I was not worthy to be created, and now that I have been created, it is as if I had not been created.’ From the beginning of time, until I came into being, there was no need for my existence. If there had been a specific need for what I could contribute, I would have existed. The precise moment of my creation is the moment when I am needed to fulfill my purpose and thereby complete all that exists. And now that I have been created,  had I really succeeded in channeling all of my deeds for the purpose of my creation, I would be worthy of having been created, but since I have not succeeded in this, I am no more worthy of having been created  than before.” Tafkid is the solution to arrogance and false humility. We must realize that we each have our own tafkid and have been given the necessary gifts to carry it out. 

The Sages in Sanhedrin 37a state that the key to understanding anavah is to know, “The world was created for me.”   God created the world for you, and if you were the only person on earth, the entire creation of the world would nevertheless be justified.” (Rabbi Warren Goldstein, Language of Tomorrow).  The Sages also tell us that even though these statements are absolutely factual, we are still but a speck of dust.  This balance makes anavah work because these seemingly contradictory sentiments are the building blocks of true and lasting humility.  Rav Kook also stated that “ the day you were born is the day God decided that the world could not exist without you. Yet, we are just one small piece of an infinitely complex and grand design. Anavah is associated with spiritual perfection. When humility causes depression, it is defective; when it is genuine, it inspires joy, courage and inner dignity.” The root of anavah is anav (ענו), which indicates a condition of character that can be described as depending upon God due to an internal, spiritual orientation rather than external factors.  This condition of character allows us to properly occupy our space at any moment of any day.  In other words, no matter where we are physically or intellectually, we must decide how to occupy that space. 

This is not sustainable unless we have the proper definition and understanding of “place.” Your place is in God, no matter where you are in time or space. Because of Yeshua’s atoning work, you belong to this ultimate place. This must be the absolute foundation of where we belong and what ultimately defines our place and our space. The term “space” has three different meanings in Jewish thought; first, the space taken up by a body. This is our existence, and it is made up of the four dimensions: height, length, width, and time.  This is independent of the bodies that fill it or exist within it.  Second, Hadavar Elohim (הדבר אלוהים), the Word of God.  We see this reality in John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word (הדבר), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him, nothing came into being that has come into being.” God’s space in the world is in Messiah. We must never forget that God is outside the realm of time and space and cannot be contained in time and space.  Anytime God interjects Himself into time and space, it is as Messiah Yeshua. This is precisely what Paul explained in Colossians 2:8-10. “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Messiah, for in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”  Thirdly, God Himself is called a place: Makom (מקום) by reason of His containing things and being contained by nothing whatever.  He is what He Himself occupied, and nothing encloses Him but Himself.  God is the place in the world, and the entirety of creation is contained within Him.  This is why understanding the concept of tzimtzum is so essential. God pulls back and conceals His presence so man can make a free will choice to serve Him.

We are not a place; to function properly in this life, His place must define our space.  When we accept Yeshua, we become God’s place in the world, and He brings meaning and purpose into our space. The place of His residence is in us, and we ( the Guf HaMashiach- the Body of Messiah) become His extension in both time and space, the fullness of the four dimensions in the world.  Your space changes during the day with work, school, and various activities, but your spiritual place must remain constant, or your physical space will run your life. The life of Moses shows us the understanding of who God is and becomes the foundation of anavah.  In Deuteronomy 32:4, we read, “He is the rock! His work is perfect. For all of His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.  The Hebrew word for rock is tzur (צור). The word tzur conveys strength, reliability, and power.  Rabbi Shammai Engelmayer, in his book Common Ground, states that "God is not a physical being in any way we would define that term.  He is composed of nothing, at least nothing we can begin to understand. He is not even matter and/or energy. There is not an atom’s worth of anything in His being. God exists outside the realm of all that, apart from the natural world.” As Rambam points out, redemption is inevitable, and there is no quid pro quo involved. You repent, and I redeem you. This is accomplished only by the Rock. But the Rock has always been a part of history. Yeshua is the manifestation of HaShem in time and space.  In I Corinthians 10:1-5, Paul tells us that this Rock is Yeshua. Yeshua did not come to defend God but to show us how God walks out the Torah because He is the Torah. 

What is the best way to occupy our space if HaShem is the place?  We must occupy our space by understanding and walking out musar.  Musar is virtue-based ethics. The Sages tell us, even as the Bible tells us, that it is our ethical obligation to savor every moment of our lives as an opportunity to improve our character.  In this way, we follow the footsteps of Moses and Yeshua. One ingredient of musar is anavah, which teaches us that God is the place. In Exodus 32:1-2, we read, “Give ear O heavens and let me speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. Let my teaching drop as the rain; my speech distill as the dew.”  Here, Moses seems anything but humble, which in this case is defined as pulling ourselves back and shrinking our ego as he gathers all of Israel together and calls on no less than all of heaven and earth to witness his words. Here, Moses is not violating the concept of anavah but is doing something very significant.  He is warning all of Israel that violations of the covenant with God can bring negative consequences.  According to the Torah, a sinner can only be punished if the sin occurs in the presence of at least two witnesses. To make his words halachally binding, Moses calls on two witnesses: the heaven and the earth. The question should be asked: what other reason would cause Moses to enlist heaven and earth as witnesses?  According to Me’am Lo’ez, Moses chose them because of their enduring nature.  The Sages report that Moses said, “I am flesh and blood, and tomorrow I will die. If Israel complains by saying, why are we being punished? We never accepted this covenant; who will testify against them?” The answer, to him, was the enduring nature of God represented in the natural order, which is enduring, constant, and unchanging.  In his mind, we concluded that the sun never failed to rise, and anyone who planted wheat seeds did, in fact, reap wheat and not barley.  Therefore, to his mind, Israel and those grafted in are asked to emulate the behavior of these witnesses and serve God consistently.

After Moses presented this discourse, really this song, in Deuteronomy 32, the Lord spoke to him, and this conversation is recorded in Deuteronomy 32:48-52. We read in this passage, “The Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying, go up to this mountain of Avarim, Mt. Nevo, which is in the land of Moav opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to Benei Israel for a possession.  Then die on the mountain where you ascend, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron, your brother, died on Mt. Hor and was gathered to his people because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel. For you shall see the land at a distance, but you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving the sons of Israel.” God points out a time in Moses’ life when he did not properly occupy his space. Moses did not argue with God; he did not say that it was unfair, and he did not say that God was only looking at the bad and not the good.  He never said look at all that I have done for you, and this is the way you treat me. He accepted the will of God at that moment in time in that particular space. This indicates that Moses did learn how to occupy his space at every moment of every day.  

Two things help us occupy our space at any moment in time. First, we must realize that we are not a place until God occupies us, and then we become His place in the world.  That is the only thing that gives true foundational meaning to our lives.  Secondly, we can only get there with anavah.  Here is a repeat of Rabbi Kook's statement that will help us walk in anavah.  He said, “Anavah is associated with spiritual perfection (maturity). When humility causes depression, it is defective; when it is genuine, it inspires joy, courage, and inner dignity.”  May you always grow in your anavah and understand the great privilege of being God’s place in the world.  May the hand of the Lord always be strong upon you!