Torah Portion
Torah Observance
And Our Survival
any of its laws or by requiring more
than the Torah requires. Either extreme
is a denial of the divinity of the Torah
and authentic Judaism. As the verses
themselves proclaim, "Those that keep
the Torah survive as Jews."
These verses, as well as many others
in the Torah, make it very clear that
n this week's Torah portion,
the ideal is for the Jewish people to
Moshe exhorts the people
live this life of Torah and mitzvot in
before his death and their
the land of Israel. The Torah is not
entrance into the land of Israel
simply a manual for ritual and cere-
(Deuteronomy 4:1-8):
mony or even just a guide for personal
"And now, Israel, listen to the
behavior; the Torah is a program for
statutes and judgments that I teach
the creation of an entire
you to do in order that you
national community pro-
will live and come to take
ducing a society of justice
possession of the land that
and righteousness, of godli-
the Lord, the God of your
ness and wisdom. The cre-
fathers, gives to you. Do not
ation of such a society
add to the thing that I corn-
requires the autonomy nec-
mand you and do not sub-
essary to follow the entire
tract from it to keep the com-
Torah program.
mandments of the Lord, your
Likewise, the creation of
God, that I command you.
this utopian society requires
"Your eyes that see that
the full, willing cooperation
RABBI ELIEZER and responsible participation
which God did at Baal Peor
COHEN
— that everyone that went
of every member of the
Special
to the
after (the idolatry of) Baal
nation and a real spirit of
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Peor the Lord, your God,
mutual concern and love. It is
destroyed from your midst.
with this ideal in mind that
And you, those that
the present condition of Jewish and
remained close to the Lord, your God,
Israeli communal life is so disappoint-
are all alive today.
ing. The polarization, alienation and
"See, I have taught you statute and.
outright hatred that divide one commu-
judgments as the Lord, my God, com-
nity from another, one faction from
manded me to do them in the midst
another and one Jew from another is a
of the land that you are corning there
negation of what the Torah demands
to possess. Keep them and do them
and requires of the Jewish people.
for they are your wisdom and under-
The fulfillment of the Torah ideal
standing In the eyes of nations that
for the Jewish nation requires the Torah
will hear of these statutes and they will
observant to live life demonstrating the
say, 'So wise and understanding is this
wisdom, the righteousness and the
great nation.'
divinity of the Torah and for the non-
"For what great nation is God close
observant to thereby perceive and
to like the Lord our God (is close to
appreciate the greatness of the Torah
us) whenever we call to Him. And
and the holiness of the Jewish people.
what great nation has righteous
In the meantime, we must all work
statutes and judgments like all of this
toward the ideal. II
Torah that I place before you today."
Contained in these eight short vers-
es are the basic, fundamental duties
and privileges of the Jewish people.
We are given the Torah and com-
Why are so many Jews non-
manded to keep its laws in order to
observant of Torah and mitzvot?
create a society and community in our
How can the observant better
own land that will be an example to
influence the non-observant?
allpeople of a godly community gov-
Can Torah observance really be
erned by laws reflecting and demon-
imposed on those who are not
strating divine wisdom and under-
voluntarily observant? Is com-
standing.
plete "separation of church and
We are bidden to follow the Torah
state" a good idea for the State of
that God gave us, not one of our own
Israel? What makes Israel a
making caused by either abrogating
"Jewish state" rather than just a
state for Jews? Should it be?
Eliezer Cohen is rabbi of
Shabbat Vaetchanan:
Deuteronomy 3:23-
7:11; Isaiah 40:1-26
Noi Volkov Available at
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