Pirkei Avot 4:1
quoted from Torah.org
Jewish Macho
by Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld
Who is rich? He who is satisfied with his lot may not be the sort of answer we'd like to hear when we consider our incomes, especially in a difficult economic climate. This is especially true based on an article I found at Mother Jones yesterday which states that the gap between the rich and the rest of us in the U.S. is the widest it's ever been in the history of our nation (complete with charts and graphs). While average incomes dropped (adjusting for inflation) from 1979 to 2009 for the majority of citizens, they actually skyrocketed for the top 1% of American earners.
I'm at an age where I have an increased interest in how or if I'm going to be able to retire someday (although everyone should start thinking in this direction from the moment they earn their first paycheck) and this is not happy news. But is there a difference between providing an adequate income and "financial security" (if such a thing exists) for my family and the ambition to "keep up with the Joneses", so to speak? In troubled times, should I, like many Americans or people in the west, continue the course to conspicuous consumption, faster cars, bigger boats, larger houses, and humongous debt?
I don't strive for these things personally, but with all the toys and goodies available on the market, it's hard not to be tempted and instead, to be "satisfied with my lot."
I read an article this morning published at Chabad of Mineola called Daily Judgment. I encourage you to click the link and read the entire write up (it's not long) but in part, the author, Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles says:
A young scholar came to Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov with a question. He had discovered a contradiction in the teachings of the sages, and wanted to hear how the chassidic master would resolve it. On the one hand, the Talmud states that a person’s parnassah (income and livelihood) for the entire year is determined on Rosh Hashanah. On the other hand, it also declares that “a person is judged each day” for his livelihood. Was this not a contradiction?In order to address the young Talmud scholar's question, the Baal Shem Tov used a local water-carrier as an example (think of him sort of like Tevye "with a pole across his back and a pail of water tied at each end"). While the Baal Shem Tov upholds the ruling that a person's income for the year is set at Rosh Hashanah, he uses two separate conversations with the water-carrier to illustrate that his attitude about how he receives each day's work changes, "depending on the daily judgment." This is the water-carrier's judgment of how he perceives his life and his toil, not God's.
This works for us, too. It doesn't necessarily mean we shouldn't try to get ahead, apply for better jobs, ask for a raise, and strive to provide a better living for our families, but there are many things about our lives and our work in our present situations that we can't always change. The water-carrier couldn't change how heavy the buckets of water were, how children teased him, or how he barely made ends meet at the end of each day, but he could change how he perceived his lot in life. So can we.
As part of the lesson, I mentioned that both the written and oral Torah are considered "the Torah" and that traditionally in Judaism, you cannot understand what the written portion is teaching without an understanding and study of the oral tradition. In other words, Talmud study, at least on some level, is a requirement for understanding written Torah. If studying the written Torah is necessary for understanding the teachings of Jesus, since this was his source material, it creates an additional dimension of learning to be more like Jesus for people who are called Christians.
That's a rather tough concept for my students to get. They seem pretty stuck on "man-made traditions" vs. the Word of God and see the former as fallible and the latter as absolute. Yet the Bible is a book that isn't so much read as it is interpreted. If we could read the Bible like a best selling novel, going through it one or two times would be enough for us to completely "get it" as far as God's intentions for our lives are concerned.
By posting a link to Rabbi Tilles's commentary on daily judgment, I'm hoping to illustrate that accessing the wisdom of the sages isn't in opposition to the Word of God, but instead, an illumination of what we can find if we only look. As I've said in the past, I don't think I could ever rely solely on Christian scholarly publications to define the limits of my understanding of what God is trying to teach. The Jewish people were the keepers of the Torah, the Shabbat, and the only worshipers of God when the ancient ancestors of modern-day Christians and Muslims were giving blood offerings to obscene pagan "gods". I tend to think they have the upper hand on understanding what it's like to try to puzzle through the lessons provided by the Creator.
Like the water-carrier, we are all looking for something, but it's how we choose to do the looking that defines what we'll discover.
Torah study at its highest level is the understanding of the application of the Torah's principles to real people and real life situations -- how do the Torah's eternal truths apply to the human condition. G-d's wisdom is eternal, yet no two people are precisely alike and relate to the Torah in precisely the same manner. Every one of us has his own perspective, his own life story, and his own unique personality. Each of us will see a slightly different message in the Torah, and will have his or her own fresh insight into its beauty and relevance.
Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld
I sit before my only candle, but it's so little light to find my way
Now the story unfolds before my candle
Which is shorter every hour as it reaches for the day
But I feel just like a candle, in a way
Song for Adam
Jackson Browne
6 comments:
I agree James. We cannot rely on Christian scholarship to be our only guide for understanding. There is too much for the church to recover before it could ever be a sole resource. Eventually, however, all will be revealed in Messiah. Our view will become clearer and clearer day by day.
Michael
I agree that, in the end, the Messiah will reveal to us the truth of his teachings and show us how we've misunderstood, but until then, we are responsible for doing the best we can to learn his will for our lives and then to live out that will in the world around us.
Right. In our search for the truth we look to ancient documents to clarify what the Scriptures meant. The church is behind, but trying to catch up -- well some in the church are trying to catch up. At any rate, we must engage our minds, and live as close as we are able to Messiah's example knowing He will put all things in order when He arrives.
Michael
"If studying the written Torah is necessary for understanding the teachings of Jesus, since this was his source material, it creates an additional dimension of learning to be more like Jesus for people who are called Christians."
I think that there are two levels of approaching G-d through learning. In case of Yeshua, some of his teachings call for repentance from sin and thus demand an immediate response from his audience. Other teachings of Messiah, well - they require much ongoing learning and examination in light of Tanakh.
I would think that repenting from sin and following the Messiah would be a necessary first step. Without that, nothing else would make much sense. On the other hand, many non-believers come to faith through the process of investigation and study.
Yeshua's original Jewish audience had the advantage of living in the same context as he did and understanding a lot more of the meaning of his teachings without having to bridge a cultural, religious and temporal gap. Of course, they often didn't understand his parables, but sometimes neither do we. His close disciples did understand (hopefully) once he explained it to them.
Given all of the barriers that exist, it's amazing that we know anything at all.
"On the other hand, many non-believers come to faith through the process of investigation and study."
Like I did. Once I did, I was cut to the core by my sin.
On the other hand, many [but certainly not all] in the audience in Yeshua's day seem to have been different. Many of them already knew the qualities of a messiah and they already knew the scriptures. Once they had the proper broken heartedness, they were ripe for repentance and discipleship. It was something simply spiritual, not intellectual.
"Given all of the barriers that exist, it's amazing that we know anything at all."
Sentiment shared!
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