Remember

This week in reading the portion for the first day of Shavuot, which includes the Decalogue, I was struck by a commandment that I think a lot of us overlook. I know I tend to forget it, which is ironic, because the commandment is “Remember the day of the Sabbath to sanctify it.” (Exodus 20:8)

This has traditionally been understood in a number of ways, and lead to a number of practices. Probably the most frequently cited observance associated with this commandment is to recite Kiddush on the Sabbath eve, and Havdalla at the end of the Sabbath (Mishneh Torah, Shabbat, 29:1). This is to remember to set it apart from the week days. It makes it holy by separating the Sabbath from the mundane work days, creating a clear dividing line.

However, this also applies throughout the week. R. Israel of Modzhitz mentioned that throughout the week if he found a particularly special food or item of clothing he would set it aside for the following Sabbath. The sages also instituted the practice of reciting this commandment every day after morning prayers, so that we remember the Sabbath throughout the week. This gives us something to look forward to, a definite end goal. Rather than an endless cycle of the same mundane existence, the commandment to remember the Sabbath keeps us focused on an end that comes every week, a break, a chance to recouperate.

This is also a way of doing as Isaiah says, to “Declare the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of HaShem, honorable.” By eating special foods and looking forward to the Sabbath, keeping it a separate day of rest and delight, we fulfil this injunction (The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, Positive Commandments, 19).

Even more importantly, though, we can always remember the Sabbath to make it holy, even when we can’t keep the Sabbath the way we would like to. This is one way to understand what R. Yeshua told us in Luke 6, “‘Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?’ And he said to them, ‘The Son of man is lord of the sabbath.’” (Luke 6:3-5 RSV)

It is more important to sustain life by eating than to keep the Sabbath, however, we still remember the Sabbath and keep it holy in that way, trying to make it special in whatever way possible.

Rest in Peace?

I’m sure many of you heard that Dr. Kevorkian died Friday morning. For any readers who aren’t familiar, Dr. Kevorkian was the man who really brought the issue of assisted suicide for terminally ill patients to America. This should bring up a lot of important questions for us. We could talk about the nature of life and death, the ethics of assisted suicide, crime and punishment, or theodicy. There’s a lot more to talk about than I can ever hope to address, but I just want to talk about a couple of points.

The most obvious question may be about our attitude toward life and death. I mean, doesn’t Dr. Kevorkian have a point? People shouldn’t have to suffer through life, right? But in Judaism we value life above all else. Life is the supreme good on which society is based, the basic necessity. God’s injunction to us is “I call the heavens and the earth as witness against you today life and death, the blessing and curse, so choose life so that you may live, you and your descendants.” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

The choice is ours, but the Torah states the choice in absolute terms, “the life,” “the death,” “the blessing,” “the curse.” This choice is more important than we imagine. The Torah also tells us that the purpose of the Torah is so that we may live (Leviticus 18:5).

In a discussion of Genesis 1:1 the sages teach that the entire world was created for the sake of the Torah (cf. Rashi on Genesis 1:1). The world was created for the sake of moral dilemmas like the one that Dr. Kevorkian brought up. We should not ignore pain, or cause people to suffer, but we should also preserve life. The whole purpose of living is to be tested, to be tried, and to endure. So it is the height of irony to allow assisted suicide in order to avoid pain, since it was for this reason that we were born.

Without a basis in the preservation of life any society is on the rocks. At the risk of falling prey to the “slippery slope” fallacy, as soon as we start eroding the edges of our respect for life we are at risk of going too far. Even though assisted suicide is only providing the means for a patient in intense pain and terminally ill, if we allow it then euthanasia doesn’t seem so bad. If we allow euthanasia, then eugenics doesn’t seem so bad, and we’ve seen the bloody, genocidal history of eugenics.

The whole reason we live in groups and form societies is to better preserve life. By working together we are better able to protect our lives and provide for our sustainance and well-being. In Judaism this is taken beyond just not killing eachother and protecting eachother from the danger of physical harm. We are required to give charity for the sake of providing for our fellow man. It is the same value for life that inspires acts of charity that inspires us to reject the idea of assisted suicide. We do not value some lives more than others, all lives are valued equally, because they are all in the image of God. We do not want to preserve our own lives at the expense of others. We do not provide for our needs by depriving anyone else. We prefer that everyone just survive than that some should prosper while others starve. This is why we maintain a nearly Marxist ethic of “from each as he is able to each as he has need.”

From a Jewish perspective, even capital punishment has the objective of preserving life. According to the Mishna, executing a criminal serves the function of atoning for their sin, and so preserving their life in the world to come. Both the written Torah and the sages severly limit the cases in which a criminal can be executed, and make sure that only the most rigorous investigation with the highest degree of proof of guilt can lead to execution. In the case of murderers, capital punishment also serves the function of preventing them from killing again.

So if we say that assisted suicide is, in fact, wrong, why is it that Dr. Kevorkian just died at the age of 83? Why does someone so destructive to life get to live to a ripe, old age? Why does a good God allow that? Again, the “reason for which we live, and suffer, and die,” as Alon Paton put it, our raison d’être is to be given an opportunity to choose. It’s important for us to remember the words of Hebrews that it is appointed for man once to die, and after that comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Our concern, though, is less on what that justice looks like (i.e. is Hell eternal?) than that it exists. Justice will be done, and when we see it we will all have to agree that it is just.

