Man Emulating God- Righteousness and Loving-Kindness

As discussed in the previous post, Rambam understands the verse in Yirmyahu 9:23

כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה, עֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה בָּאָרֶץ
כִּי-בְאֵלֶּה חָפַצְתִּי, נְאֻם-יְהוָה

…that I am the LORD who exercises loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the LORD

to be an admonition for man to emulate God by doing loving-kindness, judgment and righteousness. Rambam spends a whole chapter, MN 3:53, defining these three words - חֶסֶד מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה - how they relate to God’s actions and consequently how to emulate Him.

Rambam understands the word חֶסֶד to mean –

“In the prophetic writings, the term Chesed occurs mostly in the sense of showing kindness to those who have no claim to it whatever. For this reason, every benefit that comes from Him is called Chesed: "I will make mention of the loving-kindness [Chasdei] of the Lord" (Isa. 63:7). Hence, this reality as a whole – I mean that He has brought it into being – is Chesed.” (MN 3:53)

Chesed as defined here would be better translated as “perfect altruism”. “Perfect” because in general, human altruism contains an element of self-interest and self-satisfaction while in the case of God, that is not possible for there are no feelings or emotions in a transcendental entity. We see this altruism in the act of Creation in general, not necessarily only as related to human existence. The simple existence of our reality is a mystery that can only be understood as “perfect altruism” as far as God is concerned. For humans to emulate God in this way is quite difficult if not impossible. Note that when God describes the greatness of Avraham who teaches his descendants to emulate God, he ignores Chesed.

יט כִּי יְדַעְתִּיו, לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר יְצַוֶּה
אֶת-בָּנָיו וְאֶת-בֵּיתוֹ אַחֲרָיו, וְשָׁמְרוּ דֶּרֶךְ יְהוָה
לַעֲשׂוֹת צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט


19 For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice. (Breishit 18:19)

Apparently, perfect altruism cannot be transmitted but must be self-taught and can only be properly understood once one reaches stages of great perfection, where self-interest is completely sublimated.

The word צְדָקָה is defined as righteousness and as a derivative of justice.

“The word Tzedakah is derived from Tzeddek which means justice. Justice is the granting to everyone who has a right to something that which he has a right to, and giving to every being that which corresponds to his merits.” (ibid)

While Chesed dealt with existence per se, Tzedakah deals with how things are being run especially as it relates to sentient entities. Justice comes in two forms: payment of a debt or granting a merited reward. Repaying an obligation is justice and rewarding someone for a good deed is justice too. As obligation is not conceivable as far as God is concerned therefore, justice can only be from the perspective of the recipient receiving what he merits. Even though etymologically Tzedakah should apply to both kinds of justice, it is not used by the prophets, when performed by men in the fulfillment of an obligation.

“In the books of the prophets, however, the expression Tzedakah is not used in the first sense, and does not apply to the payment of what we owe to others. When we therefore give the hired laborer his wages, or pay a debt, we do not perform an act of Tzedakah.” (ibid)

When we speak about a person getting what he naturally merits, from his perspective justice was done to him. He therefore ascribes justice to God who put this system in place where people get what they merit. When we help someone that we owe nothing to, why is that seen as us doing justice? We are not consciously doing it because it is just, but because we have a moral obligation to help the needy. The recipient of our help may perceive it as just and well deserved but are we consciously doing justice?

“On the other hand, the fulfilling of duties with regard to others imposed upon you on account of moral virtue, such as remedying the injuries of all those who are injured, is called Tzedakah… For when you walk in the way of the moral virtues you do justice unto your rational soul, giving her the due that is her right”. (ibid)

As I discussed many times, human intelligence when used exclusively for self-survival is no different from any animal trait. Just like a gazelle can run fast to help it survive so too can man think to help himself. It is when humans use their intelligence for the furtherance of all of existence, only then do they fully use their potential. This is the basis of morality. That is why moral thinking and behavior does justice to the potential that intelligence affords to us. This concept is the foundation of Avraham Avinu’s teachings. Avraham Avinu as he was developing his understanding of God and how he runs the world, understood that to lead humanity to the fulfillment of its role in creation, he needed to create a core of people around which this ideology can be developed and spread.

ה וַיּוֹצֵא אֹתוֹ הַחוּצָה, וַיֹּאמֶר הַבֶּט-נָא
הַשָּׁמַיְמָה וּסְפֹר הַכּוֹכָבִים--אִם-תּוּכַל, לִסְפֹּר אֹתָם
וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ, כֹּה יִהְיֶה זַרְעֶךָ.

5 And He brought him forth abroad, and said: 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if you are able to count them'; and He said unto him: 'So shall your seed be.'

ו וְהֶאֱמִן, בַּיהוָה; וַיַּחְשְׁבֶהָ לּוֹ, צְדָקָה.

6 And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness. (Breishit 15:5-6)

This understanding and undertaking of Avraham Avinu was seen as him doing justice to his rational self.

“And because every moral virtue is called Tzedakah, it says, and he believed in the Lord, and it was accounted for him as Tzedakah. (Breishit 15:6). I refer to the virtue of faith.” (ibid)

I want to point out that the idea of doing Tzedakah – Justice in this sense is rather subjective and it is not easy to act with confidence that one is doing the right thing especially as was the case with Avraham Avinu who was trying to influence many generations in the future. There has to be some form of conditioning and training before one can learn how to act correctly along these lines. Narcissism and personal bias have to be curbed and kept under control. Let us keep this in mind as we move along.

I will address the word Mishpat in the next post on this subject.

Justice and Altruism - Tzeddek and Tzedakah

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in a comment on my previous post referred to Rambam in MN 3:53 and over Shabbat I had the opportunity to read it again carefully and as usual I encountered new insights. Here is my understanding of that segment. As the language is crucial, I will use Professor Schwartz Hebrew version and Friedlander’s English translation with edits from the Pines edition where I think it is necessary.

In this chapter, Rambam is defining three terms, Chesed, Tzedakah and Mishpat which are going to be the central theme of the next chapter based on a verse in Yirmyahu 9:22-23. In this post, I will only address Rambam’s definition of Tzedakah.

הביטוי צדקה גזור מן צדק, והוא "אלעדל
צדק הוא לספק לכל מי שיש לו זכות את מה שמגיע לו, ולתת לכל נמצא מן הנמצאים בהתאם למה שהוא ראוי לו

“The term Tzedakah is derived from Tzeddek, which means justice. Justice denotes the act of granting to every one who has a right to something, that which he has a right to and giving to every being that which corresponds to his merits.”

Rambam is giving two definitions for the word Tzedakah. Justice can mean giving something that one owes someone such as repaying an obligation. It also could mean giving someone what is due him not because he did something for you but because he deserves it.

אך בספרי הנבואה, החובות המוטלות עליך כלפי זולתך - כאשר קיימת אותן –
אינן קרויות צדקה בהתאם למשמעות הראשונה, מפני שאם אתה משלם לשׂכיר את
שׂכרו או פורע את חובך אין זה נקרא צדקה

“But in the books of the prophets, fulfilling the duties imposed upon you with regard to others is not called Tzedakah in conformity with the first sense. When we therefore give the hired laborer his wages, or pay a debt, this is not called Tzedakah”.

The word Tzeddek, which is the root of Tzedakah, means justice and is used generally in the first sense. The word Tzedakah however is only used by the prophets in the second sense where there is no interpersonal obligation to pay or make good.

אבל החובות המוטלות עליך כלפי זולתך בגלל מידת אופי טובה, כגון איחוי
שִברו של כל בעל שבר, הן קרויות צדקה. לכן אמר על החזרת הפיקדון: ולך תהיה
צדקה (דברים כ"ד, 13), מפני שכאשר אתה נוהג מנהג מידות האופי הטובות, אתה
נוהג בצדק כלפי נפשך המדברת7,
מפני שאתה נותן לה את המגיע לה

“On the other hand, the fulfilling of duties with regard to others imposed upon you on account of moral virtue, such as remedying the injuries of all those who are injured, is called Tzedakah. Therefore, it says with reference to the returning of a pledge: And it shall be Tzedakah unto you. For when you walk in the way of moral virtue, you do justice unto your rational soul [nefesh], giving her the due that is her right.”

The verses Rambam is referring to in Devarim 24:12-13 are –

יב וְאִם-אִישׁ עָנִי, הוּא--לֹא תִשְׁכַּב, בַּעֲבֹטוֹ.

12 And if he be a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge;

יג הָשֵׁב תָּשִׁיב לוֹ אֶת-הַעֲבוֹט כְּבוֹא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ
, וְשָׁכַב בְּשַׂלְמָתוֹ וּבֵרְכֶךָּ; וּלְךָ תִּהְיֶה צְדָקָה, לִפְנֵי
יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ

13 You shall surely restore to him the pledge when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his garment, and bless you; and it shall be Tzedakah unto you before the LORD thy God.

One has a debt to collect from a poor man and receives from him a household object to hold until payment is made. One must make sure, by law, that if it is an object that the poor man requires at night, for example a pillow, it must be returned to him before nightfall. The same would apply for an object that he needs for his work during the day, for example, a tool. It being an obligatory law, it is surprising that it is referred to as Tzedakah when Rambam has just told us that in the books of the prophets it is not used when there is an interpersonal obligation. Furthermore, the way it is presented, “and it shall be Tzedakah unto you”, rather than doing what is right unto the poor man, is puzzling.

Rambam explains that this Mitzvah, besides the interpersonal and obligatory component, has an additional purpose namely self-improvement. Developing our altruistic traits and suppressing our narcissistic tendencies affects our rational soul letting it see clearly how God’s ways are with His creation and allows us to emulate them. Our personal tendencies affect the way we think and cloud our perception of reality. That is also the meaning of “before the LORD thy God”. In the preceding chapter, MN 3:52 Rambam writes:

“If we therefore desire to attain human perfection, and to be truly men of God, we must awake from our sleep, and bear in mind that the great king that is over us, and is always joined to us, is greater than any earthly king, greater than David and Solomon. The king that cleaves to us and embraces us is the Intellect that influences us, and forms the link between God and us.”

