Remembering and Forgetting: Disease, Cause, and Cure
We continue with the topic of remembering and forgetting vis-à-vis
Tisha B'Av and Rosh Hashanah.
Now, we have to ask ourselves: how do I know if I am
forgetting God? I might look like I am doing fine. If forgetting God is the
disease, how do I diagnose it? The Beit HaLevi explains that the symptom of
forgetting God is fear. If you are afraid, it means you have forgotten
God.
He brings a pasuk in Yeshayahu: "Mi at vatirei..."
("Who are you that you should fear...")—and then it says that you
forgot Hashem. Hashem is not on your mind.
What does that mean? This connects back to a warning in the
Torah: "Lo tira"—when you go out to war, do not be afraid.
Rabbeinu Yonah notes that this applies not only when going to war, but to any
challenging situation that comes your way. Do not be afraid.
You might ask: How can you expect me not to be afraid?
That feels impossible. What does the Torah say right after that
instruction? Remember what Hashem did at Yetzias Mitzrayim (the
Exodus from Egypt).
To give a mashal (parable): Imagine a man walking down
a dangerous road. I remember during COVID walking down Ocean Parkway when a
group of motorcyclists and bicyclists came by during a "defund the
police" rally. There I was, wearing my kippah, walking down Ocean
Parkway, and I got scared.
Now, hold on. Imagine I were inside a large tank wearing a
bulletproof vest, with a cannon in front of me. Would I be afraid? Of course
not. So why would someone in that situation be afraid? Only because they forgot
they were inside a tank! If you remember you are in a tank, you are not afraid.
We all have a tank. That tank is Hakadosh Baruch Hu
protecting us:
- השם צלך על יד ימינך ("Hashem is your shade at
your right hand.")
- כי אתה השם מחסי ("For You, Hashem, are my
refuge, my protection.")
As we say in Zichronot: "L'chol hachosim
bo"—to all those who find refuge in Him. We have a place of refuge.
Think of historical figures or despots—like Noriega in Panama—who ran into an
embassy for protection because, by international law, enemies couldn't touch
them there. An embassy is a refuge. God is our refuge. But when I forget that I
am inside that refuge, I become afraid. Thus, the symptom of the disease of
forgetting God is fear.
The Causes: Arrogance and Desire
The next thing we need to understand is the cause of the
disease. There are two causes:
Arrogance (Ga'avah)
Desire (Ta'avah)
It is interesting to note that right after Tisha B'Av, in Parashat
Va'etchanan, the Torah discusses forgetting God due to desire. In Parashat
Ekev, it discusses forgetting God due to arrogance.
What does it mean to forget God due to desire? The Torah
warns that you will enter a land full of wealth—houses you didn't build,
vineyards you didn't plant, and so on. You will become steeped in physical
desire, and as a result, you will forget God. That is what the Sforno explains.
The first mention of forgetting God in Parashat Va'etchanan is rooted in
desire (Ta'avah).
We see this same concept connected to the Churban Beit
HaMikdash (Destruction of the Temple). Why did the Churban happen?
The verse indicates that people were drinking wine, listening to music, and ואל פועל השם לא הביטו—they did not pay attention to the handiwork of God. If you
ignore the handiwork of God and focus solely on self-indulgence, it causes you
to forget Him. The Chida notes that this means they did not bless Him; Berachot
are the cure for forgetting God, as we will see.
So now we have three parts:
- The
Symptom: Fear.
- The
Causes:
Arrogance and Desire.
- The
Cure: Birkat
HaMazon, Berachot, and keeping God on your mind.
Regarding cause number one (Ta'avah): וישמן ישורון ויבעט ("Yeshurun grew fat and kicked"). When a
person is full, they become totally self-absorbed and forget God. The Gemara
says that a lion roars only when it is full. We all know that when you are
running on empty—when you are hungry—you become humble. That is why we fast on
Yom Kippur. Fasting brings humility. If you enter a day with a full stomach,
you are not humble; but by the end of the fast, at Neilah, you are
humble because you haven't eaten.
The second cause—arrogance—is also very interesting to
analyze.
In Parashat Ekev, the scenario is different: you
didn't enter a place with pre-built houses; you built the houses yourself. This
refers to the second generation entering Eretz Yisrael.
