Kedoshim 5771/2011
©Rabbi Neil A. Tow
“Living the Values”
“Value” is a great selling point.
“A good value”, “Value-added”, “Best values in town.”
Value is not only a great selling point for cars and electronics, but also for political campaigns and organizations, like synagogues.
We hear terms like “Family Values” or “Jewish Values”.
While all of these “values” are positive, i.e. they are designed to provide benefits when we’re talking about things, or to represent the best of our beliefs and aspirations when we’re talking about our programs for life and faith – from time to time it’s important to step back from the terms and to make sure we’re clear about what we mean.
Often we hear criticism of values messages that are tied to belief and ritual structures as in religion.
Often we hear that specific values statements are secondary to a basic premise, “Being a good person.”
Being good people is a worthwhile goal, but it’s unclear what exactly “being a good person” means.
“Good” or “goodness” is a relative term, not an absolute one, and what one person, religion, society believes is good may be less so in another place.
Jewish values, God’s teachings, are meant to be eternal, and meaningful through every generation.
If we are to be “good people”, we must give attention to the teachings in this week’s parasha, Kedoshim, that challenge us to think carefully and critically about how to explain and express the values encoded in the Torah message. We need to be clear about what it means for us to be good people.
I hope that the discussion tonight will be the beginning of a longer and wider discussion about how we teach and act on Jewish values here in our synagogue, in our homes, in the street, at work, at play. If we’re going to strive always to be good people, we need to be good people wherever we are, in whatever we’re saying or doing. And we need to be willing and humble enough to recognize when we haven’t been as good as we were able to be.
Let’s take one example of a teaching a values based message from this week’s parasha.
“Lo tikom ve’lo titor et bnay amecha”, “Do not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your fellow human beings…” What is the value addressed by this statement? Striving to live in harmony with other human beings. Forgiveness. Letting go of past wrongs in hope of creating future rights. Anything else?
What does it mean to take vengeance? What does it mean to bear a grudge?
Rashi shares a teaching: Vengeance = Reuben says, “Lend me your sickle.” Shimon says, “No.” The next day, Shimon says, “Lend me your hammer.” Reuben says, “No, I’m not lending to you just like you didn’t lend to me.”
Grudge = Reuben, “Lend me your hammer.” Shimon says, “No”. The next day, Shimon says, “Lend me your sickle.” Reuben says, “Here, take it, I’m not going to be like you who didn’t lend to me.”
The Rabbis in the Talmud argue that the verse from this week’s parasha refers only to property issues – the tool exchange, that otherwise it might be permissible in the case of a great teacher, who seeks to defens his/her honor, unlike King Saul who gave up his honor (machal al kevodo). (Yoma 23a)
A midrash (B.Rabba Teodor-Albek, Vayera, 55, R’Avin Patach) suggests that we’re not to take vengeance or bear grudges amongst ourselves, but that God will carry out vengeance against other nations who wrong us.
Now that we’ve explored one of the values in this week’s parsha. How do we teach this to our children? How do we teach it to ourselves?
Ideas: Model it, discuss it around the table, debate it, values artwork – post it in our houses as reminders, study the Torah commentaries on it, write about it, project the value into public discourse in our towns – with local politicians, school boards, parent teacher associations…
The Torah teaches us that we live by these teachings and that they give us life, “Ve’chai bahem”(Lev. 18:5). May they become one with our lives, one with ourselves, one with our children, and one with our community our world in our hopes and dreams and in reality. Amen.
Shabbat Shalom.
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