blogs/rabbi-huberman

Judaism: "all you need to know"

One evening during my first year of rabbinical school, I found myself struggling with a particularly challenging piece of Talmud.

The Aramaic was difficult. The concept was even tougher.

Unable to comprehend some particularly obscure ancient passage about animal sacrifice, I called my mentor Rabbi Joseph Ehrenkranz (of blessed memory) and uttered ten somber words.

"Maybe I am not cut out to be a rabbi."

After a pause, Rabbi Ehrenkranz offered these gentle words.

"Don't be ridiculous," he said. "Get yourself over to my house right now."

This was no simple task. It was already 9:30 pm, and he was asking me to get from New York to Stamford.

When I got there, still discouraged, Rabbi Joe pulled me into his study, pulled out a volume of Talmud, riffled to Maccot, page 24a, and instructed me to read a simple passage which began, "What does God want from us?"

After I finished, I raised my head and smiled. Rabbi Ehrenkranz said, "This is all you need to be able to teach people. Now go back and become a rabbi."

And I did.

* * *

More than five years later, as the time came for me to graduate rabbinical school, our dean, Dr. Ora Prouser, sent me an email.

"What Biblical passage would you like to align yourself with as AJR officially ordains you?" she asked.

And I answered with the same passage which Rabbi Ehrenkranz led me to in the early months of my studies. And these are same words from the Prophet Micah, which we will read this Shabbat, at the close of the Haftorah following the reading of the Torah.

It is why in my eyes the Prophet Micah shines as one of the most inspiring of all the figures in our Torah and biblical texts.

It was Micah (737-696 BCE) who criticized the Israelites for their dishonesty in the marketplace. He was incensed at bribery and corruption within government, and he warned the Israelites and their leaders on behalf of God to change their ways.

But unlike many of today's leaders, he did not just criticize. Rather, he offered a three-point plan which, if followed, can make any human being the most pious, religious, and righteous person on the planet.

* * *

The rabbis whose debates and discussions are contained in the Talmud were not that different from you and me. They pondered the meaning of life, and offered suggestions on how to live according to God's will.

They realized that life is a mystery. How did we get here? Where do we go at the end of our days? How can we live our lives with meaning?

Some argued that God wants us to follow the letter of the law. Some claimed the world is based on a complex series of rewards and punishment. Others insisted that living life to its fullest involves embracing certain values or core concepts.

So they ask the question, as Micah did centuries earlier, "what does God want from us?"

This did not come easy. First they referred to a passage, supposedly written by King David, which they observed boiled down the entire Torah into eleven human qualities. Who is the Godliest person?

The person who walks upright.

The person who works righteously.

The person who speaks truth from their heart.

The person who does not slander.

The person who does not commit evil against another.

The person who does not plot against their neighbor.

The person who despises an evil person.

The person who honors and respects God.

The person who tolerates their own pain and does not blame God.

The person who does not charge interest.

The person who does not accept a bribe.

But that list seemed too lengthy.

So the rabbis went back to the drawing board, and found a passage from Isaiah which some thought expressed the meaning of life into six principles.

What type of person does God praise?

The person who walks righteously.

The person who speaks honestly.

The person who does not benefit from oppression.

The person who does not take bribes.

The person who avoids gossip.

The person who closes their eyes and avoids evil.

But that list was too complex. Besides, there was too much room to argue some of the points.

Finally, the rabbis turned to Micah, who more than a thousand years earlier offered words which continue to inspire.

I often share them with those who come into my office who claim "Rabbi, I'm not really religious." And I disagree.

Because as Micah stated thousands of years ago, and as the rabbis concluded when they redacted the Talmud, above all, there are three things which God wants of us.

To quote Micah:

Only to do justice, love goodness, and walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

There are also many within our society who hold on to what they have as an entitlement. There are so many just causes in this world which remain unsupported. 

There is so much inequality in this world, and so many turn a blind eye. They are too many bystanders and not enough upstanders.

Do justice.

There are some in this world who act one way in synagogue or church, but when they leave the sanctuary walls and re-enter the "marketplace," they leave their piety behind.

Indeed, goodness is a way of life. It demands that we bring God with us in each of our interactions. It demands as the Talmud instructs to approach humanity, "with a cheerful countenance."

Love goodness.

As well, too many walk this earth believing that they possess the inside track to life's meaning: that there is one God and one way.

But there are many paths. Each of us is wired differently. Each of us, within love's light, can perceive God and our life journey in a unique way.

And while it is wonderful to meet, convene, and express our religion within groups, we should maintain our beliefs with a degree of humility.

And walk humbly with your God.

I believe Micah had it right twenty-seven hundred years ago.

And as they say, all the rest is commentary.

* * *

As many of you are aware, I am officially on holiday this week and next.

I have been spending much of my time drawing on words and lessons from my mentor, Rabbi Joseph Ehrenkranz, which will form the basis of a book I hope to complete next year.

Exactly three years ago, as we sat by a lake in Connecticut, discussing some of the most "under-taught" lessons in Judaism, we reflected upon Micah's three part advice to the Jewish people.

I reminded him of that day a few years earlier when directly to Micah's words of wisdom.

"Was I wrong?" Rabbi Joe asked.

"No," I replied. "Judaism is really about those three things. And anyone can follow Judaism's beauty, no matter what their level of practice is."

"That's the problem," he added. "We were raised to believe Judaism was about doing things - the rituals, the obligations, when all along it is about values."

He then paused and rose from his lawn chair, faced the lake, and begin preaching to a congregation of ducks that had landed nearby.

"Why didn't we learn this on the first day of Hebrew school?" he called out as the birds scattered.

"Why don't teachers teach that kindness, justice, goodness and humility are where Judaism begins?"

He paused, sighed and sat back down.

It is one reason why our Limud Hebrew School begins each semester with lessons and studies which center on kindness. It's where our principal, teachers, and clergy begin.

Barely six months after that day at lake, Rabbi Ehrenkranz was gone.

But his life continues to inspire me teach "values first" before we concern ourselves with the minutia of observance.

Without values, Judaism lacks focus. It collapses with no core.

So tomorrow, at both our sanctuary service which I will lead, and our spiritual Shabbat walk which will be guided at Garvies Point by Cantor Gustavo, we will read the ageless words of Micah, as we search like those who came before us for answers.

What does God want of us?

"Only to do goodness, love justice and walk humbly with your God."

And I will close my eyes, and remember Rabbi Joe. Who really taught me all that I needed to know.

And I will never forget.

 

Shabbat shalom, v'kol tuv (with all goodness)

Rabbi Irwin Huberman