Billy Joel was always with me in my New Jersey high school days, but only in adulthood have I come to understand that those 1980s pop songs that served as the background to my adolescence conveyed deep messages worthy of my attention. While chanting from the Book of Micah this week, Joel’s song “A Matter of Trust” came rushing back to me:
Some love is just a lie of the soul
A constant battle for the ultimate state of control
After you’ve heard lie upon lie
There can hardly be a question of why
Some love is just a lie of the heart
The cold remains of what began with a passionate start
But that can’t happen to us
‘Cause it’s always been a matter of trust
Whether in a romantic relationship, a friendship, or a society, our sense of security is based on trust. Without it, you don’t know who or what you can rely upon. We grow paranoid, agitated and isolated from the world and people around us. It becomes hard to find peace or achieve the kind of stability needed to settle, to build, and to connect.
In Micah, we learn that the ultimate curse for Israel’s sins is a society that loses the ability to trust: “Trust no friend, rely on no intimate; Be guarded in speech with her who lies in your bosom. For son spurns father, daughter rises up against mother, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law — a man’s own household are his enemies.” (Micah 7:5-6)
When Israel faces the consequences of its own corruption, its greatest punishment does not come from external enemies, but from within. People cannot trust those closest to them. Even their own homes cease to provide refuge since they cannot trust the good intentions of those who live under the same roof.
How does a society reach this point? It all starts at the top. This is why, according to Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, Micah addresses his admonishments to the leaders of society. In Micah’s time, leaders did not care for the most vulnerable among them. They abused their power and acted narcissistically. The consequent breakdown of ethical norms led to a world defined by paranoia and pain. The commentator Malbim says that in that epoch “children rose up against their parents, which illustrated how debased and corrupt their society had become. It went so far that every connection of love and brotherhood ceased, and peaceful societal relations could no longer be found.”
The cursed state of affairs that Micah describes is in many ways reminiscent of surveillance states in which parents no longer trust their children and neighbors report on one another. The German newspaper Der Spiegel, describing the East German system that ultimately led to societal collapse, observed: “Mutual evaluation, judgment, criticism and self-critique were omnipresent. Across the country, people were on the lookout for divergent viewpoints, which were then branded as dangerous to the state. Often to one’s own advantage. The losers of this system often didn’t know why their lives suddenly became derailed.” After the fall of the Soviet Union, the former citizens of East Germany realized that much of the mutual surveillance and denunciation wasn’t even commanded directly by the government. Neighbors and family members chose to ruin one another’s lives for the sake of power, retribution and status. Many victims of this system never recovered and were unable to regain the ability to trust any individual or social system.
How does a society recover from this? Like other prophets, Micah believed we can always step back from the abyss, but to do so we need to recognize our sins, do the work of repair and change our ways. The core sin in the Book of Micah is failing to see the poor as kin, as God’s special wards who deserve dignity and care. Consumed by greed and ego, the leaders of Israelite society at the time could not see the humanity of those in need, nor fully grasp their own responsibility to lead with integrity. They would need to fundamentally change how they led and how they modeled a praiseworthy Jewish life to those around them.
The path home to God and one another is not easy, but it is clear: “Do justice, love goodness, and walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) Only when we succeed in fulfilling God’s charge can we begin to chart our course to a redeemed future, unencumbered by the pain of our previous punishments.
Billy Joel was right: It is all just a matter of trust, but trust doesn’t come automatically. It has to be earned. Whether with God, family or fellow citizens, the first step is building a record of accountability and integrity. Walk every day with a commitment to affirming the humanity of others, love the work of tending to their needs, and put the spotlight on others as you do this sacred and life-affirming work. Those steps will lead us back to a home we can cherish and love, one that always makes room for the Divine and those who need us most.
This article initially appeared in My Jewish Learning’s Shabbat newsletter Recharge on July 27, 2024. To sign up to receive Recharge each week in your inbox, click here.
