in The Gush Beit Midrash
Obedience
Not long after אברהם was struck by famine, hunger hits
Israel again causing יצחק to move. ה' appears to him and tells him not to
leave the country. Live in Israel and I will be with you, bless you, and give
you many descendants.
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5 Inasmuch as
Abraham obeyed me, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My
laws.
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ה' promises יצחק that
He will uphold the oath He took with אברהם, becauseאברהם heeded His word. But ה' doesn’t
just say “My word.” He says משמרתי,מצותי, חקותי and תורתי. Why so many synonyms?
רש"י picks up on the
tautology and explains that really, each word represents a different aspect
of אברהם’s
obedience. משמרתי are גזרות להרחקה-decrees that distance ourselves from
violating תורה commandments. מצותי are statutes built on intuitive
morality, meaning we would keep them even without the תורה.חקותי are laws
with no rational thought behind them, and the only reason we keep them is
because God told us to. תורתי is mentioned to include תורה
שבעל פה.
רש"י provides a nice
survey of the various commandments we follow. We haveמצוות that reflect our understanding of
morality and others that combat human tendencies and rationale. If the תורה only
consisted of ethical law then what would qualify it as a theistic religion?
There are plenty of people in the world who believe they are living moral
lives, yet don’t believe in God! Judaism also has principles that we cannot
wrap our heads around. Doing some מצוות we don’t understand is critical as it
means we are subjugating our will and intelligence to God. Yes, there are
commandments that make us live up to our higher ethical standards, but there
are also some that we aren’t supposed to understand. The beauty of Judaism is
merging both models together.
רש"י is teaching a
timeless message, but that doesn’t mean his פירוש of theפסוק is correct. רמב"ן takes
issue with one of רש"י’s underlying assumptions.רש"י, explains the רמב"ן, takes for granted that אברהם kept
the תורה before
it was given. How do we know this is true? What proof do we have?
According
to this approach, אברהם followed the positive and negative commandments before
they were given, yet we see יעקב marry two sisters,עמרם marry his
aunt, and משה construct 12 מצבות! How would אברהם’s descendants permit this behavior if they
are prohibitions in the תורה that their forefather outlawed on himself?
Because
of these challenges, the רמב"ן presents a different theory.
Like רש"י, he says each word represents a different facet of אברהם’s
obedience, he just defines them differently. משמרתי is basic belief in God. מצותי are
the temporary guidelines given to אברהם such as לך
לך מארצך and עקידת יצחק.חקותי refers
to imitatio Dei, living a life of Godly virtues. תורתי means circumcision and all of the
Noachide laws.
The רמב"ן also
offers categories reflecting the different areas of אברהם’s obedience. Some מצוות are more
philosophical and mental, like basic faith and emulation of God, while
other מצוות are more practical and concrete, like specific terminable
commands, circumcision, and the Noachide laws. We are charged to serve God with
both thoughts and actions. Religion is an intellectual and corporeal
experience.
Whether
you say אברהם kept the תורה or he didn’t, I think there is a
consistent message. אברהם lived up to his expectations. God thrust upon him a list
of obligations and אברהם complied. Our law book might be more expansive, but we too
have to meet the expectations and follow the commandments whether they
correspond with our sense of morality or are irrational, and whether they
demand action or thought.
שבת
שלום!
Ari
Bar-Shain
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