As we draw closer to the Yom Tov of Shevous it is well to remember the true essence of this Yom Tov and its lesson that is so needed in our day and age. I do so by remembering the words of the Rav. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik זצ׳ל.
The Rav, spoke of our past galuyot, exiles, which the Jewish people endured in Egypt and Persia and how our people were subjugated by threatening tyrants whose nefarious plans would have spelled the end of Jewish history.
It is only from the vantage point of historical distance, as we Jews study the past, may we arrive at some appreciation of the enduring influences which these two exile experiences have had upon the Jewish personality.
After much involved philosophical, theological and Halachic discussion, the Rav suggested that there are two basic ingredients to a Judaic way of life, to Torah; Faith and Morality. The Decalogue, the Ten Commandments were, as we know, inscribed upon two Tablets of the Law. The first five Commandments deal with acts of faith which relate man to his Maker, while the latter five prohibit anti-social acts, between man and his fellow man.
The Torah introduces the Decalogue with the verse: “וידבר אלוקים את כל הדברים האלה לאמר And G-d spoke all these words saying", Rashi notes that the verse would be entirely meaningful without the redundant word "all" stating simply that “G-d spoke these worlds saying, etc.” He therefore explains, “this teaches us that Hashem pronounced all these words in a single utterance, an impossibility for human beings.”
What is the significance of G-d’s simultaneous utterance of the entire Decalogue? It teaches us that all Ten Commandments constitute an indivisible organic unity. We have not ten commandments but one, with ten aspects. The word “all” in this context does not mean “all of them,” which characterizes a numerical sum total of independent teachings, but rather a totality, an interdependent oneness of all its seeming parts. Faith and morality are integrally one and inseparable.
The Rav presented the following questions: Can a secular state nurture a moral society? Can a culture which is indifferent to the transcendental imperative inspire ethical performance in private or public life?
In past decades, secular humanists were certain that man could be induced and motivated to pursue ethical norms without the absolute imperative of the Divine. Our thesis is that in the long run and for the masses of society, there can be no such thing. Either man accepts the authority of G-d as the legislator of the moral norm, or he will eventually fail in all attempts to create a moral society, a relativistic man-made moral order will simply not endure. The inability of modern secularism to motivate ethical behavior in private or public life is evidence of this truth.
The Verse: "When a person sins and commits a trespass against Hashem by dealing falsely with his neighbor", is homiletically interpreted by our sages as follows: He who commits a trespass against Hashem will eventually also deal falsely with his neighbor. Morality without faith cannot sustain itself.
An interesting Midrash supports this idea; Rabbi Reuven was asked by a philosopher of Tiberias: “Who is the most hateful, morally dangerous person in the world?” He replied, “He who denies his creator, because the denial of all norms follows if one rejects G-d. No man violates a law unless he first repudiates the legislative authority of the law.”
Man can easily rationalize his crime, declare norms to be relative and proclaim himself the arbiter of right and wrong. With most people, the baser part of their natures will tend to dominate. Indeed, the moral bankruptcy of secularism is apparent to all students of our contemporary world.
By declaring the indivisible unity of both tablets of the Decalogue, G-d declared that, without faith, morality cannot be sustained.
It is equally true that there can be no faith, without loving kindness. People who are ritualistically observant but ethically deficient destroy Judaism. The self-righteousness and presumed piety are hypocritical. Here too, G-d’s combined utterance, proclaim the indivisibility of the entire Decalogue.
In the final analysis said the Rav, authentic Judaism will prevail over secularists and deviationists only if it results in the superior value system of ethical behavior. G-d may be worshiped only if we first make peace with our fellow man. There can be no Judaism without morality.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Daniel Mehlman
