This week’s Torah portion is Mishpatim, which means, ordinances, or laws. It directly follows the Ten Commandments, and consists of over 50 rules that lay out the workings of a just society. There are laws concerning murder, injury, theft, care of and destruction of property, negligence, and social justice. There are laws about the punishment fitting the crime, integrity of words and actions, and also about helping and not oppressing a strangers, widows, and orphans, those weakest in society. Finally, there are laws about the 3 agricultural pilgrimage holidays and a vision of God, seen by the Moses and over 70 elders.
Tonight I’d like to examine three incomprehensible laws. They are: “One who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. One who kidnaps a man and sells him and he was found in his possession, shall surely be put to death. One who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death” (Ex. 21:15-17). Of course we don’t agree with these laws, and the ancient rabbis didn’t either. They limited them severely to adult children who have the intention of causing death to their parents. But what the laws say and what they mean, I think, are two very different things. In the 10 Commandments, we are told, “Do not take the name of God, your God, in vain,” and also, “Honor your father and your mother.” Both of these commandments concern respect: respect for God and respect for parents. The Torah is informing us that respect is an important value in Judaism: that it’s good for us, good for society, and that developing respect will help us and make us happier.
In Mishpatim, the failure of an adult child to manifest any respect for parents is deemed so dangerous to society that the courts need to be involved. It is the task of the community, the Torah tells us, to make sure that people who are a danger to their parents are dealt with not by the parents alone, but by the entire community. It is interesting that the commandment concerning kidnapping is between the two directives about parents. Rabbi S. R. Hirsch says this is because the kidnapper treated the person he kidnapped and sold as a thing, not as a person (P. 290, Hirsch Chumash). Respect is a value which has changed greatly in our society. People used to respect the king, the Pope, even rabbis. Our grandparents had respect for their teachers, for the doctor, for authority figures in general. This was a patriarchal hierarchy in which there was more of a certain type of respect throughout the society.
We know that things have greatly changed. There is much less respect for individuals, but perhaps more respect for groups. Our great grandparents may have respected the teacher, but what about a person of color? What about women, or those with disabilities, or those whose sexual preferences differed with their own? Respect has shifted, I think, not diminished. Perhaps now, in our psychologically attuned time, there is more self-respect and also more willingness to treat others as people and not objects. Perhaps, as Rabbi Elimelech taught, that is one meaning of the commandment, “Do not show favoritism,” (Deut. 16:19) which distances us from God’s Panim, face. There is a growing recognition that respect must be accorded to everyone equally, not just to parents, teachers, and authority figures: that respect should be not a component of fear, but of love. The French novelist Albert Camus wrote, “Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear.”
Perhaps the Torah stresses respect to parents because it is through our parents that we learn how to respect, and also how to love. If we formed healthy, nourishing attachments to our parents, then we can not only love, accept, and respect others, but we have also developed the capacity to love and respect the Source of life. Respect for God, and as the V’ahavta prayer urges, love for God, helps us to rise spiritually. One can be a moral person out of a conviction that doing the right thing is valuable in itself. It may however, be easier, to tackle the self and make the changes necessary for spiritual advancement, if we have developed the respect for the rightness and goodness of God’s teachings, if we can love our Divine parent.
Respect flows from the purifying force of love in our lives. When we do the inner work to purify ourselves, we can accept, love, and respect others. The Torah and the Midrash ask us to rise in the presence of the aged and also of a sage (Levit. 19: 32; Ex Rabba 31:16). This is respect based on love, and perhaps we are moving from respect based on fear to respect based on love. There is great strength in having respect for each other. Rabbi Elimelech quotes a story told by the Baal Shem Tov that you may have heard: “All the birds fly to warmer countries in the winter. A beautiful multicolored bird appeared atop a very high tree in a certain country. The king commanded his servants to bring him the bird. They climbed on top of each other’s shoulders, forming a tall ladder. After a while the ones below decided they were no longer necessary and left. This caused the man at the top to tumble and fall to the ground. He was injured and failed to capture the bird.” The Baal Shem Tov continued: “We must always be attached and connected with each other with love.” May we have the wisdom to accord our respect not only to those who exhibit the highest human values, but also to respect our Divinity within, that we may recognize and respect that divinity of each person and be guided toward greater respect for God and each other.