When we “walk in the way of moral virtue” and “do justice unto your rational soul”, we are standing before HKBH and give our nefesh “the due that is her right”.

Rambam addresses another two verses in the same context. I will address that later in this series of posts, as I develop the theme further. I also plan to develop further altruism in the context of emulating God.

Natural Morality

Before I continue with the discussion about purpose and goals, I would like to explain my statement in the last post “He makes it clear that this proper behavior is not limited to Torah and Mitzvot but is moral behavior universally accepted by all philosophers”. This is extremely important because many hold that morality and ethics have no meaning without Torah.

I want to focus here on the issue of morality only and address the issue of ethics at another time. For this post, I define morals as setting limits to self-indulgence. In the introduction to Pirush Hamishna, I quoted in my earlier post, Rambam writes:

רצוני לומר: "החכמה
לצייר בשכלו אמיתות הדברים כפי שהם עליו, ולהשיג כל מה שאפשר לאדם להשיגו
ו"המעשה" - הוא תיקון ויישור הדברים הטבעיים, ושלא יהיה שטוף בתענוגים,
ושלא ייקח מהם אלא מה שיהיה בו תיקון גופו ותיקון מידותיו כולן

When I say [a perfected man is one who has] “knowledge” I mean one who can picture in his mind the reality of all things as they are and to apprehend everything a man can[1]. “Action” means: (i) - The perfection of natural things [using the scientific knowledge acquired to make things better]. (ii) - Not indulging in physical pleasures. One should not indulge in them more than the necessary for bodily needs. (iii) – Perfecting all of one’s traits.

But then Rambam surprisingly adds -

וזה הדבר לא נודע מאת הנביאים בלבד, אבל חכמי האומות החולפות, ואשר לא
ראו הנביאים ולא שמעו חכמתם, כבר ידעו גם הם, שאין אדם שלם, אלא כשיהיה
כולל החכמה והמעשה. ודי לך בדברי החכם המפורסם בפילוסופיה שאמר: "חפץ האל
ממנו להיות נבונים-חסידים". שהאדם כשיהיה חכם ונבון, אבל מבקש תאוות –
אינו חכם על האמת; שתחילת החכמה מחייבת, שלא ייקח אדם ממעדנים הגופניים
אלא מה שיש בו תיקון צורך גופו.

This is not something we were taught only by the prophets. The wise of the ancient nations, who never saw prophets nor heard their wisdom, already knew that a person is not complete unless he encompasses knowledge and action. The philosopher’s statement “God wants us to be intelligent and righteous” says it all; for a man who is wise and intelligent but a pleasure seeker is not truly wise. The basic premises of wisdom compel a person to not indulge in physical pleasures more than the basic needs of his body.

There is a natural morality that all wise men acknowledge exists. A narcissistic person, whose only goal in life is to indulge in as much pleasure as possible, even if that person is the greatest genius and has acquired all knowledge, is not a perfect human being. Knowledge is a very powerful tool and narcissism is the underlying cause for misusing that power, allowing it to be used destructively. Setting limits to self-interest and developing traits that promote altruistic behavior is crucial. The problem is that judging if the behavior promoted by knowledge is correct is subjective and we must develop criteria that allow us to measure it objectively.

I quote from Rav Kook’s recent sefer, Shemona Kevatzim (page 21) –

אסור ליראת שמים שתדחק את המוסר הטבעי של האדם כי אז אינה עוד יראת שמים טהורה סימן ליראת שמים טהורה הוא כשהמוסר הטבעי הנטוע בטבע הישר של האדם הולך ועולה על פיה במעלות יותר גבוהות ממה שהוא עומד מבלעדיה אבל אם תצוייר יראת שמים בתכונה כזאת שבלא השפעתה על החיים היו החיים יותר נוטים לפעול טוב ולהוציא אל הפועל דברים מועילים לכלל ולפרט ועל פי השפעתה מתמעט כח הפועל ההוא יראת שמים כזאת היא יראה פסולה

Fear of heaven (Yra’at Shamayim) may not supersede a man’s natural morals, for in that case it is not pure Yra’at Shamayim. Pure YS is recognizable as such when the natural morality that is implanted in the correct [proper] nature of man is elevated by it to levels that are higher than it would be without it. A hypothetical YS that without its influence on life, there would be a stronger push to do good by bringing to fruition things that contribute to the welfare of the public and the individual, while under its [YS] influence this would be diminished, such a YS is wrong [false].

Yra’at Shamayim, a subjective by-product of knowledge, can be narcissistic too, becoming counter-productive. To judge its legitimacy we must look at the practical results thereof. So too must we judge knowledge. If it causes one to act in ways that enhance the public and the individual, that knowledge is legitimate. Otherwise, that person is “not truly wise”. This brings us back to the subject of purpose and goals.


[1] It is worthwhile to note the language that gives a sense of limitation to what a man can know.

Fear Of Heaven, Ethics And Morality.

It is always fascinating to me how Rambam can be read many times and each time a new insight is gained. This applies not only to Rambam but also with many of the great amongst the Rishonim and Acharonim. This Shabbat I was reading Rambam MN 3:36 and noticed an interesting presentation. I will quote the Kafieh, Schwartz as well as Pines translations because it is important to note the nuance. (Friedlander missed the whole point.)

Rav Kafieh edition:

ופשוט הוא כי גם התשובה מן הקבוצה הזו, כלומר: מן ההשקפות אשר לא תהא סדירה מציאות אישי התורתיים 12
כי אם בסבירתה, לפי שאי אפשר לאדם, שלא יחטא ויטעה, אם שטעותו בהחשיבו השקפה או מידה שאינן חשובים באמת, או בהתגברות תאווה או כעס

Michael Schwartz Edition:

ברור שגם התשובה10
בקבוצה זאת, כלומר, שהיא מן הדעות שבלעדי האמונה בהן לא תסתדר מציאותם של אנשים בני-תורה11,
מפני שבהכרח אדם טועה ונכשל, או שמתוך בורותו הוא מעדיף דעה או מידה שבאמת אינם עדיפים, או שתאווה או כעס גוברים עליו.

And Shlomo Pines English translation:

It is manifest that repentance also belongs to this class, I mean to the opinions without the belief in which the existence of individuals professing a law cannot be well ordered. For an individual cannot but sin and err, either through ignorance – by professing an opinion or a moral quality that is not preferable in truth – or else because he is overcome by desire or anger.

The statement that caught my attention is – “by professing an opinion or a moral quality that is not preferable in truth”. What does being “not preferable in truth” mean? It implies relativity namely that an opinion - השקפה or דעה as well as a moral quality – מידה – may at times be considered wrong under certain circumstances.

Rav Kook in a new collection of his notes published recently – the Shemona Kevatzim (page 21) – writes[1] -

אסור ליראת שמים שתדחק את המוסר הטבעי של האדם, כי אז אינה עוד יראת שמים
טהורה. סימן ליראת שמים טהורה הוא, כשהמוסר הטבעי, הנטוע בטבע הישר של
האדם, הולך ועולה על פיה במעלות יותר גבוהות ממה שהוא עומד מבלעדיה. אבל
אם תצוייר יראת שמים בתכונה כזאת, שבלא השפעתה על החיים היו החיים יותר
נוטים לפעול טוב, ולהוציא אל הפועל דברים מועילים לפרט ולכלל, ועל פי
השפעתה מתמעט כח הפועל ההוא, יראת שמים כזאת היא יראה פסולה.

Yra’at Shamayim – fear of heaven – may not supplant the natural sense of morality of a person, for in that case it is not a pure Yra’at Shamayim. The signpost for a pure Yra’at Shamayim is when the natural sense of morality that is extant in the straightforward nature of man is improved and elevated by it more than it would have been without it. But if one were to imagine a kind of Yra’at Shamayim that without its input, life would tend to do well and bring to fruition things that benefit the community and the individual and furthermore, under its influence less of those things would come to fruition, such a Yra’at Shamayim is wrong.

I believe that Rav Kook is saying the same thing Rambam is. The Mitzvot are a training tool to bring us to proper Yra’at Shamayim. They have no meaning other than that. They are however clearly defined and regulated by Halacha unlike the Yra’at Shamayim they are meant to inculcate in us. The Mitzvot bring discipline into our life and focus us on thinking about our reality and our relationship with God who gave us the Mitzvot. This process is supposed to change the way we do things, making us less narcissistic and self-serving by enhancing the altruistic moral and ethical instinct we all have in us. We get used to doing things, not because they bring us physical benefits but because they are right. However once we leave the world of defined Halacha we enter the realm of the subjective. Moral and ethical decisions have a tendency to go beyond the prescribed Halacha. Real life is full of surprises and new situations that require us to make decisions that are not clearly prescribed. We know that they are correct if they are in harmony with our deep instinctual feeling of what is right and wrong. When we act in ways that do not meet this criterion, we are “professing an opinion or a moral quality that is not preferable in truth”.

Several years ago, I was present at a festive meal for the writing of a new sefer Torah. It took place at the “court” of one of the Rebbes who shall remain unnamed. The waiters were kids who obviously were not Chassidic, some wearing Kippot Serugot while others leather Yarmulkes and very few had Peyot behind their ears. The Rebbe was concerned that they not touch the wine that was being served and would not let them serve. The kids were made to stay in a separate room during the whole time. I kept on thinking about how these kids must have felt - ostracized and unnaccepted by a supposedly holy man. The Rebbe’s Yra’at Shamayim was clearly false; it was not Yra’at Shamayim but self-serving superstition. It went against the natural human instinct of what is right and wrong. His punctiliousness with Mitzvot had warped his instinctual sense of ethics and morality instead of enhancing it.

Rambam in one of the chapters (3:52) in MN where he clearly lets his emotions come through writes –

“We do not sit, move, and occupy ourselves when we are alone and at home, in the same manner as we do in the presence of a great king. We speak and open our mouth as we please when we are with the people of our own household and with our relatives, but not so when we are in a royal assembly. If we therefore desire to attain human perfection, and to be truly men of God, we must awake from our sleep, and bear in mind that the great king that is over us, and is always joined to us, is greater than any earthly king, greater than David and Solomon. The king that cleaves to us and embraces us is the Intellect that influences us, and forms the link between God and us.”

