Weighing and Being Weighed on the Scales of Justice

Transcription

1 Weighing and Being Weighed on the Scales of Justice Rabbi Yaakov Bieler Parshat Shoftim, 5764 This past summer, while studying with some of my students sources dealing with the nature of Revelation and the extent to which the Tora from which we read today is identical to that received by Moshe from the Divine, we came across the following passage in R. Yosef Albo s Sefer HaIkarim: (1) And if the Tora (in translation) is encountered among the nations of the world in versions that differ even slightly from the Tora that we have in our hands, it should be assumed that the change was precipitated by those copying to Tora on behalf of those other nations, since they were not precise concerning it. In contrast, the Jews take great care regarding the Tora, its letters, the spelling of its words, and they take pride in knowing the precise number of letters as well as the manner in which it is to be read to the point that any variations are written in the margins of their books and this record is called the Masoret (lit. tradition). Included among the more noteworthy translations to which R. Albo is alluding, is the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Five Books of Moshe. Historians explain the need for such a translation resulted from the spread of Hellenism among the Jews under the Ptolemies, the rulers of Egypt and Palestine after Alexander the Great, who died in 323 BCE. The large concentration of Jews in Alexandria had become so assimilated that Hebrew no longer was known to the majority of them, and they therefore needed a translation of the Bible in order to assure its continued accessibility to this major Jewish community. (2) The Rabbis in Megilla 9a-b provide another version of the events that produced this Greek literary work. As a precursor to the great disputations that were to take place during the Middle Ages, pitting Christian and Jewish theologians against one another in an effort to demonstrate or disprove the bases of their respective religions, (3) the Rabbis claim that Ptolemy wished to demonstrate how the Tora could be understood to support Greek theology. The king decided to commission 72 Jewish scholars who were knowledgeable both in Hebrew and Greek, assign each of them a separate place where they wouldn t be able to communicate with one another. He then asked each of them to render his own translation of the Bible into Greek. Ptolemy was counting on discrepancies among the translations to crop up, indicating areas where the scholars may have attempted to cover up ostensibly compromising passages in the Tora. But God Foiled the plan when He placed in the heart of each of them advice, and they ended up agreeing to change several verses in exactly the same manner. Therefore, according to the Rabbis, the Targum Shivim (lit. the translation

2 of the 70, Septuagint) was actually generated by a nefarious royal scheme to weaken Jewish belief, rather than to provide assimilated Jews with the means of maintaining links to their tradition. It is interesting to consider in this instance how profoundly at odds the historical version and the Talmudic version of the course of events are from one another. The Talmud, by focusing upon Ptolemy s missionizing intent, deflects attention from the lowly state of Jewish learning and knowledge that is suggested by the historical analysis, and highlights the attempts on the part of the majority society to compromise Jewish identity even more than it had already been. It is likely that the truth lies somewhere between these two extreme views. One of the passages that the Talmud reports was changed by all 72 scholars in order to not lend credence to the idolatrous interpretations of the Ptolemies, is found in Parshat Shoftim. Referring to an individual who has practiced idolatry, the Tora writes that before punishment can be meted out in any situation where an individual s reputation, let alone his/her life is in jeopardy, a careful, accurate, and discerning determination, based upon firsthand observation rather than hear-say or other indirect evidence, has to be made to be certain that (Devarim 17:3) He goes and serves other gods and bows down to them, to the sun or the moon or to the entire host of heaven (the stars) that I did not Command. According to Megilla 9b, the 72 scholars added the word LeAvdam (to serve them) at the end of the verse, i.e., I did not Command that they should be served/worshipped, because there was a concern that a literal rendering of 17:3 could support the Hellenistic belief that matter was co-eternal with God, i.e., God never Commanded that these celestial bodies come into existence because they came on the scene at the same time that God Did. Consequently, by the addition of the word LeAvdam it becomes eminently clear that what God had not Commanded was not the very existence of these entities, but rather that they should be worshipped as deities. Another emendation made by the scholars cited in the Talmud that similarly is directed at the worship of planets, stars and constellations is their rendition of Devarim 4:19. In the Hebrew, the verse states: And lest you lift your eyes to the heavens and you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all of the host of heaven, and you are pushed aside (from the belief in the One God) and you bow down to them and you serve them, since the Lord, your God has Set them aside for all of the nations under heaven. The ambiguity once again resides in the end of the verse, i.e., to what end have the planets and stars been dedicated for use by the rest of the world? The context suggests that while Jews are not to worship the celestial bodies, they were intended to be worshipped by the rest of the nations of the world. However, this is problematic for even Jewish theology, since the prohibition against idolatry not only applies to Jews, but to all Bnai Noach (descendents of Noah) (4) from whom everyone, including Jews and non-jews are understood to derive. According to Megilla 9b, The scholars added the words to give light to them, i.e., the Lord, your God Set them aside for all the nations of the world to provide light for them, (5) in order to make clear that the orbs that we observe in the sky are not intended for worship by anyone. (6)

