Why Are There Harsh Rebukes in the Torah? Part II

Evyatar asked:

"I encounter frightening verses like 'and it will destroy you,' severe curses, etc. It is hard for me to understand this, and it causes me a weakening of spirit. I wish to strengthen my faith in the love and mercy of Hashem through studying the Torah."

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After seeing in the previous article testimony of Hashem's evident love in the Torah, both in His mighty acts of salvation and in explicit love verses, we can now attempt to understand the verses of rebuke.

There are parts of the Torah that human intellect comprehends, known as 'mishpatim' (as opposed to 'chukim' which are the edicts of a king, like the commandment of the Red Heifer whose reasoning we cannot understand). In all commandments between man and his fellow, we learn about Hashem's love for His people, because He wants us to love one another and act justly and honestly with each other, not only outwardly but with concern and care that comes from the heart.

The Torah of Hashem teaches us: "And you shall love your neighbor as yourself," a commandment that demands us to think of the other as we do of ourselves. In the Ten Commandments, we are commanded "Do not covet," a commandment that touches on thought, as is the commandment "Do not hate your brother in your heart." These are commandments that translate into practice: "Do not put a stumbling block before the blind," "Do not stand idly by your neighbor's blood," "Do not go as a talebearer among your people," "Love the stranger," "If you see your enemy's donkey - you must help him," "Do not take revenge or bear a grudge," "Do not wrong a widow or orphan," "If you lend him," "Tithe you shall tithe," and many more, which are not merely recommendations but obligatory commandments out of the 613 commandments given at Sinai, defining the Torah-observant Jew. A king who demands such great and personal love between individuals undoubtedly possesses the greatest love.

Furthermore, the Torah explicitly declares that Hashem is a "compassionate and gracious God" (Exodus 34:6), as stated in Hashem's revelation to Moses on Mount Sinai, and thus He is referred to by our Sages as "the Compassionate One."

This is understandable even to our intellect: Hashem is the source of mercy, He who revealed the attribute called 'mercy' and embedded it in the human heart, the work of His hands. All mercy in the world emanates from Him, therefore it is not possible for there to be anyone more merciful than Him. After all, how could a person be able to feel mercy on himself or his friend if not from Hashem who placed mercy in his heart? Known to all, a cat does not have mercy on another cat that is wounded and wailing on the road, but we are filled with mercy in our hearts for widows, orphans, and the needy crying out for help - solely because Hashem placed His divine mercy in our hearts!

The Torah reveals that Hashem imbued the hearts of the Israelites with abundant mercy: "He will give you mercy and have compassion on you" (Deuteronomy 13:18). Thanks to the mercy He placed in our hearts, He made us a people of the merciful, children of the merciful - worthy of the attribute of mercy; all these are explicit scriptural declarations testifying to Hashem's love because the essence of 'the attribute of mercy' is an attribute of giving even when it is not due according to justice: "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will show compassion to whom I show compassion" (Exodus 33:19). This then is a divine attribute given to us by the Master of mercy.

This, by the way, is an answer for all who wonder if Hashem has mercy on them. The answer is inherent in their hearts because it is their own mercy that testifies to the compassion of Hashem who embedded this mercy in their hearts. Without Hashem's compassion, they would not be able to show mercy on themselves or others. Thus, they can be strengthened to believe and trust in Him, who certainly has more mercy on them than they have on themselves, even when He chastises them for their correction like a surgeon.

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Only in light of these important testimonies can we correctly understand the purpose of the harsh rebukes and curses.

Here we arrive at a deep concept called the attribute of judgment - the justice of reality, which explains the concept of the curse.

Judaism teaches us that Hashem created a rule in the world, where sin leads to further sin, and a mitzvah leads to another mitzvah. The world acts with its creatures like a mirror reflecting our deeds, creation depends on us because it was created for us: "Thus says Hashem, If not for My covenant day and night, I would not have established the laws of heaven and earth" (Jeremiah 33:25).

This rule exists from the beginning of creation. We find that the generation of the Flood was destroyed, and Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed - even before the giving of the Torah, because they acted wickedly towards each other. For this reason, Hashem destroyed the Canaanite nations and gave us their land: "Because of the wickedness of these nations Hashem your God is driving them out from before you" (Deuteronomy 9:5), if not for their wickedness they would not have perished. That is to say: any nation that does not live according to the rules of justice and ethics of creation will eventually perish from the world, aside from the private judgment for each person in the world to come: "For Your eyes are open upon all the ways of man, to give to everyone according to his ways and as the fruit of his deeds" (Jeremiah 32:19).

We can notice that a similar rule exists in principles of health and fitness. A small child might mistakenly think his father frightens him for no reason about invisible germs, warns him of diseases like tetanus, and makes him get vaccinated, requiring him to wash his hands with soap repeatedly every day, etc., but to us as adults, it is known and understood that such rebuke is none other than pure love for the child so that he grows up healthy and strong, and does not perish prematurely. Would we think a father 'curses' his son when he warns him about the dangers of smoking and tells him about frightening damages? This is not a curse; it is salvation from the curse.

This allegory teaches another lesson: the greater the 'fear,' the greater the danger and harm. A mother who sees a dangerous object in her small child's hand, and he brings it to his mouth, will not softly and gently ask him to put the sharp object down but will demand it loudly, in a stern and threatening voice, to frighten him into putting it down immediately. A father who sees his son being drawn to harmful substances and bad influences will naturally use a harsh tone to warn him of the worst, for he is losing his life.

Thus, we learn that the sternness in the Torah is what proves how important the Israelites are to Hashem, how much our Father in Heaven cares for us and does not want us to get harmed and lose, Heaven forbid, both this world and the next, key to our eternity. If indifference signifies a lack of care, then the severity of the rebuke is what shows how important we are to Hashem and how much He loves us. King Solomon, peace be upon him, summarized this in a short phrase that holds much: "For whom Hashem loves, He reproves, as a father does to a son he delights in" (Proverbs 3:12).

Hashem does not act towards His creatures out of revenge, God forbid, but out of concern for their wellbeing. All rebukes and chastisements are meant to atone and correct, to erase past mistakes and straighten our paths: "Know with your heart that just as a man disciplines his son, so Hashem your God disciplines you" (Deuteronomy 8:5).

How childish is the rebellious child, thinking that his actions harm his parents, not realizing he only harms himself: "Are they provoking me?" declares Hashem, "Are they not harming themselves to their own shame?" (Jeremiah 7:19).

The Metzudat David explains: "Are they provoking Me? Meaning to say, is the anger for My sake? Meaning, do their actions harm Me? Is it not the anger that will harm them, because it will be a shame and disgrace to them."

Hashem calls in astonishment, do people think they are angering the Creator? It is evident that one cannot harm Him or His 'feelings.' They do not realize that their evil deeds and rebellion against Hashem will bring shame and harm only to themselves when Hashem wanted to save them from the damage they would cause themselves.

It is true that there are many more verses of rebuke in the Torah, but the reason is clear: the material world is full of temptations and desires that lead our hearts away from Hashem, and these are the source of all evils, troubles, and hardships. Because of them, many Jews lose the essence of their lives in this world and come to the next world empty-handed, and worse, with severe transgressions between man and God and between man and his fellow.

Therefore, Hashem warns in the Torah against the curse - the danger of sins:

"See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, inasmuch as I command you this day to love Hashem your God, and walk in His ways, and keep His commandments, statutes, and judgments... and choose life, so that you and your descendants may live, loving Hashem your God, listening to His voice, and cleaving to Him - for He is your life and the length of your days" (Deuteronomy 30:15).