Note that the king in whose presence we must see ourselves at all times is not God but the “Intellect that influences us, and forms the link between God and us”.

“What I have here pointed out to you is the object of all our religious acts. For by [carrying out] all the details of the prescribed practices, and repeating them continually, some few pious men may attain human perfection. They will be filled with respect and reverence towards God; and bearing in mind who is with them, they will perform their duty. God declares in plain words that it is the object of all religious acts to produce in man fear of God and obedience to His word-the state of mind which we have demonstrated in this chapter for those who desire to know the truth, as being our duty to seek.”

Note that the “religious acts” are not “fear of God and obedience to His word”, but rather the tools that bring us to that state.




[1] Quoted recently by Marc Shapiro at http://seforim.traditiononline.org/index.cfm/2009/1/28/Marc-B-Shapiro-Thoughts-on-Confrontation--Sundry-Matters-Part-

What Is The Purpose of Torah Law? A Cosmic Viewpoint.

There are certain times in our thinking that we know we had a crucial insight that answered many difficult questions that were lurking in our minds. These insights often open an entire new avenue of thought and understanding. Over the years, I had several such moments that changed and influenced my thinking going forward. I experienced such a moment recently when I was working on my article on Avodah Zara published in Hakirah 6. As I was rereading Rambam’s explanation of the word Tov mentioned so often in the description of creation, I realized that Tov Me’od which appears at the end of creation when man comes into existence addresses man’s purpose, goal and his part in the totality of existence. Rambam sees the whole of existence as an interconnected interdependent system, where each component has a built in mechanism that promotes self-survival and survival of the whole. All components however have very defined roles without any freedom of choice on how to act while humans are endowed with the potential for creativity, thinking and acting responsibly. It is that potential that differentiates man from all other components of the universe and it is that ability that informs him what his expected contribution to the survival of the whole is and therefore his goal in existence. Thus, creation was complete and Tov Me’od, a term denoting the permanent continuity of all that was created, could be used. Working towards understanding and fulfilling the potential of humanity is the responsibility of each individual, the community and all of humankind, generation by generation, over the millennia. For man to know how to fulfill his part in the whole of existence is not simple and straightforward. It cannot be known without understanding thoroughly how every component works, what its purpose is, where the whole enterprise of existence is going and the risks and challenges it all faces. That knowledge however is elusive. It has taken humanity thousands of years to even begin scratching the surface of the different sciences that try to explain how things work. We are just at the beginning of the process of deciphering the laws of physics, chemistry and biology etc… empirical knowledge that can be physically demonstrated. Ontological questions which have no empirically proven answers are the most elusive and may never be answered satisfactorily. However, for the ontological premises to make sense they have to be anchored in reality as demonstrated by the sciences but they also require personal perfection if they are to be the Truth and not just subjective conjectures.


“It has been proved that moral conduct is a preparation for intellectual progress, and that only a man whose character is pure, calm and steadfast, can attain to intellectual perfection: that is, acquire correct conceptions. …For this science is, as you know, different from the science of Medicine and of Geometry, and, from the reason already mentioned, it is not every person who is capable of approaching it. It is impossible for a man to study it successfully without moral preparation; he must acquire the highest degree of uprightness and integrity…Therefore, it was considered inadvisable to teach it to young men; nay, it is impossible for them to comprehend it, on account of the heat of their blood and the flame of youth, which confuses their minds. That heat, which causes all the disorder, must first disappear; they must have become moderate and settled, humble in their hearts, and subdued in their temperament; only then will they be able to arrive at the highest degree of the perception of God, i.e., the study of Metaphysics, which is called Ma‘aseh Merkavah.” (MN 1:34)

The problem is that the push for survival is instinctual and present in each of us for our own selfish self-preservation even at the detriment of the other. It is not obvious to us that unless we act in a way that protects and promotes the survival of the totality of existence we will self-destruct. It is this instinct that is the cause of wars, environmental destruction and is at the root of many of humanity’s societal ills which hinder its development towards fulfilling its intended role. Furthermore, when faced with ontological questions that require a clear unbiased perspective, narcissistic tendencies cloud our thinking. When there is no concrete evidence to support an answer to an abstract question, we tend to pull in the direction that satisfies egotistical tendencies. This instinct therefore has to be channeled so that it allows us to find the true answers that will inform our actions.

That is where the Torah comes into play. The Torah through its Mitzvot teaches morality and ethics forcing people to look beyond their own selfish narcissistic needs and interests. The ritualistic commandments, those commonly referred to as Mitzvot bein Adam Lamakom, are needed to keep us focused at all times on the ontological questions while at the same time forcing us to go beyond our built in tendency of taking care and satisfying our physical needs. The societal Mitzvot teach us ethics, morality and the need to think of the other while also organizing society so that people live peacefully with each other. The Mitzvot are therefore tools to make us better people so that we can fulfill our raison d’etre and learn how to play a responsible role in the continuity of existence.

“The general object of the Law is twofold: the welfare of the soul, and the welfare of the body. The welfare of the soul is promoted by correct opinions communicated to the people according to their capacity. … The welfare of the body is established by a proper management of the relations in which we live one to another. This is achieved through two things. One of them is the abolition of their wronging each other. That is to say, that we do not do, every one as he pleases, desires, and is able to do; but every one of us does that which contributes towards the common welfare. Secondly, by teaching every one of us such good morals as must produce a good social state. Of these two objects, the one, the well-being of the soul, or the communication of correct opinions, comes undoubtedly first in rank, but the other, the well-being of the body, the government of the state, and the establishment of the best possible relations among men, is anterior in nature and time.” (MN 3:27)

With this perspective, I believe most of the questions that plague us about the reasons for specific supposedly illogical Mitzvot vanish. For example, the laws of impurity generally seen as Chukim have no intrinsic value. Their primary purpose is to remind us that we are about to enter the places designated to make us focus on metaphysics and God, the Beit Hamikdash. The idea is to not make our presence there mundane and create an aura of holiness and restraint from physical matters. Its extended purpose is as Rambam says in Hilchot Tume’at Ochlin (16:14)

אף על פי שמותר לאכול אוכלין טמאים ולשתות משקין טמאים, חסידים הראשונים
היו אוכלין חוליהן בטהרה ונזהרין מן הטומאות כולן כל ימיהן; והן הנקראין
פרושים. ודבר זה קדושה יתרה היא, ודרך חסידות שיהיה אדם נבדל ופורש משאר
העם, ולא ייגע בהן ולא יאכל וישתה עימהן: שהפרישות מביאה לידי טהרת הגוף
ממעשים הרעים, וטהרת הגוף מביאה לידי קדושת הנפש מן הדעות הרעות, וקדושת
הנפש גורמת להידמות בשכינה, שנאמר "והתקדשתם והייתם קדושים, כי קדוש אני"

The idea is to create an aura of holiness and separation from day-to-day preoccupations and personal needs to allow the person that wants to focus on the existential issues to do so and arrive at correct conclusions that are not narcissistic and self-serving. The ultimate purpose of these laws is therefore to develop correct opinions and find the true ways of HKBH so that we can emulate Him. The laws of impurity are an important tool, one of many, in leading us to that understanding.

“We must bear in mind that all such religious acts as reading the Law, praying, and the performance of other precepts, serve exclusively as the means of causing us to occupy and fill our mind with the precepts of God, and free it from worldly business.” (MN3:51)

And what is the point of filling our minds with God and thinking about Him?

“The prophet thus, in conclusion, says, "For in these things I delight, says the Lord," i.e., My object [in saying this] is that you shall practice loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. In a similar manner, we have shown that the object of the enumeration of God's thirteen attributes is the lesson that we should acquire similar attributes and act accordingly. The object of the above passage is therefore to declare, that the perfection, in which man can truly glory, is attained by him when he has acquired--as far as this is possible for man--the knowledge of God, the knowledge of His Providence, and of the manner in which it influences His creatures in their production and continued existence. Having acquired this knowledge he will then be determined always to seek loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, and thus to imitate the ways of God.” (MN 3:54)

Avraham's Great Virtue - Self Doubt.

There is only one rational method for finding and understanding God and that is through contemplating His creations. It is a deductive process through which we hope to get to know HKBH’s will by observing the results of that will in our existence and act in accordance with that understanding. That is the meaning of going in God’s ways, the positive commandment of Vehalachta Biderachav; the eighth Mitzvat Asseh listed in Sefer Hamitzvot. It is a thinking that has to be at the center of every decision we make whether on matters that have immediate and short-term effects or medium and long-term even multigenerational consequences. As every act of ours has consequences, knowing the goal and what we want to accomplish is the key to how we act. The problem is that we are always left wondering whether we have truly understood correctly God’s will and even if yes, are our actions the ones that will take us to the goal we set for ourselves. It is with that in mind that we can understand the importance of Midot, working on our character and behavior urges and wants, making sure that our own personal bias for self-gratification do not blindside us. A hedonistic narcissist can never be expected to make a correct decision no matter how intelligent, learned and smart he may be. That is the Torah’s goal, to give us the tools to make us into that perfected human being. But in reality, no matter how perfect a person may be, there is never full and unquestionable certainty. There is always a lingering doubt in the mind of that perfected human being whether he is doing the right thing.

Avraham Avinu started by contemplating the universe and his existence in it and came to the conclusion that there is a God who willed creation and if we want to understand our goal here on earth, we must learn to emulate Him.

כיון שנגמל איתן זה, התחיל לשוטט בדעתו והוא קטן, ולחשוב ביום ובלילה,
והיה תמיה: היאך אפשר שיהיה הגלגל הזה נוהג תמיד, ולא יהיה לו מנהיג; ומי
יסבב אותו, לפי שאי אפשר שיסבב את עצמו.
(Hilchot Avodah Zara 1:9)

Avraham concluded from his contemplation that he is obligated to spread this teaching to all of humanity. Only by understanding this, will humanity be able to fulfill its purpose and role as an integral and important part of the universe and God’s great creation. This vision is the meaning of

ב וְאֶעֶשְׂךָ, לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל, וַאֲבָרֶכְךָ, וַאֲגַדְּלָה שְׁמֶךָ; וֶהְיֵה, בְּרָכָה.