Showing posts with label Mishpatim. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mishpatim. Show all posts
Friday, January 31, 2014
Friday, May 3, 2013
Speaking of Holiness
This week’s Torah portion is Mishpatim, which means, ordinances, or laws, or judgments. It immediately follows the Ten Commandments but is very different in content, laying out laws for a just civil society. There are laws about slavery, negligence, the giving of charity, just compensation, and dispensing justice. Over 50 laws are given in this portion. Mishpatim ends with commandments to celebrate the holidays and a transporting vision given to Moses and the elders. Tonight I’d like to focus on the topic of speech. As you might expect, there are a number of commandments here that include prohibitions against saying things that are untrue. The Torah also prohibits agreeing with an untrue statement made by another person. One verse in the Artscroll translation reads, “Do not accept a false report.” The Etyz Chaim translation says, You must not carry false rumors. And continuing in the previous translation, the Torah says, Do not extend your hand with the wicked to be a venal witness. Do not be a follower of the majority for evil. Distance yourself from a false word. We can look at these laws in light of our speech.
Judaism has guidelines for speech that can help us to know what is expected of us. The lowest level required is not to say anything false. Of course there are times when we are permitted to say something we know is not true. We can say something untrue to avoid hurting someone’s feelings, and to avoid gossiping. The next highest level of speech is about Lashon Hara, literally, bad speech. The Talmud says: “What constitutes evil speech? … Whatsoever is said in the presence of the person concerned is not considered evil speech. …… He answered: I hold with R. Jose, for R. Jose said: I have never said a word and looked behind my back (Arachin 15b).” At this level we are asked not to say anything negative about a person even if it is true, to someone who has no need to know. Maimonides said, “Even if the statements are true, they bring about the destruction of the world (Mishneh Torah).” Our Sages said: "There are three sins for which retribution is exacted from a person in this world and, [for which] he is denied a portion in the world to come: idol worship, forbidden sexual relations, and murder. Lashon horah is equivalent to all of them." In addition, they said: "Lashon horah kills three [people], the one who speaks it, the one who listens to it, and the one about whom it is spoken. The one who listens to it [suffers] more than the one who speaks it.”
There is yet one more level of speech, the highest level. This is harder. We are asked not to say anything positive or negative about anyone to someone who has no need to know. This guideline is meant to circumscribe our conversations. It asks us to think before we speak about another: to say less than we may be used to saying, so that we do not get ourselves into trouble. This level of speech precludes most recreational speech. The Talmud also says, “What shall be one’s remedy so that he may not come to [utter] evil speech? If the person be a scholar, let him engage in the Torah, and if the person be ignorant, let him humble himself, as it is said: ‘But perverseness is a wound to the spirit.’” We are being led here into another commandment found in Mishpatim: “You shall not wrong a stranger and you shall not oppress him, for you were strangers in the Land of Egypt. You shall not persecute an orphan or widow.” These commandments seem to be not only about harming a person with less power in the society, but also about denigrating another. If we take these commandments symbolically, we can say that we are all strangers to each other. We all have a tendency to need to bolster our self esteem, but that we should not do it at the expense of others because in reality, we are part of them and they are part of us. And just because we may think, everyone is doing it, it’s an area in which most of us can find spiritual growth.
In this portion it says, “People of holiness shall you be to me.” And perhaps this is a fourth level of speech: that we use our words to create holiness. We can do so much good with our speech: bringing smiles to others, sharing our love, comforting each other, understanding one another’s needs, helping, and bringing kindness by sharing the gift of ourselves. Rabbi Gelberman wrote: “If we speak inwardly to ourselves of the joy of living of the oneness of people of our individual security and our emotional maturity our words will come forth with wisdom.” Our words reveal so much about the kind of people we are: about the quality of our intentions and our inner dialogue. If we are striving to keep our hearts open, our words will bring healing to the world. May speak truthfully and lovingly to others, speaking a little less perhaps than we have been accustomed to, but speaking with the knowledge that satisfying, rewarding relationships and also the world’s healing depends upon us.
