Pirkei Avot 2:4
"He [Rabban Gamliel] used to say: Do His will as your will in order that He do your will as His will. Annul your will before His will in order that He annul the will of others before your will."
A simplistic reading of this mishna would be that if we do what G-d wants, He will give us what we want, and if we subordinate what we want to His will, we will prevail over others. However this treats G-d as a mafia don or a feudal lord who will take care of us if we simply do what He wants. The problem with this interpretation is that it is amoral, which G-d cannot be. It views the world as a Nietschean power struggle. In this view, everything is about will. The more sophisticated reading of this mishna is that if you do G-d's will, you will be doing what is right, and if you annul your selfish will in favor of His ultimate moral law, you will also be doing what is right, and your will will therefore have the power of goodnes and Heaven behind it. Others will see the virtue of your position, and will therefore be drawn to it and treat it as having ultimate validity.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Pirkei Avot 2:3
Pirkei Avot 2:3
"Be careful with authorities, for they do not befriend a person except for their own sake. They appear as friends when they benefit from it, but they do not stand by a person in his time of need."
This mishna reminds me of the Hebrew National commercial: "We answer to a higher authority." Political authorities are human. They are primarily motivated to preserve their power. Therefore they will do what preserves or increases their power, regardless of whether it is moral or right. This includes taking positions which are popular, regardless of whether they are just or right. Often an authority will take positions that are popular with their own supporters or likely supporters, so as to increase their popularity. This obviously detracts from the virtue of their positions. They are ultimately movitivated by whatever increases or solidifies their power, and they and we know it.
We are tempted to make friends with authorities, both because of the prestige and the influence it may bring us. However when we do so, we undermine our moral authority, because authorities are primarily motivate by another goal: the preservation of their own power. When we become overly attached to authorities, we lose our independence regarding morality, because we become drawn to another objective, i.e., the increase of our power and status. The truly moral man or woman must put nothing ahead of the commandments of G-d, including the cultivation of authorities.
"Be careful with authorities, for they do not befriend a person except for their own sake. They appear as friends when they benefit from it, but they do not stand by a person in his time of need."
This mishna reminds me of the Hebrew National commercial: "We answer to a higher authority." Political authorities are human. They are primarily motivated to preserve their power. Therefore they will do what preserves or increases their power, regardless of whether it is moral or right. This includes taking positions which are popular, regardless of whether they are just or right. Often an authority will take positions that are popular with their own supporters or likely supporters, so as to increase their popularity. This obviously detracts from the virtue of their positions. They are ultimately movitivated by whatever increases or solidifies their power, and they and we know it.
We are tempted to make friends with authorities, both because of the prestige and the influence it may bring us. However when we do so, we undermine our moral authority, because authorities are primarily motivate by another goal: the preservation of their own power. When we become overly attached to authorities, we lose our independence regarding morality, because we become drawn to another objective, i.e., the increase of our power and status. The truly moral man or woman must put nothing ahead of the commandments of G-d, including the cultivation of authorities.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Pirkei Avot 2:2
Pirkei Avot 2:2
"Rabban Gamliel the son of Rabbi Yehuda the Prince said, good is Torah study together with a worldly occupation, for the exertion in both makes one forget sin. All Torah study without work will result in waste and will cause sinfulness. Anyone who works for the community should work for the sake of Heaven, for the merit of their [the community members's] forefathers will help him, and their righteousness endures forever. And as for you, [says G-d], I will grant you much reward as if you accomplished it on your own."
