Kevin Bemel ·
How to Build a Strong Bond Now!
Parsha [Passage of Scripture] Nugget [Precious Idea] Ha’azinu – Deuteronomy 32:1-52
Have you noticed when something comes easily often it leads to disappointment, frustration, or sadness? I see this with my daughter. When I buy her a new toy she wants badly she’ll play with it for a few days and then get bored. When she pays for a toy with money she’s saved up it lasts much longer. Among us grownups, it seems relationships are easily formed and just as rapidly discarded. Parshas Ha’azinu shows how to deal with this challenge:
“For G-d’s portion is His people Jacob, the rope of His inheritance.” (Deuteronomy/Devarim 32:9)
This week’s parsha, the last Sabbath reading of the cycle, has the song Moses wrote at the end of the previous parsha. In it, he appoints heaven and earth as a witness to all of the disasters that will happen to the Israelites if they stray from the path G-d has set. He also describes the joy that will come at the time of the final redemption. At the end of the parsha G-d gives Moses his final task.
G-d Wants to Bond with You
How do you visualize your connection with people?
When G-d describes His relationship with the Children of Israel, and indeed with all his children, He uses the image of a rope. Think about the metaphor:
- Rope can be used to tie two people together. If the right knot is used when they struggle the ropes will get tighter.
- Rope can be used for towing and for hanging.
- A single strand of a rope breaks easily. If you sever enough of them the rope will break. But you can strengthen the rope by weaving in new strands.
Throughout life, you’ll encounter hard times. You can let them dishearten you, destroy your relationships or, like the special knot, bond you more closely with your family and friends. Commit to working through them together. Step by step you’ll find the right path to resolution and closeness.
Life can be like tug-of-war. If you insist on always having your own way you’ll pull people into a mud puddle. But if you build strong, steady anchors at both ends of a rope, you create a lifeline over the ooze. There is more than one way to overcome an obstacle. You don’t always have the right answer. By giving way to others needs, you’ll build bridges rather than moats.
Humans make mistakes. Sometimes they’re bad enough to damage a connection to someone. But if you regularly bond with your loved ones you will create more links than you break and relationships will endure.
Imitate G-d’s Bond in Your Relationships
If you don’t sense a bit of the eternal when you begin a friendship think twice. Rather than chasing after people with whom you build thread–like connections at best, look for those with whom you can create long-lasting bonds.
G-d wants an eternal, substantial connection with you. Wave off the quick and the short-term. Seek out and build everlasting bonds in your life. Starting now pays huge dividends.
How do decide which relationships you'll invest in?
You can leave a comment on this question or ask another question below ↓
Every year beginning on Simchas Torah, the cycle of reading the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, ends and begins again. Each Sabbath a portion known as a sedra or parsha is read. Its name comes from the first significant word or two with which this weekly reading begins.
Do you have a question about the Old Testament? Ask it here and I will answer it in a future Parsha Nugget!
