Drash
This week's Torah portion covers many topics including several of the ten
commandments, the golden rule, and some rules of sexual behavior. The Haftarah
portion covers some of the rules of how to treat people from other lands.
A constant subject that comes up in this portion is that of holiness.
Reading and studying the Torah by itself is not enough to be holy. One must also
live by the rules stated. If you don't find a way that your life connects to the
Torah, then it is as insignificant as any other book. When we study Torah, we
assume there's wisdom in its words. However, as mortal men, we don't know how
the wisdom fits in our lives. Studying
Torah is an act of holiness. The act of studying alone, forces us to consider,
where does it
fit in our lives?
The golden rule, veahavtah lereachah kamocha (love thy neighbor as
thyself), can be considered the eleventh commandment. According to Jacob Hertz,
editor of the Pentateuch you are using today, “The world at large is largely
unaware of the fact that this comprehensive maxim of morality –the golden rule
of human conduct– was first taught by Judaism”. Even though it is not
officially one of the recognized commandments, it is thought by many scholars to
be the big lesson underlying the whole Torah. The scholar Hillel was one of
these. When a man asked Hillel to teach him the whole Torah, while he stood on
one foot, outside Hillel's door, Hillel replied, “Do not do unto others as you
would not want done unto yourself. This is the whole Torah, the rest is only
commentary. Go, learn it”. The great spiritual teachers of all religions have
taught this universal law.
As I was growing up in Kentucky, I learned about the golden rule from our
neighbor Dorothy. Whenever we went to Dorothy's house, a smile was on her face
and tuna fish sandwiches were on the table. Dorothy didn't actually like tuna fish, she made it for our enjoyment. Dorothy invited us to
dinner every Tuesday night for years. Dorothy would hardly eat anything; and
yet, she would always prepare for us a full spread of at least seven dishes.
Good will for the common good flows strongly in Kentucky; and, I knew
many people for whom the Golden Rule was a life goal.
My 3rd and 4th
grade teacher Mrs McDowell was a widow raising her three children alone. She
also took care of her commuting sister's one child. Many years ago, a tornado
tore through central Kentucky, ravaging several farms. The teacher's aide
assigned to Mrs. McDowell was a partial-paraplegic whose husband was killed in
the tornado. Mrs. McDowell took her two children into her home for many months
while her aide was in the hospital.
The golden rule can be used in two forms, positive or negative. The
positive form is the one found in my Torah portion, veahavtah lereachah kamocha
(“love thy neighbor as thyself”). The golden rule can also be used in a
negative form, as is in the story of Hillel, do not
do unto others as
you would not want
done unto thyself. Dorothy and Mrs McDowell are examples of the positive golden
rule. Try as we might, we are not perfect. In our lives, we have to deal with
both permutations of the golden rule. When dealing with the negative form, we
use the positive form to repent and forgive.
One form of the golden rule is the concept of Tzedaka. Tzdakah means
charity and performing acts of loving kindness towards others. Moses Maimonides
was a Jewish scholar who lived 800 years ago. He divided the golden rule into
seven graduated levels of tzdaka. In its lowest form, one gives unwillingly,
such as paying taxes. Slightly higher on the charitable side is one who gives
cheerfully, but not enough, such as dropping a quarter into a beggar's cup. The
third level is one who gives enough, but not till he is asked, like volunteering
at a community work day. The next level is the philanthropist who gives before
being asked, but directly to the poor person; an example of this is sponsoring a
child in a third world country. In the higher levels of giving, some anonymity
comes into the equation. On the fifth level, the poor one knows from whom he or
she takes, but the giver does not know who is receiving; most nonprofits, such
as UNICEF, operate this way. You donate money to UNICEF, who, intern, uses it to
benefit the less fortunate; who know that they are receiving support from
UNICEF. The sixth states that the giver knows to whom he or she gives, but the
receiver does not know the giver; an example of this is donating to a museum
through a pay-as-you-like donation box. The highest level of giving inferred by
Maimonides is when the giver does not know to whom he or she gives, nor does the
poor person know from whom he or she receives; prayer is man's attempt to reach
for this seventh layer. We all strive to achieve this seventh level of giving.
This Bar Mitzvah has been a difficult experience for me, one I will never
forget; yet I know it gave me the foundations to lead a Jewish life. Thanks to
everyone who came, and to all the people who couldn't come for the gifts and
cards, and a big thanks to my grandmother Savta Annette, who came all the way
from New York to be with me for this occasion.
If Saba Dave, my late grandfather, was here with us during the most
important event of my young-adult life, watching me in a polo shirt and shorts,
with the ocean at my back and a gecko munching on the cheesecake, what would he
say? He would probably just proudly smile, full of satisfaction.
Shabbat Shalom! (And have a nice day?)
By Ben Plaut, May 7, 2005 delivered on his Bar Mitzvah