blogs/rabbi-huberman

The Torah in a Tweet #451

If you were to cite one Biblical passage as the most important in our entire tradition, what would it be?
 
Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one? (Deuteronomy 6:4)
 
Maybe.
 
It may also be "Share your food with the hungry and take the wretched poor into your home and -- when you see the naked, clothe them." (Isaiah 58:7)
 
Or perhaps it's "What does God require of you? Only to do justice, to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)
 
For centuries, our Sages have debated this question. And the answer, according to one of our greatest sages, Ben Azzai, may surprise you.
 
There is a story told in the Talmud about someone who wanted to convert to Judaism on the fast track. He insisted that the Torah be explained to him in a tweet - or, as the Talmud describes it, "while standing on one foot."
 
First he went to the great sage Shammai who, insulted by this ridiculous request, threw him out his house.
 
Undaunted, the man approached Shammai's intellectual adversary, Hillel, and made the same request. "Describe for me the Torah while I am standing on one foot." he asked.
 
The gentle Hillel smiled and said, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Everything else is commentary. Now, if you're really interested, go and study the commentary."
 
The man accepted the explanation, converted to Judaism, and became a person of great knowledge.
 
Over the centuries, it has widely been accepted that Hillel's "tweet," Love your neighbor as yourself, is one of the most important, if not the most important in the entire Jewish tradition.
 
It shines out in this week's Torah reading titled Kedoshim ("And you shall be holy").
 
The passage has been echoed and or reflected in virtually every religion: most have some variation of this "golden rule." 

The very basis of Judaism, and its ongoing interest in justice, goodness, and support of the underdog, grew from the fact that, throughout our history, we have suffered. It is embedded in our collective DNA.
 
Our people understand too well what it is like to be oppressed and persecuted. Based on our empathy and firsthand experience which began in Egypt, we are commanded not to do to others anything which is hurtful to us.
 
But is "Love your neighbor as yourself" the most important sentence in our tradition?
 
Some say yes; some say no.
 
Two of our greatest teachers, Rabbi Akiva and Ben Azzai, advanced contradictory viewpoints.
 
Akiva saw self, and therefore self-interest, as basis of "Love your neighbor as yourself." Human beings are good at that, so Rabbi Akiva saw this phrase as the most significant. 
 
Ben Azzai wasn't so sure.
 
"What if I don't like myself?" his teaching leads us consider. "And besides, who is my neighbor? Is it my fellow Jew? Is it a countryman?" In modern terms, is it someone who shares our religious beliefs, or who lives in our city, state, country?
 
Ben Azzai reached back to the earliest chapters of the Torah, and extracted a simple but poignant passage. 
 
In his view, the most important sentence in the entire Torah was: "This is the record of Adam's line." (Genesis 5:1) In other words, we each are descended from Adam and Eve.
 
What this means, of course, is that we are all connected.
 
According to his logic, we should be kind to each other not based on some notion of reciprocity, but because it is the right thing to do. His teaching inspires us to consider that there is a oneness to humanity, and to God's creation.
 
The richness of Ben Azzai's teaching has never been more important. Every day, when we turn on the television or scan the internet, we are confronted with suffering.
 
In Ecuador last month, an earthquake claimed more than six hundred fifty victims. More than twelve thousand were injured. More than twenty five thousand were displaced.
 
Earlier this month in Fort McMurray, Canada more than 88,000 residents were forced to evacuate their community. Every day, disaster or tragedy strikes somewhere in the world.
 
An earthquake in Haiti. A tsunami in Japan. Wildfires, floods - is there any end to the disasters confronting us each day?
 
It is easy to turn away. It feels impossible to make a difference. Better and easier to turn to ourselves, and take care of our own families and our own immediate surroundings. Thereby we limit the definition of the word neighbor.
 
But now more than ever, at the click of a mouse, we find our neighbors across the globe, and where there are neighbors, there are always ways to help others in their time of need. 
 
We've widened our perspective in so many other ways. This - the opportunity to reach out, to help - should be the first and best reason for so doing.
 
In this week's Torah portion we are also reminded to leave a portion of our fields behind for the poor and the stranger. 

We're taught that much of what we own, in spite of our hard work, is not truly ours. We were lucky to be born where we were.  Most of our parents encouraged and protected us.  Therefore we acknowledge that part of our success is based on time, place and aptitude which we inherited at birth.
 
So, based on Ben Azzai's expansion of Rabbi Akiva's teaching, we must expand our definition of what a neighbor can be.
 
We are all descendants of Adam and Eve. We are each of us neighbors to one another.
 
It has been moving for our family that so many of you have reached out after reading news reports, or watching footage regarding the devastating forest fire which raged in our home town of Fort McMurray.
 
This afternoon, through donations from congregants and colleagues, a check was mailed to the Edmonton Jewish Federation for $2,820 US. When matched by both the Canadian and Alberta governments, this amount, will multiply to more than $10,000 in Canadian funds.
 
That does not include the donations you have made to the Canadian Red Cross and other aid organizations.
 
We spend a lot of time criticizing each other. But look at this glowing example of people moved to make a difference.
 
The more than $10,000 will buy blankets, food, transportation, school books, and other supplies as residents of Fort McMurray struggle to pick up the pieces.
 
Thank you.
 
But unfortunately, as we have learned, the end of one world disaster often leads to the beginning of another. Let us therefore continue to make support of others part of our kindness routine.
 
This week we're reminded that much of what we own is not truly ours. It lays in wait, ready to help those who suffer, to invest in the well-being of all the descendants of Adam and Eve.
 
We are also encouraged not to turn our gaze away from misfortune. God has provided us with the ability to make a difference. With the power of technology, this has never been truer.
 
We are all neighbors, and God intended it that way. In a world too often focused on our differences, Ben Azzai teaches that differences are nothing when compared to what unites us.
 
No one is better than anyone else.
 
And we are all in this together.
 
Shabbat shalom, v'kol tuv (with all goodness)
 
Rabbi Irwin Huberman