Deed & Creed - Class #5

Transcription

1 Deed & Creed - Class #5 Removing one little piece may ruin the whole picture. By Rabbi Benjamin Blech with Rochelle Lev 2007 JewishPathways.com 1

2 Which is the most important mitzvah? (21 min. video) Understanding Judaism Introduction p Pirkei Avot 2:1 Rebbe (Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi) said: Which is the right course that a person should choose for himself? That which is distinguished for he who adopts it, and brings him distinction from people. Be as careful with a minor mitzvah as with a weighty one, for you do not know the reward given for mitzvot. Reckon the loss that a mitzvah entails against its reward; and the benefit gained from a transgression against the loss it brings. Reflect on three things and you will not come into the clutches of transgression. Know what is above you: an eye sees, an ear that hears, and all your deeds are recorded in the Book. 2

3 (1) What reason does Rabbi Blech give for the statement that all mitzvot should be viewed as equal? (2) Explain the statement: If a law comes from God then its jurisdiction is absolute (Understanding Judaism, p. 7). Why is making a distinction between mitzvot problematic? (3) How should the principle to view all mitzvot as equal affect our approach toward the mitzvot that we come across? (4) What is the point that Rabbi Blech is trying to bring out from the exchange between Rabbi Lau and Ben Gurion? Why is Ben Gurion s behavior considered problematic? (5) To accept God s law, is to accept its entirety. How can we reconcile the need to accept all mitzvot without exception, with the notion that a person is a work in progress? 3

4 (1) Q: What reason does Rabbi Blech give for the statement that all mitzvot should be viewed as equal? A: Rabbi Blech cites Pirkei Avot: Be as scrupulous in performing a minor mitzvah as you are with a major one, for you do not know the reward given for mitzvot. We do not know the reward of a mitzvah, whether it is seemingly large or small. The terms major and minor are human terms, based on our own erroneous perceptions that those mitzvot which appear more difficult, more costly or more demanding -- are necessarily more significant in God s eyes. We cannot make distinctions between mitzvot, because we do not know what they mean in God s eyes. (2) Q: Explain the statement: If a law comes from God then its jurisdiction is absolute (Understanding Judaism, p. 7). Why is making a distinction between mitzvot problematic? A: The Torah and its commandments were given by God. We must consider all mitzvot as equal, simply because each one shares its source in the divine imperative. Were we to give preference to one mitzvah over another, we would be making ourselves, rather than God, the final arbiter of the purpose of commandments. When we place our own subjective values on different mitzvot, we open the door to picking and choosing what we do, turning the Torah from the divine word to into a manual of personal preferences. (3) Q: How should the principle to view all mitzvot as equal affect our approach toward the mitzvot that we come across? A: Each mitzvah we come across can now be seen as a gift -- an opportunity to do God s will. Whether it appears large or small in our eyes, every mitzvah has inherent value and a reward beyond measure. The very act of doing the first available mitzvah -- whatever 4

5 its worth in our eyes -- shows God that we are eager to do His will at the first available opportunity. (4) Q: What is the point that Rabbi Blech is trying to bring out from the exchange between Rabbi Lau and Ben Gurion? Why is Ben Gurion s behavior considered problematic? A: Ben Gurion used the Torah as his claim that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people. Indeed it is a mitzvah to settle the land according to the Torah. However Ben Gurion s public disregard for many other mitzvot in the Torah is problematic. Rabbi Lau asks Ben Gurion: How is it possible to expect the rest of the world to respect the Torah as the ultimate proof document, when you pick and choose which parts to adhere to? The desire to choose which mitzvot we will keep and which we prefer to disregard has far-reaching consequences. Rabbi Blech argues that if we pick and choose, the non-jewish world will do the same. By disregarding certain mitzvot, Ben Gurion runs the risk of devaluing our claim to the Promised Land and discrediting the validity of the Torah to the world at large. (5) Q: To accept God s law, is to accept its entirety. How can we reconcile the need to accept all mitzvot without exception, with the notion that a person is a work in progress? A: The key lies in the word acceptance. We must accept all mitzvot in the Torah in their entirety, and work toward keeping them scrupulously. As each person starts from a different background and religious observance, so every person begins this service from a different starting point. A person who is new to mitzvah observance must take this into consideration when deciding which mitzvot to take on first and how quickly to progress. This should be done with the help of an experienced rabbi. 5

6 All mitzvot are created equal. We cannot know their worth. This is a constitutional principle of Jewish law. Selectivity in mitzvot is problematic because it turns our service of God into a subjective service. If a particular mitzvah is not appealing, we will simply leave it out or claim it is not important. Only God is able to weigh the value of a mitzvah in context, including its purpose (largely hidden from us), the people involved, their motivations, background, inclinations and limitations. The minute we begin to select what is important and what is not, we create a list of personal preferences, rather than doing the mitzvot that were tailor-made for us by God. When someone asked the Radbaz (Rabbi David ben Shlomo Ibn Abi Zimrah), If I could pick only one day to perform God s mitzvot, which one should I pick?, the Radbaz answered pick the first day. What he meant to say is that we do not have a right to choose which mitzvah to perform; we should simply take the first mitzvah available to us. To choose a day is to choose a mitzvah. It is not our business to choose; rather we should perform God s mitzvot on an equal basis. Every mitzvah we come across is like gold. Every mitzvah presents an opportunity to build ourselves and our portion in the World to Come. We must learn not to be selective in our mitzvah observance. Rather than choose, our duty is to show God that we are anxious to do that which we are able, to serve him every moment, in every way we can. 6

7 A Final Story Excerpt from Understanding Judaism pp One of the most famous preachers in Jewish history was the Maggid of Dubno (Jacob Kranz, c ). His simple parables conveyed the most profound teachings. One of his famous parables summarizes our theme and clarifies its meaning. In a little shtetl there lived a poor, pious Jew. He found himself in indescribable poverty, unable to support his wife and children. Although deeply religious, he felt he had no alternative but to steal in order to feed his loved ones. How does a pious Jew go about stealing? He did not know where to turn. Force of habit led him to the synagogue. It was there that he began to look around for something to take. But he knew in his heart that he could never steal anything really important. He searched everywhere, but refused to even consider taking the Torah scrolls themselves, the silver ornaments, the prayer books, or the Bibles, They were too holy, too significant. If only there was something that was not so important. It was a beautiful synagogue by the standards of the shtetl. It had no fancy furniture, but a magnificent chandelier hung from the ceiling, which lit up the room with what everyone felt were spiritual rays emanating from God Himself. Light with which to read prayers to the Almighty, light with which to study from God s Torah. Light with which to illuminate the entire world. From that light he sought to find something, anything of even the slightest value. He lowered his expectations; if there were something worth just one ruble. He found nothing on the main floor of the synagogue, so he climbed up to the attic to search there. In the dark, he began to probe with his fingers, touching and feeling his way. At 7

8 first there was nothing. Then, miracle of miracles, his fingers felt a small screw in the ground. It was made of metal. Surely he would be able to sell it for scrap. It would not be much, but it might allow him to buy a piece of bread, and most significantly of all, he would not be stealing anything of value. So he began to loosen the small, insignificant screw and, no sooner did he manage to undo most of it, than he heard a thunderous crash from below. It only took a moment to realize that what had fallen was the chandelier, the most costly object in the synagogue. All because he had undone the screw that held it in place the little thing that in retrospect carried with it so much more than he could have ever realized. How powerful the message. There are small things attached to far greater objects, holding them in place and ensuring that they give light to the entire community. What is a little mitzvah, and who can tell how much effect its removal may have on the whole picture? 8