That does not excuse us from doing our part here and now. We shouldn’t just wait for justice in the world to come, we should work for it every day. In the end, though, whether we succeed or fail we are guaranteed that there will be justice. Even if we give our all to secure justice in this life and it ends in failure, our efforts will be rewarded.

"The Proletarians have nothing to lose but their shackles. They have a world to win." - Karl Marx

A Sign Upon Your Arm

“And you shall bind them as a sign on your arm, and let them be frontlets between your eyes” Deuteronomy 6:8. This is the verse from which we derive the commandment of Tefillin.

In Hebrew both “between the eyes” and “on the arm” are very broad descriptions. Between the eyes can be anywhere from directly between the eyes to the top of the forehead, centered between the eyes, and on the arm can be anywhere from the hand to the bicep. So, according to Rambam, we know where to bind them based on an oral tradition. The head tefillin go on the head, just above the hair line, and the arm tefillin are bound on the bicep (Mishneh Torah). The sages also tell us to touch the tefillin and kiss our fingers when we mention the tefillin during the Shema (The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, Positive Commandments 9).

I’m not going to go into detail about how they are made or why they are made that way, since I doubt any of us have the ability to make them ourselves. The portions contained in the tefillin are the four portions that contain the commandment to wear tefillin (Exodus 13:1-10, 11-16. Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21). Because of the sanctity of this commandment, we should treat them with the utmost respect. Our minds should stay focused on God and prayer, rather than ordinary things (The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, Positive Commandment 8-9). Even though the Scriptural commandment does not set a specific time for binding tefillin, because of the sanctity of thought and action that it requires, the sages ruled that a person has fulfilled the command if he wears them during morning prayers. It is, however, permitted to wear them throughout the day (The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, Positive Commandment 9)

Nearly every halachic source emphasizes the importance of wearing tefilling during the Shema, that we treat them with respect (we don’t wear them while dressed immodestly, or while in the presence of immodesty, or in a restroom, etc). cf BT Berachot 14; Hilchot Tefillin; The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, Positive Commandments 8-9; Orach Chaim, Siman 32.

R. Yeshua also mentions an important point regarding tefillin in Matthew 23:5. Indirectly, he tells us not to make our tefillin (also known as phylacteries) broad. Their purpose is not to be shown off. In Deuteronomy 6:8 we are told that their purpose is to be a “sign,” a marker of the covenant between God and Israel. We should not mistake this for a sign to people, it is a sign between God and Israel, and it is only important that God knows about our practice of tefillin.

Moths, Rust, and Thieves

“Do not covet” Exodus 20:14, what this means has been disputed for a long time. Many authorities, such as R. Israel Meir Kagan (The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, Negative Commandment 40) argue that this commandment only applies when a person begins to actually take steps toward getting the thing they want.

This view seems extreme. After all, Rambam even states that for certain kinds of items the moment a person thinks to himself, “How is it possible to acquire this from him?” he has coveted (Mishneh Torah, Gezelah va’Avedah 1:10). However, it is important to point out that according to Babylonian Talmud, Baba Meisa 5b, this only applies to something that we cannot get legally. If it is for sale, then it is allowed to think “How can I get this item?” If the item is not for sale, though, it is not allowed.

The Master and Rambam give very different warnings against coveting. Rambam very simply states that coveting leads to theft. R. Yeshua, though, tells a story.

The land of a rich man brough forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, “What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?” And he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” Luke 12:16-20 (NRSV)

This is a much more elegant way of dealing with coveting because it talks about an entire lifestyle. To the Master the reason coveting is wrong is not because it leads to stealing, though that is true. The problem with coveting is that it is the wrong way to approach life. As he says, “A man’s life is not from the abundance of his posessions.” (Luke 12:15)

Life comes from much more important things. Life comes from family. From justice. From doing right. Above all, life comes from God, not from things. This is why desiring things is prohibited.

The Kingdom of Heaven

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.” Matthew 18:23 (RSV)

R. Yeshua goes on to tell that one of the king’s servants couldn’t pay his debt of ten thousand talents, and because of his begging, the king released him from his debt. Afterwards, the servant comes to another servant who owed him one hundred denarii, and the first servant had the second thrown in jail because he was unable to pay. When the king hears about this he reacts strongly:

“Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." Matthew 18: 32-35 (RSV)

The lesson is pretty clear by itself, but it is also based in a specific commandment, from Exodus 22:24a, “If you lend to My people, the poor who are with you, you shall not be a creditor to him.” R. Israel Meir Kagan explains from this that a lender should not demand money from a borrower who can’t pay (The Concise Book of Commandments, Negative Commandments 52).

This applies in other ways, aswell. Not only should we not act like creditors when it comes to money, we shouldn’t act as creditors in anything. If I do you a favor, I cannot expect you to do me a favor in return. The Mishna makes this explicit in Mishna, Baba Meisa 5:10-11, where it is clearly stated that this commandment applies to any kind of favor or help that we can offer to eachother.

We do not expect any kind of repayment, especially when we know that the person can’t repay. R. Yeshua tells us, “Lend without expecting anything in return and you will have a great reward” (Luke 6:35).

R. Yeshua tells us what the reward is in one sense, if you forgive debts, your debts will be forgiven, but this also makes daily life work better. If we all give without expecting anything then the society runs better. No one can hold anything over your head. If someone gives you a gift, you aren’t expected to give something of equal value in return.