Jul 28/07 - Parashat Va'etchanan / Shabbat Nachamu

Commentary by Chazzan Aníbal Mass

 

“Look, I have taught you statutes and ordinances as the LORD my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to possess. Carefully follow them, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the peoples. When they hear about all these statutes, they will say, ‘This great nation is indeed a wise and understanding people.’’

Devarim 4:5-6

What does the phrase, “…for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the peoples”, really mean?

In a simple reading, agreeing with Rashi, we could affirm that the mitzvot can let us reach the highest point of intelligence and wisdom, and that the other nations would recognize it by witnessing our observance of such noble commandments. That is to say, we demonstrate the wisdom of Judaism as long as we incorporate the mitzvot into our lives. This, evidently, serves as a great moral teaching: if we want to be seen as wise and fair by other nations, it is crucial to make observance of the mitzvot an integral part of life. But, this is not enough reason to observe the mitzvot. We don’t really need the approval of other people because the value of the mitzvot cannot be based on the opinions or views of strangers. However, fulfillment of the mitzvot would help to create peace in the world.

Another interpretation, this time from Seforno, invites us to think of observance of the mitzvot as the correct and prudent way of answering the attacks of those who consider the mitzvot to be old, primitive, obsolete traditions. According to Seforno, the mitzvot stimulate the intellect of the Jews, thus inspiring other nations to point out as positive and wise the fact that the Jews do not abandon their traditions and, therefore, remain faithful to the divine and millennial mitzvot. Is there something wiser than remaining faithful to oneself?

“Chochma im Nachalah” makes us see another deeper interpretation.

One frequently hears from those that despise the divinity of the Torah that the mitzvot are either primitive laws that can’t compare with other laws made by man or that they are simply ridiculous, superstitious, savage practices that are better discarded as being useless, rough, and sometimes even harmful. They maintain that human intelligence can formulate laws as scholarly as those contained in the Torah, or even better. A simple look at the legal codes of other nations can prove this point.

And we could affirm that this, to a certain extent, might be correct. The opening verses appear to support this thesis, since they seem to emphasize the intellectual origin of the mitzvot. However, this argument takes place only if we contemplate the mitzvot exclusively from an intellectual point of view.

What distinguishes an observant individual is not his or her intelligence or wisdom, since on many occasions the mitzvot are observed blindly. In addition, the rationale of several mitzvot defy finite human understanding, but we are, nevertheless, not exempt from fulfilling them. The marvel of observing the mitzvot is the moral bonus, the increase in respect toward superior values that the person can find through the fulfillment of the mitzvot.

One can be almost perfectly ignorant, or lacking in complicated philosophical studies, but if our behaviour, our work in the world is guided by the mitzvot, then surely we will be admired by other people. Now, if we are also devoted to study and to progress in the understanding of the Torah, the satisfaction will certainly be greater.

To conclude, let us read the words of the virtuous Job (28): “Where then does wisdom come from, and where is understanding located? It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the sky … But God understands the way to wisdom, and He knows its location … He said to mankind, ‘Look! The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to turn from evil is understanding.’”

It is not only with “our heads” that we can achieve “intelligence”, but also by means of ethical behaviour.

Shabbat Shalom.