3 The emphatic insistence in the Written Tradition that worshipping objects in the firmament is to be avoided at all costs, thereby not allowing the Jewish people to become AKUM, the acronym for Ovdai Kochavim U Mazalot (the worshippers of stars and planets), seems to be somewhat tempered both in general Jewish culture, and in the Oral Tradition. All sorts of aphorisms and sayings that are utilized by even the most traditional Jews appear to invoke Mazalot (planets, constellations). Siman Tov U Mazal Tov (a good sign and a good planet [sic.]) is not only a congratulatory greeting that is commonly offered, but it is often inscribed on the Tannaim document (7) that is entered into before a wedding, and it comprises part of the liturgy for the sanctification of a new month in the Jewish year. (8) The Talmud and Midrash record how on numerous occasions, individuals consulted with Chaldeans, who were renowned for their astrological predictions, regarding all sorts of issues and problems. (9) The Aggada in Shabbat 156a even depicts Avraham, the individual who is described by the Rabbinical commentators of the Bible as having rediscovered the existence of God during a period of unbridled idol worship, (10) an active promulgator of monotheism, (11) and about whom God Himself says that he is a fearer of God, (12) as having consulted his horoscope in an effort to determine whether or not he would have a child. Furthermore, the Biblical phrase upon which this interpretation is based and its understanding promulgated by the Rabbis further supports, rather than dispels, the validity of planetary influence. (Beraishit 15:5) VaYotzei Oto HaChutza (And He Took him outside) R. Yehuda said in Rav s name: He Said to him, Go out from under your horoscope. There is no Mazal (planetary influence) for Israel. On the one hand Rav s view only states that Jews, as opposed to non-jews, are free of being controlled by the stars, reminiscent of the impression that the 72 scholars commissioned by Ptolemy intended to avoid. Furthermore, his interpretation suggests that Avraham must do something, i.e., Tze (go out), suggesting that if he fails to meet the criteria that are being set for his transformation (the name change and the circumcision, discussed in Beraishit 17:5, 10 constitute some of the outer manifestations of the remaking of Avraham), it is possible that Mazal will continue to affect even him. RaShI suggests a similar idea in his commentary regarding the concept of Ein Mazal LeYisrael (there is no planetary influence for Israel) (13) that is advocated by several of the Rabbis in Shabbat 156 a-b. When most of the Rabbis insist Ein Mazal LeYisrael (there is no planetary influence for Israel RaShI writes, Al Yedai Tefilla U Zechut Meshtaneh Mazlo LaTov (by means of prayer and merit, one s Mazal can be changed for the good). Once again, the influence of the planets is not in dispute; RaShI contends that the Talmud is merely disaffecting us of the notion that such influence is completely unalterable. Ba alei Tosafot, among whom are found the spiritual and even biological descendents of RaShI, (14) also give evidence of such an approach to astrology, when in order to explain R. Meir s comment in the last section of Mishna Kiddushin (82a), to the effect that one s financial success is HaKol Lefi Zechuto (all depends upon his