Judaism has guidelines for speech that can help us to know what is expected of us. The lowest level required is not to say anything false. Of course there are times when we are permitted to say something we know is not true. We can say something untrue to avoid hurting someone’s feelings, and to avoid gossiping. The next highest level of speech is about Lashon Hara, literally, bad speech. The Talmud says: “What constitutes evil speech? … Whatsoever is said in the presence of the person concerned is not considered evil speech. …… He answered: I hold with R. Jose, for R. Jose said: I have never said a word and looked behind my back (Arachin 15b).” At this level we are asked not to say anything negative about a person even if it is true, to someone who has no need to know. Maimonides said, “Even if the statements are true, they bring about the destruction of the world (Mishneh Torah).” Our Sages said: "There are three sins for which retribution is exacted from a person in this world and, [for which] he is denied a portion in the world to come: idol worship, forbidden sexual relations, and murder. Lashon horah is equivalent to all of them." In addition, they said: "Lashon horah kills three [people], the one who speaks it, the one who listens to it, and the one about whom it is spoken. The one who listens to it [suffers] more than the one who speaks it.”
There is yet one more level of speech, the highest level. This is harder. We are asked not to say anything positive or negative about anyone to someone who has no need to know. This guideline is meant to circumscribe our conversations. It asks us to think before we speak about another: to say less than we may be used to saying, so that we do not get ourselves into trouble. This level of speech precludes most recreational speech. The Talmud also says, “What shall be one’s remedy so that he may not come to [utter] evil speech? If the person be a scholar, let him engage in the Torah, and if the person be ignorant, let him humble himself, as it is said: ‘But perverseness is a wound to the spirit.’” We are being led here into another commandment found in Mishpatim: “You shall not wrong a stranger and you shall not oppress him, for you were strangers in the Land of Egypt. You shall not persecute an orphan or widow.” These commandments seem to be not only about harming a person with less power in the society, but also about denigrating another. If we take these commandments symbolically, we can say that we are all strangers to each other. We all have a tendency to need to bolster our self esteem, but that we should not do it at the expense of others because in reality, we are part of them and they are part of us. And just because we may think, everyone is doing it, it’s an area in which most of us can find spiritual growth.
In this portion it says, “People of holiness shall you be to me.” And perhaps this is a fourth level of speech: that we use our words to create holiness. We can do so much good with our speech: bringing smiles to others, sharing our love, comforting each other, understanding one another’s needs, helping, and bringing kindness by sharing the gift of ourselves. Rabbi Gelberman wrote: “If we speak inwardly to ourselves of the joy of living of the oneness of people of our individual security and our emotional maturity our words will come forth with wisdom.” Our words reveal so much about the kind of people we are: about the quality of our intentions and our inner dialogue. If we are striving to keep our hearts open, our words will bring healing to the world. May speak truthfully and lovingly to others, speaking a little less perhaps than we have been accustomed to, but speaking with the knowledge that satisfying, rewarding relationships and also the world’s healing depends upon us.
Friday, June 8, 2012
What is Fair and What is True
This week’s Torah portion is Mishpatim, which means ordinances or laws or judgments. It contains a code of civil law that directly follows the Ten Commandments and includes wonderful laws: like the ones that encourage people who have indentured servants to treat them as human being and not as property, that prohibit harm to others through negligence or theft, that provide for interest- free loans to the poor, that prohibit maltreatment of strangers, widows, and orphans, and that encourage people to come to the aid of their enemies, among many other laws. Also, in a spirit of full disclosure, it contains laws that we don’t understand and others that most people don’t agree with.
