The coming tenth famine

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal

Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal

SAN DIEGO — During my first year of Rabbinical School I had a roommate who dropped out. After studying for a year, he had had enough.

He described Judaism as a giant birthday cake. If you have a little, it’s great. But if you eat the whole thing, you will get sick!

The midrash tells that ten great famines will occur during human history. The first was in the lifetime of Adam, the second during the lifetime of Lemach, and the third is found in this week’s parasha, during the lifetime of Abraham: “There was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.” (Gen. 12:10)

The tenth and final famine will take place in the future: “A time is coming-declares my Lord God-when I will send a famine upon the land: not a hunger for bread or a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of the Lord.” (Amos 8:11)

The collection of midrashim known as Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer comments that this last famine will be the worst of all. However, Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman questioned why this should be so. After all, wouldn’t the time that all people thirsted for the word of God be a time of goodness and blessing? Wouldn’t the day that people finally realized that God what was lacking in their lives be a time of goodness and hope?

Rabbi Kahaneman then explained Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer’s reasoning. When there is a famine, people are thrilled to receive anything to eat or drink. They are happy to have any small morsel of food, even if is not normally fit for human consumption.

The same may be true of the time when people thirst for the word of God. They may be satiated by any small word of Torah, even if it is not taught properly, instead of longing to live a more Godly and spiritual life.

I am glad my former roommate decided not to become a rabbi. Anything greater than a small amount of Torah overwhelmed him.

*
Rabbi Rosenthal is spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego.  He may be contacted via leonard.rosenthal@sdjewishworld.com