4 merit), Tosafot interprets Zechuto as connoting Mazalo (his planetary influence.) The term Zechut is usually understood as merit, which suggests something that the individual has accomplished due to his/her own efforts. Tosafot feels that R. Meir is trying to make the point that excessive striving in the end does not make a difference with regard to an individual s financial success and therefore the commentator feels it incumbent upon him to redefine the word in question, to the point of suggesting that it means the opposite of what we ordinarily may have thought. (15) Not only are the planets viewed as influences on human affairs, but the constellations, specifically those associated with the Zodiac, are also viewed as potent factors in personality development and personal success. Midrash Yalkut Shimoni, (16) explains that the arrangement of the twelve tribes during the Jews journeys in the desert not only corresponded to the twelve constellations of the Zodiac, but that even the symbols on each tribe s flag, marking its gathering point in the encampment, were the classical Zodiac symbols. Make for them flags corresponding to the Heavenly flags. The tribe of Yehuda on the east, together with Yissachar and Zevulun, paralleling in the heavens Teleh, Shor, Te Omim (Aries, Taurus, Gemini) The flag of Reuven on the south, together with Shimon and Gad, paralleling in the heavens Sartan, Aryeh, Betula (Cancer, Leo, Virgo) The flag of Ephraim in the west, together with Menashe and Binyamin, paralleling in the heavens Maznayim, Akrav, Keshet (Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius) The flag of Dan in the north, together with Asher and Naftali, paralleling in the heavens Gedi, D li, Dagim (Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces)... Jewish sources also associate these with the twelve primary organs of the human body, (17) as well as the 12 months of the Jewish calendar. Examples of how the astrological signs correlate with specific months are: Nissan is associated with Aries, calling to mind the Binding of Isaac, where a ram was substituted for Avraham s son. (18) Av corresponds to Leo, referring to the link between the month in which the destructions of the First and Second Temples are commemorated and Yeshayahu 29, in which the Temple is referred to as Ariel (the lion of God), and the prophet describes within the ensuing verses of this chapter how destruction is going to come to this holy place as a result of the Jews non-compliance with God s Law.

5 Elul, the month in which we find ourselves currently, is linked to Virgo, the virgin. The classical Jewish interpretations that expand upon how the letters spelling the name of the month of Elul Aleph, Lamed, Vav, Lamed constitute an acronym for Ani LeDodi VeDodi Li (I am My Beloved s, and my beloved is mine), (19) which in turn suggests a certain spiritual romantic air of young love, the mood of the Biblical book Shir HaShirim (The Song of Songs). (20) R. Akiva has explained how the entire book is a metaphor for the love between God and the Jewish people, between God and mankind, His prize Creation. (21) Consequently, as the month of Tishrei draws near, when repentance is a major theme and preoccupation, we are expected to try mightily to assure that we will be the recipients once again of God s Love, and He of ours, evidenced by our already striving for repentance and self-improvement. Preparation for the Yomim Noraim (Days of Awe) is not to take place when we first walk into the synagogue on Rosh HaShana, or for that matter when Ashkenazim begin to recite Selichot approximately the week before, but rather for the entire month of Elul that precedes the Yomim Noraim. Tishrei, during which we experience both Rosh HaShana as well as Yom Hakippurim, bookending the Aseret Yemai Teshuva (the ten days of repentance) quite appropriately is connected to Libra, the scales. On Rosh HaShana we will be weighed, evaluated, judged. While Divine Justice may be blind with regard to not being biased or showing favoritism when it comes to the records of those standing trial, HaShem can See quite well, and will be Reviewing and Evaluating our respective accomplishments, fairly and objectively establishing our respective guilt and innocence, as well as our prospects for the coming year. If we are not successful during Elul to return to HaShem wholeheartedly and idealistically, when the metaphorical lover and beloved are in hot pursuit of one another, when we are able to seek out God, and He eagerly Awaits our overtures, then we can hardly expect to be weighed generously and favorably in Tishrei, with compassion, kindness, empathy and understanding. Perhaps the means by which we can reconcile the astrological references in our tradition with the fears that such thinking could easily lapse into idolatry, is to maintain that while we should not attempt to predict the future based upon these phenomena Devarim 18:13 we nevertheless are entitled to recognize ubiquitous patterns, symmetries and cycles with regard to personalities and times of the year. As long as we don t make day-to-day decisions relying upon astrologically calculated considerations, we are entitled to periodically marvel at how life simultaneously encourages optimism and pessimism, forces us to grapple with hopes tempered by fears and leads us to explore both familiar and uncharted territory. Rather than determining what we will be and do, the signs of the Zodiac may reflect nothing more than the realization that the vagaries of life are many, and the permutations and combinations infinite. In anticipation of our encounter with the scales of justice, the following perspective is offered by the Rabbis in Kiddushin 40 a-b:

6 The Rabbis taught: A person should always view him/herself as if s/he is half guilty and half innocent. Should s/he do one additional Mitzva, it is time to rejoice because s/he has effected an innocent verdict (lit. has weighed down the side of the balance upon which are placed one s merits). Should s/he do one additional Aveira (transgression), woe to him/her, for s/he has affected a guilty verdict. R. Elazar berav Shimon says: Since the entire world is judged by determining whether there is a majority or minority of good deeds, and since the individual is similarly judged by determining his/her preponderance of either good deeds or sins, if s/he does one additional Mitzva, it is time to rejoice, because s/he has effected an innocent verdict for himself as well as the entire world! Should s/he do on additional Aveira, woe to him/her for s/he has effected a guilty verdict for himself as well as the entire world! The image of the looming scales of Libra just around the corner, brings to mind not only that we ourselves are about to face the existential reality of being fundamentally and comprehensively judged by HaShem, but also the parallel image invoked in the first chapter of Pirkei Avot. R. Yehoshua ben Perachya said: And judge every person by giving him/her the benefit of the doubt (lit. by weighing down the side of the balance upon which are placed one s merits). R. Ovadiah MiBartenura comments: When the matter is on the scales of judgment, and there does not seem to be any overt evidence to tilt the balance in one direction or the other, e.g., regarding a particular individual about whom we are uncertain whether s/he is a righteous or evil person it is an act of piety to give the person the benefit of the doubt In this context, R. Yehoshua ben Perachya is not talking about you and me being weighed either by an objective, unbiased, fair and just God, or are being asked to take an unvarnished and unflattering look at our own selves, whom we are expected to understand better than anyone else that we know, but rather it is our fellow individuals who are in the docket, our acquaintances, our neighbors, our leaders, our community members, our elected officials, our objects of gossip and Lashon HaRa, who are being judged and evaluated by us. We must recognize, however grudgingly, that we seldom have access to all the facts, and we are rarely in a position to truly understand what is going on in the lives of others, let alone with ourselves. It would hardly be reasonable to expect those who judge us, be they God or man, to extend to us the benefit of the doubt, if we are unwilling to return the favor when trying to understand others, be they HaShem, our friends, neighbors, and even our enemies. If we are hoping for justice and a fair hearing for ourselves, then we obviously have to offer justice to others.