Twice in this portion it says that God listens to those in pain or in need. The first one says, “You shall not taunt or oppress a stranger for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not persecute any widow or orphan. If you will persecute him! For if he will cry out to me I shall surely hear his cry (Ex. 22:20-22)” And the second one, referring to loans to the poor: …”if you will take your fellow’s garment as security until the sun sets shall you return it to him for it alone is his clothing. It is his garment for his skin. In what should he lie down? So it will be that if he cries out to me, I shall listen for I am compassionate.”
These two quotations give us a window into what it being asked of us. The Torah tells us that there is an ultimate standard of justice that is inherent in the way our world is constructed. The laws in Mishpatim also give us a window into God’s thinking, in a sense. There is a delicate balance in these laws, between what is fair to everyone and what is true. For example, it was true that slavery existed at the time the Torah was given. It is also true that, since there was no consumer credit, that people who found themselves unable to support themselves and pay their bills could sell themselves for a period of six years into indentured servitude. This acted somewhat like our military does today. People can enlist in the army and serve for a period of time while receiving room, board, a salary, and educational opportunities. Of course, this is preferable to indentured slavery, but we can see that both institutions were or are helpful to people, which partially explains why they exist. So God balances what needs to be with the ultimate ideals of justice, and right, and fairness. With our Universal and Divine Parent: no one is favored over anyone else. This is because we are all part of God and live within God. Do we love one of our teeth or one of our fingers more than the others? They are all part of us and we love them (even if we may not like them) equally.
When we don’t understand some of the laws in Mishpatim, it’s important to remember what they are trying to accomplish: instilling respect in us; teaching us to treat each other fairly, enlightening us as to what is cosmically and fundamentally true; helping us to live more peaceful, happy lives; and making allowances for social institutions that existed at that time for the good of society. We know that although there may be good laws and there may be courts; well meaning people and honest judges, that justice is not always served. God and the Torah recognizes this too, which perhaps is why there are the quotations I referred to earlier: If you cry out to me I will hear. If there is a wrong, there is a higher authority to appeal to. God says, in another quotation from Mishpatim, “for I shall not exonerate the wicked (23:7),” meaning that ultimate justice rests with God. This is why the Apter Rebbe said, “If one wishes to judge flawlessly, one must put one’s mind and heart in order and realize that the judgment is in the Presence of God who sits among the Judges (p. 65 The Heschel Tradition).”
This is true for us too: we should put our minds and hearts in order, realizing that God sees what is happening, knows how we feel and what we think about it, cares about us, about others, and about justice, balances all our claims, loves us all equally, and is the court of highest appeal for those who are injured and in need: the One who insures that goodness overcomes our errors and selfishness. May we do our best to help God in these matters: to make the ideals of Torah manifest in the world – to promote fairness and equity; and may we be grateful for the laws, guidance, and understanding God has allowed us to have and to know.
Twice in this portion it says that God listens to those in pain or in need. The first one says, “You shall not taunt or oppress a stranger for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not persecute any widow or orphan. If you will persecute him! For if he will cry out to me I shall surely hear his cry (Ex. 22:20-22)” And the second one, referring to loans to the poor: …”if you will take your fellow’s garment as security until the sun sets shall you return it to him for it alone is his clothing. It is his garment for his skin. In what should he lie down? So it will be that if he cries out to me, I shall listen for I am compassionate.”
These two quotations give us a window into what it being asked of us. The Torah tells us that there is an ultimate standard of justice that is inherent in the way our world is constructed. The laws in Mishpatim also give us a window into God’s thinking, in a sense. There is a delicate balance in these laws, between what is fair to everyone and what is true. For example, it was true that slavery existed at the time the Torah was given. It is also true that, since there was no consumer credit, that people who found themselves unable to support themselves and pay their bills could sell themselves for a period of six years into indentured servitude. This acted somewhat like our military does today. People can enlist in the army and serve for a period of time while receiving room, board, a salary, and educational opportunities. Of course, this is preferable to indentured slavery, but we can see that both institutions were or are helpful to people, which partially explains why they exist. So God balances what needs to be with the ultimate ideals of justice, and right, and fairness. With our Universal and Divine Parent: no one is favored over anyone else. This is because we are all part of God and live within God. Do we love one of our teeth or one of our fingers more than the others? They are all part of us and we love them (even if we may not like them) equally.