2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and be thou a blessing.

ג וַאֲבָרְכָה, מְבָרְכֶיךָ, וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ, אָאֹר; וְנִבְרְכוּ בְךָ, כֹּל מִשְׁפְּחֹת הָאֲדָמָה.

3 And I will bless them that bless you, and curse them that curse you; and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed.'

Rambam in MN 3:29 explains:

“God said to him, "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee" (Gen. 12:3). The result of the course which Abraham took, is the fact that most people, as we see at present, agree in praising him, and being proud of him; so that even those who are not his descendants call themselves by his name.”

Avraham met great resistance and started to doubt whether he could succeed. That is where the vision, a result of the great internal strength that Avraham had, his ability to overcome his doubts and act according to his principles and what he thought to be correct, that played a role in his continuing on this path. Building on the take of Rav Gedalia Nadel in my earlier post that the Dor Haflagah and Nimrod depict a movement towards monarchy, subjugation of the masses and empire building, Avraham, a contemporary, was reacting against this. That explains the sequence of the stories and the reason for their being reported as a way of putting the life and work of Avraham in context. That is how I understand the Rabbis’ meaning when they tell the story of his being arrested and released and in consequence fleeing with his family.

Avraham’s doubt did not stop here. As he continued on this path, he continually stopped and wondered whether he was doing the right thing. The story of the Brit Bein Habetarim depicts that self-doubt in very stark terms. He doubts whether his path will lead to success. He has no descendants and fears that once he dies all his hard work will go to waste. The vision that he has reinforces his conviction that he is doing the right thing but it also depicts realistically how hard this will be. The darkness that envelops him in his dream, the birds and carrion that populate it are a very poignant depiction of his state of mind. He however sees the hope and is convinced that his endeavor will eventually succeed.

This process of always doubting and convincing oneself of the correctness of one’s action, in other words stopping to take inventory every step of the way, is exactly the correct way to proceed.

ו וְהֶאֱמִן, בַּיהוָה; וַיַּחְשְׁבֶהָ לּוֹ, צְדָקָה.

6 And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness.

This verse has baffled many a commentator – see Rashi, Ramban. Rambam addresses it in MN 3:53 as follows:

“When you walk in the way of the moral virtues you do justice unto your rational faculty, giving her due that is her right. And because every moral virtue is called Tzedakah, it says "And he believed in the Lord, and he accounted it to him as Tzedakah" (Gen. 15:6) I mean the virtue of faith.”

After explaining that in Tanach the word Tzedakah refers to situations where we have a moral obligation to give someone his due, such as alms to a poor man, Rambam uses this analogy to our verse. Faith is not a blind emotional belief as it is commonly thought to be. Emunah is a rational process where we have to convince ourselves through intellectual and rational thought that our understanding of the universe as being the result of God’s will is correct. We also have to convince ourselves that our actions that result from this contemplation are correct and not prompted by our personal biases. That is only possible if we perfect our moral virtues. Our rational faculty is what makes us into human beings and its ultimate perfection is acquiring this great knowledge of what we are here for, what our role is in this and how to act accordingly. All intellectual growth accompanied by moral perfection are geared towards that goal and are therefore the dues we are giving to our own rational faculty. Doubt and self awareness, constantly questioning ourselves and wondering whether we are on the right path is an integral part of that process. The Torah sanctions it nay praises it. Humanity has known many visionaries from dangerous crackpots to brilliant people who were convinced they found the right path, the ways of God and knew His wishes. Only those that were truly virtuous and full of self-doubt have brought good to the world. The others eventually self-destructed taking along many to their destruction.


I believe that if we approach the text with this perspective much of the difficult questions about its historicity, its context and its relevance, are answered. It is how the rabbis looked at it in the Midrashim, if we read them carefully, and how Rambam and many other great thinkers approached it.

Why Belief in Resurrection Is Only Mentioned by Daniel During the Babylonian Exile?

Rambam in MN 3:32 discusses Korbanot explaining that they were necessary developmentally. As the Jewish people exiting Egypt, a culture that taught that there is a need to placate the gods with offerings to prevent them from harming us, the Korbanot were a method of weaning them from this dependency. By diverting the worship from idols to the one God and focusing their attention on Him, they eventually developed an understanding of Unity and transcendence. To drive home the point that, unlike the offerings to idols which were seen as bribes where the more the merrier, Korbanot were a very defined and circumscribed service or worship – Avodah. There are more rules on how to precisely bring and offer a Korban than for any other Mitzvah, where the slightest deviation may invalidate the offering. Korbanot became a paradigm for all Mitzvot, the positive commandments, which inherently have the same problem, especially those that are rituals – bein Adam lamokom. Our rituals cannot have an impact on a transcendental God and are meaningless from God’s perspective. Just like Korbanot, they are a form of service, defined and circumscribed by exacting rules that keep us focused on God, the source of the rules. These exact rules on how to perform them are necessary to remind us that they are not bribes but service and worship. We get not physical benefit in return when doing them other than the greatest good of all, a step closer to knowledge of God and hopefully, if we are diligent enough, an understanding of our role in His universe and how to fulfill that role of ours. Unlike idolatry, the Torah teaches that we cannot change God’s mind with our offerings nor can we change anything else in nature through manipulating the “spiritual” realm. We can try to understand God, try to discover His will and our role and act accordingly, making an impact on our physical existence. It is in the physical world that our actions have consequences. Those consequences are the “miracle” of reward and punishment – the blessing and curses – of the Torah.

This quest for understanding of God and our role in His world is not simple. It is quite complicated and difficult and people have had varying degrees of success in that endeavor. It involves not only understanding the world, the science that underlies it, it also entails knowing how to act on that knowledge and the impact those actions will have not only in the short term but also over time and generations. The most successful people, those who acquired this knowledge and acted responsibly, are referred to as prophets and their unique connection with the so to say, “mind of God”, the blueprint of existence, is called prophecy. Unlike the magical “knowledge” of the idol worshipper, this knowledge is based on reality and a realistic understanding of God and His world. It understands that everything operates according to laws of nature put in place by God, laws that are wisdom and not whimsy. This realization came first to Avraham Avinu and he transmitted it to his children and grandchildren. It was further reinforced (rather reintroduced) by Moshe Rabbeinu and the Torah and Mitzvot he gave us, whose aim it is to over time wean the Jewish people and through them the world, from the erroneous idolatrous beliefs. Those myths and beliefs are so deeply embedded in the human psyche that they are still present today, even in our community, even after several millennia of Torah. Clearly, this educational process is lengthy, drawn out and multigenerational.

As we can see, prophecy is central to this Torah worldview. It is through its medium that we can apprehend God’s will. One of the features of prophecy, indeed a test of its veracity especially when used to guide others, is its ability to foresee future events. Not only does it foresee normal natural sequences of events but also the anomalies in nature that I talked about in my last post. It is through this kind of insight, a result of deep study of the world and meditation on the metaphysical issues that pertain to its existence, that the prophets took advantage of these anomalies in what were seen as “miracles”, the same “miracles” that also demonstrate that God’s will was responsible for creation. The transition from believing that the vagaries encountered by man in his daily life are the result of magical forces to understanding a world run by God’s laws of nature and the ability of man to apprehend that and eventually acquire prophecy took a long time. Rambam in the Treatise on resurrections explains that at the time of Matan Torah, it would have been futile for God through Moshe to tell us about a future anomaly such as Techyat Hametim – the resurrection of some dead people - will occur at some point in the future. The people could not have accepted it and needed almost a thousand years of indoctrination before this concept could be accepted as plausible.

. ואיך יסופר למי שלא התבארה אצלו

הנבואה בדבר שאין ראוי עליו אלא האמנת הנביא, והוא גם כן נמנע אצלם לגמרי

לפי אמונתם בקדמות העולם,

כי לולי המופתים לא הייתה אצלנו תחיית המתים מכת

האפשר

“Why would one tell someone who has not yet accepted prophecy, a subject that depends on belief in prophecy? Furthermore, [prophecy] was impossible according to their understanding that the world is eternal [a parte ante]. For without miracles [signposts] Techyat Hametim would not be possible in our minds. [See my last post for an in depth discussion of this statement].

It took years of educating and teaching, experiencing the great “miracles” the Torah teaches us, those that were signposts that HKBH created and willed this world, for this lesson to sink into the people’s psyche. It is only after this long process, at the time of Daniel, when the long-term consequences of the stubborn belief in idolatry brought them into exile again, that the prophet could predict the future anomaly of Techyat Hametim and be believed. It is only after going through short and long-term cycles of actions and their “miraculous” consequences, of “miraculous” anomalies that occurred at propitious times, that this revolutionary and new understanding really took hold.

וכאשר רצה השם יתעלה לתת תורה לבני אדם, לפרסם בהם מצוותו ודתו ואזהרתו על

ידי הנביאים בכל העולם, כמו שאמר "ולמען ספר שמי בכל הארץ". חידש המופתים

הגדולים הכתובים בכל התורה, עד שהתאמת בהם נבואת הנביאים וחידוש העולם. כי

המופת האמיתי ראיה ברורה על חידוש העולם כאשר בארנו ב"מורה הנבוכים

והתמיד העניין כן, עד שנתחזקו אלו הפינות והתאמתו בהמשך הדורות, ולא נשאר

ספק בנבואות הנביאים ובחידוש המופתים. ואחרי כן ספרו לנו הנביאים מה

שהודיעם ה' יתעלה מעניין תחיית המתים, והיה קל לקבלו

When God wanted to give Torah to humankind, to make His commandments, religion and warnings [that there are consequences to our actions] known in the whole world, as it says, “so that My name is told in the whole earth”, He brought about the great miracles [signposts] that the Torah reports. This verified that there is prophecy and the world is created. For the true “miracle” [signpost] is clear proof that the world is created as we explained in MN. This continued until this fundamental belief was strengthened and verified over generations so that there was no longer any doubt that prophecy exists and “miracles” [signposts] occur. It was only then that the prophets told us what God told them about TH, and they accepted it with ease.[1]

To summarize, Rambam sees TH as one more anomaly among many. These anomalies, when they occur under the conditions Rambam enumerated, are signposts that HKBH has will and willed this world into existence with wisdom and omniscience. They teach that this world has embedded in it a system of actions and consequences that is incumbent on humankind to learn and discover. In this process of discovery, humankind will understand what its role is in the promotion of continuity of the whole of existence as will each individual who takes his responsibility seriously find his own role in that great whole. This belief in TH is therefore one of the fundamental cornerstones of Judaism.

