Profit from Blood

I want to return to a verse that I’ve talked about before on this blog. Leviticus 19:16b says “Do not stand upon the blood of your neighbor. I am HaShem.”

There are two points I want to raise from this half-verse. First, how we approach the idea of the death penalty and second, what this means about what we should buy and sell.

The sages who compiled the Talmud refer to this verse to explain Mishnah, Sanhedrin 8:7, which reads, “And these are those who are to be saved [from doing evil] even at the cost of their lives…” There follows a list of sins which should be prevented at all costs, including killing the person who plans to commit them. These are issues of self-defense, for the most part, such as a person who is setting out to commit murder or rape. (cf. BT Sanhedrin 73A.) But the thing I want to call your attention to is the way they talk about it. A person who sets out to commit murder is to be “saved” at the cost of his own life.

The same attitude can be applied in cases of capital punishment for a crime already committed. We never take up the attitude that someone needs to be punished simply as retribution for what they’ve done. We prevent the sin for the sake of the sinner. We execute the sinner for the sake of the sinner, in order to atone for the sin.

Lev. 19:18 is found in the context of business practices, and a general description of how to not take advantage of those around us. In this context, it is likely that “do not stand upon the blood of your neighbor” is intended to tell us that we should not benefit from death. This should cause us to carefully think and research what we buy and sell. Recent information about unsafe factory conditions, or products which are made available by war and oppression are in violation of the clear meaning of this verse. So we should not assume that these reports are correct, but we should carefully investigate and make an ethical decision when we make a purchase.

True Loving-Kindness

In the portion for the seventh day of Unleavened Bread we read about how Moses brought the bones of Joseph up from Egypt, according to Joseph’s request (Ex. 13:19). That reminded me of another deathbed request, when Jacob said to Joseph, “Please act graciously to me, place your hand under my thigh as an oath of your true loving-kindness. Please do not bury me in Egypt.” (Gen. 47:29b)

Genesis Rabbah 96:5 explains that loving-kindness, an idea that has to do with faithfulness to a covenant, done to the dead is “true” loving-kindness. This is because there is no chance to be rewarded for it. The dead person cannot enforce the covenant, or pay the living. The only thing that keeps the living from completely ignoring the request of the dead is their loving-kindness.

The sages do make caring for the dead a commandment, but do not expand “true loving-kindness” beyond that. The only broad principle is that it is good to do acts of true loving-kindness, as stated in Mishnah, Pirkei Avot 1:3:

Antigonus, leader of Socho, received the tradition from Shimon the Righteous. He used to say; Be not like servants who serve their master for the sake of receiving a reward; instead be like servants who serve their master not for the sake of receiving a reward. And let the awe of Heaven be upon you.

 But Yeshua expands this idea.

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:32-36 (NRSV)

The Messiah actually expects acts of true loving-kindness from his disciples. He requires this of his disciples because by acting mercifully, we imitate our Father. When we imitate our Father we draw close to him. Our reward is this closeness to God, becoming sons of the Most High.

True loving-kindness is the truest imitation of God. When God created us, gave us all of the good things of the world, sent our Messiah to save us, and anything else he has done for us from the smallest things to the biggest, there is nothing that he can get out of it. So it is our greatest privilege to do the same thing for our fellow man, showing the love of God and drawing close to him. As the Alter Rebbe explains in the Tanaya, “He does not truly love the King who looks to him for some favor.”

Ignorant Enough to Know

“The first among the commandments to perform is the commandment to know that there is a God, as it is said ‘I am HaShem your God.’ (Exodus 20:2)” (Mishneh HaTorah, Positive Commandments 1:1)

R. Yeshua disagrees with Maimonides about the importance of this commandment, saying that it is more important to love God (Matt. 22:37-38), but that does not mean that the commandment to believe in God is unimportant. It is placed at the beginning of the Decalogue for a reason. This commandment is foundational because so many of the commandments are dependent on it.

It is important for us to realize that this is more than a commandment to “believe” in the sense that we believe it is the most likely situation. Maimonides says we should “know,” and the Hafeitz Hayim emphasizes our assurance even more, “The main thing, though, is to fix firmly in one’s heart and soul that this is the truth, and nothing other than this is possible.” (Seifer HaMitzvot HaQatzar, HaMitzvot-Aseh 1)

This is a very difficult position to maintain in any age, when trouble and pain come to steal our faith. It is at those times that we must fix firmly in view our choice to believe that God is God, and to remember His faithfulness to us in the past. Rashi points to past faithfulness as the reason for obedience to this commandment. We believe in God because God is our deliverer, our redeemer. It is easy to fall into the mistake of believing in God because of some philosophical argument about the First Cause, or Natural Law, but we believe in God because God acts in history, as hard as it may be to believe sometimes. We believe in God because He steps into space and time and acts to save us.

We don’t often think about belief in God as a commandment, but John uses this idea in a powerful way:

Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. (I John 3:21-23, NRSV)

The relevant passage in I John is longer than I’m going to quote here, but John points to the importance of confidence just like Maimonides and the Hafeitz Hayim. Just like Rashi, John points to God’s acts in history, though less obviously, when he mentions the Messiah, whose life, death, and resurrection mirror the Exodus appealed to in this commandment.

This may be the most difficult of all the commandments. To keep our eyes set on God at all times and overcoming doubt requires doubt so strong that it becomes faith.  I’d like to challenge you the next time you are struggling with faith: doubt your doubt. If you find yourself being a skeptic, remember that the father of the ancient Greek skeptics, Pyrrho, insisted that his students remain doubtful of skepticism. If  we dare to doubt completely, in the rubble of the world that we have torn down with our doubt we will find the faith we need to rebuild.