deuteronomy

Not Adding (בל תוסיף)

Rabbi Ben Herman , , , ,

In Deuteronomy it teaches לא תוסיפו מן הדבר אשר אלקים מצוה אותך ולא תגרעו ממנו “You shall not add or subtract to the law which I command you today.”[1] The example given by the Code of Jewish Law for not adding is not adding a 5th species to one’s lulav.[2] Instead, we need to follow the exact 4 species that are outlined in the Torah. 

A fun example of this was a drawing which had species native to Canada (where the artist lived) rather than the 4 from Israel. It included a maple leaf for lulav. I shared it and received the following reply from one of my teachers: “nice idea for someone else’s religion.” We are fortunate in California that we can grow all 4 species here as our climate is close enough to Israel’s. Imagine growing up in Milwaukee like me where none of these species naturally grow. I understood the desire to get native species while concurrently maintaining our tradition.

Many think “does Judaism really not add or subtract?” At times it feels like we have added many prohibitions over the centuries while refusing to subtract any. A core reason I am a Conservative Jew is Rabbi Mordecai Waxman’s twin pillars of tradition and change-that we can maintain traditions while living in ever evolving situations with new areas of knowledge that Jewish law has to confront. Upon entering rabbinical school, I read a book that said Conservative Judaism is the most faithful denomination to the tradition of not adding or subtracting. 

Regardless as to whether or not that is correct-at times I have my doubts-I hope we will take the tradition of not adding and subtracting seriously. At times Jewish leaders have added so many fences around prohibitions that the original prohibition becomes lost in the shuffle. At other times, we adopt the attitude “anything goes” and throw off traditions that are there for a reason. My hope is that on the Conservative Movement we can continue to maintain the solid middle ground-not adding to the burdens but neither subtracting from our responsibilities as members of the tribe.

[1] Deuteronomy 4:2

[2] Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim Laws of Lulav 651:14

Equanimity

Rabbi Ben Herman , , , ,

         Parshat Eikev teaches us the importance of the Mussar midah, or character attribute, of השתלוות, having equanimity. Through Moses, God warns us not to say in one’s heart וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ בִּלְבָבֶ֑ךָ כֹּחִי֙ וְעֹ֣צֶם יָדִ֔י עָ֥שָׂה לִ֖י אֶת־הַחַ֥יִל הַזֶּֽה׃ “ My own power and the might of my own hand have won this wealth for me.”[1] What is the problem with saying this? After all, we were commanded to work by the sweat of our brows and look at all we have accomplished with our lives! Parshat Ekev warns us time and time again that we accomplish nothing without God’s will. One such verse reads “When God has thrust them (enemy nations) from your path, say not to yourselves, ‘God has enable us to possess this land because of our virtues’; it is rather because of the wickedness of those nations that God is dispossessing them before you.’”[2] Another verse asserts “as long as I have known you, you have been defiant towards God.”[3] One would conclude from these verses that we are problematic-just not as problematic as the other nations!

         Much of Deuteronomy centers on the same theme: if you obey God’s commandments you get rewarded; if you disobey, you get punished. The second paragraph of the Shema, excised from Reform prayerbooks, maintains this very theme. Regardless of whether we believe this, or rather that we should obey because it makes us feel better or because it’s the right thing to do, we need to reckon with this theme. The way I choose to do so is to remind myself not to let things get to my head.

         Ramban in his commentary on the verse writes as follows: “you should remember G-d Who brought you forth from Egypt where you had no power or might of hand at all. You should further remember that He provided all your needs for you in the wilderness, where you had nought in the power of thy hand to survive. If so [concerning] this wealth which you have won by your strength as well, [you should bear in mind that] it is G-d Who gave you the power [that was necessary for you] to accumulate the wealth.”[4] The Hasidic commentator Mei HaShiloach takes this idea further, asserting that the reason that God made us need to eat and drink is so that we will remember Him through blessings rather than think that it is only through our own strength that we have food on the table.[5]

         The other side of the coin, however, is towards the beginning of the portion, when we say in our hearts, ‘seeing that these nations are more numerous than I, how can I dispossess them?’ to which God replies through Moses, ‘Do not be afraid.’[6] Rashi points out that the word for ‘when’ כי has multiple uses, and that he thinks the better translation here is ‘maybe or perhaps’[7] that we become paralyzed and feel that we cannot accomplish things. The Hasidic commentator Kedushat Levi asserts that “Rashi has touched on an important psychological ‎principle, namely that whenever we encounter some difficulty in ‎carrying out God’s commandments, (i.e. serving God with all our ‎heart,) fear is the greatest enemy to serving G’d wholeheartedly. If ‎we can resist fear, God will help us to overcome any of these ‎supposed difficulties to serving God.[8] In other words, don’t say in your heart “I can’t do this” just as you should not say in your heart “I did this all by myself.”

         The middle path of equanimity is what is most important. Having calmness, composure and evenness of temper, rather than haughtiness or self-effacement is what we need to strive towards. As in the well-known axiom by Alan Morinis on humility, we should occupy “no more than our place, no less than our space. Whether or not one believes in the biblical system of reward and punishment, we can and should recognize the gift of life as coming from God as well as the fact that we can accomplish or endure far more than we believe. This is not meant as an excuse or as a rationalization for suffering but rather as being able to take the opportunity to find balance between hubris and self-effacement. As we see from life, when people get overconfident, bad things happen; when people get paralyzed and don’t act, it stops the potential good from occurring. The choice is in our hands-may it be our will to choose wisely.

[1] Deuteronomy 8:17

[2] Deuteronomy 9:4

[3] Deuteronomy 9:24

[4] Ramban on Deuteronomy 8:18 ד”ה וזכרת את ה אלקיך. Translation by Rabbi Elihu Munk.

[5] Mei HaShiloach on Deuteronomy 8:18 ד”ה וזכרת את ה אלקיך. Translated by Betzalel Edwards.

[6] Deuteronomy 7:17

[7] Rashi on Deuteronomy 7:17 ד”ה כי תאמר בלבביך

[8] Kedushat Levi on Deuteronomy 7:17 ד”ה כי תאמר בלבביך