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Friday May 27, 2005

Torah serves as user’s manual to Judaism

by rabbi pinchas lipner

Bechukotai
Leviticus 26:3-27:34
Jeremiah 16:19-17:14

“If you will walk according to My laws and keep My commandments and do them, then I will give your rains in their season.” (Lev. 26:3-4)

Following this verse, the Torah points out the copious physical bounty that will be amassed if the Jews keep the Torah and mitzvot. If they choose, however, to desert the Torah, there is a severe admonition about the horrific consequences that will surely follow.

Many have wondered why there is no mention of spiritual rewards in the world to come instead of the transitory material of our earthly state.

After all, we are taught to observe the Torah “not as servants who serve their master for reward, but as servants who do so with no thought of reward.” (Ethics of the Fathers:1-3)

Reward and punishment are immature motives only for those incapable of understanding that the good inherent in doing a mitzvah is the highest motivation. Mature people do good for the sake of doing good and avoid evil because it is evil.

The belief in reward and punishment is an axiom of our faith, to be sure, but usually the Torah does not dwell on these for fear that they might become the primary motivation for following G-d’s will.

So how should we understand this parashah, which appears ostensibly to detail blessings bestowed for Torah observance and the severe results, which appear to follow any violation of the Torah’s precepts? Isn’t this an example of reward and punishment?

Not necessarily. Rabbi Abraham Twersky suggests an analogy which, although not precise, is still sound.

Think of the user’s manual that comes with a new car. It contains the manufacturer’s instructions for the proper care and maintenance of the machine. If one follows these instructions meticulously, the car will perform well, but on the other hand, if they are ignored there will certainly be problems down the line. Failure to change the motor oil regularly will eventually result in the engine malfunctioning and ultimately failing. This is not a punishment for not following directions, but the consequence of not providing proper care.

The Midrash (Bereisheet Rabbah 1:2) teaches that the world was created according to the principles of the Torah. The mitzvot are the directions — the user’s manual for the world, so to speak.

Heeding these directions will ensure the proper function of the world. Neglecting the guidelines will bring about the malfunction of the world. The earthly blessings and curses detailed in the Torah this week are not to be understood necessarily as reward and punishment, but as the natural outcome of observing or ignoring the manufacturer’s instructions. Moses said this in essence when he declared, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore, choose life that you and your children may live.” (Deut. 30:19)

This analogy can also help us understand the idea of areivus (mutual responsibility). How can one person suffer as a result of another’s actions? For the same reason that someone else’s reckless driving can damage your car.

There are certainly many dissimilarities in this parallel, but still the concept of Torah being the policy for proper function of the world is valid. Reward and punishment from G-d for keeping or abandoning the Torah is a subject completely apart from the promises and warnings found in Bechukotai.

Shabbat shalom.

Rabbi Pinchas Lipner is dean of the Hebrew Academy in San Francisco.

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