Between wide-angle appreciation and tight focus commitment

In Deut.15:7 the Torah says ‘lo t’ametz et levavecha/don’t harden your heart’ against a potential creditor when he approaches you for a loan as the sabbatical year approaches. Rather ‘ki patoach tiftach/you shall surely open your hand’(Deut.15:8).  Furthermore, one of the sins listed in the Al Chet prayer on Yom Kippur is imutz halev, exactly what we’re told not to do in Deut.15:7.

But in Psalm 27:14, we read ‘chazak v’yaametz libecha/be strong and resolute’,  literally ‘harden your heart.’ The same verb amatz which appears as a negative in Deut.15:7, is a positive in Psalm 27:14. What’s going on? If imutz halev is something we have to repent for, how could we be encouraged to do it 40 days in a row precisely in the season of our repentance?

It helps if we translate ‘amatz’ not as ‘harden’ but as ‘condense’ or ‘concentrate’. Think of matza – “condensed bread” – likely linguistically related. Amatz by itself has neither a positive nor a negative connotation. It all depends on context. We can best understand it by contrasting it with the verb ‘patach’ which appears as its opposite in Deut.15:7.

There is a moment to be open to all life has to offer. But, eventually, we have to narrow our consciousness, and focus our energies on one cause or one person. This moment of focus is also a moment of commitment. And, commitment is what we’re after in the month of Elul.

The rhythm of peticha and immutz is central to our daily prayer. We begin the morning prayer service with openness. We say ‘ma rabu maasecha adonai/how awesome are your creations, O God.’ These words from Psalm 104 are shorthand for a wide angle appreciation for the magnificent variety of God’s creatures.

But, the service moves in the direction of focus. Just before the Shema, we gather the four corners of our tallit, in a visualization of focused energy. The Shema is a moment of commitment to One God. And, commitment is always a narrowing of options.

What follows is the intensification of energy  that follows from that focus. We can feel the resoluteness in the encouragement to love God ‘with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.”

To love we need to be open. And, to love, we need to focus on the one. Peticha and Immutz / opening and closing are the yin and yang of life.