The Roots of Our Ideals
讚讘专讬诐 专讘讛 讛:讟讜
讚状讗 讜拽专讗转 讗诇讬讛 诇砖诇讜诐 专讗讛 讻诪讛 讛讜讗 讻讞讜 砖诇 砖诇讜诐 讘讜讗 讜专讗讛 讘状讜 讗诐 讬砖 诇讜 砖讜谞讗 讛讜讗 诪讘拽砖 讜诪讞讝专 诪讛 诇注砖讜转 诇讜 诪讛讜 注讜砖讛 诇讜 讛讜诇讱 讜诪讻讘讚 诇讗讚诐 讙讚讜诇 诪诪谞讜 砖讬注砖讛 诇讗讜转讜 砖讜谞讗 专注讛 讗讘诇 讛拽讘状讛 讗讬谞讜 讻谉 讗诇讗 讻诇 注讜讘讚讬 讻讜讻讘讬诐 诪讻注讬住讬谉 讗讜转讜 讜讛谉 讬砖谞讬诐 讜讻诇 讛谞驻砖讜转 注讜诇讜转 讗爪诇讜 诪谞讬谉 砖谞讗诪专 (讗讬讜讘 讬讘) 讗砖专 讘讬讚讜 谞驻砖 讻诇 讞讬 讜讘讘拽专 讛讜讗 诪讞讝讬专 诇讻诇 讗讞讚 讜讗讞讚 谞砖诪转讜
讚状讗 讘状讜 讗诐 讬注砖讛 诇讞讘专讜 专注讛 讗讬谞讛 讝讝讛 诪诇讘讜 诇注讜诇诐 讗讘诇 讛拽讘状讛 讗讬谞讜 讻谉 讗诇讗 讛讬讜 讬砖专讗诇 讘诪爪专讬诐 讜讛讬讜 讛诪爪专讬诐 诪砖注讘讚讬谉 讗讜转诐 讘讟讬讟 讜讘诇讘谞讬诐 诇讗讞专 讻诇 讛专注讜转 砖注砖讜 诇讬砖专讗诇 讞住 讛讻转讜讘 注诇讬讛谉 讜讗诪专 (讚讘专讬诐 讻状讙) 诇讗 转转注讘 诪爪专讬 讻讬 讙专 讛讬讬转 讘讗专爪讜 讗诇讗 专讚驻讜 讗讞专 讛砖诇讜诐 砖谞讗壮 (转讛诇讬诐 诇讚) 讘拽砖 砖诇讜诐 讜专讚驻讛讜
Deuteronomy Rabbah 5:15
Another explanation: “[When you approach a town to attack it,] you shall offer it terms of peace” (Deut. 20:10). See how great the power of peace is! Come and see: If one has an enemy, one continually seeks to harm him somehow. What does one do? One goes and entices a person stronger than oneself to harm that enemy. With the Blessed Holy One, however, it is not so; rather, all the nations of the world anger Him, yet when they sleep their souls go up to Him [for safekeeping]. From where [do we learn this]? As it is said, “In His hand is every living soul, [and the breath of all humankind]” (Job 12:10). In the morning He restores to everyone his soul . . .
Another explanation: If a man injures another, his fellow never forgets it; but not so God. Israel was in Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them with mud and bricks. After all the evil they had done to Israel, Scripture had pity upon them and decreed, “. . . You shall not abhor an Egyptian, for you were a stranger in his land” (Deut. 23:8). Instead, chase after peace, as it is said, “. . . seek peace and pursue it” (Ps. 34:15).
“Peacetime” may seem today like a distant memory, yet ancient texts like the midrash above show how far we have advanced from the conflicts of biblical times. If our Sages could express that insight in their generation (nearly two millennia ago and just centuries after Israel conquered Canaan), it behooves us to appreciate how our Torah has inspired us and our non-Jewish allies to pursue peace in this global age.
The midrashic explanations above illustrate how rabbinic tradition identifies the source for our highest humanitarian ideals: God’s protection for even His enemies when they are defenseless, the Torah’s command that we treat our Egyptian adversaries humanely specifically because they oppressed us. Not only are these concepts counterintuitive, but they demonstrate the spiritual wisdom of supporting peace-building efforts in the face of real and potential conflict.
During this week and last, Chancellor Eisen has posted on his “Conservative Judaism: A Community Conversation” blog a two-part essay entitled “Jews and Others.” In it he presents our people’s covenant with God as a modern framework for mediating between particularism and universalism, between our loyalty to other Jews and our allegiances with non-Jews. Dr. Eisen presents deeper study of Judaism and other faiths as a necessary parallel to our social action pursuits in partnership with non-Jewish groups. His words, like those of our ancient Sages, remind me that our Torah begins not with Abraham but with Adam, that our unique understanding of humanity’s creation in God’s image requires us to engage all of our neighbors in the work of repairing and perfecting the world in which we live.
