Sacred Conflict
Pirkei Avot 5:17
Every argument that is [for the sake of] heaven's name, it is destined to endure. But if it is not [for the sake of] heaven's name -- it is not destined to endure.
Every argument that is [for the sake of] heaven's name, it is destined to endure. But if it is not [for the sake of] heaven's name -- it is not destined to endure.
- What is an argument 'for the sake of heaven'? What does it mean for an argument to endure?
- Think about a recent argument or disagreement you had. How did you feel afterwards? Can you name what about the argument made you feel this way?
Tosefta Sotah 7:12
Make for yourself a heart of many rooms, and enter into it the words of Beit Shammai and the words of Beit Hillel, the words of those who declare a matter impure, and those who declare it pure.
Make for yourself a heart of many rooms, and enter into it the words of Beit Shammai and the words of Beit Hillel, the words of those who declare a matter impure, and those who declare it pure.
And most important of all is (drum roll please)...
Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat, 31a
On another occasion it happened that a certain non-Jew came before Shammai and said to him, “I will convert to Judaism, on condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot.” Shammai chased him away with the builder's tool that was in his hand. He came before Hillel and said to him, "Convert me." Hillel said to him, “What is hateful to you, do not to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary; go and learn it.”
On another occasion it happened that a certain non-Jew came before Shammai and said to him, “I will convert to Judaism, on condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot.” Shammai chased him away with the builder's tool that was in his hand. He came before Hillel and said to him, "Convert me." Hillel said to him, “What is hateful to you, do not to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary; go and learn it.”
- How would you have responded in this situation?
- How does Hillel's response play out in your lives?
Pirkei Avot 1:2
Shimon the Righteous was of the last of the Great Assembly. He would say: On three things the world stands–on the Torah, on the service, and on acts of kindness.
Shimon the Righteous was of the last of the Great Assembly. He would say: On three things the world stands–on the Torah, on the service, and on acts of kindness.
- What do you think of Shimon's list? Would you create a different a list?
Maimonides, Gifts to the Needy, 8:10
Pidyon sh'vuyim (redeeming of captives) takes precedence over providing food and clothing for the poor. There is no greater mitzvah than pidyon sh'vuyim, for the captive is in the category of the starving, the thirsting, and the naked, indeed, in danger of losing his own life. One who remains indifferent to his redemption transgresses [the Biblical commandments] "Do not harden your heart... Do not stand by the blood of your brother" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." There is no more inclusive mitzvah than pidyon sh'vuyim.
Pidyon sh'vuyim (redeeming of captives) takes precedence over providing food and clothing for the poor. There is no greater mitzvah than pidyon sh'vuyim, for the captive is in the category of the starving, the thirsting, and the naked, indeed, in danger of losing his own life. One who remains indifferent to his redemption transgresses [the Biblical commandments] "Do not harden your heart... Do not stand by the blood of your brother" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." There is no more inclusive mitzvah than pidyon sh'vuyim.
"When you come to a fork in the road-- take it"
An ethical dilemma is a complex situation that often involves an apparent mental conflict between moral imperatives, in which to obey one would result in transgressing another.
Babylonian Talmud Bava Metzia 71a
R. Yosef taught: “If you lend money to any of my people that are poor with you” (Exodus 22:24): [This teaches, that if the choice lies between] a Jew and a non-Jew, the Jew has preference; the poor or the rich the poor takes precedence; your poor [i.e. your relatives] and the [general] poor of your town, your poor come first; the poor of your city and the poor of another town the poor of your own town have prior rights.
R. Yosef taught: “If you lend money to any of my people that are poor with you” (Exodus 22:24): [This teaches, that if the choice lies between] a Jew and a non-Jew, the Jew has preference; the poor or the rich the poor takes precedence; your poor [i.e. your relatives] and the [general] poor of your town, your poor come first; the poor of your city and the poor of another town the poor of your own town have prior rights.
Babylonian Talmud Gittin 61a
Our Rabbis taught: We sustain the non-Jewish poor with the Jewish poor, visit the non-Jewish sick with the Jewish sick, and bury the non-Jewish dead with the Jewish dead, for the sake of peace.
Our Rabbis taught: We sustain the non-Jewish poor with the Jewish poor, visit the non-Jewish sick with the Jewish sick, and bury the non-Jewish dead with the Jewish dead, for the sake of peace.
- If you imagine a conversation between the rabbis of these two talmudic statements, what would they say to each other? Do they agree? Disagree? What values are they weighing?
- What happens when finite resources (money, time) bump up against real, important issues that we care about? How do we balance it all?
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
David Hume noted that our sense of empathy diminishes as we move outward from the members of our family to our neighbors, our society and the world. Traditionally, our sense of involvement with the fate of others has been in inverse proportion to the distance separating us and them. What has changed is that television and the Internet have effectively abolished distance. They have brought images of suffering in far-off lands into our immediate experience. Our sense of compassion for the victims of poverty, war and famine, runs ahead of our capacity to act. Our moral sense is simultaneously activated and frustrated. We feel that something should be done, but what, how, and by whom?
David Hume noted that our sense of empathy diminishes as we move outward from the members of our family to our neighbors, our society and the world. Traditionally, our sense of involvement with the fate of others has been in inverse proportion to the distance separating us and them. What has changed is that television and the Internet have effectively abolished distance. They have brought images of suffering in far-off lands into our immediate experience. Our sense of compassion for the victims of poverty, war and famine, runs ahead of our capacity to act. Our moral sense is simultaneously activated and frustrated. We feel that something should be done, but what, how, and by whom?
- How does Rabbi Sacks weigh-in on the Talmudic discussion above?
- Do you agree with his sense of the changing times? How does this impact the way you prioritize your resources?
What the heck are we doing here?
Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin 40b
Rabbi Tarfon and some elders were reclining in an upper chamber in the house of Nitza in Lod when this question came up: Which is greater, study or action? Rabbi Tarfon spoke up and said: Action is greater. Rabbi Akiva spoke up and said: Study is greater. The others then spoke up and said: Study is greater because it leads to action.
Rabbi Tarfon and some elders were reclining in an upper chamber in the house of Nitza in Lod when this question came up: Which is greater, study or action? Rabbi Tarfon spoke up and said: Action is greater. Rabbi Akiva spoke up and said: Study is greater. The others then spoke up and said: Study is greater because it leads to action.
So, what should we learn about this year? What are you passionate about?
"Be Yourself-- everyone else is already taken." -- Oscar Wilde