“G-d will do battle for you.” Deuteronomy 3:22 

Today we start the Book of Deuteronomy, Devarim. It is Moses’s swan song, an ethical will if you will. It is Moses as his most reflective. He looks back and begins with some history of the Israelites wandering in the desert, just before they are ready to cross over into the land of Israel.  

As part of this, history we end our portion with this quote, “G-d will do battle for you.” It is meant as encouragement and it fits with “miracles” that the people have seen. The parting of the Sea of Reeds, the drowning of the horses and chariots, the smiting of people who stood in the way.  

Yet this idea leads to the idea that G-d is on our side—and that sense continues throughout our sacred texts: 

• Were it not for the LORD, who was on our side, let Israel now declare, were it not for the LORD, who was on our side when men assailed us, (Psalm 124:1-2) 

• “See, the Sovereign LORD is on my side! Who will declare me guilty? All my enemies will be destroyed like old clothes that have been eaten by moths!” (Isaiah 50:9)  
• “Then my enemies will see that the LORD is on my side. They will be ashamed that they taunted me, saying, “So where is the LORD— that God of yours?” With my own eyes I will see their downfall; they will be trampled like mud in the streets.” (Micah 7:10) 
• “But the LORD stands beside me like a great warrior. Before him my persecutors will stumble. They cannot defeat me. They will fail and be thoroughly humiliated. Their dishonor will never be forgotten.” (Jeremiah 20:11) 

You get the idea. There are plenty of other examples.  

We play this out in our national world too. If we go to war—then G-d will be on our side, right? Later in the Book of Deuteronomy we will learn the rules of engaging in a just war. Those rules are particularly apt this weekend as we struggle with the news coming out of Israel, where 350 missiles have rained down from Gaza. When will it ever end. We continue to pray for peace, shalom. 

When we enter football season, G-d will help us win the individual game, right? Some pray for that outcome. That has never seemed quite kosher, proper to me. Some modify those hopes and dreams by praying “May the better team win.” Or praying for no injuries.  

But then when something bad happens—we go the other direction. Questions abound. Why is G-d punishing me? Where is G-d? I feel so alone.  These are questions I get asked frequently, even this week, more than once, by more than one person.  Personally, I don’t believe that G-d punishes us. But each of you needs to come up with your own answers.  

These are the fundamental questions that we need to wrestle with and that may provide meaning ultimately in our lives. I have liked the book When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Note, the title is When Bad things Happen, not why. Explaining the why isn’t always possible. What Kushner does in the book is limit G-d’s power. G-d is loving. G-d is all knowing and beneficent but G-d gave humanity free will and we make choices that cause bad—and G-d can’t stop it because G-d gave us free will. That works for me most of the time. It is harder for me to reach this conclusion with natural disasters, another inflection point when people ask the question, why?  

Rabbi Toba Spitzer’s recent book G-d is Here begins to answer some of this question.  You will hear more about this book as we get closer to the High Holy Days.  

She says, “The religious imagination thrives on the human yearning to enter into emotional experience with some force vaster than ourselves.” 

She’s right. We want to feel connected. We want to know that we are not alone—even in the middle of the night when life might feel bleakest. We want to know that our lives matter.  

She continues that “Anthropologist Barbara J King suggested that religion evolved in our prehistory as a expression for a fundamental trait she calls belongingness—the undeniable reality that humans of all ages in all societies thrive in relation to others.” 

What if that connection frays? That is part of what has happened during the pandemic. There is something I believe is wrong in our society when we put the desires of the individual ahead of the needs of the community. When we lose touch with our friends and family and our religious communities. When we assume someone else will do it—whatever it is. There is a great series of videos developed by Temple Sholom in Cincinnati, even before the pandemic. BE SOMEONE ELSE By TEMPLE SHOLOM 

It actually isn’t Someone Else’s job. It is all of our jobs to make people feel welcome. To help people feel connected. To find community. To sustain community. To feed the hungry. To visit the sick. To take care of the widow and the orphan, just like our Haftarah this morning warns.  

We crave connection—to others and to G-d. When G-d created man, G-d then almost immediately created woman saying that it is not good for man to be alone.  

Like the quotes at the beginning that say that G-d is on our side, there are plenty of quotes to tell us that G-d is with us—a slightly different, and in my mind more positive message.  

Psalm 121 https://www.sefaria.org/Psalms.121.7?lang=bi is my favorite for that. It has echoes in the last verse of Adon Olam.  

“Into G-d’s hand I commit my spirit. When I sleep and when I wake. And with my spirit, my body, Adonai is with me, I have no fear.” 

We are not alone.