blogs/rabbi-huberman

We live in a divided country. We live in a divided world.

There are haves. There are have nots.

Too often, too many of God's creatures seek fortitude by clustering with those who look, worship, and behave exactly like them.

Too often, we find ourselves divided between "left" and "right," or by skin color, country of origin, religion, or perspective.

We live in a world of competing truths, rather than the pursuit of peace and compromise.

Has there ever been a more important moment for the Bible to step up and provide some advice?

I'd like to introduce you to Shimon Ben Azzai, a sage who lived during the first half of the second century, and who had the chutzpah to question what had been considered the undisputable choice for the Torah's "most important line."

Up to Ben Azzai's time, the most important verse in the entire Torah -- as identified by the great Rabbi Akiva -- was "love your fellow as yourself." (Leviticus 19:18).

The great Rabbi Hillel, when asked to teach the Torah "on one foot," chose a variation on that theme, stating that "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow." (Shabbat 31a)

Enter Ben Azzai, a disciple of Rabbi Akiva, who took the parameters of "love" to the next level.

It was Ben Azzai who, while extolling the virtues of loving our neighbor, wondered if that placed limits on our capacity to love.

He argued that the most important line in the Torah, and perhaps within Judaism, is found in Genesis, Chapter 5:1:

"This is the record of Adam's line."

What did Ben Azzai find so compelling about this seemingly clerical reference to Biblical genealogy?

Indeed, Ben Azzai was