Disgust of Mitzvoth – Problems Within Modern Orthodoxy
Adapted from Rabbi Braun’s sermon in 5772
Modern or Centrist Orthodoxy communities take pride in being intellectually committed Jews. We think about what we are doing; we strive to understand what we are doing etc.
That is true and that is commendable but that also comes at a price. And that price is Arrogance! We are so smart and so capable that if a certain law in the Torah does not make sense – there must be something wrong with it. I have often had people say to me, that law is stupid! It doesn’t make sense. We have become the arbiters of the Torah, we are the judges of our tradition and we are the ones who judge God’s word.
I have and will readily admit that there are things in the Torah that I don’t understand and things that are difficult for my modern ears to hear etc. I am extremely thankful that wiping out Amalek is no longer a practical mitzvah.
That being said there is a tremendous difference between “that is difficult to understand” and “that does not make sense”. The former indicates a deficiency in us, the latter a deficiency in God and the Torah.
I believe that this lesson and warning is taught by one word in the second parsha that we read this morning.
Parshat Bechukotia contains a tochacha, a rebuke section of the Torah. This is the first of two and each begins with the blessings that come when we keep God’s commandments and then continue with a longer section describing the punishment and suffering that awaits us if we don’t keep God’s commandments.
That however is not exactly accurate; the Torah does not say that if you don’t fulfill the commandments that these punishments will come. Rather it says:
ויקרא פרק כו פסוק טו
ואם בחקתי תמאסו ואם את משפטי תגעל נפשכם לבלתי עשות את כל מצותי להפרכם את בריתי
15. And if you shall despise my statutes, or if your soul loathes my judgments, so that you will not do all my commandments, but that you break my covenant;
That is the Soncino translation and it might not be far enough. תמאסו is usually translated as disgust. The better translation is “If you show disgust for the commandments.”
Who is this talking about?
Rashi argues that this phrase and the others in the Parsha describe one’s attitude towards those who do perform the mitzvoth. The text then means: “If you are disgusting towards those who keep the commandments etc.”
That is both textually and theologically difficult. Textually it is difficult because the Torah seems to be referring to disgust of the laws and not disgust for the law adherers. Theologically I could come up with some positives according to Rashi.
Very often people bash the law adherers because it makes them feel guilty that they are not doing what they should be doing. That is not all bad.
Nearly everyone else reads this literally. And if you shall despise my statutes refers to one who has disgust for the commandments.
The Ramban reads it this way and provides a spot on explanation. Why would one come to disgust the mitzvoth? Because the commandments that we are talking about here are chukim- the commandments whose reasons are hidden from the masses. The fools will become disgusted for they will say: Why would God care if I wear wool and linen together? Why in the world would God want me to burn a red heifer and sprinkle the ashes upon ourselves for purification?
The Mishaptim, the logical societal laws, however these people would initially accept as there is no society without law!
I think that the Ramban is making my point. That which we understand is ok. We might not observe these commandments for other reasons but there is not an inherent disgust. For that which we don’t understand or worse that which we think is foolish we come to disgust.
Rabbi Ovadiah Seforno, 16th century Italy, and Rabbi Pinchas Horowitz (18th century Poland) add another dimension that will really bring the point home to the 21st century; they each in different ways connect this disgust to the Torah’s laws that separate us from the rest of society. Why do I have to be different? Why must I keep this law and submit to the yoke of Torah when I would like to be like everyone else.
In the 21st century I would ask it as follows: how can I not find disgust in a law that run counters to what I know to be true from my life experience and study in today’s society? When the Torah contradicts MY MORALITY and SENSE of WHAT IS RIGHT, how can I not be disgusted?
Unfortunately, we have become the arbiters of the Torah, we are the judges of our tradition and we are the ones who judge God’s word.
We must relearn and remember that while questioning is good and struggling is ok, we must not cross the line from “I don’t understand” to “that is stupid!”