This mishna contains a powerful insight about work in general and a more specific insight about work for the community in particular. The first tells us that Torah study together with a worldly occupation is good because exertion in both makes us us forget sin. Both are required, for exertion in a worldly occupation makes us tend to be materialistic and self centered, working only for money and what it can buy, and putting little value on the well being and dignity of others, whereas study of Torah teaches us that there are other, higher values than money and material things, and that the well being and dignity of others is an ultimate value in itself. This insight is perhaps self-evident to a religious person. However the converse is not so obvious, and seems not to be followed by religious persons who spend most or all of their working time learning Torah. It is almost counterintuitive for a religious person, in light of the traditional value placed on Torah study. One might wonder how Torah study could result in waste and cause sinfulness. Torah study without work wastes our capacity to be productive and to create order and sustenance for others. Torah study without work can cause sinfulness by causing us to be less ethical in our actions toward others by being less generous or even dishonest in our dealings with others in order to support ourselves and our families.
The more specific insight relates to people who work for the community. I understand this to include Jewish fundraising and service and defense organizations and synagogues, and organizations that support the State of Israel, and the State of Israel itself. The sentence "Anyone who works for the community should work for the sake of Heaven, for the merit of their forefathers will help them, and their righteousness endures forever" is ambiguous: it could mean that anyone who works for the community is working for the sake of Heaven, or that anyone who works for the community ought to work for the sake of Heaven. Having spent much time working in community organizations, I subscribe to the latter interpretation. I have seen many people in community organizations that focus on the advancement of the organization to the detriment of the community as a whole or worse, on their own honor, and others who work for the organization, but keep the interests of the community as a whole at the forefront. The merit of our forefathers will help those who pur the interests of the community at forefront, but not those who are focused on preserving the organization's turf or on their own honor. The final sentence, that G-d will grant them much reward, as if they accomplished it on their own, is a beautiful thought that gives a sense of enhanced holiness to the work we do for the community, if it is done in the right spirit.
"Rabban Gamliel the son of Rabbi Yehuda the Prince said, good is Torah study together with a worldly occupation, for the exertion in both makes one forget sin. All Torah study without work will result in waste and will cause sinfulness. Anyone who works for the community should work for the sake of Heaven, for the merit of their [the community members's] forefathers will help him, and their righteousness endures forever. And as for you, [says G-d], I will grant you much reward as if you accomplished it on your own."
This mishna contains a powerful insight about work in general and a more specific insight about work for the community in particular. The first tells us that Torah study together with a worldly occupation is good because exertion in both makes us us forget sin. Both are required, for exertion in a worldly occupation makes us tend to be materialistic and self centered, working only for money and what it can buy, and putting little value on the well being and dignity of others, whereas study of Torah teaches us that there are other, higher values than money and material things, and that the well being and dignity of others is an ultimate value in itself. This insight is perhaps self-evident to a religious person. However the converse is not so obvious, and seems not to be followed by religious persons who spend most or all of their working time learning Torah. It is almost counterintuitive for a religious person, in light of the traditional value placed on Torah study. One might wonder how Torah study could result in waste and cause sinfulness. Torah study without work wastes our capacity to be productive and to create order and sustenance for others. Torah study without work can cause sinfulness by causing us to be less ethical in our actions toward others by being less generous or even dishonest in our dealings with others in order to support ourselves and our families.
The more specific insight relates to people who work for the community. I understand this to include Jewish fundraising and service and defense organizations and synagogues, and organizations that support the State of Israel, and the State of Israel itself. The sentence "Anyone who works for the community should work for the sake of Heaven, for the merit of their forefathers will help them, and their righteousness endures forever" is ambiguous: it could mean that anyone who works for the community is working for the sake of Heaven, or that anyone who works for the community ought to work for the sake of Heaven. Having spent much time working in community organizations, I subscribe to the latter interpretation. I have seen many people in community organizations that focus on the advancement of the organization to the detriment of the community as a whole or worse, on their own honor, and others who work for the organization, but keep the interests of the community as a whole at the forefront. The merit of our forefathers will help those who pur the interests of the community at forefront, but not those who are focused on preserving the organization's turf or on their own honor. The final sentence, that G-d will grant them much reward, as if they accomplished it on their own, is a beautiful thought that gives a sense of enhanced holiness to the work we do for the community, if it is done in the right spirit.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Pirkei Avot 2:1
Pirkei Avot 2:1
"Rabbi [Yehuda haNasi] said: What is the proper path a person should choose for himself? Whatever brings glory to himself [before G-d], and grants him glory before others. Be careful with a minor mitzvah (commandment) as with a major one, for you do not know the reward for the mitzvos. Consider the loss incurred for performing a mitzvah compared to its reward, and the 'reward' received for sinning compared to the loss. Consider three things and you will not come to sin: Know what is above you: an eye that sees and an ear that hears, and all your deeds are recorded in the Book."
