My two-year old daughter is at the stage where she needs to do everything herself. Even if it’s too difficult she still insists, “Alein,” meaning alone in Yiddish, or “I can do it by myself.” I sometimes debate whether I should let her walk around with her shirt inside-out, spend precious time arguing with her about it, or simply forcing her to switch it.
Recently, she discovered that children’s medicine can sometimes taste good. Since she’s always in the mood for a treat, she, at times, asks for some medicine. Now, this time, my parental negotiating skills are set aside. It’s no time to negotiate. It’s time to ensure that she does not harm herself. She might believe it’s yummy, but if she isn’t ill (and with too much even if she is), it will only hurt her.
The problem is that she is so young she doesn’t realize that her shirt is inside-out and that what tastes good can hurt her. She is living in an upside-down world of sorts.
I am reassured with the knowledge that soon enough she will outgrow it. She will mature and appreciate the difference between foods and medicine, between right-side-up and up-side-down.
***
This week’s parsha, Veyelech, is the first of 5776, but one of the last of the Torah. It speaks of trying times for the Jewish people. “And I, hide shall I hide my face from them,” declares G-d. What could be worse than a parent hiding from a child? What could be worse for the Jewish people than the Almighty hiding from them? Our long, and often bitter, exile is a form of G-d hiding from us, concealing His countenance.
Actually, the mystics explain, there is an even deeper form of concealment. And this is alluded to in the seemingly redundant wording of the verse quoted above. G-d doesn’t simply say He will hide. Rather, He says, “Hide shall I hide.” This is often interpreted as, ‘I will surely hide.’ But the great Rabbis clarify that this is an allusion to a double concealment – concealment within concealment. There are times when our Father in Heaven hides His face. But then there are times when G-d hides His face and we don’t even realize that His face is hidden; we dwell in darkness, and think it is light. This is a double exile, a concealment within a concealment.
When we become so complacent with darkness, that we begin to believe it is light, the chances of removing that darkness diminish greatly. When we are spiritually empty, but believe we are full – we cease to yearn for better. When we are depressed but imagine we are happy, our hole only gets deeper. When we are selfish but convince ourselves we are selfless, we continue to mistreat others.
As we prepare for the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur, let us be reminded of the lesson from this parsha. Let’s at least recognize that our shirts may be inside out. Knowing the problem is half the solution.