Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Offering Criticism: Our Difficult Obligation - Reflections on Leviticus 19:17 - Parashiot Acharei Mot - Kedoshim
The Torah tells us that it's our obligation to "reprove our fellow" even as it instructs us "not to hate our fellow in our heart." What does all of this mean? This week's video lesson explores Leviticus 19:17, from Parashat Kedoshim, one segment of this week's double Torah portion (Acharei Mot-Kedoshim).
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Jonathan,
ReplyDeleteYou said that , contrary to American practice, we are all into each other's business and, indeed, have an obligation to do so, pursuant to the passage you quoted. But what is our obligation under the same circumstances to non-Jewish friends and acquaintances? Does this only go for other members of the tribe? If not, then we face problems like acquiescing to torture by maintaining silence. The problems of speaking up are magnified if we go beyond "us" to "them", because such interventions are susceptible to tremendous misunderstanding(s).
Can the cure be worse than the illness?
Ann Lewis
Rabbi Blake, you paraphrased what you described as “one of the most misunderstood passages in the Torah” (Lev.19:17):
ReplyDelete“Don’t hate or be angry and keep it inside. Instead, you have to approach that person…and offer rebuke or reproof…so that you will not bear the burden of that wrong deed.”
We are reading from Kedoshim. Some view Kedoshim as a central, pinnacle of the Torah. It is the Holiness Code.
What is fascinating to me in your teaching is that Kedoshim doesn’t simply instruct us all on how we can individually achieve holiness in our own actions. This passage provides the Torah with a mechanism by which God empowers us to create a Holy Community.
Berlin/Brettler/Fishbane (in the Jewish Study Bible) observe that verses 11-18 contain four 2-verse paragraphs of similar structure, dealing with matters of conscience. It is no surprise, then, that our verse 17 is part of the couplet that includes the powerful Golden Rule: “…Love your neighbor as yourself…” (Lev.19:18).
If we view the Torah as our foundational story—creating Man and Nature, creating a People, and creating a Nation, this portion and verse are all about creating a Holy Community.
Now, as Ann insightfully alludes to above, we can probably debate whether this Community is populated literally with your Brother (akhicha), your Fellow (amitecha), your Neighbor (re’acha), and/or the Stranger (hager). Is it a Holy Community only of Jews? Or is this an obligation placed on Jews regarding the creation of a Holy Community comprising Jews and non-Jews? The latter interpretation resonates more with me.
As for the process of offering rebuke, I am eager to learn more about the Talmudic and Midrashic teachings on receiving and offering criticism. Perhaps you can share some of that with us when we meet this Shabbat. I find that while this process provides the opportunity to expand the Holy Community, it also runs the risk of producing tremendous disharmony—in one’s home, in one’s place of work, amongst one’s friends. In fact, sometimes following this commandment can result in shattering human relationships. Candor and rebuke delivered naively in a hierarchical workplace can easily result in the loss of one’s livelihood.
Yet, the question in that case may be: which is more important? Striving for the Holiness of the Community? Or, preserving individual well-being? I’ll add this to our long list of things to puzzle through this week.
Say, on a separate note, is this weblog the beginnings of our digital “gemara”?