What I find exhilarating and beautiful about Rambam’s approach is that he gives us a great vision, an optimistic and positive vision, of what Torah’s goals are for the Jewish people and the whole of humankind. He shows us how all the pieces fit together and ultimately are stepping-stones in the fulfillment of that great goal. As we say in our daily prayer ותלמדם חוקי חיים – when God gave the Jewish people the Torah, He taught them the “laws of life”. To me these few words say it all.

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[1] It is noteworthy that Rambam uses here the same justification he used for explaining the reasoning behind Korbanot. He compares it to the reluctance on the part of God to use a direct route from Egypt to Israel that ran through the land of the Philistines for fear of a war disheartening the newly freed slaves.

ואתה תמצא כמו התחבולה הזאת בעצמה עשה השם יתברך עם ישראל, אמר עליהם

ולא נחם אלהים דרך ארץ פלשתים כי קרוב הוא כי אמר אלהים" וגו'. ואם

הורגלו בענייני העולם מפני שחשש עליהם שישובו למצרים ויבוטל מהם המכווין

בהם, כן חשש עליהם עוד שלא יקבלו זה הדעת, רצוני לומר התחייה, ויבוטל בו

התכלית המכוון בהם ומהם

Doing Truth.

In my last post, I quoted Rambam in Hil Teshuvah 10:1 –

אלא עושה האמת, מפני שהוא אמת;

The only reason he does Truth is because it is Truth.

And I asked, “So how is my doing all these things seen as “doing” Truth?”

I attempted to answer the question as I developed the idea of “doing” to emulate to God but I walked away unsatisfied with my explanation. Over Chag I resumed learning a very interesting Sefer on Rambam, Minofet Tzuf, (in Hebrew), by Rabbi Jonathan Blass of Petach Tikvah. The author is clearly a Talmid Chacham steeped in the Torah of Rav Kook and Rambam and the combination produced a very different and interesting reading of the Moreh. It has two volumes and so far, I have only read (rather learned – one does not “read” such a Sefer,) about half of volume 1 and it is very thought provoking. As I was reading chapter 13, I finally, I believe, understood what Rambam means when he says that one can “do” Truth.

According to Rambam, one of the fundamental teachings of the Torah is that God has Will. Unlike Aristotelian thinkers who though agreeing that a non-contingent First Cause exists believed that it exists parallel with the universe from eternity. That entity did not choose at some point in time to cause existence. It just is there as a necessary component thereof. There always was and will be a non-contingent First Cause whose function is by definition to cause existence. The Torah on the other hand teaches that the world was created in time by HKBH. It teaches that God has Will and that He used it to create existence. Of course, the word Will as used in this context is just a concept that describes an attribute a human would need to accomplish such an act; however, the idea is that there was a voluntary act when God created. As time is not a function that we can ascribe to God, as by definition God does not change, Will in this context is a one-time and constant “event”. In fact, it is not an event but part of God’s essence as attributes can never be an appendage to God, or as the philosophers would term it, an accident.

In our search for understanding God, the route available to us is through the results of his actions which we understand are the result of his Will which is one with His essence. When we try to cleave to God by acting in a way we understand emulates His actions which have a result similar to the results caused by His will, we are “doing” His will which is Truth by definition. Rambam puts this in the following way in MN 1:69 –

“The same argument holds good in reference to all ends, for when a thing has an end you should seek the end of that end.[Rambam is saying that we have to look for the reason why a certain series of cause and effect was initiated].… In this way, one purpose necessitates the pre-existence of another, except the final purpose, which is the execution of the will of God. … and the final answer will be, "It is the will of God." … the series of the successive purposes terminates, as has been shown, in God's will or wisdom, which, in our opinion, are identical with His essence, and are not any thing separate from Himself or different from His essence. Consequently, God is the ultimate end of everything. Again, it is the aim of everything to become, according to its faculties, similar to God in perfection: this is meant by the expression, "His will, which is identical with His essence," as will be shown below (ibid.). In this sense God is called the End of all ends.”

If we were to ask what the purpose of everything is, the answer would be to fulfill God’s Will. The whole of nature and existence is therefore a manifestation and, in a certain sense, the practical realization of His Will. As God is by definition Perfect, His handiwork is therefore Perfection. Nature’s end or “goal” is therefore to create and maintain perfection. This is what Rambam means when he says, as quoted above, “it is the aim of everything to become, according to its faculties, similar to God in perfection”. Everything in the universe except humans, do this perforce without having the ability to choose. Man is the only being that can choose to work toward perfection or not to. If he does, he is by definition emulating God but also acting in concert with God’s Will or “doing” Truth. After all God is Truth and His Will is one with His essence.

From a practical point, how does one know that he is “doing” Truth and not some figment of his imagination? Evanston Jew in his usual clear and thought out fashion made a comment on my last post posing this exact question. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees. We humans with our limitations to physical existence and that being all we really know, can only try to understand beyond the here and now through speculation and deduction. We can only use the faculties we have and hope that our own little effort and contribution coupled with that of past generations and thinkers, will get us a step closer to the Truth, the ultimate Truth. We just read Kohelet last Shabbat which poses exactly this question and the ending/answer is -

יג סוֹף דָּבָר, הַכֹּל נִשְׁמָע: אֶת-הָאֱלֹהִים יְרָא וְאֶת-מִצְו‍ֹתָיו שְׁמוֹר, כִּי-זֶה כָּל-הָאָדָם.

13 The end of the matter, all having been heard: fear God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole man.

Love the proselyte - A lesson in human relations and love.

Finishing the various responsa Rambam wrote to R. Ovadyah the Proselyte, here is the last piece which I find the most touching and pertinent from a human relation point of view. R. Ovadyah told Rambam that when he asked his Rebbe a question about whether Muslims were idolaters and whether the wine they touched, though forbidden to drink, may be traded, his Rebbe insulted him and told him that of course they are idolaters. Don’t they worship Mohammed by throwing stones in Mecca? Isn’t that the Avodah Zara referred to in the Gemara in AZ that one may not worship Markolis? Rambam answers in a lengthy discussion explaining that though it seems to be a similar act, the Muslims do this as a sign of respect rather than worship. I will skip that part and leave it to those who want to work through this Halacha in Hil. Ma’achalot Assurot chapter 11. I want to concentrate on Rambam’s response regarding the insults by R. Ovadyah’s Rebbi.


ואשר השיבך רבך שלא כהוגן והעציבך והכלימך וקראך כסיל עבירה גדולה בידו וחטא גדול חטא וקרוב בעיני ששוגג הוא וראוי לו לבקש ממך מחילה, אע"פ שאתה תלמידו ואחר כך יצום ויזעק ויתפלל ויכנע אולי יתכפר לו וימחול לו האל יתעלה, וכי שכור היה זה [ולא ידע] שבשלשים וששה מקומות +ב"מ נ"ט ב', ועי' בהקדמת ס' המצות שורש ט'+ הזהירה תורה על הגר ואיה דבר וגר לא תונה +[- שמות כ"ב כ',] עי' ה' סנהדרין פ"כ הי"ב וה' מכירה פי"ד הט"ו+ והיא אונאת דברים. אילו אמר הוא האמת והיית אתה התועה היה לו להסביר לך פנים ולדבר לך רכות כל שכן שאמרת האמת והוא התועה ועוד שזה דורש אחר הישמעאלים אם הם עובדי ע"ז אם לאו היה לו לחוש לעצמו על הכעס שכעס עד שהכלים גר צדק שלא כדין וכבר אמרו רז"ל +שבת ק"ה ב', ועי' נדרים כ"ב ב', [1]כל הכועס יהיה בעיניך כעובד ע"ז. דע שחובה שחייבתנו התורה על הגרים גדולה היא. על האב ועל האם נצטוינו בכבוד ומורא ועל הנביאים לשמוע להם ואפשר שיכבד אדם ויירא וישמע ממי שאינו אוהבו, ועל הגרים צונו +עי' ס' המצות מ"ע סי' ר"ז וה' דעות פ"ו ה"ד+ באהבה רבה המסורה ללב ואהבתם את הגר וגו' כמו שצונו לאהוב את שמו ואהבת את ה' אלהיך. והקב"ה בכבודו אוהב גר, שנ' ואוהב גר לתת לו לחם ושמלה. וזה שקרא לך כסיל תמה גדול הוא, אדם שהניח אביו ומולדתו ומלכות עמו וידם הנטויה והבין בעין לבו ובא ונדבק באומה זו שהיא היום למתעב גוי עבד מושלים והכיר וידע שדתם דת אמת וצדק והבין דרכי ישראל וידע שכל הדתות גנובות מדתם זה מוסיף וזה גורע זה משנה וזה מכזב ומחפה על ה' דברים אשר לא כן זה הורס יסודות וזה מדבר תהפוכות והכיר הכל ורדף אחר ה' ועבר בדרך הקדש ונכנס תחת כנפי השכינה ונתאבק בעפר רגלי משה רבינו רבן של כל הנביאים ע"ה וחפץ במצותיו ונשאו לבו לקרבה לאור באור החיים ולהעלות במעלת המלאכים ולשמוח ולהתענג בשמחת הצדיקים והשליך העולם הזה מלבו ולא פנה אל רהבים ושטי כזב, מי שזו מעלתו כסיל יקרא. חלילה לך לא כסיל קרא ה' שמך אלא משכיל ומבין ופקח והולך נכוחות תלמידו של אברהם אבינו שהניח אבותיו ומולדתו ונטה אחרי ה' ומי שברך את אברהם רבך ונתן לו שכרו בעולם הזה ולעולם הבא הוא יברך אותך ויתן לך שכרך כראוי בעולם הזה ולעולם הבא ויאריך ימיך עד שתורה במשפטי ה' לכל עדתו ויזכה אותך לראות בכל הנחמות העתידות לישראל והיה הטוב ההוא אשר ייטיב ה' עמנו והטבנו לך כי ה' דבר טוב על ישראל. משה ב"ר מימון זצ"ל.

