|
I
remember the first Mishnah I ever learned. (The Mishnah
is the basic text of the oral tradition, as codified
and edited by Rabbi Yehuda Ha'Nasi circa 200C.E., and
represents the sum total of the oral tradition handed
down from student to teacher in an unbroken chain from
Sinai, over three thousand years ago. It is the foundation
of Jewish tradition.) As a child I attended a Jewish
Yeshiva Day School , but it was not in the school classroom
that I was first introduced to the Mishnah; it was in
Synagogue.
The
Synagogue we attended when I was five years old, had
a strict decorum, and I seem to recall or imagine the
challenges this presented to my parents (She'yibadlu
Le'Chaim Tovim) who had their hands full, I suppose,
keeping track of my elder brother and me. Vague images
of my red-faced and embarrassed father carrying me out
of synagogue kicking and screaming to stop me from jumping
up and down on the podium in front of the entire congregation
seem to support my perception that I was a handful,
to say the least.
Although
I do not recall the exact circumstances leading up to
this moment, I remember I had succeeded in escaping
from the seat next to my father near the rear, and running
up to the front of the synagogue. The conversation I
had with Rabbi Dr. Simon Greenberg, however, is ingrained
in my memory. An eminent Torah scholar (Talmid Chacham),
he had an honored place in the front row, and I can
still remember his piercing eyes and warm smile. He
had the largest hands I had ever seen, and somehow,
he succeeded in getting hold of me and hoisting me up
to sit on his lap.
Most
of us have little recollection of the events that filled
our early years, and there isn't much we remember from
when we were five years old. But this conversation I
remember in its entirety. I recall the sefer (book)
he was holding, and his query as to whether I knew what
it was. And I even remember the text of the Mishnah,
which he proceeded to teach me in its entirety. Most
people, catching hold of a rambunctious five-year-old
shouting and yelling in Synagogue, usually head for
either their parents, or the door. But he chose instead
to teach me the entire first Mishnah of the Talmud in
its entirety, right there on his knees.
Most
of all, I still remember how important I felt as a five
year old, to be sitting on this great rabbi's lap, all
the way in the front of the Synagogue with, so it seemed
to me, nothing more important to him than our conversation.
Looking back, those few moments must have had a strong
impact on me, as I still remember not only the text
he taught me, but the entire conversation as well. The
beginnings of my relationship with Torah, aside, of
course, from my parents, and the first stirrings of
the love for Torah I still have today, began not with
scholarship, but with mentschlechkeit. True Torah scholarship
is not only the erudition and familiarity with large
amounts of text; it is, as well, the ability, and more
importantly the desire to spend time on that text even
with a noisy five year old boy.
‘Mentsch'
is a hard
word to translate. It refers not to a person's wisdom,
or brilliance, but to the pure human decency such wisdom
is meant to produce. It would be safe to say that my
path to teaching began not from some brilliant insight
full of wisdom from an eminent Torah scholar, but rather
from a simple moment filled with the sterling character
and caring of a Torah mentsch.
We
are in the midst of preparing for Rosh Hashanah
and Yom Kippur , known also as the Yamim
Noraim, the ‘ Days of Awe' . And we spend
much time wondering how we can become better human beings,
living up to the myriad of laws and challenges, the
mitzvoth, that the Torah seems to desire of us. On Yom
Kippur we will beat our breast and cry out our regrets
over the missed opportunities and mistakes of the last
year. Most people spend time considering the actions
we regret, but very little focus on whether our character
needs refining as well.
We
attempt to make the food we eat, and hopefully the speech
we impart as Kosher as the Torah scrolls from which
we read. But what of the less specific question and
certainly less measurable challenge of being, generally,
a fine human being? Is there a mitzvah to be a mentsch
?
This
week's portion, Ki Tavoh , begins with a series
of blessings which we will merit as a people if, collectively,
we adhere to the path Hashem (G-d) has given us to embrace.