The advice of Rabbi Yehuda haNasi in this mishna is dramatically different from the rule that governs the conduct of most people in the secular world. In the secular world, most people are guided by the pursuit of happiness, which to most people is either immediate gratification or advancement of some personal goal, such as wealth or success. The rule of conduct that Rabbi Yehuda haNasi advises is to act in such a way as to bring glory to himself before G-d and before others.
Bringing glory to oneself before G-d may at times seem to require different action than action which brings glory to oneself before others, but the two can be reconciled: we must find a way to follow G-d's commands that doesn't denigrate or separate ourselves from others, since G-d Himself wants us to live harmoniously in our community, as an example that makes others want to follow our lead. However what is most striking is the contrast between the self-centered rules of conduct of the modern secular world and the G-d centered rules of conduct advocated by Rabbi Yehuda haNasi. The secular person sees himself as the center of the world and a free agent, who chooses him own goals based on his personal objectives. To him, there is no objective rule of conduct, and it makes no difference to anyone other than himself what ultimate goal he chooses. To Rabbi Yehuda haNasi, and to the religious person, however, there is an eye that sees, an ear that hears, and a book in which all deeds are recorded. We are not atoms in a meaningless universe, but responsible actors in a universe that was created by and still judged by a G-d who judges and rewards or punishes us for our choices. Unlike the amoral universe of secular man, it is a profoundly moral universe, in which we are observed and judged in every detail by the Master of the universe, to whom our choices and actions matter.
"Rabbi [Yehuda haNasi] said: What is the proper path a person should choose for himself? Whatever brings glory to himself [before G-d], and grants him glory before others. Be careful with a minor mitzvah (commandment) as with a major one, for you do not know the reward for the mitzvos. Consider the loss incurred for performing a mitzvah compared to its reward, and the 'reward' received for sinning compared to the loss. Consider three things and you will not come to sin: Know what is above you: an eye that sees and an ear that hears, and all your deeds are recorded in the Book."
The advice of Rabbi Yehuda haNasi in this mishna is dramatically different from the rule that governs the conduct of most people in the secular world. In the secular world, most people are guided by the pursuit of happiness, which to most people is either immediate gratification or advancement of some personal goal, such as wealth or success. The rule of conduct that Rabbi Yehuda haNasi advises is to act in such a way as to bring glory to himself before G-d and before others.
Bringing glory to oneself before G-d may at times seem to require different action than action which brings glory to oneself before others, but the two can be reconciled: we must find a way to follow G-d's commands that doesn't denigrate or separate ourselves from others, since G-d Himself wants us to live harmoniously in our community, as an example that makes others want to follow our lead. However what is most striking is the contrast between the self-centered rules of conduct of the modern secular world and the G-d centered rules of conduct advocated by Rabbi Yehuda haNasi. The secular person sees himself as the center of the world and a free agent, who chooses him own goals based on his personal objectives. To him, there is no objective rule of conduct, and it makes no difference to anyone other than himself what ultimate goal he chooses. To Rabbi Yehuda haNasi, and to the religious person, however, there is an eye that sees, an ear that hears, and a book in which all deeds are recorded. We are not atoms in a meaningless universe, but responsible actors in a universe that was created by and still judged by a G-d who judges and rewards or punishes us for our choices. Unlike the amoral universe of secular man, it is a profoundly moral universe, in which we are observed and judged in every detail by the Master of the universe, to whom our choices and actions matter.
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