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The Sixth
Contemplation: Reclaiming Your Covenant with God
This is an
exploration of the sixth contemplation from Cheshbon HaNefesh
(Accounting of the Soul), part of the Chovot HaLevavot (Duties of the
Heart). This thought is meant to arise when a person feels the inclination to
rebel against God's will. The core question is: How can we possibly break our
covenant with God when everything else in creation upholds its own?
Look around
you. The sun, moon, and stars all follow their precise orbits. They obey God's
word, as it says in Psalms, "L'olam Hashem D'varcha Nitzav
BaShamayim" ("Forever, O Lord, Your word stands firm in the
heavens"). A slight deviation in any of these systems—if the Earth were to
shift its orbit or the oceans failed to heed their boundaries—would spell the
end of humanity. This is the world we live in, one of perfect, unwavering
obedience.
Now, consider a
more personal example: your own body. What happens when your heart, meant to
beat rhythmically, stops? Or when parts of your body, meant to be still, begin
to shake uncontrollably, as in Parkinson's? What if your senses—your eyes,
ears, or taste buds—suddenly ceased to function? The breakdown of a single
system causes profound discomfort and can even threaten your life.
Given this, the
author asks, how can a person not be embarrassed to break their own deal with
God? We have a covenant of 613 mitzvot (commandments), yet we fail to keep our
end of the bargain. Meanwhile, the very ground we walk on, the air we breathe,
and the organs that sustain our life continue to follow God's commands, acting
as "helpers" or "housekeepers" that tend to our every need.
The King, the
Minister, and the Servants
The Chovot
HaLevavot provides a powerful analogy to drive this point home. A king
commands a group of servants to carry one of his ministers across a dangerous
river. The servants are to do their job, while the minister is given a separate
task, like waving a flag. The servants obediently perform their duty, risking
their lives, but the minister ignores his command and relaxes instead.
One of the
servants confronts the minister, saying, "Imagine if we treated you the
way you're treating the king! We would stop holding you up, and you would drown
in this river. Turn around and ask for forgiveness. The king has conditioned
our service to you upon your obedience to him."
This parable
helps us understand a deeper truth about the world. When our bodies or our
surroundings seem to fail us, it's not always an external punishment. It's an
internal breakdown of a system built on the conditions G-d made with us. Rabbi
Miller would sometimes explain physical ailments as a lack of
appreciation—"you didn't appreciate your teeth, so now you have a
toothache." However, the Chovot HaLevavot suggests a different
reason: if you don't serve the King, His servants—the organs of your body—may
stop serving you.
This concept is
built into creation itself. God made a condition with the world: it would serve
humanity if humanity, in turn, served Him. This is the essence of the blessings
and curses described in the Torah.
When the sea
split for the Jews and then returned to its normal state, the Torah says, "VaYashav
HaYam L'eitano" ("And the sea returned to its strength").
The Sages explain that the wordלאיתנו "L'eitano" can be read as לתנאו"L'tnao," meaning "to its condition." The sea returned to the
fundamental condition God set with creation—that it would listen to those who
serve Him. The Or HaChaim HaKadosh elaborates on this, explaining that
this is a built-in law of cause and effect.
While God is
infinitely patient and waits for us to do teshuvah (repentance), as
described in Tomer Devorah, there comes a point when His
"servants" will no longer tolerate our defiance. They will stop doing
their part, and we will face the consequences. Therefore, let us take this to
heart and choose to do teshuvah, returning to our proper place in the
divinely-ordered world.