“Ve'Haya,
Im Shamoah' Tishmah Be'Kol Hashem Elokechah' Lishmor
La'asot Et Kol Mitzvotav Asher Anochi Metzav'chah' HaYom...
U'va'u' Alechah' Kol Ha'Berachot Ha'Eileh' Ve'Hisiguchah'.”
“And
it will come to pass, if you will listen to the voice
of Hashem your G-d, to guard (cherish) and fulfill all
His Mitzvoth (Commandments) which I Command you this
day... then all these blessings will come upon you and
catch you up.” (Devarim
28:1-2)
It
would seem that all the collective blessing we dream
of, and hope to experience as a people, depends on our
willingness to adhere to Hashem's mitzvoth, the opportunities
we are given to live a committed Jewish life.
But
this verse is not quite as simple as it seems. It is
worth noting that this verse speaks to us not as a collective
people, as we might expect, but rather to each of us
as individuals. The entire verse, and indeed both the
blessings and the curses that follow, are given in first
person singular, implying that I, as an individual,
bear responsibility for the fate and merit of the entire
Jewish people, a challenging idea at best.
One
might imagine this to mean that every individual is
responsible for the entire Jewish people, and that until
we learn to value and respect every Jew, we will never
achieve our goal as a light unto the Nations, and thus
the blessings of peace and prosperity will forever elude
us, and this is certainly true. But one wonders if there
is some deeper message hidden in the choice of addressee.
Further,
if indeed these verses are speaking to the individual,
then there is something that seems to make no sense.
How can we be enjoined “ Lishmor La'asot Et Kol
Mitzvotav”, to “fulfill all
His Mitzvoth”? (28:1)
Are
all of these blessings dependent on our (or even my)
fulfilling every last mitzvah? If I live a complete
Jewish life, but have never had the chance to fulfill,
as an example, the mitzvah of Pe'ah , setting
aside a corner of my field for the poor, are the blessings
due the entire Jewish people withheld? Indeed, it is
not actually possible for any Jew to fulfill
all of the Mitzvoth! If you are not a Kohen (priest),
you cannot fulfill the mitzvah of a Kohen, and if you
do not have a firstborn son, you cannot fulfill the
mitzvah of redeeming the firstborn, etc. In fact there
are mitzvoth I hope please G-d never to fulfill,
such as the mitzvah of giving a Get , a divorce
document in the event of the dissolution of a marriage.
And
even if one assumes this verse to mean that we must
take care not to transgress any of the commandments
(i.e. if you have a field, then set
aside a corner for the poor) it is still challenging,
for who can say he or she has not transgressed any of
the commandments? Can it be that for one sentence of
gossip, the Jewish people will remain in exile forever?
What is the deeper implication hidden in these words?
And
there is more: The Torah does not suffice with this
explanation of the basis for these blessings. In 28:9,
we read:
“Ye'kimchah'
Hashem Lo' Le'Am Kadosh, Ka'asher Nishba' Lach, Ki'
Tishmor Et Mitzvoth Hashem Elokechah' Ve'Halachta' Be'Deracahav.”
“Hashem
will raise you to Him as a holy nation, as He has promised,
when (because) you will fulfill the mitzvoth of Hashem
your G-d, and walk in His ways.”
(28:9)
Notice
that in this verse it does not say all (Kol)
the mitzvoth, but rather we are given the
normal enjoinder to fulfill Hashem's commandments. Why
here are we not told to fulfill all the mitzvoth?
And equally interesting, what is the additional clause
of “ Ve'Halachta' Be'Deracahav” (“and walk in His
ways”) ?
Perhaps
this imperative to walk in the ways or pathways of Hashem,
is the key to this entire question.
One
might assume this phrase to simply be a repetition,
in different format of Hashem's desire for us to follow
the path of Torah laid out for us.