When we don’t understand some of the laws in Mishpatim, it’s important to remember what they are trying to accomplish: instilling respect in us; teaching us to treat each other fairly, enlightening us as to what is cosmically and fundamentally true; helping us to live more peaceful, happy lives; and making allowances for social institutions that existed at that time for the good of society. We know that although there may be good laws and there may be courts; well meaning people and honest judges, that justice is not always served. God and the Torah recognizes this too, which perhaps is why there are the quotations I referred to earlier: If you cry out to me I will hear. If there is a wrong, there is a higher authority to appeal to. God says, in another quotation from Mishpatim, “for I shall not exonerate the wicked (23:7),” meaning that ultimate justice rests with God. This is why the Apter Rebbe said, “If one wishes to judge flawlessly, one must put one’s mind and heart in order and realize that the judgment is in the Presence of God who sits among the Judges (p. 65 The Heschel Tradition).”
This is true for us too: we should put our minds and hearts in order, realizing that God sees what is happening, knows how we feel and what we think about it, cares about us, about others, and about justice, balances all our claims, loves us all equally, and is the court of highest appeal for those who are injured and in need: the One who insures that goodness overcomes our errors and selfishness. May we do our best to help God in these matters: to make the ideals of Torah manifest in the world – to promote fairness and equity; and may we be grateful for the laws, guidance, and understanding God has allowed us to have and to know.
Friday, March 23, 2012
What is Fair and What is True
This week’s Torah portion is Mishpatim, which means ordinances or laws or judgments. It contains a code of civil law that directly follows the Ten Commandments and includes wonderful laws: like the ones that encourage people who have indentured servants to treat them as human being and not as property, that prohibit harm to others through negligence or theft, that provide for interest- free loans to the poor, that prohibit maltreatment of strangers, widows, and orphans, and that encourage people to come to the aid of their enemies, among many other laws. Also, in a spirit of full disclosure, it contains laws that we don’t understand and others that most people don’t agree with.
Twice in this portion it says that God listens to those in pain or in need. The first one says, “You shall not taunt or oppress a stranger for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not persecute any widow or orphan. If you will persecute him! For if he will cry out to me I shall surely hear his cry (Ex. 22:20-22)” And the second one, referring to loans to the poor: …”if you will take your fellow’s garment as security until the sun sets shall you return it to him for it alone is his clothing. It is his garment for his skin. In what should he lie down? So it will be that if he cries out to me, I shall listen for I am compassionate.”
These two quotations give us a window into what it being asked of us. The Torah tells us that there is an ultimate standard of justice that is inherent in the way our world is constructed. The laws in Mishpatim also give us a window into God’s thinking, in a sense. There is a delicate balance in these laws, between what is fair to everyone and what is true. For example, it was true that slavery existed at the time the Torah was given. It is also true that, since there was no consumer credit, that people who found themselves unable to support themselves and pay their bills could sell themselves for a period of six years into indentured servitude. This acted somewhat like our military does today. People can enlist in the army and serve for a period of time while receiving room, board, a salary, and educational opportunities. Of course, this is preferable to indentured slavery, but we can see that both institutions were or are helpful to people, which partially explains why they exist. So God balances what needs to be with the ultimate ideals of justice, and right, and fairness. With our Universal and Divine Parent: no one is favored over anyone else. This is because we are all part of God and live within God. Do we love one of our teeth or one of our fingers more than the others? They are all part of us and we love them (even if we may not like them) equally. When we don’t understand some of the laws in Mishpatim, it’s important to remember what they are trying to accomplish: instilling respect in us; teaching us to treat each other fairly, enlightening us as to what is cosmically and fundamentally true; helping us to live more peaceful, happy lives; and making allowances for social institutions that existed at that time for the good of society. We know that although there may be good laws and there may be courts; well meaning people and honest judges, that justice is not always served. God and the Torah recognizes this too, which perhaps is why there are the quotations I referred to earlier: If you cry out to me I will hear. If there is a wrong, there is a higher authority to appeal to. God says, in another quotation from Mishpatim, “for I shall not exonerate the wicked (23:7),” meaning that ultimate justice rests with God. This is why the Apter Rebbe said, “If one wishes to judge flawlessly, one must put one’s mind and heart in order and realize that the judgment is in the Presence of God who sits among the Judges (p. 65 The Heschel Tradition).” This is true for us too: we should put our minds and hearts in order, realizing that God sees what is happening, knows how we feel and what we think about it, cares about us, about others, and about justice, balances all our claims, loves us all equally, and is the court of highest appeal for those who are injured and in need: the One who insures that goodness overcomes our errors and selfishness. May we do our best to help God in these matters: to make the ideals of Torah manifest in the world – to promote fairness and equity; and may we be grateful for the laws, guidance, and understanding God has allowed us to have and to know.
