Thought for the Day: Evil Begins with Simple Solutions and Simple Solutions are the Beginning of Evil
I started this blogging activity when I was watching my mother die. It was the first time I was in a situation where I could absolutely do nothing but sit there and watch as events lead to the inevitable conclusion. I needed to do something, but there was nothing to do. So I started writing; thoughts, feelings, ideas... anything to keep myself occupied. It was not to distract myself from the situation, but to channel the energy. (Someday, בעזרת השם, I'll put those notes into a more accessible form.)
I found that writing was good for me, so I decided to continue. My first thought was to have two blogs. One entitled "Life is a Journey" for my own musings, and this one for my divrei Torah. I found, though, that I just couldn't separate my thoughts from the Torah perspective that I have strived (and continue to strive) so hard to cultivate. Today's thought is more in the "Life is a Journey" mold. Not an apology; just noting.
To jump right in, as much as I have been horrified by the mass shootings in recent times, I have also been horrified by the tone of the controversy they have engendered. No one, no one, wants these shootings. Everyone, everyone, wants to solve them to stop. However, no seems to be talking about the problem; only the symptoms. The problem, of course, is that it enters anyone's mind that it is ok to kill other people. That's the problem we need to solve; but that's hard, so people would rather talk about gun control. I am not saying, of course, that gun control is not part of the solution; but touting it as the solution without a holistic policy is reckless and dangerous.
I had cancer over 20 years ago. The tumor was in my abdomen and over 10 lbs by the time it was discovered. Even though it originated from the inside of my back, it was large enough that the surgeon was able to get a biopsy in his office. (Saving me a hospital visit. Yay.) Obvious solution would have been to go in right then and there to cut that sucker out. I'd probably be dead or handicapped now if they had done that. There was another problem... the tumor was fast growing (it had not been detectable just a few months earlier), and it was already wrapped around my femoral artery and crowding my kidneys.
What was the course? First we waited two weeks (two very long weeks, for me) to get an accurate diagnosis. I was told that there would be no surgery, but a course of chemotherapy. (My poor mother heard "so surgery" and started crying that her son had inoperable cancer.) Three months of chemotherapy. One week one, two weeks off; times four. Why those two weeks off every course? Because if they killed the tumor more quickly, I would have died from the lump of dead and rotting tumor in my gut.
The first people, Adam and Chava, were told to eat from all the trees and vegetation in the garden, except one: the tree of knowledge of good and evil. To eat from that tree, they were told, would bring death to the world. There was also a tree of life. Why did they not eat from the fruit of that tree first, to -- so to speak -- inoculate themselves against death? The tree of life is Torah. Acquiring Torah is hard work; learning and implementing, learning and implementing... lesson by lesson. With that they would have understood everything -- including knowledge of good and evil. But they wanted a shortcut; download the knowledge instead of digesting it. They wanted the quick and easy solution to understanding their Creator. We are all living and dying with the consequences of their decision till today.
At it's core, evil means to choose tasty over nutritious; which translates into immediate gratification over a healthy living. Healthy living, of course, provides real and lasting benefits, but it takes work... and, ultimately, is the only route to life.
I found that writing was good for me, so I decided to continue. My first thought was to have two blogs. One entitled "Life is a Journey" for my own musings, and this one for my divrei Torah. I found, though, that I just couldn't separate my thoughts from the Torah perspective that I have strived (and continue to strive) so hard to cultivate. Today's thought is more in the "Life is a Journey" mold. Not an apology; just noting.
To jump right in, as much as I have been horrified by the mass shootings in recent times, I have also been horrified by the tone of the controversy they have engendered. No one, no one, wants these shootings. Everyone, everyone, wants to solve them to stop. However, no seems to be talking about the problem; only the symptoms. The problem, of course, is that it enters anyone's mind that it is ok to kill other people. That's the problem we need to solve; but that's hard, so people would rather talk about gun control. I am not saying, of course, that gun control is not part of the solution; but touting it as the solution without a holistic policy is reckless and dangerous.
I had cancer over 20 years ago. The tumor was in my abdomen and over 10 lbs by the time it was discovered. Even though it originated from the inside of my back, it was large enough that the surgeon was able to get a biopsy in his office. (Saving me a hospital visit. Yay.) Obvious solution would have been to go in right then and there to cut that sucker out. I'd probably be dead or handicapped now if they had done that. There was another problem... the tumor was fast growing (it had not been detectable just a few months earlier), and it was already wrapped around my femoral artery and crowding my kidneys.
What was the course? First we waited two weeks (two very long weeks, for me) to get an accurate diagnosis. I was told that there would be no surgery, but a course of chemotherapy. (My poor mother heard "so surgery" and started crying that her son had inoperable cancer.) Three months of chemotherapy. One week one, two weeks off; times four. Why those two weeks off every course? Because if they killed the tumor more quickly, I would have died from the lump of dead and rotting tumor in my gut.
The first people, Adam and Chava, were told to eat from all the trees and vegetation in the garden, except one: the tree of knowledge of good and evil. To eat from that tree, they were told, would bring death to the world. There was also a tree of life. Why did they not eat from the fruit of that tree first, to -- so to speak -- inoculate themselves against death? The tree of life is Torah. Acquiring Torah is hard work; learning and implementing, learning and implementing... lesson by lesson. With that they would have understood everything -- including knowledge of good and evil. But they wanted a shortcut; download the knowledge instead of digesting it. They wanted the quick and easy solution to understanding their Creator. We are all living and dying with the consequences of their decision till today.
At it's core, evil means to choose tasty over nutritious; which translates into immediate gratification over a healthy living. Healthy living, of course, provides real and lasting benefits, but it takes work... and, ultimately, is the only route to life.
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