“If…then” propositions tend to worry me. Something has to happen for something else to happen.

It presupposes an outcome which may not occur. You simply cannot know what will happen until you perform the required action and wait for the result.

This week’s Torah portion is one of those moments; it begins, “If you do obey these rules and observe them carefully, then Adonai your God will maintain faithfully for you the covenant made on earth with your fathers. God will favor you and bless you and multiply you… You shall be blessed above all other peoples…”(Deuteronomy 7:12ff).

This is a fairly extravagant promise. The promises that follow are no less extravagant. But how are we to interpret the subsequent actions of both the Children of Israel and their God?

Did they/we observe and obey? Did God follow through on the promises? And if neither party complied, how does that effect our relationship with God today?

Tonight I am writing from a small village in Tuscany called Panzano. It is quiet here. A dog barks occasionally. The cicadas sing their tune. The 10th century church down the road tolls its bells on the hour and half-hour. Occasionally a car drives by.

It is easy to believe that I have stepped outside of time, that I have been blessed, that being in this place is a gift from the Divine. But the raging current of time and history has not paused. It is I who have stepped away momentarily, while history continues to move ever forward, twisted by liars and politicians who care more for themselves than those they govern.

I cannot answer my own questions. All I know is this: The God to whom I speak every day is not concerned with me, nor with the whims and fancies of people far more powerful than me. The God to whom I pray does not care if I pray three times a day or strictly observe the many laws of Shabbat.

My God — or my personal illusion of God, if that’s easier for you to swallow — wants just one thing from me: To strive to be my highest, best self. The payoff? That I will become my highest, best self. That’s good enough for me.