Paraphrase/Translation as is my custom:

Regarding your Rebbi answering you improperly, saddening and shaming you, calling you a fool, he sinned greatly! I am almost positive that he did this inadvertently and he should apologize to you even though you are his pupil. He should then fast, cry out, pray and humble himself and maybe God will forgive him. Was he drunk and did not remember that the Torah warned 36 times that a proselyte must be treated properly? Where is the prohibition to insult a proselyte? Had he been correct and you wrong he still would have been commanded to treat you respectfully and speak softly to you, how much more when he is wrong and you are right! Furthermore, while this person is questioning whether Muslims are idolaters he forgets to worry about his anger that went so far as to insult a proselyte incorrectly! Did not the rabbis say, one who gets angry should be looked upon as if he worshiped idols?

Know that the obligation the Torah put on us regarding proselytes is very great. We were commanded to respect and fear our mother and father, we were commanded to hearken to prophets. One can respect, fear and hearken to, someone that one does not love. However, we were commanded to love proselytes. Love has to be heartfelt and genuine! We were commanded to love a proselyte just as we were commanded to love God! God Himself loves proselytes as it says, “He loves a proselyte giving him bread and clothing”.

How could he call you a fool? A person who leaves his parents, his birthplace, his nation that is dominant, understands with clarity [the truth] and joins this nation that is nowadays despised, a slave to masters and all this because he realized that their [Israel} law is true and just? He understood the way of Israel, saw that all the other religions are copies of it, one adding and one subtracting, one making changes another denying and accusing [literally: covering up] God of things that are not so, one destroys fundamentals while the other talks nonsense [literally: overturned things]! This man recognized all this and ran after God, went in the holy path, entered under the wings of the Shechinah, covered himself with the dust of Moshe Rabbeinu’s feet, the father of all prophets, desired his commandments and decided to partake in the Eternal light [literally: light of life]. He wants to elevate himself to the level of angels, rejoice and enjoy the happiness of the righteous, throwing away worldly pleasures and turning away from false hopes. Can one call such a person a fool? God forbid, you are not a fool but a thinker, a smart and knowledgeable person who follows the straight paths of Avraham Avinu who also abandoned his parents and birthplace to follow God. The One who blessed Avraham our father rewarding him in this world and the world to come, will bless you and give your reward in both worlds. He will lengthen your days until you teach God’s laws to His community and make you partake in all the good things that will befall us – Moshe the son of Rav Maimon ZL.

It is interesting to note that Rambam predicts that this R. Ovadyah will eventually teach God’s laws to the Jews from birth. Not only is he part of the community but also has the potential to lead it. But what always inspires me when I read this is the idea that there is a commandment to love a proselyte just like there is one to love God. If we are to take this literally, Rambam told us many times that loving God means knowing Him, loving a proselyte means therefore also getting to know him. It is necessary to understand what impelled him to decide to join us, what did he see that impelled him to give everything up for the service of God. We may be jaded but looking through his eyes, we can renew our understanding and commitment to HKBH.



[1] הוספת א"ן: ליתא שם, כידוע, ועיין פירוש המשניות לר"מ אבות פ"ב ובהלכות דעות פ"ב ה"ג ועיין שם בהגהות בני בנימין לרא"ד רבינאוויטץ ובהערה שם וכבר ציין בקובץ הפסגה שנה א עמוד ע' כמה מקומות בזוהר וזוהר חדש ותיקונים שנמצא שם מאמר זה, ועיין אף הגהות הגר"ח העליר בספר המצות שהוציא עמוד נ' הערה ה'+

Are we losing our minds?

This article is extremely disheartening.


http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/873185.html

It is bad enough that a large segment of the male Yeshivish community in EY is voluntarily unemployed, they now want to restrict them further and create a real crisis.

A few years back I met up with one of my old Roshei Yeshiva who when I was a student had a whole philosophy about full time learning. He was a Chazon Ishnick and one of the more right wing theologians in Yeshiva. He told me that he has belatedly realized that it was a great mistake. Yungeleit who start out full of ambitions, reach their middle age, burdened with children and now potential children in law, without any hope of taking care of them or himself. He told me you have no idea the despair and depression many of these families go through. The happy face they show to the public, is just that, a front. He then said to me that we chose to ignore a Mishna in Avot - Kol Torah she'ein imah melacha sofa beteila vegoreret avon. He repeated heatedly "Vegoreret Avon". [ Paraphrase/ Translation :Torah without work eventually is abolished and causes one to sin].

In a conversation with R. Simcha Wasserman A'H on another subject he explained that sometimes leaders put in place things to address a specific problem they see and want to address. It is comparable to one who has a cancer and has to take strong drugs to stop it. Those drugs have major side effects but there is no choice. Once the cancer is arrested and goes into remission, the side effects have to be taken care of otherwise the patient will die from them.

Here too, the surviving leaders after the holocaust, R. Aron Kotler here and the Chazon Ish in EY developed the "learning religion". They saw a need of mass learning to rapidly develop a generation that could know and teach the Torah. The side effect was the large number of mediocre talmidei chachamim who remained in Kolel without any hope of excelling. One can imagine what that does to self esteem and coupled with economic hardship you have a very painful mix. Once the problem was solved, and it was, because we now have a generation who know Torah, the side effect should have been addressed and antidotes administered. Our leaders forgot to do that. instead they increase the Chemotherapy dosage! Hashem Yerachem!

I believe that is the source of the Chumrot craze, and worse the witch hunts and machlokot that we witness in EY. It also has created a generation that has no ethics in business. Desperation opens the door to breaking small rules which blossom into a total breakdown of ethics and morals.

Let us hope that sometime soon they will see the light.

Who Will Save the baby? - A true story.

A very touching and personal article about my brother in law and a remarkable man who is responsible for his survival can be found here

http://www.aish.com/holocaust/people/Who_Will_Save_the_Baby$_.asp .

When Mr. "Shapira" made his choices and decided to act according to what he understood to be God's will and emulating Him, Chanun Verachum Hashem, he connected with Hashgacha - Providence. At the time it seemed like folly and suicide. It turned out to be the right thing in the long run and for generations to come. Ma'asseh Avot Siman Lebanim, and he followed in the footsteps of the Avot, doing the right thing and not the easy one.

Rambam's Hashgacha in action.

Who is Satan?

I have worked very hard on this post and I publish it with much trepidation. It is very easy to be philosophical about human suffering especially when it is about someone else's pain. It is also easy to pontificate when it is impersonal. However I believe it is a subject that needs to be addressed. The whole book of Iyov was written with that issue in mind. I believe the Rabbis who put Iyov's existence into doubt were telling us that it can only be discussed in an impersonal way. It is however a suggested personal contemplation for the sufferer in the hope that it will mitigate his pain. Please take it in that vein and not as a sermon Chas Vechalila.


Satan, Mal’ach Hamavet - angel of death and Yetzer Hara are synonyms. Rambam is very enraptured with this insight.

“…listen to the following useful instruction given by our Sages, who in truth deserve the title of "wise men"; it makes clear that which appears doubtful, and reveals that which has been hidden, and discloses most of the mysteries of the Law. They said in the Talmud as follows: R. Simeon, son of Lakish, says: "The adversary (Satan), evil inclination (Yetzer Hara), and the angel of death, are one and the same being." Here we find all that has been mentioned by us in such a clear manner that no intelligent person will be in doubt about it. It has thus been shown to you that one and the same thing is designated by these three different terms, and that actions ascribed to these three are in reality the actions of one and the same agent.”(MN3:22)

What is the great insight and what makes it so praiseworthy?

There is a concept that is common to all medieval thinkers that is very difficult to translate into our contemporary way of thinking. It is the idea of Matter and Form. Already in antiquity the idea of Form meant different things to different philosophers. While Plato saw it as a mental construct of “the permanent reality that makes a thing what it is, in contrast to the particulars that are finite and subject to change. Each form is the pattern of a particular category of thing in the world; thus, there are forms of human, stone, shape, color, beauty, and justice. Whereas the physical world, perceived with the senses, is in constant flux and knowledge derived from it restricted and variable, the realm of forms, apprehensible only by the mind, is eternal and changeless.” Aristotle saw it as “the arrangement or organization through which such elements (matter) have become the thing in question”. (Britannica Concise Encyclopedia)

I believe Plato’s understanding is easier to translate into our language though Aristotle’s approach can also be interpreted similarly. I can visualize the “idea” of a tree, for example, as always being out there even when the tree itself no longer exists. All the science that goes into a tree growing is there before and after the tree. It is eternal and changeless. It exists even without a human being around who apprehends it with his mind. In fact it was there before a human understood it just like Relativity existed before Einstein described it. Every physical entity from the simplest to the most complex has its “idea”, its underlying science. In other words everything we know and we will ever know and experience in the physical world we live in, is potentially out there in the form of a scientific concept. This is what Rambam refers to as Form.

Form as described starts of as a potential and is actualized in matter. Matter is the actualization of Form, which is the idea behind it. Of course it is difficult to visualize a concept without a mind that conceptualizes it. This issue is a discussion that falls in the philosophical realm of the mind–body connection and problem. Let us, for this discussion sake, simplify and say it is God’s mind that conceptualizes the science underlying existence. I will return to it in my discussions of Hashgacha and Yediah.

In terms of eternity therefore, while Form is eternal and unchanging, matter is temporal and always changing. Matter comes into existence, not having been extant before nor is it after it no longer exists. Destruction and death is a necessary quality of matter.

