The Torah says in this portion, when talking about fixing what’s going wrong in our lives, that the answer lies not in the heavens, nor does it lie over the seas. The answer is ‘in our mouths and in our hearts to do’.
It’s a bit enigmatic, but here’s how I see it, based on the commentary of Rashi.
We live in a world – as I suppose we always have, if the Torah is alluding to this three thousand years ago – where it’s hard for people to take responsibility for mistakes. Blame, blame and more blame. The problems in our lives are because of our parents (Freud), bad environment (conditioning), bad experiences (trauma), bad biology (chemical imbalance), bad circumstances (disadvantage), bad government (injustice), or simply bad luck. Whatever it is, it’s never us. And hence we see ourselves as victims rather than agents. And, of course, victims are powerless to effect change – if they are not the cause of the problem, how could they be the solution?
The Torah addresses this very modern problem. The solution is not in the heavens, nor is it over the sea. It is nowhere outside of yourself.
It is in ‘your mouth and your heart to do’.
It is in your ‘mouth’. The first step to change is to take responsibility. Stop blaming the world around you and be big enough to say, ‘this is on me’.
And in your ‘heart’. Once you take responsibility, you might well come to realise the truth of the matter. All that you need for your life to be different is a change of heart. That’s the only place that change occurs – in our hearts. Moving beyond anger – is a change of heart. Seeing you have hurt someone and apologising – is a change of heart. Overcoming addiction – is a change of heart. Forgiving someone who has wronged you – is a change of heart. Choosing gratitude over complaint – is a change of heart.
And so, the final words – ‘to do’. To act differently; to be different. Taking responsibility, followed by a change of heart, leads to a different life. And that different life is always available to us. No matter our past, we are never victims; we are always agents of our own future.
This is the time of year when we Jews get more reflective. When we think about the lives we are living and how we want to live them. Having turned sixty last month, I realise more and more that time is not on my side. It never has been. We can complain about the lives that we have, or we can embrace our lives such as they are, enjoying the precious moments for as long as they are ours. Blame is one of our greatest enemies. It makes us prisoners of our circumstances. Responsibility gives us the power to transcend them.
