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January 27, 1995 - Image 28

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1995-01-27

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

Three Good Reasons.

Stumbling Over Pebbles,
But Not Mountains

RABBI IRWIN GRONER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

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A

story is told about a young
man who was passionate-
ly courting his young lady,
offering to her his protes-
tations of - love. "I would go
through fire and water for you,"
he said, "indeed, I would travel
to the ends of the earth to fulfill
your every wish. By the way," he
concluded, "I'll see you next
Thursday, if it doesn't rain."
It is not difficult to proclaim
great principles, but we have all
experienced the human tenden-
cy to fail the test of specific re-
sponse. We accept moral ideals,
but we shy away from the neces-
sary efforts required for their
achievement. We don't stumble
over mountains, but over pebbles.
It is precisely this truth, the im-
portance of the daily realities of
life, that is emphasized in the
Sidrah of this Sabbath.
Last week we read of how the
Children of Israel heard the Ten
Commandments proclaimed at
Mt. Sinai in the midst of thunder
and lightning, fire and smoke.
This Sabbath, the text presents
an entirely different mood and
spirit. Immediately following the
declaration of the Ten Great
Words, we learn about the small
and specific details of daily living.
We discover cows and donkeys,
loans and bailments. After hav-
ing been uplifted to the heights
of witnessing the Divine presence
and hearing the voice of the
Almighty, we encounter an in-
congruous enumeration of stat-
ues and laws dealing with the
ordinary and undramatic
episodes of daily existence.
Consider these ordinances: "If
a man shall open a pit, or if he
shall dig a pit and not cover it,
and an ox or a donkey shall fall
therein, the owner of the pit shall
be responsible... If a person bor-
rows an animal from his neigh-
bor and the animal is injured or
it dies, the borrower shall make
restitution... You must not car-
ry false rumors; you shall not join
hands with the guilty to act as a
malicious witness..."
It is not necessary to multiply
these examples to illustrate the
vast difference between the ex-
alted moral principles of the Ten
Commandments and the detailed
Laws which follow them in this
Sidrah.
The Sages must have antici-
pated our reaction, our sense of
disappointment at descending
from the lofty heights of Sinai to

the prosaic world of Mishpatim,

Irwin Groner is rabbi at
congTegation Shaarey Zedek.

for they made the following ob-
servation.They note that the
Sidrah begins with the conjunc-
tive "Vav" meaning "and" - "And
these are the ordinances." That
"Vav' is crucial because, the Sages
say, it emphasizes that the Laws
of Mishpatim are a continuation
and completion of what was de-
clared on Mt.Sinai.Rashi is even
more explicit in his comment:
"Just as the Ten Commandments
were offered at Sinai, so were
these Laws."
The Sages teach us a funda-
mental lesson. Great ideals are
ineffective unless they are con-
certized in the details of daily liv-
ing.The loftiest principles exercise
no influence if they are separat-
ed from human conduct. We all
recall the cartoon whose caption
reads: "I love humanity. It's just
people I can't stand."

Exodus 21:1-24:18
Jeremiah 34:8-22
33:25-26

A political advisor once advised
his associate on how to establish
himself in the world of politics.
"We clarify, edify and magnify,
but we never specify." The ad-
monition of the Sages is the op-
posite, for they tell us that we
specify in order to clarify and to
edify.
Furthermore, the Torah does
not deal with "religion" as this
term is understood in the mod-
ern world. The distinctive claim
of Judaism is that it seeks to im-
pose moral standards and spiri-
tual meaning to live in its
entirety. We do not separate the
"sacred" and the "secular," for
every aspect of life can express
our love of God and our service to
His creatures. Therefore, the
Torah sets forth laws about busi-
ness and commerce, about per-
sonal liability and domestic
relations. The exalted moral
truths of Sinai are realized only
as we apply them to the decisions
and judgments of all who share
in the life of the community. Cl

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