blogs/rabbi-huberman

Perhaps one of today’s wisest and most quoted Jewish sources doesn’t come from the Torah nor the Talmud.

Ask most Jews to cite their favorite Torah passage, or a teaching from the Sayings of Our Sages, and you’ll probably get an uneasy stare or shrug. 

And you are not alone. Before I began my formal rabbinical training 25 years ago, I was among the majority.

When a passionate Christian would quote, or worse mistranslate, a line from the Torah or the Book of Isaiah, I would often feel “Jewbarrassed.”

We are not a people who takes pride in spouting biblical quotes. Rather, we prefer to riff and discuss about being Jewish, and the tradition upon which we stand.

On the other hand, quote Tevye from the 1971 Broadway production, Fiddler on the Roof, or one of Sholom Aleichem’s other shtetl characters, and now we’re talking.

Perchik: Money is the world's curse.

Tevye: May the Lord smite me with it. And may I never recover!

Tevye: Dear God. I know we are the chosen people. But once in a while, can’t you choose someone else?

Tevye: It's no shame to be poor, but it's no great honor either.

And perhaps my favorite…

Villager: We should defend ourselves. An eye for an eye—a tooth for a tooth!

Tevye: Very good. That way the whole world will be blind and toothless.

Within Tevye’s mangled Jewish quotations, his "wisdom" remains relevant and quotable to this day.

It is especially true as we consider a verse which appears near the close of this week’s Torah portion, Emor, (“Speak to the Priests”). We are presented with one of the most quoted and, perhaps, most abused phrases within all of western religion.

“If anyone maims his fellow, as he has done, so shall it be done to him; fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” (Leviticus 24:18-19).

This biblical verse leaves much room for interpretation.

Some Talmudic Sages have argued that this biblical sentence should be taken literally—that revenge and reciprocity are essential components of a “just society.”

But the vast majority of rabbis disagree.

They contend that knocking out someone’s tooth or blinding them serves no purpose other than, as Tevye notes, “to create a blind and toothless world.”

Rather, our Sages promoted a model of financial restitution.

The great Sage, Moshe ben Nachman—more commonly known as Nachmanides—noted that when someone causes physical harm, “What he must do is pay him the amount of the damage he did to him.”

These teachings provide a wonderful window into the way Judaism has remained relevant over the centuries.

Perhaps, as one colleague noted, this also explains why there are so many Jewish lawyers. It is about an evolving system of justice to suit changing times.

We do not prescribe to the ancient concept that if someone harms you, then you are entitled to return the injury with twice the force.

To this day, some Sharia courts will cut off the hand of a thief, to extract Justice. Rather, Judaism maintains that this philosophy of revolving revenge is a slippery slope that can easily lure us—as individuals and as communities—into darkness and distraction.

It is worth noting that during 2024, in this country, 16,576 people died due to gun violence.

And many of those deaths—whether they occurred in the inner city or in more affluent communities—were perpetrated because someone believed they had the right to retaliate.

This is, perhaps, one reason why through the centuries, our Sages have instructed us to interpret Torah, rather than double down upon its precise words.

While other religions may take the “eye for an eye” directive literally, Judaism seeks justice and resolution without supporting additional harm or injury.

Or according to Tevye, “If you spit in the air, it lands in your face.”

So, while this week’s Torah portion may appear to direct us towards a theology of revenge, it also inspires us to consider how we truly can achieve justice.

The Torah instructs us, Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof—”Justice, justice shall we pursue.” Perhaps the word justice is mentioned twice to remind us to think—at least twice—before giving into the simplicity of anger and revenge.

How do we navigate a post October 7 world, or this current climate of anti-Semitism? Where does the pursuit of justice and security begin, and where does punishment and retribution end?

This discussion has permeated our tradition since the beginning of Jewish history.

We are also reminded that while the first five Commandments deal with our relationship with God, the second five relate to how we should interact with each other.

The two must work in harmony, within the context of each generation.

It is the way we—as a Jewish people—have survived for thousands of years. We have regularly embraced difficult and painful discussions as we pursue our eternal mission to develop a more just and perfect world.

And these the words—from the desert to Anatevka, to today’s modern and complex world—have in the words of Tevye, helped us keep our balance for “many, many years.”

A tough Torah, tempered by wisdom, discussion and debate..

Indeed, without the tradition of balance, which has sustained us from generation to generation, “our lives would be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof.”

Shabbat shalom, v’kol tuv,

Rabbi Irwin Huberman