Maimonides
, however, lists
this particular phrase as a separate mitzvah, in his
Sefer HaMitzvoth (Book of Mitzvoth , Positive
Commandment 8), implying that there is a very specific
mitzvah we are expected to fulfill. But what is this
mitzvah on which, it seems, everything depends? And
why is this mitzvah specifically associated with all
of the blessings and rewards we hope to achieve as a
people?
Even
more challenging is the fact that the Rambam
's inclusion of “ Ve'Halachta' Be'Deracahav
” as a separate mitzvah seems to go against his
own parameters for what does and does not constitute
a mitzvah.
In
his introduction to the book of Mitzvoth, Maimonides
explains that there are certain fundamental principles
on which the list of mitzvoth is dependent. The fourth
such principle is that any mitzvah which includes all
the mitzvoth (or on which all the mitzvoth depend) is
not included in the list of mitzvoth.
Thus,
for example, Maimonides does not include as one of the
613 mitzvoth any obligation to believe in G-d, because
without belief in G-d, none of the mitzvoth make sense.
And this is the source of the debate as to why the Rambam
did not include the mitzvah to live in Israel , in as
much as none of the mitzvoth are complete unless they
are fulfilled in the land of Israel .
So
how can the mitzvah of walking in the ways of Hashem
be one of Maimonides' list of the 613 mitzvoth? Isn't
this a general principle, which includes all the mitzvoth?
(Hence, for example, there is to mitzvah to “listen
to the voice of Hashem” , because this principal
includes and pertains to all the mitzvoth.)
What
then, according to Maimonides, is the specific mitzvah
of “ Ve'Halachta' Be'Deracahav” , to “ Walk
in Hashem's ways” ?
The
answer is to be found in Maimonides' Hilchot Deot
, the laws of character development. In his magnum
opus, the Mishneh Torah, where the Rambam delineates
and organizes the entirety of Jewish law ( halacha
), the second set of laws, right at the beginning
of the first of his fourteen books concern the Jewish
recipe for becoming a mentsch. Second only to the laws
of the foundations of Torah ( Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah
, the basic principles of faith in Judaism), Maimonides
believed Judaism begins and ends with the challenge
of becoming a mentsch.
And
the basis for his insistence that adherence to a Torah
lifestyle begins with the obligation to become a good
person is our verse: of “ Ve'Halachta' Be'Deracahav”
. (Deot 1:5).
In
other words, it is not just commendable, when a person
becomes a mentsch; it is an obligation ,
without which we are not fulfilling one of the basic
ingredients of Judaism. A closer look at Maimonides'
Hilchot Deot reveals that a person who is
too angry or too stingy, too greedy or too lazy, is
transgressing (or at least not fulfilling) one of Judaism's
basic mitzvoth. In fact, the context in which this mitzvah
appears here in the Torah, suggests that it is a far
more important mitzvah to develop one's character than
putting on tefillin, or even refraining from eating
pork!
All
of the blessings of the entire Jewish people depend
on the ability of any given individual learning to behave
like a mentsch. All the Torah a person may ever teach
is not as worthwhile, as the way in which he or she
teaches it. It took me a long time to understand that
my first Mishnah was not about how incredible it was
that a great Torah scholar took the time and had the
sensitivity to teach a Mishnah to a wild little five
year old. Rather, it was because he took the
time and had the sensitivity to teach a Mishnah to a
wild little five year old, that Rabbi Greenberg was
a true Torah scholar.
Indeed,
the Rambam points out, that not only are we obligated
to refine our character, but also indeed we have to
do Teshuvah (repentance) for our lacking in these areas.
The Teshuvah process we seek to achieve in the days
leading up to Rosh Hashanah is not just about our mistaken
actions, but our incomplete character traits as well!
(Hilchot Teshuvah 7:3) We have to do Teshuvah, says
the Rambam, for every moment of anger, jealousy, hatred,
greed, arrogance and pride as well!
In
fact, this is the true meaning of the verse in Isaiah
read on the afternoon of community fast days:
“Ya'azov
rasha Darko, Ve'ish Aven Machshevotav....”