7 In the spirit of (VaYikra 19:18) And you will love your neighbor as yourself, then our neighbor is deserving of what we want for ourselves, namely, fair and considerate judgment, based upon facts and reality, rather than inference and innuendo. While it may still be difficult to completely reconcile the prohibitions against star worship with the discussions of astrology that we encounter in our primary texts and traditions, the image of Tishrei being the month for the scales of justice to give us our annual review is compelling. May we merit judging as well as being judged according to the principle of giving and receiving the benefit of the doubt. Shabbat Shalom. (1) Part 3, Chapt. 22, Pardes, New York, 1963, p (2) See e.g., Isadore Epstein, Judaism, Penguin, London, 1966, p. 88. (3) See e.g., RaMBaN s Milchamot HaShem in Kitvei HaRaMBaN, vol. 1, ed. R. Chaim Chavell, Mosad HaRav Kook, Yerushalayim, 5723, pp The Talmud also records disputations that took place before Alexander the Great in Sanhedrin 91b. However, in contradistinction to the source discussing Ptolemy, Alexander merely provides a context before which competing national interests are able to debate. (4) According to Sanhedrin 56b, the 7 Noachide commandments that include the prohibition against idolatry are even more fundamental to humanity, since they were already given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and can be derived from Beraishit 2:16. The Rabbis interpret Beraishit 4:26 as an indication that idolatrous practices were beginning in the third generation of mankind. Some, like R. Elchanan Wasserman, in his Kobetz Shiurim (R. Elazar Wasserman, Tel Aviv, 5744, p. 12), argue that the prohibition against worshiping idols and planets is something that should logically be apparent to all even without a formulated warning, and therefore even were one to grow up in an idolatrous environment, s/he should be as capable as Avraham of acting as an iconoclast, if not for others, than at least for him/herself. However, the Talmud s positing that there was already an explicit Divine Prohibition prior to the Great Flood escalates the level of premeditation and guilt for those who practiced such religious devotions and puts the blame for such actions squarely on the shoulders of the perpetrators. (5) Although the intent of the 72 scholars clarification is clear, their solution does not seem terribly satisfactory. In contrast to adding the words LeAvdam to 17:3, which is logical and syntactically acceptable, claiming that the great and lesser lights of the heavens is to provide light in 4:19 is a harder sell. On the one hand, the Jews also need light, so why should the Tora have emphasized that the light is for only the other nations of the world in contrast to the Jews? Furthermore, useable light appears to be provided exclusively by the sun and the moon. How do the other stars and planets provide light? While they may be necessary for navigation, shining light of practical value to the earth does not seem to be accomplished by the stars. While Beraishit 1:15-17 do seem to suggest that the stars purpose is also to shed light upon the earth, starlight does not appear to be concentrated enough to accomplish this purpose in any significant manner. All of this leads me to wonder whether scholars engaged in close-reading of the Septuagint, trying to assess the logical viability of all that it contains. (6) A more malevolent position is voiced by Rav in Avoda Zora 55a. He claims that the temptation provided by the stars to become objects of idolatrous worship was designed to provide God with the

8 opportunity to justify eliminating these peoples from the world. Since God Wished to preserve the Jews at all costs, the stars are intended only to mislead other peoples. While the overall approach of Megilla 9a-b is polemical, the specific solution for Devarim 4:19 is less hostile than Avoda Zora 55a s explanation for the verse. (7) Usually at the top of the Tannaim document, some form of Mazal Tov is used as an introduction to the rest of the content listing the earnestness of the commitment on the part of the families of the bride and the groom to assure that the wedding will take place. (8) As part of Kiddush Levana (lit. the sanctification of the moon), recited between the third and the 15 th of the advent of a new Jewish month, the statement Siman Tov U Mazal Tov Yeheh Lanu U LeChal Yisrael is repeated three times. (9) See e.g., Berachot 64a, Shabbat 119a; 156b. (10) See Beraishit Rabba 39:1 as well as RaMBaM, Mishna Tora, Hilchot Avoda Zora 1:3. (11) Beraishit 12:5 is interpreted in Beraishit Rabba 39:14 to connote that Avraham and Sara actively converted people to their belief system. (12) Beraishit 22:12. (13) The Even Shoshan Dictionary (Avraham Even Shoshan, HaMilon HeChadash, vol. 2, Kiryat Sefer, Yerushalayim, 1985, p. 655 Ein Mazal LeYisrael ) illustrates how modern Jewish culture has drawn on Talmudic terminology, but in a manner that confounds its original meaning. In this case, the Talmud employs the phrase in question to indicate that Jews should not take seriously their horoscopes. In modern parlance, however, it has come to mean that Jews are unlucky! (14) The first of the Ba alei Tosaphot were RaShI s sons-in-law and grandchildren, including Rabbeinu Tam and RaShBaM. (15) Tosafot could have suggested that the Zechut to which R. Meir is referring was meritorious good deeds rather than the quality of the work and the amount of time invested in one s profession in order to realize success. But he preferred to make it appear that success and failure are completely serendipitous and therefore success should not lead one to arrogance, nor should failure cause one to be depressed and melancholy. (16) Parshat Pekudei, #418. (17) See (18) Beraishit 22:13. (19) e.g., the Mishna Berura s introduction to Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim #581. (20) Shir HaShirim 6:3. (21) See e.g., the introduction by R. Mordechai Gifter to the ArtScroll edition of Shir HaShirim (Mesorah Publications, New York, 1977, pp. xviii-xx).