A Reflection by Rodney Baker
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV
Bǝtach el-Adonai bǝchol-libecha vǝel-biynat’cha al-tisha’en
Bǝchol-dǝracheycha da’eyhu vǝhu yǝyasher orchoteycha.
It’s funny how things often come to me when I’m in the shower, of all places; perhaps because it’s one of the few times/places when I’m relatively free from distractions (like Facebook). 🙂
Anyway, one morning I was thinking about a post that a friend had posted from chabad.org about atonement and forgiveness. A key point in that article about the depth of atonement required was the level of understanding of the person who commits the offence, and thinking about understanding reminded me of this passage in Proverbs.
One criticism of “the rabbis” that I’ve heard from some Hebrew Roots teachers (and a certain wandering Karaite who shall remain nameless) is that “the rabbis” have spent so much time “adding commandments to the Torah” and, in doing so, making it a “heavy burden.” One example they give are the many blessings that observant Jews are wont to say throughout the day – there is a blessing for almost every situation. To the outsider, it could even seem almost OCD-like. (Bear with me – I’m getting to my point).
As I meditated on these verses, I found myself asking some questions.
“What does it mean, ‘Bǝchol-dǝracheycha (in all your ways)’?”
Derech – a way, road, path, journey – is the place where we walk. All of our journeys. All of our paths. Wherever we walk. To walk is halakh, which is the root of the term halakhah – legal determinations and interpretations and applications of the Torah made by a Rabbi for his community, or by a Rabbinic Council (e.g. the Sanhedrin). So, we could understand “in all your ways” as being equivalent to “everywhere you walk, everything you do, every decision you make…” (etc).
“What does it mean, ‘da’eyhu (know/acknowledge Him)’?”
The root of da’eyh is yada. It has a range of meaning including knowing, learning, perceiving, discerning, admitting, acknowledging, confessing and more. Da’eyhu here implies more than just an intellectual knowing or assent, especially when preceded by “do not lean on your (own) understanding”; we are to seek to know, to learn to discern His will in every situation, and to acknowledge His leading, guidance and providence at every step, even before it is necessarily evident.
And what are the many blessings that have been taught to us by Chazal (our sages of blessed memory), if not deliberate acknowledgements of HaShem’s involvement in everything we do? Are they not practical examples of the application of the wisdom contained in these verses? We need not even understand – we need only to ask, to know, to acknowledge and honour Him at every step, and yǝyasher orchoteycha – he will make right, make smooth, straighten, lead, direct, esteem rightly and approve the course of your (our) lives.
Now, do I know all the blessings? Do I remember to bless him at every turn? To be perfectly honest, no. Not yet. I’ve never been taught to do so (not that that is any excuse), but I’m thinking it’s about time to start learning and practicing. We have plenty of examples given to us to follow, written down for us through the writings of those who’ve gone before.
May I (may we all) be diligent to learn to acknowledge Him in ALL our ways. All our halakhah. B”H.
Topical Index: Rodney Baker, Proverbs 3:5-6
I remember in my” before torah days” thinking what an advantage the Jews had because of their God permeated culture.
I find it interesting (and by that I mean hypocritical) that the church verbally teaches its flocks that they need to constantly give thanks to YHWH, yet they criticize observant jews, who are attempting to give thanks at all times, as being ritualistic. Maybe this needs to be pointed out to them.
Its time for me too…to learn to bless Him at all times!
You may sometimes hear Skip lamenting that nobody taught him to pray, or to bless, when he was a child. How I wish that it was more ‘second nature’ to me now, but even in later years, I am learning just as fast as I can. It becomes easier when you give yourself permission to treat the traditional blessings as a framework, and sometimes substitute a more personal blessing. There is an online rabbi that sometimes substitutes Bob Dylan’s song, “Forever Young”, for the traditional Aaronic blessing. Rabbi Rachel Barenblat (the “velveteen rabbi”) sometimes uses the following blessing for putting on the tallit:
“Shekinah, wrap Your arms around me
like a mother’s embrace
stroke my hair, press a kiss
to my tender forehead
settle around my shoulders
like a royal mantle
help me remember
You are a close as my beating heart”
Poetry, huh?
By the way, Rodney, your “wandering Karaite” sometimes says Yeshua may have been a first-century Karaite. Now that is food for thought for a loooonnng time.
SKIP RE Shower and thoughts happened years ago wondered same thing why showe thoughts God. Reply in mind cleanliness is next to Godliness. And like you said it is an isolation one on one time .
This was so awesome! Thank you Rodney for breaking down this verse like this. What wonderful new insight it has given me!