4 minute read
Justice, mercy and humility
Rabbi Ammos Chorny
A couple weeks ago, a congregant confessed having a very difficult time contending with the laws of slavery outlined in the current cycle of Torah readings and, of course, he got me thinking and searching for ways to better relate to the subject.
That is how I came across a remarkable passage in the Mishnah Torah — Maimonides’ code of Jewish law — in which he goes out of his way to state that notwithstanding the fact that the law of the Torah may permit something (the passage concerns slavery, specifically the treatment of the non-Jewish slave), a good Jew would much rather follow a more merciful path. He explains that “even though this is the law, the quality of mercy and the ways of wisdom teach one should be merciful and pursue righteousness and not act unjustly … as cruelty and harshness are the ways of [the world], while Israel — who were taught by the Holy One through the beneficence of the Torah — must be merciful toward all.”
There is a prominent and well-documented dictum in our tradition that suggests that the importance of “going beyond the requirements of the law,” ought to be applied primarily to matters of ethics and morals. However, as we set out on our yearly quest for special products for Passover, it is clear that, over the past few decades, the prevalence of glatt kosher products — termed mehadrin — seem to have proliferated beyond all expectations. Not only can one find glatt kosher meat, but also fish, vegetables and even water. This is strange, considering that the label “glatt" can only be applied to the way in which meat is examined after slaughtering. Under a certain light, we can understand the term has come to mean “extra strict supervision,” or the supervision by rabbis that are more trusted in certain circles. But the phenomenon has reached the point where, although one would be happy to eat products simply labeled “kosher,” it has become harder and harder to find them.
If people want to add an extra dimension of stringency to their religious practice, that is their right, but I wonder why this extra strictness is confined only to ritual rather than to ethical behavior. Whenever I hear about “glatt,” I recall Rabbi Heschel’s comment that we need a “mashgiah” (supervisor/overseer) not just for food but for other things such as lashon hara (gossip) as well.
In rabbinic literature, we have the concept of “midat hassidut” (the quality of piety) in which an individual goes beyond the strict requirements of law to fulfill the Torah’s injunction to “keep the way of the Lord by doing what is just and right...” (Genesis 18:19). The truly pious person will not only do what the law requires but will want to know what justice and righteousness demand of him or her.
All too often, observant people look upon Judaism as a series of laws guiding them on what to do and what to avoid, making them complacent — feeling they have done what is required. But the truth is that such conduct is not sufficient. We would do well remembering the words of the prophet Micah: “What does the Lord require of you? — only to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). We must judge our actions not against a checklist of laws, but against the greater demands of justice, mercy and humility. Without the foundation of Torah upon which we can build the ‘good life,’ our actions are little more than rote, lacking any moral passion.
Let it be God’s will that, during the forthcoming days of Passover, as we remember the plight of our ancestors in Egypt, we find the inspiration to bring to bear Maimonides’ lesson and realize that following the “statutes of righteousness and mercy toward all,” the beneficence of Torah can ensure we eliminate “cruelty and harshness from the world.”
Chag Kasher v’Sameach!
Rabbi Ammos Chorny serves at Beth Tikvah.
