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A running motif throughout Deuteronomy is Moses' concern that the Israelites would be negatively influenced by the surrounding Canaanite culture. In this week's reading, Shoftim, Moses cautions them against following a subset of particularly spiritually and morally repugnant characters: augurs, soothsayers, diviners, sorcerers, spell-casters, and consulters of spirits, ghosts, and the dead.
After listing the prohibitions, Moses concludes with a succinct positive formulation: "You must be tamim with the Lord, your G od" (Deut. 18:13). Translations of tamim vary and include "perfect," "whole," "complete," and "wholehearted." What exactly are the parameters and expectations of this abstract phrase? What, if any, relevance does it have in a society where the previously cited sins are less enticing than they once were?
The foremost commentator, Rashi (d. 1105), provides a meaningful explanation, whose message transcends the ancient context. Fueled by an anxious compulsion to remove uncertainties, people sought answers from charismatic figures who were willing to forecast the future.
The positive framing of being tamim, according to Rashi, is to encourage the Israelites to "put your hope in Him and do not attempt to investigate the future, but whatever it may be that comes upon you accept it whole-heartedly." Rashi promotes the rabbinic version of what psychologist Tara Brach encourages in her book Radical Acceptance : "the willingness to experience ourselves and our lives as it is." Trust and rely on G od, without needing to know what will happen in the future.
Others interpret temimus as simplicity. This is not the same as naivete. "It is not remaining oblivious to what has happened in the past or what may happen in the future," writes Rabbi Dr. Benjamin Epstein. Aligned with the general thesis of his book Living in the Presence: A Jewish Mindfulness Guide for Everyday Life,temimus is "living with an innocence and humility that come from recognizing that all a person really has is right now." Like Rashi, being tamim requires accepting every moment with simple faith instead of anxiously grasping for certainty through spiritually dangerous means.
But acceptance and simplicity do not intimate resignation or passivity. Abraham was also commanded to be tamim (Gen 17:1), but as Rabbi Jonathan Sacks notes, Abraham "is the father of faith, not as acceptance but as protest – protest at the flames that threaten the palace, the evil that threatens G od's gracious world." It is up to us to emulate Abraham and "fight those flames by acts of justice and compassion that deny evil its victory and bring the world that is a little closer to the world that ought to be" ("A Palace in Flames," Covenant & Conversation). This model of tamim aligns well with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which combines a mindful acceptance of the present with a deep commitment to living a life infused with meaningful action.
Rabbi Bahya ibn Pakuda, in his 11th century philosophical magnum opus Duties of the Heart, suggests that Tamim should be understood as authenticity. The aim of Rabbi Bahya's entire literary enterprise was to accentuate the inner life of the commandments. Tamim intimates this broad value in that " our exterior and interior should be equal and consistent in the service of G od, so that the testimony of the heart, tongue, and limbs be alike, and that they support and confirm each other instead of differing and contradicting each other." This quest for authenticity doesn't necessarily demand "perfection" or "completeness," but "wholeheartedness." Even when broken and amidst feelings of despair, we genuinely turn to G od with all our struggles. In the succinct and powerful formulation of the Kotzker Rebbe (1859): "there is nothing as whole as a broken heart."
This past week we experienced the unbearable, heartbreaking murder of six more hostages. In her powerful and moving eulogy for her son, Hersh, Rachel Goldberg-Polin demonstrated the power of temimus in all its dimensions. In one particularly pertinent line, Rachel said that "It's not that Hersh was perfect, but he was the perfect son for me. And I am so grateful to G od, and I want to do hakaras hatov and thank G od right now in front of all of you for giving me this magnificent present of my Hersh. For 23 years I was privileged to have the most stunning honor to be Hersh's mama. I'll take it and say thank you. I just wish it had been for longer."
After living with grueling uncertainty for 330 days, Rachel turned to G od in true authenticity and simplicity and was able to thank Him for the moments of subjective perfection she experienced with her son. Yet, as has been evident to all, Rachel's temimus does not lead to passivity but to a heightened sense of action and protest against injustice. May her example inspire our own temimus, leading us to appreciate the power of each moment to fight the evil flames with justice and compassion.
Character Challenge: Name an anxiety that gets in the way of your capacity for temimus.
Quote from Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, z"l : "A prophet is not an oracle: a prophecy is not a prediction. Precisely because Judaism believes in freewill, the human future can never be unfailingly predicted. People are capable of change. G od forgives. As we say in our prayers on the High Holy Days: "Prayer, penitence and charity avert the evil decree." There is no decree that cannot be revoked. A prophet does not foretell. He warns. A prophet does not speak to predict future catastrophe but rather to avert it. If a prediction comes true it has succeeded. If a prophecy comes true it has failed" ("Testing Prophecy," Covenant & Conversation).
Previously:
• Spiritual Intelligence
• The power of a controlled and calculated (righteous) anger
• Antidotes to Envy
• Order and Disorder
• Engraved Memories
• Radical Reliance
• Aspirational Holiness
• Motivated Action
• Give and Take
• Moral Refinement
• Moses' Emotional Exhaustion — and ours
• Moses' Emotional Exhaustion — and ours
• The Challenge of Patience
• The Blessing of Self-Awareness
• Adaptive Growth
• Redeeming Distress
• Choosing Life
• The Power of 'And'
• Moral Intuitions
• Was Noah an ethical person?
Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman is an assistant professor at Yeshiva University's Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education, the assistant rabbi at Kingsway Jewish Center, and a licensed psychologist practicing in Brooklyn.