When discussing the story of Adam and Chava, Rambam differentiates between truth and falseness and good and bad. “Through the intellect man distinguishes between truth and falsehood. This faculty Adam possessed perfectly and completely. Fine and bad belong to the things generally accepted as known, not to those cognized by the intellect.” (MN 1:2) Good and bad are terms that are subjective categorizations that we use in describing our relationship with physical existence. Existence is good while destruction is bad. It is a relative and subjective assessment. On the other hand our intellectual quest in understanding our physical existence is an objective analysis which can be either true or false. The human intellect is thus the potential that is actualized in physical reality in the same manner Form is actualized in matter.

In the story of Iyov, which is the subject of the chapter of MN I quoted; Satan is contrasted with Bnei Ha’elohim. Rambam understands the story as a description of reality. The Bnei Ha’elohim represent the Form of existence, the concept, while Satan is matter. The word Lehityatzev, to stand firmly, is always used with the Bnei Ha’elohim while only the second time with Satan. Form is eternal while Satan, matter, is temporal.

Iyov had suffered great losses and was despondent. His suffering was related to his physical existence and not to his intellect. Rambam notes that Iyov is described as a just man –“It is remarkable in this account that wisdom is not ascribed to Job. The text does not say he was an intelligent, wise, or clever man; but virtues and uprightness, especially in actions, are ascribed to him.” Virtue and uprightness deal with Good and Bad, relative and subjective matters that focus on our day-to-day physical well-being. It does not address Truth and Falseness which are the realm of wisdom. Human suffering is always related to the physical part of existence, to life and death, good and bad. It is only when Satan, the symbol of matter and the physical reigns that bad things happen. Understanding this does not mitigate the pain but puts it in a proper perspective. The perceived injustice and unfair suffering, is related to the temporal, our physical existence, while our intellectual self remains intact eternally and can only be affected by truth and falseness.

I believe that there is an even deeper message here. As I discussed in my earlier posts on Hashgacha, it is only when man takes the long-term view that Providence comes into play. The examples we use are the Avot who had a long-term goal of building a nation of seekers. If the long-term goal is reached, the tribulations and pain suffered along the way are retrospectively much easier to understand and deal with. The individual while he is acting, doing and living can only do his best, use his intellect in trying to understand the meaning of life and what is his role in the history of humankind and existence and act accordingly. That way of thinking in itself helps in mitigating the inevitable pain and suffering of our physical existence.

“This lesson is the principal object of the whole Book of Job; it establishes the foundation for the belief and the drawing attention to the inference to be drawn from natural matters, so that we should not fall into the error of imagining His knowledge to be similar to ours, or His intention, providence, and rule similar to ours. When we know this we shall find everything that may befall us easy to bear; mishap will create no doubts in our hearts concerning God, whether He knows our affairs or not, whether He provides for us or abandons us.”(MN3:23)

When we contemplate another person’s misfortune it is crass to minimize it by being philosophical. It is wrong and shows a lack of empathy and caring. However for the person that goes through the trauma, the sufferer, this is a way of dealing with the misfortune. By energizing himself, being introspective and acting on it, there is the possibility of growth and better long-term outcome.

יב וַיהוָה, בֵּרַךְ אֶת אַחֲרִית אִיּוֹב--מֵרֵאשִׁתוֹ; וַיְהִי לוֹ אַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר אֶלֶף צֹאן, וְשֵׁשֶׁת אֲלָפִים גְּמַלִּים, וְאֶלֶף צֶמֶד בָּקָר, וְאֶלֶף אֲתוֹנוֹת.
12 So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses.
יג וַיְהִי לוֹ שִׁבְעָנָה בָנִים, וְשָׁלוֹשׁ בָּנוֹת.
13 He had also seven sons and three daughters.
יד וַיִּקְרָא שֵׁם הָאַחַת יְמִימָה, וְשֵׁם הַשֵּׁנִית קְצִיעָה; וְשֵׁם הַשְּׁלִישִׁית, קֶרֶן הַפּוּךְ.
14 And he called the name of the first, Jemimah; and the name of the second, Keziah; and the name of the third, Keren-happuch.
טו וְלֹא נִמְצָא נָשִׁים יָפוֹת, כִּבְנוֹת אִיּוֹב--בְּכָל הָאָרֶץ; וַיִּתֵּן לָהֶם אֲבִיהֶם נַחֲלָה, בְּתוֹךְ אֲחֵיהֶם.
15 And in all the land were no women found as fair as the daughters of Job were; and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren.
טז וַיְחִי אִיּוֹב אַחֲרֵי זֹאת, מֵאָה וְאַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה; וירא (וַיִּרְאֶה), אֶת בָּנָיו וְאֶת בְּנֵי בָנָיו--אַרְבָּעָה, דֹּרוֹת.
16 And after this Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations.
יז וַיָּמָת אִיּוֹב, זָקֵן וּשְׂבַע יָמִים. {ש}
17 So Job died, being old and full of days. {P}

Pilpul and Chumrot: are they meaningful goals for a Jew?

Rambam wrote many letters both as responsa to Halachik questions and general correspondence on issues that were brought to him. In one of these letters (Sheilat edition page257) he writes as follows: (paraphrasing)

I already enjoined you to know the whole Sefer (Mishne Torah) and make it your own, teaching it to everyone. The goal of the writing of the Talmud and other such books is attained with the Mishne Torah. The goal of the Lamdanim which is wasting time in the Talmudic give and take is only to become expert in argumentation, not more than that. This expertise was not the goal of the Talmudic give and take but resulted accidentally when a saying had more than one interpretation and there was the need to find the correct one. The main purpose of the Talmud though was to teach what one must do or what one must not do. That is clear to someone like you. (The letter is addressed to a R. Yosef, apparently a learned man). That is the purpose of my book, to help memorize the rules which are lost in the argumentation of the Talmud allowing for people to devote their time in the ultimate goal, dealing with the “great” things…

R. Sheilat explains the last sentence as a veiled reference to the Gemara which considers the discussions of Abaye and Rava as “small” things and metaphysics as “great” things.

The letter is interesting as it gives us a glimpse into the thinking of the greatest Halachist of all times. All the learning has only one goal to help us find God, the “great” thing. We learn the halachot which teach us how to live our lives in a way that makes us think about HKBH and the existential issues. It is not an exercise in sophistry and argumentation. Rambam saw his Mishne Torah as the ultimate synopsis of all the rulings in the two Talmudim. (see his introduction to Mishne Torah and Ra'avad comment ad locum).

Nor are chumrot a goal in Judaism. In a letter to Rabbi Yosef ben Yehudah, the pupil he dedicated the Moreh to, he discusses his response to the Baghdad Rosh Yeshiva, R. Samuel ben Eli regarding traveling on river boats on Shabbat. He asks him not to react against the RY by insulting him. He explains that by supporting Rambam he has diminished the RY’s authority and that is the reason for his strong attacks against R. Yosef. He then goes on to write: (Sheilat Edition page 308)

There is no purpose in your asking: “where is Yra’at Shamayim (fear of Heaven)?” for he (the RY) and similar people who are greater than he, even those from earlier generations, their whole Yra’at Shamayim consists of following Chumrot (verbatim: refraining from Chumrot) as it is with the general populace. However a moral obligation to them (verbatim: Chovot hamidot hatovot) is not considered Yra’at Shamayim. They are also not careful with their words as God fearing people should be. Most of these autocratic men of religion, when someone attacks their authority, their fear of God disappears. Do not expect all of them to be like Hanina ben Dossa or Pinchas ben Yair A”H. Not all who have not reached their level is necessarily devoid of Yra’at Shamayim.

Need I say more?

Observant but not religious - unfortunately too common in our society.

I read an interesting article by Rabbi Dr. Benny Lau in Prof. Blidstein’s “Sabbath – Idea, History and Reality – that discusses Rabbi Ovadyah Yossef’s attitude to Chilonim – secular Jews. The focus of the discussion is the Halacha that someone who is a “Mumar” who touches wine makes it into Stam Yeinam and therefore not drinkable. I will not go into the intricacies of the Halacha itself and whether it is just a Chumra or me’ikar hadin. ROY in his responsa deals with that at length. I am interested in his view of secular Jews. First there is a clear distinction between the outlook of Sephardic and Ashkenazi society. The former see non-observant Jews as not following Halacha for economic or other personal convenience reasons rather than because they do not believe in the Halacha per se. It is common for people to go to shul Shabbat, make Kiddush and even refrain from certain Melachot while still going to work. They do the Zachor without doing the Shamor.
ROY was Rav in Cairo in 1948-1950 and writes about his experience in that community where many of the wealthier Jews kept their businesses open on Shabbat and would go there from shul directly. They would however refrain from smoking or do unnecessary Melachot. Ashkenazi society on the other hand is much more antagonistic to Halacha especially in Eretz Yisrael.

What I find interesting is that ROY differentiates between religiosity and observance. We have a tendency to classify automatically Frum or Orthodox Jews versus Secular and non-orthodox. ROY is much more subtle and really sees Jews as religious whether observant or not.

In this spirit I would venture to add one more classification: Observant but not religious. I am not talking about those who question, referred to as Orthopraxy in the blogosphere. A Jew that questions to me is a religious person. Struggling with one’s beliefs is the ultimate act of religiosity. It is the observant Jew who is machmir on every little detail in Halacha without thinking at all about why he practices, who cannot contain himself when another Jew observes less than his idea of observance is and insults him, excommunicates him and generally ostracizes him, who is non-religious. I wonder if one may drink from his wine.

What do Socialism, the Mann and the left have in common?

Setting limits on physical self-gratification is a central issue in Rambam’s thinking. The form of man, the attribute that differentiates him from other living things, is his mind. The mind however cannot exist without the body and the brain, both physical entities. The mind therefore has the ability and is empowered to control the physical and make sure that it self protects so that it can continue to live for as long as possible, allowing the brain to expand its knowledge and understanding of its own existence. For the body to survive it has built in systems where it has tendencies to seek out things that are necessary for its survival. Those are all the things people crave for starting with food for personal survival and ending with sex for the survival of the species. Those are all necessary cravings that inform the mind to help the body to satisfy these needs. However these cravings also need the mind to set limits on them otherwise they become the sine qua non of existence. They take over the mind and direct it to spend all its energies in satisfying these cravings even to the body’s own detriment. The mind now is completely distracted from its main purpose. To Rambam that is the underlying reason for morals and all the laws in the Torah that address morality.