Twice in this portion it says that God listens to those in pain or in need. The first one says, “You shall not taunt or oppress a stranger for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not persecute any widow or orphan. If you will persecute him! For if he will cry out to me I shall surely hear his cry (Ex. 22:20-22)” And the second one, referring to loans to the poor: …”if you will take your fellow’s garment as security until the sun sets shall you return it to him for it alone is his clothing. It is his garment for his skin. In what should he lie down? So it will be that if he cries out to me, I shall listen for I am compassionate.”
These two quotations give us a window into what it being asked of us. The Torah tells us that there is an ultimate standard of justice that is inherent in the way our world is constructed. The laws in Mishpatim also give us a window into God’s thinking, in a sense. There is a delicate balance in these laws, between what is fair to everyone and what is true. For example, it was true that slavery existed at the time the Torah was given. It is also true that, since there was no consumer credit, that people who found themselves unable to support themselves and pay their bills could sell themselves for a period of six years into indentured servitude. This acted somewhat like our military does today. People can enlist in the army and serve for a period of time while receiving room, board, a salary, and educational opportunities. Of course, this is preferable to indentured slavery, but we can see that both institutions were or are helpful to people, which partially explains why they exist. So God balances what needs to be with the ultimate ideals of justice, and right, and fairness. With our Universal and Divine Parent: no one is favored over anyone else. This is because we are all part of God and live within God. Do we love one of our teeth or one of our fingers more than the others? They are all part of us and we love them (even if we may not like them) equally. When we don’t understand some of the laws in Mishpatim, it’s important to remember what they are trying to accomplish: instilling respect in us; teaching us to treat each other fairly, enlightening us as to what is cosmically and fundamentally true; helping us to live more peaceful, happy lives; and making allowances for social institutions that existed at that time for the good of society. We know that although there may be good laws and there may be courts; well meaning people and honest judges, that justice is not always served. God and the Torah recognizes this too, which perhaps is why there are the quotations I referred to earlier: If you cry out to me I will hear. If there is a wrong, there is a higher authority to appeal to. God says, in another quotation from Mishpatim, “for I shall not exonerate the wicked (23:7),” meaning that ultimate justice rests with God. This is why the Apter Rebbe said, “If one wishes to judge flawlessly, one must put one’s mind and heart in order and realize that the judgment is in the Presence of God who sits among the Judges (p. 65 The Heschel Tradition).” This is true for us too: we should put our minds and hearts in order, realizing that God sees what is happening, knows how we feel and what we think about it, cares about us, about others, and about justice, balances all our claims, loves us all equally, and is the court of highest appeal for those who are injured and in need: the One who insures that goodness overcomes our errors and selfishness. May we do our best to help God in these matters: to make the ideals of Torah manifest in the world – to promote fairness and equity; and may we be grateful for the laws, guidance, and understanding God has allowed us to have and to know.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
When the Parts Work Together
