Is anything okay here?

Have you heard the one about the waiter at the kosher restaurant, going around to the tables asking patrons, “Is anything okay here?” 

It plays into a familiar stereotype, that of the eternally dissatisfied Jew, always finding something to kvetch about. Yet there is a hidden virtue in that dissatisfaction. It keeps us driven, innovative, and constantly searching for growth and improvement. It is the drive that has developed the creativity and tenacity that have allowed us, as a people, to punch far above our weight, contributing to humanity in so many ways and achieving excellence in so many spheres. 

Still, like all traits, it is worth asking: Is it always a good thing? 

In the second parsha we read this week, Bechukotai, Hashem promises us great blessings “if you walk in My statutes”. Among the rewards listed is an abundance of produce. The land will yield generously, the vines will be full, and the seasons will overlap in a way that ensures continuous plenty. 

Then we read an interesting phrase, “V’achaltem lachmechem l’sova”, “You will eat your bread to satisfaction.” At first glance, “to satisfaction” seems redundant. If there is so much abundance, of course we will be satisfied. If the seasons of abundance roll one into another, surely there will be nothing wanting. But perhaps, as with every seeming redundancy in the biblical text, there is something deeper here, a broader blessing and lesson that the Torah is conveying. 

We can suggest that the earlier part of the verse speaks of quantity, the blessing that there will be plenty, a never-ending supply that the land will produce. But l’sova introduces a different kind of blessing, quality, the ability to be content and truly feel full and satisfied. Because, let’s face it, just having more does not always mean we feel satisfied. The blessing is not just in what we have, it is in our ability to appreciate it. So many have so much and yet are constantly dissatisfied. 

And here lies the personal message of l’sova, that we should not always live with the instinct to ask, “Is anything okay here?” Rather, we should be able to look at what Hashem has given us and say, “Yes. This is more than okay. This is enough. This is a brachah.” While we do not want to silence the drive to innovate, create, and contribute, we also want to cultivate the ability to be grateful for what we have and what we have achieved. 

May Hashem bless us all with abundance, both in quantity and in quality, and may we merit to truly feel satisfied with our lot. 

• Rabbi Pini Hecht, Marais Road Shul