Parashas Shoftim,"Wholehearted with Gd."

Wholehearted with Gd

Parashat Shoftim gives us a beautiful and challenging command:

“Tamim tihyeh im Hashem Elokecha”

“You shall be wholehearted with Hashem your G-d.”

The Torah then tells us not to turn to witchcraft, divination, or those who try to predict the future.

Perhaps because underneath our desire to know what will happen is a desire to control what will happen. We want reassurance. We want to know that everything will work out the way we hope. We want to remove all uncertainty. We want to be able to plan.

But the Torah asks us to do something different. We are being asked to trust.

We can hope. We can plan. We can make responsible choices. We can pray for the outcome we want. But we cannot know what the future will bring.

And perhaps one of the ways we know that Gd is truly in control is precisely because things don't always go according to our plans.

Tamim means whole, complete, wholehearted, sincere, upright. One part of us is trusting in Gd while another part desperately trying to control the future.

And this is especially meaningful as we enter the month of Elul.

Rosh Chodesh Elul begins this week, and during Elul we begin preparing ourselves for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We say Psalm 27 twice a day, with its powerful words of longing for Gd and seeking His presence.

Elul is ultimately about focusing on our relationship with Gd. It is about returning to the relationship that is always there.

The word tamim reminds us that at our deepest level, we are meant to be connected to Gd. We don't need to become someone completely different. We need to remove the things that interfere with that connection such as fear, distraction, arrogance, the need to control, and the illusion that we can know what lies ahead.

To be wholehearted (Tamim) with Gd means that our inner selves and our outer selves are aligned. We don't just speak about faith; we try to live with faith. We don't just pray for Gd's presence; we try to notice Gd’s presence in our lives.

We don't know what tomorrow will bring.

But we can know with Whom we are walking.

That is the invitation of Elul: to let go of our need to know the future and instead strengthen our relationship with the One who holds the future.

We can say: G-d, I don't know what is coming. I don't know how everything will unfold. But I trust that You are with me. Help me to walk with You wholeheartedly.

May this Elul help us become more Tamim: more whole, more sincere, more trusting, and bring us back to the enduring relationship with Gd that is the essence of who we are.

With much love for a Shabbat shalom and Chodesh tov

Elissa