Hidden Good Deeds

This week we read a strange, and seemingly out of place verse. It reads, “Concealed acts concern the Lord our God; but with overt acts, it is for us and our children forever to apply all the provisions of this Teaching.” (Deuteronomy 30) The Hebrew text makes note of this curious statement. Several of the words have dots above each of the letters, in particular the words “for us and our children forever.”

Biblical scholars explain. Ancient scribes often used such indications to signal corrections or deletions to the original text. But there is nothing in the marked words that appear out of place. The rabbis, however, spin numerous interpretations about these scribal notations. Rabbinic commentators debate their meaning. They ask, “What is the Torah trying to teach?”

Moses Maimonides suggests that concealed acts refer to the reasons for the commandments which remain mysterious to human minds. Overt acts point to the performance of the commandments. This is why there are these extra markings above the words “for us and our children forever.” Others reason that concealed acts imply the future while overt acts refer to the present.

The Hasidic rebbe, Menahem Mendle of Kotzk thinks otherwise. He writes, “The world thinks that a tzaddik nistar—a hidden righteous person—is a person who conceals his (or her) righteousness and his (or her) good deeds from others. The truth, however, is that a tzaddik nistar is one whose righteousness is hidden and concealed from him (or herself), and who has no idea whatsoever that he (or she) is righteous.”

The lesson is not about performing deeds anonymously but instead about remaining unaware of our righteous acts.

As we approach Rosh Hashanah, I am imagining how the world might differ if people went about their day performing righteous acts while never even worrying about the praise they might receive about doing the right thing. Whether or not their deed merited the label of “good deed” shall remain forever hidden.