“Let the wicked leave his path, and the man of iniquity
is thoughts...".
(Yishayahu 55:7)
Indeed,
this may well be the true meaning of the beginning of
the above-quoted verse:
“Ve'Haya,
Im Shamoah' Tishmah Be'Kol Hashem Elokechah' Lishmor
La'asot Et Kol Mitzvotav
“And
it will come to pass, if you will listen to the voice
of Hashem your G-d to guard (cherish) and fulfill all
His Mitzvoth (Commandments).
(Devarim 28:1)
What
exactly does it mean to listen to G-d? Each of us has
an inner voice, which really is a manifestation of Hashem
inside each and every one of us. Do we hear that voice?
Do we listen to it? And even more, do we hear the voice
that cries out from inside every human being? After
all, if I cannot see a little bit of G-d inside the
person standing next to me, I will never find G-d anywhere
else....
And
maybe this is why the Torah speaks in first person singular,
because it is precisely the development of ourselves
as individuals that the Torah is speaking of here. We
often spend a lot of time considering what everyone
else is doing wrong, and we speak in lofty ringing tones
of the need for the Jewish people to ‘come together'.
We sigh and nod when we recognize how much work we have
to do as a people to become the collective role model
we are meant to be. But that goal is not about telling
anyone else what to do. It begins with our determination
to make ourselves into better human beings.
Rav
Kook (in his Arpelei
Tohar ) suggests that all of a person's problems
and all the baggage we carry in life stem from one's
relationship with Hashem. If my relationship with and
perception of G-d is skewered, then I will be skewered
as well. That is how a human being who believes in G-d
can walk into a pizzeria or café' on a beautiful
afternoon strapped with explosives, and murder innocent
women and children in the name of that same G-d.
If
my G-d is an angry G-d, then on a certain level, I will
be an angry person, and if my G-d is only a G-d of judgment,
then I will be a person filled with judgment. But even
more, if I cannot see the piece of G-d inside every
human being, beginning with myself, then I have an incomplete
and skewered perception of G-d. If I can kill, whether
by bomb or by character assassination, another human
being, then it must be because I do not fully see the
image of Hashem inside them. And that is the source
of all the pain, and all the curses, as well as the
vehicle to achieving all the blessings we so long for
in this world.
I
remember, during one of my stints in Lebanon , sharing
a base in Marja'oun, with some Lebanese Christians,
who were allied with Israel . Israel was training and
assisting the S.L.A., the South Lebanese Army, in its
battle against the P.L.O. in Soutrhern Lebanon .
While
we did not do patrols together we would run into them
on the base from time to time. As some spoke excellent
English I got friendly with a few of them and we would
sometimes get together in the canteen and swap stories.
One
Sunday afternoon I got back from patrol in time to catch
a priest who had come to visit them for mass. It transpired
he was an English Priest visiting the Middle East on
a large Christian Mission, and he, along with a few
of the higher- ups on the mission had been given a special
V.I.P. helicopter ride by some officials from the Ministry
of Tourism. Someone had come up with the bright idea
of bringing the Christians to visit our Christian allies
who were fighting alongside Israel .
When
the photo opportunities and sound bytes were over, I
got into a conversation with this priest, about the
sad state of affairs in Lebanon in general, and in the
Lebanese Christian Community in particular. It took
me a moment to realize that he was actually clueless
to what was really going on in the Lebanese Christian
community, which shocked me. Because no matter how deep
our relationship with G-d may seem, if it gets in the
way of our relationship with our fellow human beings,
then we are missing the entire point.
When
we will truly ‘hear'; the voice of Hashem emanating
from every human being, and when that will drive each
of us to become the refined and sterling human being
we are meant to be, then truly:
“U'va'u'
Alechah' Kol Ha'Berachopt Ha'Eileh' Ve'Hisiguchah'.”
“...Then all these blessings will come upon you and
catch you up.” (Devarim
28:1-2)
Shabbat
Shalom,
Rav
Binny Freedman
|
