The “Torah of Truth”
Morals, Ethics, and Values
Pirkei Avos
Today I'm planning on giving out very basic information about Judaism. This podcast is for beginning Jews but I have a feeling that some of the things I mention today will be new to more practiced Jews. Beginning Jews probably know very little of this information because they have been afraid to ask because they don't want to look ignorant or no one has taken the time to teach them these things.
Simply stated, the “Torah of Truth” as it's often called, contains righteous laws and true teachings. If you don’t believe it, then read it and give me examples where the laws are not righteous.
The Old Testament contains 24 books and the English translation runs about 1330 pages. The Torah itself is called the Five Books of Moses, the first 5 of the 24, and the English translation runs about 300 pages. Although the Torah was ostensibly “given” to Abraham 3500 years ago, it wasn’t “written” until Moses did so along with receiving the Ten Commandments 2500 years ago on Mt. Sinai.
There are a couple of things I’d like to mention here. Firstly, there has to be something very valuable in a book that a lot of people read for 2500 years. No?
Secondly, books that last that long, especially translated into many different languages, can easily get “changed” or distorted. That didn’t happen with the Torah. The Torah was written in Hebrew, the language HASHEM and Moses used to communicate with, and Jewish law states that if the scribe writing the scroll makes even one mistake with a brushstroke, the entire effort must be thrown out and begun anew.
This means that every Torah written from then until now is identical in the Hebrew language. If Torah scrolls were trashed for a single errant brushstroke, it would be impossible to change even one word, let alone sentences or chapters. You can be confident that there have been no changes made to the Torah in the last 2500 years.
There are some slight changes through translation into other languages that simply can’t be avoided. But if you are a purest you can learn Hebrew and read the Torah, unchanged from the original, just the way it was delivered at Mt. Sinai 2500 years ago. Although this might not amaze you, it amazes me!
In contrast, there have been over 150,000 iterations of the New Testament and even more of the Koran.
What on Earth has withstood this test of time? What physical structure hasn’t crumbled? The pyramids are supposedly the oldest surviving testament to incredible architectural achievement that exists on planet Earth today. There are arguments by historians over whether the Torah came into the world before or after the building of the pyramids.
However, the argument is moot because the pyramids left to future mankind only silent rocks. The Torah left to mankind a guide for elevated living that’s still relevant today. Whether you are an ultra-pious Orthodox Jew or a wealthy Upper East Side secular Jew, if you follow this guide for life you and the world are better for it.
Egyptian pyramids stand today but what do they tell us? What do they teach us? What ethics, morals, and values do they impart to us? The Torah still stands after all this time in its perfection, purity, and beauty, chock full of intelligence, teaching ethics, morals, and values; clean as the day it was delivered. If that isn’t intriguing for you, I don’t know what would be.
The pyramids, with their vast size and ability to resist the natural erosion of the elements, left us a grand sight of something that teaches us nothing. The Torah, written by HASHEM and survived constant attempts to extinguish it by eliminating its adherents, still exists in its original form and is there for anyone interested enough to study it. If you are interested, go to a class and learn something.
The Exodus is a story about Jews leaving slavery, having their faith constantly tested, and entering the land of Israel, a land that was promised to the Hebrews by HASHEM 3,500 years ago. HASHEM keeps His promises.
Within the last hundred years the Jews wandered through vast areas of Europe having their faith tested, constantly being kicked out of their communities, survived the biggest attempt at complete annihilation through the Holocaust, and then ultimately, they entered…the land of Israel. So you believe the old book doesn’t relate to today? Think again.
The pattern began 3,500 years ago and IS relevant today. If you think, as a Jew, that you can ignore what’s obvious and live a fruitful and satisfying life without studying the Torah, go ahead. Knock yourself out. You know, you can still enjoy many hours weekly eating at fine restaurants enjoying luscious foods and ALSO take just one hour weekly to attend a Jewish study class.
Incidentally, the Torah warns in Deuteronomy against prosperity. Not that prosperity is a bad thing in and of itself. To the contrary, the Torah actually promotes it. The Torah warns against taking prosperity FOR GRANTED. Not recognizing where the prosperity comes from and not giving thanks through Torah study and Jewish ritual (like giving charity) is, the Torah warns, a recipe for disaster.
Many Jews today exist within a culture of great prosperity but have an equally great sense of entitlement. This sense of entitlement expects and gets all the nice things life has to offer without any appreciation of where the prosperity comes from. The Torah explains loud and clear that it all comes from HASHEM. But remarkably some Jews are deaf to hear it. I fear a great reckoning for them and/or their children.
This reckoning can be avoided by adding just a little bit of Jewish ritual into your life. I know this for certain because the Torah says so.
“How does the Torah teach us?” you might ask in your naïveté. Here are just two little examples I’ve chosen of the infinite variety of lessons that can be gleaned by reading the Torah. These lessons relate to then and they relate to now.
The first has to do with the Exodus, enslaved Jews leaving Egypt for freedom and liberty. Aren’t you a Jew enslaved by your attachment to secular materialism? And when you finally make the decision to leave your own personal Egypt aren’t you going off into a “wilderness” with barely anything at all, not knowing where you are going, with Egyptian (secular) armies running after you, having to trust in HASHEM for everything?
