Bnei Yisrael (the Jewish People) have finally made it to Israel and life is good! After centuries of slavery and decades of wandering in the desert, they have a home where there’s plenty of water and food and space. They settle in and get comfy. And in their comfort, Bnei Yisrael forgets the brit (two-way promise) that they made with God. They stop being good people and following the Torah. So God lets the other people in the region conquer them. Life suddenly isn’t so good anymore, so they cry out to God, who saves them and makes life comfortable again. But then because they’re comfortable, they throw away the Torah again. And again. And again.
Bnei Yisrael should be learning that even when they’re comfortable they should still do the right thing and follow the Torah. But instead they keep making the same mistakes over and over. Here are some of your brilliant kiddos’ thoughts on that cycle.
Why do Bnei Yisrael keep making the same mistakes?
- They’re so comfy cozy that they don’t realize they’re doing the wrong thing.
- They’re too tired from being slaves in Egypt and then walking to Israel to do the right things.
- Maybe they felt like they were already good enough and like they didn’t need to keep putting work into being good people or having a relationship with God.
Why do people that I see repeat the same mistakes over and over again?
- Maybe they’re copying someone else (someone older).
- Maybe they’re doing it because they want to, they like doing the mistake.
- Maybe because they don’t know how to stop – they don’t know what to do instead.
Am I the best version of myself when I’m totally comfortable?
- Not really. I snap at people when they try to talk to me when I’m reading.
- When I’m the most comfortable it’s easier to upset me when my comfort gets disturbed.
- I get angry when someone tries to get in the way of me being comfy.
- If I’m too comfortable, I might not want to do something that someone asks me to do.
- I might fall asleep, and then it’s hard to get up and do things.