Parshas Ki Sissa: Get Off That Fence!

There is an old Yiddish proverb that you can’t dance at two weddings.  Either go to one – or the other.  In other words, don’t sit on the fence.  As the saying goes, if you stand in the middle of the road you get run over.

This week’s Haftora (reading from the Prophets) tells the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal.  At the time, Jewish people were wavering between worship of the one G-d and worship of the idol, Ba’al.  The priests of Baal had enjoyed much success tempting the Jewish people.  Elijah tells them “How long are you going to dance between two opinions?”  How long are you going to sit on the fence? If G‑d is our G-d, follow Him.  If not, follow Ba’al.

One might well ask – isn’t it better to be mixed-up then totally wrong?  If a person is mixed-up and wavering, at least he will be right some of the time?

A Jewish guy who was standing on one side of the busy highway and called across to his friend on the other side ‘Avi, come to the other side!’

‘I am on the other side already!’ replied his friend.

It is true that as we go through life, we may not be able to identify what is black, what is white and what is gray.  We may think we are on the other side when we are really on ‘this side’ and vice versa.

However, more often than not, we are well aware of the choices and decisions we face.  Since they demand a lot from us, we prefer to waver, fluctuating from one ‘side’ to the other, rather than cementing our choices.  This is what Elijah was warning the people against. Obviously, Elijah was not telling the people to take the wrong path but simply pointing out that taking the wrong path would be a less severe option than remaining undecided and unsure, going from one to the other.  Don’t sit on the fence, darting between one option and the next.  This is worse than taking the wrong path.  Know the correct path and set about following it.  Many times we find ourselves deluding ourselves that we can maintain a double life.  It is not true!  When it comes to clear decisions and actions, we must get on with it!

If a person knowingly chooses the wrong path, they are well aware that what they are doing is not as it should be and demands rectification.  When a person wavers between two opinions, two paths, it is much easier for them to convince themselves that nothing is wrong anyway, since the person is doing the right thing some of the time.  They may well put the inappropriate actions down to doubt – and since they have also carried out appropriate ‘good’ actions, that balances everything.

We must allow ourselves to grow, to move from stage to stage, without allowing doubts and shades of gray to hold us back. 

Shabbat Shalom