Interestingly, in modern America, the dynamic is often
flipped:
- The
First Generation
came with nothing, worked hard, and built themselves up. Their main
challenge is arrogance ("I am a self-made man; I built this
wealth"—like a Holocaust survivor who becomes a billionaire).
- The
Second Generation is born into wealth. They didn't make a dollar themselves, so their
main challenge is usually not arrogance, but desire. Because they
don't have to struggle, they grow up with fancy houses, luxury cars, and
expensive vacations. They are born into wealth and can easily become
spoiled.
Regardless, arrogance is born from success: "I made
my money; I made my life." The Torah warns: ורם לבבך—your
heart will become haughty from success—ושכחת—and
you will forget. Arrogance and desire are the two root causes of this spiritual
disease.
The Antidote: Berachot
The antidote provided by the Torah is: ואכלת ושבעת וברכת—"You shall eat, be satisfied, and bless."
Otherwise, pen—lest you go down the path of forgetting God.
The Meshech Chochmah raises a fascinating question on
this verse (V'achalta v'savata u'verachta). The Gemara points out a
contrast in halachah:
- For food,
the biblical obligation (d'Oraita) to make a blessing comes after
eating.
- For Torah
study, the biblical obligation to make a blessing comes before
learning.
Why are they flipped? Why don't we biblically recite a beracha
before eating or after learning?
The Meshech Chochmah answers that the purpose of
making a beracha after eating is not merely to say thank you. If it were
only about expressing gratitude, as the Gemara implies, you ought to thank God
even more when you are hungry and about to eat! If someone passes you a glass
of water when you are dying of thirst, you say thank you right away—not just
after you finish drinking.
Instead, the beracha comes after eating because
that is when you have just consumed physical food. After eating, a person
becomes full, satisfied, and susceptible to arrogance and indulge in desire.
Therefore, Birkat HaMazon acts as an immediate antidote administered
after exposure to the risk.
Think of it like a poison and its antidote: if someone is
exposed to a poison, they must take the antidote immediately afterward, or the
poison will kill them. The potential poison of desire and arrogance after a
meal receives its immediate antidote through the post-meal beracha.
When it comes to studying Torah, the dynamic is reversed. Before
you start learning, you are not yet connected; you might approach the study
with the wrong motivations or mindset. Therefore, you make a beracha
beforehand to set the right intention.
This explains why the Churban came about: על שלא ברכו בתורה תחילה—because they did not make a beracha over the Torah first.
They lacked the right intentions. They failed to realize that learning is meant
to connect them directly to God, and as a result, the Shechinah
departed. The beracha must precede learning to anchor the experience.
After learning, you are already connected and focused, so a biblical beracha
afterwards isn't required in the same way. (Of course, Rabbinically, we now
recite blessings both before eating and after learning as well).
To summarize:
- With eating,
the vulnerability to Ga'avah and Ta'avah occurs afterwards,
when you are full.
- With learning,
the vulnerability to wrong intentions occurs beforehand.
Thus, Berachot serve as the system designed to cure
the disease of forgetting by forcing us to remember.
Conclusion: The 100 Blessings
Finally, it is known that there are 98 curses listed in the Tochecha
read before Rosh Hashanah. In truth, there are 100, because the text also
includes unwritten misfortunes, accounting for two more.
Our Sages teach that these 100 curses correspond to the 100
blessings (Me'ah Berachot) we are meant to recite every day. Within
these 100 daily blessings, 98 are Rabbinic and 2 are Biblical (Birkat
HaMazon and Birkat HaTorah, according to many opinions).
What protects us from the 100 curses are the 100 blessings:
98 Rabbinic blessings offset the 98 explicit curses, while the 2 primary
Biblical mitzvot of blessing offset the 2 hidden curses. The antidote to
the disease of forgetting—which brought about the curses—is the daily
discipline of Berachot.
A similar concept appears regarding Sheva Berachot:
- Seven
blessings recited twice a day (at two meals) over seven days equals 49 x 2
= 98 blessings.
- Add
the two initial blessings at the wedding itself (Chatan v'Kallah),
and you reach 100 blessings.
Those 100 Berachot shield the new couple, welcoming
them into a beautiful world of continually remembering God.
In summary: we have identified the disease (forgetting
God), the symptom (fear), the causes (arrogance and desire), and
the ultimate cure (Berachot and mindfulness).