It worked out for the Jews then and it will work out for you now.
The second example has to do with the war between the newly freed Hebrew slaves and Amalek as described in the Torah. Amalek, you will learn, is the archenemy of the Jews. When the Jews are first getting started on their trek through the desert there were stragglers, the weakest and most vulnerable, in the back of the procession. They were attacked by the nation of Amalek.
Likewise, after you make a firm decision to leave your old secular life and pursue a greater enjoyment of life by increasing Jewish ritual and study, Doubt with a capital D, the evil boogie-man in the back of your mind, attacks the straggler and makes war with you. Amalek, Doubt, assaults your decision at your weakest and most vulnerable place.
The Jews win this war in the end, you’ll have to read the Torah to find out how, but not without some pain and loss. This little story, in passing, within a chapter in the Torah, warns you about what might happen if your dedication to Him wavers and then the Torah shows you the way to overcome the challenge.
Lessons like these are nothing new and have been going on with others like you for 2500 years. If you don’t study the wonderful Torah you don’t get the benefits contained within it. And there are 330 pages of little stories just like this with lessons upon lessons to be gleaned in this faultless manuscript. The stories are quite basic but discovering the underlying lessons are the fun of it all!
Now, I'd like to shift gears and try something new today. I'd like to expose you to a bit more “advanced” Judaism. We'll have some fun and I don't think I'll lose you.
This podcast is for beginners to Judaism and so I've been showing you ways to do rituals that will increase your desire for more. I've been hinting at how great the Jewish religion is in terms of morals, values, and ethics. Jews have been writing about and arguing over these topics for over three thousand years. I don't know of any other religion on Earth that has done that. So Jews know a lot about these things.
There are many paths of deep study in Judaism such as Kabbalah, Chassidim, Mussar, Mishna, and Gemara, just to name a few. All are compilations of adages, ethics, and values written by the most intellectual of our forefathers. Each path contains volumes of books examining the many nuances of the subject. In this podcast I keep recommending to you the Ten Commandments, just get those down solid. But today I'd like to give you a flavor of what you could be learning if you want to dig deeper into Judaism.
The path I've been most attracted to is called Pirkei Avos which means Sayings of Our Fathers. I first discovered them in my Siddur which I hope you will one day own your own. A Siddur is a book full of prayers for every occasion and I mean EVERY occasion. It's 1,000 pages with prayers for traveling, Shabbat, holidays, circumcision, everything!
Anyway, Pirkei Avos are a listing of very short but profound sayings. There are maybe ten per page in my Siddur. AND THERE ARE 40 PAGES OF THEM!
There is one that has been going around in poplar culture today that few people know comes from Pirkei Avos. Maybe you've heard it, it goes like this: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” What I like so much about Pirkei Avos is that it's such concise wisdom.
The saying balances three ideas. First, personal responsibility where you must advocate for yourself and take responsibility for your own life. Second, concern for others as living solely for yourself is morally insufficient as human beings have obligations to other people. And third, urgency, as good intentions should be acted upon now rather than postponed indefinitely. I love this stuff!
I'd like to just share one more to give you a sense of how deeply Judaism goes to making the world a better place. So here it is: “There are four character types among people: (a) One who says, 'My property is mine and your is yours' is an average character type, but some say this is characteristic of Sodom; (b) 'Mine is yours, and yours is mine' is an unlearned person; (c) 'Mine is yours and yours is yours' is scrupulously pious; (d) 'Yours is mine and mine is mine' is wicked.”
OK so quickly, “My property is mine and yours is yours” sounds reasonable but then it's compared to Sodom which was destroyed by Hashem because of it's non-stop evil. It's a statement of division. Mine is mine, yours is yours but it ignores any connection or responsibility to your fellow man. Thus, charity is one thought lost in the discussion. Without any connection to anybody else it's described as “average.”
“Mine is yours and yours is mine” is a description of a communal lifestyle. Communism killed more people on Earth than any other political or religious dogma. So a person described in this way is considered “unlearned” or one ignoring historical facts. Expecting gifts from others is demeaning and not a source of uplifting values.
“Mine is yours and yours is yours” describes someone who is willing to give up everything for his fellow man and expects nothing in return. So he is considered pious.
“Yours is mine and mine is mine” is the exact character of a king or a dictator and so is described as “wicked.” There are such people who are benevolent dictators but the character flaw still resides within them.
So which character type are YOU! Each character type listed is a source of ongoing discussion. However, the very next Pirkei Avos describes four types of character “temperaments.” So then you add four temperments on top of four character traits and discussions go on and on throughout millennia. Your life tangling with values, ethics, and morals abundant in the Torah will do more for you than binge watching Third Rock From The Sun!
Pirkei Avos is my path. If you wish to move your Jewish understanding beyond the 10 Commandments you'll find which discipline suits you best, a path that connects for you. But when you study ethics, morals, and values in whatever form you can't help but absorb them into your life, and as you refine your own actions in the world it makes the entire world a better place. That's the goal of Judaism and that's when you know you are a Jew.
Until next Monday,
Shalom
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.