blogs/rabbi-huberman

The other day, while working on a book capturing the words of my late mentor, Rabbi Joseph Ehrenkranz, I came across a quote, which I’ve been thinking about all week.

“No matter how hard you pray or all the promises you make to God, if you aren’t liked by other people, then God is not impressed,” Rabbi Joe told me in 2013 as we sat on a Tel Aviv rooftop.

His quote is a variation on Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa’s advice recorded 2,000 years ago in Pirkei Avot, Judaism’s ancient collection of wise sayings.

Said Rabbi Chanina, “When one pleases his fellow creatures, God is pleased. When one does not please his fellow creatures, God is not pleased.” (PA 3:13)

His words, in many ways, punctuate the uniqueness of Judaism. For Judaism does not fix its eyes on the hereafter — only on the here and now.

Will God reward or punish us at the end of our days?

Do we actually think we can bribe God into a good outcome by doing things that we think God wants of us?

Rather, we are taught that God is more concerned about how we treat our fellow human beings — than how we obey or interpret words on a biblical page.

Which leads us to this week’s Torah portion titled Re’eh — literally “See.” As Moses continues his final instructions to the Jewish people, he reminds the Israelites that so much of our future lays in our own hands.

Says Moses, “See, this day, I put before you blessing and curse.” (Deut. 11:20) Which one will we choose?

Moses then offers advice regarding how to make that right choice. He says, “Do what is good and upright in the eyes of God." (Deut. 12:28). 

What does “upright” mean?

Our greatest commentator, Rashi (1040-1105), wrote that while it is important to remain close with God — it is more important to maintain your uprightness with your fellow human beings.

There is a story told in the Talmud about the great Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai who, on his deathbed, is asked by his students for a final blessing.

Of all the quotes Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai could have chosen, he pointed in his final blessing to this week’s words from Moses: "Do what is good and upright in the eyes of God."

The perhaps redundant word "upright" is included in the verse, say our Sages, to remind us that acting righteously, with other people in mind, is what God wants most of us.

For our tradition tells us that we are on this earth largely to help God complete creation. While all the physical things we need to survive were created at the dawn of time, there is so much for us to perfect — person to person.

This past week, Patte and I took a brief trip into the city. It was designed as a respite. We found a nice Airbnb apartment away from the heart of the city, and pledged to walk miles a day — which we did.

And yet, somehow, late one evening, we were drawn into Times Square. Safely masked and maintaining significant social distance we observed homeless people laying or wandering in the streets. Some were obviously ill.

We didn’t stay long, and we maintained our distance, but the experience jarred us. Indeed, while we had intended our two-day sojourn to help us withdraw and relax, we found ourselves engaged — asking ourselves: Is God pleased?

Friends, there has been remarkable progress in New York’s fight against Covid 19. We are all beginning to lower our masks while still respecting social distance.

But is the work complete?

This week’s Torah portion also reminds us, “that there will never cease to be needy ones in your land.” (Deuteronomy 15:11)

We left Manhattan sobered by the fact that there are still so many uncared for or ill that seemingly no one wants to touch or rescue.

Are we being upright?

We returned to Long Island with somewhat conflicted hearts.

Yes, we are counting our blessings here. We are profoundly grateful for our own health and that of the community. But there are still curses to be addressed.

Is it our business? Are those on the streets deserving of their fate? Are we being truly upright?

In this week’s Torah portion, we are reminded that our own destiny and the fate of humanity lay in our hands.

There will always be rich and poor, sick and healthy among us. Do we bear any responsibility to help heal this imperfect world?

There are numerous initiatives making a difference, including the Coalition for the Homeless and New York Cares. Please support these organizations, or instruct the Cantor or me to record and direct your donations.

This week, as we launch into the Jewish month of Elul, which immediately precedes the High Holidays, let us not forget there are still people out there who are sick and ignored.

Quoting many Sages, both ancient and modern, “while we can’t complete the task, we are not permitted to neglect it.” (PA 2:21)

We didn’t intend to walk into Times Square. Perhaps God directed us there. But since we’ve seen what we’ve seen, it is difficult to turn away.

How do we remain upright with ourselves and with God when there is still so much to be done.

As my father taught me during my first trip to New York, at age 11, as we stood under an awning watching passersby at 45^th and Broadway, “Each of us has a soul, with hopes and dreams. Each one of us has a right to live.”

Yes, we need to take care of our own, but are we truly doing all that we can for the needy among us?

We may be safe, but let us ask the question, are we truly upright?

More importantly, as a society, is God truly pleased with us right now?

Shabbat Shalom, v’kol tuv.

Rabbi Irwin Huberman

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