The fact that the Jewish people were willing to spend forty years in the desert relying on a minimal amount of food, monochromatic taste though nourishing, all for the purpose of freedom of action and thought, allowing them to develop their intellect, demonstrates to the world and future generations, how far one has to go to attain intellectual perfection. The idea is that if one can learn to be satisfied with necessities only, those are usually available.

About twenty years ago I had the privilege to visit with Rav Simcha Wasserman Z”L in Yerushalaim on Pessach. Although I got to know him in my thirties, I learned an enormous amount from this gentle Gadol and his rebbetzin. He asked me (and my son Aryeh who was with me at the time) if we knew why socialists are called leftists? Why does the left side connote socialism? When a person wants to make something he uses primarily his right hand and his left hand is the supporting actor. The same applies in every area that requires action by human beings. The primary requirement for survival is the procurement of food for survival. However without appetite there would be no impetus to do so. The appetite is therefore the supporting element in this process. When one makes the supporting act into the main purpose one gives the left side primacy and becomes a leftist. Socialism makes its primary objective man satisfying his appetites and is therefore seen as the left. I do not know if I agree with his analysis of socialism but I believe it explains why the left has negative connotations in Judaism. In kabalistic writings Sitra Desmalah has a negative connotation. It even got a place in Shulchan Aruch that one should always turn to the right side first. It is a subliminal message to make us aware of what is important.

Existence of God and Objective Morality

It seems that the greatest criticism to my post about objective morality was the idea of emulating God. God’s existence was questioned consequently the quest to find God was seen as empty. Even assuming we accept God’s existence, how do I see emulating His actions as good? Isn’t nature neutral?

Physicists have been struggling to find the Unified Law of Physics. What makes them think there is one? Maybe they will find out that there is no such thing and they were wasting their time. But they persist. Why? Because the Universe is so elegant that it makes sense that a perfect system should be underlying it. What is more elegant and perfect than one single law for all of physics? That gives the intellectually curious enough impetus to pursue a lifelong search passing the baton from generation to generation of researchers. And as long as no one will prove that such a law cannot exist, man will continue the search.

The search for God is a similar endeavor. It makes sense that our existence which we are trying to understand has a First Cause. I personally think that the argument that there must be a First Cause is irrefutable. I will however concede for argument sake, that at most we cannot prove that there is no First Cause. And as long as that does not happen, and it will not because it cannot, as Stephen Hawking says (in a different context) it is like asking for north of the North Pole, man will continue that search.

The key point is that God is unknowable, He is transcendent. If someone thinks he found Him he can rest assured that his imagination took over and he is looking at a false god. Spinoza thought he found God in nature and we can rest assured that whatever he found is not God.

If ultimately God is unknowable what then is the search for Him all about? It is looking for His traces, His footprints in the universe He caused to exist. The universe has many attributes. It is eternal, it has a built in mechanism that allows it to survive, adjust and flourish. I happen to enjoy the Gaia Hypotheses as an interesting way of looking at things. I am not well informed enough to either criticize it or defend it. It fits though nicely with my idea of how well the universe self regulates. Be it as it may, the universe seems to thrive and is to all appearances eternal. If one assumes that it is the result of God’s original will, one can extrapolate that seeing to it that things that are under our control survive and flourish is equivalent to emulating God and doing His will.

Rambam in MN 3:53 explains the meaning of the three words חםד משפט צדקה in this context.

“In discussing the impropriety of admitting attributes of God we stated that the divine attributes which occur in Scripture are attributes of His actions; thus He is called Hasid," kind," because He created the Universe; Tzaddik," righteous," on account of His mercy with the weak, in providing for every living being according to its powers; and Shofet," judge," on account of the relative good and the great relative evils ( I will discuss this in a separate post – there is much meaning in the word ‘relative” used here – DG) that are decreed by God's justice as directed by His wisdom.”

Objective morality thus is emulating God and acting accordingly. MN 3:54, the penultimate paragraph in the Moreh reads:

“The object of the above passage is therefore to declare, that the perfection, in which man can truly glory, is attained by him when he has acquired-as far as this is possible for man-the knowledge of God, the knowledge of His Providence, and of the manner in which it influences His creatures in their production and continued existence. Having acquired this knowledge he will then be determined always to seek loving-kindness, (Chesed) judgment, (Mishpat) and righteousness, (Tzedakah) and thus to imitate the ways of God”.

Shavuah Tov.

Objective Ethics and Morality - is there such a concept?

During the past few days an interesting discussion developed on my blog and Kylopod’s at http://kylopod.blogspot.com/2006/10/moral-philosophy.html with the particiaption of Rabbi Joshua Maroof of http://vesomsechel.blogspot.com/ about morality and it gave me a better insight into the story of Adam and Chava in Eden that we read just last week.

In MN 1:2 (discussed in detail in the excellent Interpreting Maimonides by Prof. Marvin Fox A’H, a worthwhile study of how to read MN. See also his chapters 5, 6, and 7 relating to our discussion here), Rambam proposes that it describes the different components of a human being. The Sechel, rational part deals with true and false. It analyzes data and extrapolates from it in a methodical rational way arriving at conclusions that are either true or false. It is a purely scientific method for which man utilizes his Tzelem Elohim. Another part of a human being is his ability to discern right from wrong. That is a subjective method where cultural and personal preferences are the arbiters.

“The right and the wrong are terms employed in the science of apparent truths (morals), not in that of necessary truths, as, e.g. it is not correct to say, in reference to the proposition" the heavens are spherical," it is" good" or to declare the assertion that" the earth is flat" to be" bad”: but we say of the one it is true, of the other it is false. Similarly our language expresses the idea of true and false by the terms Emet and Sheker, of the morally right and the morally wrong, by tov and rah. Thus it is the function of the intellect to discriminate between the true and the false -- a distinction which is applicable to all objects of intellectual perception… When Adam was yet in a state of innocence, and was guided solely by reflection and reason -- on account of which it is said:" Thou hast made him (man) little lower than the angels" (Ps. viii. 6) -- he was not at all able to follow or to understand the principles of apparent truths; the most manifest impropriety, viz., to appear in a state of nudity, was nothing unbecoming according to his idea: he could not comprehend why it should be so. After man's disobedience, however, when he began to give way to desires which had their source in his imagination and to the gratification of his bodily appetites, as it is said," And the wife saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to the eyes" (Gen. iii. 6), he was punished by the loss of part of that intellectual faculty which he had previously possessed… Hence we read," And ye shall be like Elohim (1) knowing good and evil," and not" knowing" or" discerning the true and the false”: while in necessary truths we can only apply the words" true and false," not" good and evil."

Morality has meaning because man’s imagination is the cause of physical desires. Imagination consists of the memory of past experiences which man wants to repeat. Desires make man narcissistic and selfish bringing about aggression and conflict. For society to function there is a need for ethical behavior and rules of conduct. A moral and legal system has to be put in place. These are not issues that we rate as true and false; they are cultural and are rated as good and bad.

After setting out the two components of a human being, the story continues with man thrown into the real world, constantly yearning for intellectual perfection. He has freedom of choice and if he strives for intellectual perfection, he will try to balance the two, sometimes-conflicting parts of himself, to do the right thing. Rambam in Hilchot Teshuvah 5:1 finishes the story as follows:

רשות כל אדם נתונה לו: אם רצה להטות עצמו לדרך טובה ולהיות צדיק, הרשות בידו; ואם רצה להטות עצמו לדרך רעה ולהיות רשע, הרשות בידו. הוא שכתוב בתורה "הן האדם היה כאחד ממנו, לדעת, טוב ורע--כלומר הן מין זה של אדם היה אחד בעולם, ואין לו מין שני דומה לו בזה העניין, שיהא הוא מעצמו בדעתו ובמחשבתו יודע הטוב והרע ועושה כל מה שהוא חפץ, ואין לו מי שיעכב על ידו מלעשות הטוב או הרע. וכיון שכן הוא, "פן ישלח ידו" (שם).

Man has free will to do good or bad. He sets the criteria through his own thinking. If he wants to “know” objectively what is “good and bad” he needs to avail himself of “true and false” and integrate the two. The last words “Pen Yshlach Yado” is read as a wish and not negative. God is saying wistfully, let man take from the tree of life (true and false) when he deals in “good and bad” issues and he will live forever. (See also Shemona Perakim chapter 8 page 251 in Sheilat edition).

What exactly does it mean bringing these two components together? How does “good and bad” become “true and false”? The search for God through nature, trying to find the First Cause through His creation, through science follows the path of scientific inquiry. It follows the path of “true and false”, of objective analysis. When man understands the universe’s perfection in the sense that it is eternal, when he tries to emulate God in how He runs it, when he develops a system of ethics and morals that emulates Him, man uses his understanding of “true and false” to set the criteria of what is “good and bad”. Morality and ethics based on this type of thinking is grounded in objective and absolute norms. It is no longer just cultural but a single universal morality.

Rambam started the Moreh introducing this concept of the difference between “true and false” and “good and bad” suggesting that there is a way of integrating these two ways of thinking. He ends the Moreh with how this integration works. In MN 3:54 –

“The prophet thus, in conclusion, says," For in these things I delight, says the Lord," i.e., My objective [in saying this) is that you shall practice loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. In a similar manner we have shown that the object of the enumeration of God's thirteen attributes is the lesson that we should acquire similar attributes and act accordingly. The object of the above passage is therefore to declare, that the perfection, in which man can truly glory, is attained by him when he has acquired-as far as this is possible for man-the knowledge of God, the knowledge of His Providence, and of the manner in which it influences His creatures in their production and continued existence. Having acquired this knowledge he will then be determined always to seek loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, and thus to imitate the ways of God.”

To Rambam this is the goal of Judaism and the search for God, the integration of physics, metaphysics, ethics and morality thus setting objective criteria for the latter two turning “Good and Bad” into “True and False” .


Note
(1) Rambam earlier in this chapter and in 2:6 explains that the word Elohim here refers to judges and legislators rather than God. It is an equivocal word.