This week’s Torah portion is Mishpatim, judgments or laws. These laws were given to Moses by God, after the 10 Commandments. The experience of the Revelation, being so close to God, was too frightening for the people; so they asked Moses to hear the laws from God and to tell them what God wished to say. There are over 50 laws in this portion, ranging from laws concerning murder, injury, theft, care for and destruction of property, negligence, and social justice. There are laws about the punishment fitting the crime, integrity of words and actions, and also about not oppressing a stranger, a widow, or an orphan, those weakest in society. Finally, there are laws about the 3 agricultural pilgrimage holidays and a vision of God, seen by the Moses, Aaron, his two sons, and the 70 elders. In the Zohar, the book of Splendor from the Middle Ages, in the commentary for Mishpatim it says, “when one (Section 2, Page 124a) observes the ordinances of the Torah and diligently studies it, it is as though that one diligently studied the Divine Name. For the whole Torah is an enfolding of the one Divine Name, the most exalted Name, the Name that comprehends all other names;” This poetic comment is at the opposite pole from the actual words in this portion. We can study the laws as they are here given; and either agree with them or disagree with them; and either do them or decide that they have been superseded by advances in society. In this portion we can find the best of the Torah: the striving for social justice; and also the worst of the Torah: those laws about slavery or the possibility of the death penalty for lesser offenses than premeditated murder. This portion begins with laws: with reasonable demands that we can all understand; but ends in a mystical vision: gazing at the appearance of God, God’s throne, and the purity of the sapphire brickwork under the feet of God. Between these two poles: the logical and the mystical, lies the question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” which comes from the story of Cain and Abel in B’reisheet, the first Torah portion. Taking into account the reality stated in the quotation from the Zohar about the Divine Name; everything that is “named” in this portion, in the whole Torah, is God’s Name. Everything that is named, described, and taught, is God, because that’s all there is. The people in this portion: the widow, orphan, and stranger are God. The slave, the pregnant woman, the thief, and the virgin; the seducer and even the donkey crouching under its burden are all God. We are all a tiny part of God; “the name that comprehends all other names.” God is immanent in us, but transcendent over us. So what is the problem that is being set out for us? This portion is, in a sense, not only about action but also about peace. The S’fat Emet quotes the Psalm (29:11), “God will bless God’s people with peace,” and we say in the second Torah blessing, “God has implanted eternal life within us.” Then the S’fat Emet goes on to say, “this well is opened by the peace wrought by these statutes. For this reason the Midrash quotes here, you have established uprightness (Ps 99:4) because these statues lead people to love one another. The problem we must solve, then, is one of coordination: of getting all the parts to work together as a well oiled machine in which all the components are all operating harmoniously toward a productive end. If God is one, then everything is God and the challenge is to have it all working as if we are all one. That can only happen when we take care of each other, are fair to one another, and understand that the welfare of the whole is what we need to be aiming for, not just our own welfare; because our welfare is God’s welfare, is our neighbor’s welfare. When we cause pain, or create untruth, we cause a tear or a hole in the fabric of existence. We cause a breakdown in the oneness and harmony of the working parts, and we, ourselves will experience the pain we cause to another. We ourselves will fall into the hole we have dug or torn. It is all God, and that is why harmony is so important. Disharmony works against existence, against life, against us. Untruth severs the source of the electric current from the light bulb, so it can’t light up. The commandments are given to purify us and the Torah ties them all together so that we have a chance to understand it all. Torah is a reflection of the Oneness of all existence. It explains how all life should work, when it’s working properly. That understanding is so precious for us, because it gives us a chance to be part of a universe that is pulling together and not pulling apart. When we are focused on the welfare of the All, we are given glimpses of Divinity; intimations of the purity that is God and the harmonious, productive place that the world is meant to be. May each of us strive to realize these truths, so that the design of Oneness can become the reality; so that we can work happily, being at One with existence and expressing the harmony of all life.
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