Cooking the Books

Creative accounting is immoral, especially if it concerns our own self-assessment. We are guilty of “cooking the books” by underestimating our true value just as when we overstate it.

Defeat of Sichon and Og

This week we begin a new book of the Torah, the Book of Devarim or Deuteronomy. Unlike the first four books of the Torah where Moses dictates G-d’s words to the Jewish people, in the fifth Book of Devarim Moses uses his own language—though most certainly Divinely inspired—to reach the Jewish people.

Most of this book is devoted to Moses “last will and testament”, or words of rebuke to the Jewish people, on the threshold of their entry into the Promised Land of Israel.

In the opening verses of this week’s Parsha, the Torah describes Moses’ words as having taken place “after he smote Sichon, the king of the Emorites who dwelt in Cheshbon and Og the king of Bashan who dwelt in Ashtorot.”

Commentators wonder why the Torah had to remind us that Moses and just defeated the two monarchs, Sichon and Og? What connection is there between Moses’ final message to the Jewish people and the fact that he had just defeated the two monarchs?

What Favors has He Done for us…Lately?

Rashi provides us with the simple explanation: If the people whom Moses was addressing would respond to Moses’ words of rebuke by saying, ‘What right does he have to reprimand us? What favors did he do for us?’ —the Torah thus tells us that Moses had just defeated two mighty foes for them. Hence, Moses “earned” the right to criticize them as well.

On the surface, one can question Rashi’s explanation. How could the Jewish people question Moses’ loyalty to them? After all, all their needs in the desert were provided for by and through Moses.

One a simple level, the answer is that human nature is such that we forget what others have done for us in the past and we want to know, as the saying goes, “what have you done for me lately?”

Conquering our Own Character

On a deeper level, the following explanation has been provided:

The Jewish people’s conquest of the Land of Canaan was to parallel the conquest of their own character. Unlike any other country in the world, the Land of Israel was to become a Holy Land, a land that would make certain moral and spiritual demands on its inhabitants. To be worthy of taking over the land from its original inhabitants, the Jewish people had a lot of soul searching to do. Not only was it imperative for them to repair their behavioral flaws, but they had to refine their character as well.

In the teachings of Kabbalah we are told that there are seven character traits that are the driving force of our personalities. It is no coincidence that there were seven Canaanite tribes that the Israelites were told to conquer.

How does one go about refining one’s character? How do we eradicate anger, lust, jealousy and other vices? How do we know if we are deficient in compassion and love?

Jewish Accounting

Before we can conquer our seven “Canaanite tribes” we must first defeat the two kings of Sichon and Og. Sichon was king in Cheshbon, which means “accounting.” Before we can really change, we have to know where we stand. We have to make an accounting of our past life.

Sichon represents the negative force that stands in the way of our accounting practices, without which we cannot figuratively enter into the Land of Israel.

Honest Accounting

However, even an accounting of one’s past will not suffice unless it is an “honest accounting.”

In recent days the world has been exposed to accounting practices in big business that fall short of the ideal of being honest. “Cooking the books” is the cliché that is being used for “creative” accounting, where losses are presented as profits, and so on.

This was the role of Og, who was the king in Ashtarot, which can be translated as “wealth.” This means that in making one’s accounting, the forces of evil represented by Og, try to present one’s impoverished character as being wealthy. With such a distorted accounting approach, one cannot enter into Israel; one cannot master his or her personality and life.

Accounting for the Future Redemption

We too are standing on the threshold of entering into the Land of Israel—figuratively as well as literally—with the imminent coming of Moshiach, as was foretold by our prophets and leaders. We too must listen carefully to the words of Moses that we are to prepare ourselves for this journey and conquest. But in making this preparation we must also not lose sight of the need to make an honest appraisal of our character and behavior so that we can be worthy of the Redemption.

We have one significant advantage over the generation that entered into the Land of Israel in the days of Moses. That generation had to make an honest accounting not just for each individual; there was a need for a collective accounting. The Jewish nation was in its formative years and was far from being an ideal nation. They still needed many centuries of prophets and Sages to refine them.

Our generation, however, is different. The Rebbe emphasized that our generation as a whole has already been refined because of the collective good of the past. Any deficiencies are of the individual’s doing not of the collective.

The Rebbe likened our generation’s situation to that of a person who the doctor tells the person after his physical, “you are essentially in good health; just a few aches and pains.”

Our generation, the Rebbe declared, is in good health, while individuals need to repair their spiritual “warts” and aches.

Our accounting therefore assumes a different character. We must measure our personal progress relative to the state of the nation. We have to realize that while as a nation we are rich, we might need to make a few spiritual investments to keep up with the collective.

It should be stressed that it is equally wrong for us to underestimate our true value just as it is to overlook our flaws. Honest accounting demands that we acknowledge our generation’s uniqueness even as we, as individuals, endeavor to match the greatness of our generation, as we make our accounting in preparation to the final Redemption.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Devarim by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.