Gulp, indeed. I struggle with the gemara gulp moment of "they don't keep shabbat" when I think of truly wonderful, non-religious people I know. It is very difficult to accept sometimes, so I don't try to understand. Hashem judges us according to our personal circumstances. I may indeed look and play the part, then be judged far more harshly for the lacklustre way I keep shabbos than others might be for not keeping it at all. That keeps me in line from looking over the fence.
2. yehudit
1/19/2012
I struggle with the gemara gulp moment of "they don't keep shabbat" when I think of truly wonderful, non-religious people I know. It is very difficult to accept sometimes, so I don't try to understand. Hashem judges us according to our personal circumstances. I may indeed look and play the part, then be judged far more harshly for the lacklustre way I keep shabbos than others might be for not keeping it at all. That keeps me in line from looking over the fence.
3. YY
1/19/2012
been thinking about the same thing Nice article! I think about it this way. There are non-observant Jews (and non-Jews for that matter) who are good people in the sense that they have good character traits, are kind to others, etc. And there is some reason to say these person-to-person mitzvot are ultimately most important. As Rav Arush said in an article on this website: "I've noticed a peculiar phenomenon – when people make tshuva, they run to the man-and-G-d mitzvas – Shabbat, kashrut, mikva, Torah learning – but they often neglect the real tshuva, adam l'chavero – man & fellow man. Why do we call that the real tshuva? The answer is that we come to this world to perfect our character – to be less brutal, less arrogant, more kind and and more considerate. The way a person observes the commandments that govern one's relations between man & fellow man is a barometer to the quality of his or her character. For example, you can't be a tzaddik – even if you know the Gemara by heart – if you cheat someone or don't repay a debt." However, if Jews are just kind, nice, responsible people who don't follow the "non-ethical" mitzvot, the most of the time their descendants a few generations later will be non-Jews, because of intermarriage. So where has that good behavior got them? In the long run, all was lost, because they were responsible for cutting themselves off from their people and decreasing their people's numbers (or slowing its growth) (after all, to increase and multiply is the first commandment). On the other hand, if someone follows the ritual mitzvot but has bad middot (is a "bad" person) or cheats people, people notice it, call them hypocrites, and conclude that that's what religious Jews are like, creating a huge chillul Hashem. So it's very important we ensure people are cultivating good character traits — if they're following the other mitzvot but not growing in chesed, then something is wrong, and people need to intervene and do something to rectify the situation, just as the prophets did. As Rav Brody is fond of saying, just because someone looks religious, doesn't mean he's really religious. Rebbe Nachman's teachings are a great tool for treating this problem. Conversely, even if people may think they're being great people without Torah, they're ultimately wrong. By being mitzvah-observant too, they could develop even better character traits, and besides that contribute to the future of the Jewish people, achieve their spiritual mission in life (no no purgatory or reincarnation is necessary) and bring us closer to the ultimate redemption. But for them to believe this, they need proof — like friendly, spiritually-advanced religious people who interact with secular people.
4. YY
1/19/2012
Nice article! I think about it this way. There are non-observant Jews (and non-Jews for that matter) who are good people in the sense that they have good character traits, are kind to others, etc. And there is some reason to say these person-to-person mitzvot are ultimately most important. As Rav Arush said in an article on this website: "I've noticed a peculiar phenomenon – when people make tshuva, they run to the man-and-G-d mitzvas – Shabbat, kashrut, mikva, Torah learning – but they often neglect the real tshuva, adam l'chavero – man & fellow man. Why do we call that the real tshuva? The answer is that we come to this world to perfect our character – to be less brutal, less arrogant, more kind and and more considerate. The way a person observes the commandments that govern one's relations between man & fellow man is a barometer to the quality of his or her character. For example, you can't be a tzaddik – even if you know the Gemara by heart – if you cheat someone or don't repay a debt." However, if Jews are just kind, nice, responsible people who don't follow the "non-ethical" mitzvot, the most of the time their descendants a few generations later will be non-Jews, because of intermarriage. So where has that good behavior got them? In the long run, all was lost, because they were responsible for cutting themselves off from their people and decreasing their people's numbers (or slowing its growth) (after all, to increase and multiply is the first commandment). On the other hand, if someone follows the ritual mitzvot but has bad middot (is a "bad" person) or cheats people, people notice it, call them hypocrites, and conclude that that's what religious Jews are like, creating a huge chillul Hashem. So it's very important we ensure people are cultivating good character traits — if they're following the other mitzvot but not growing in chesed, then something is wrong, and people need to intervene and do something to rectify the situation, just as the prophets did. As Rav Brody is fond of saying, just because someone looks religious, doesn't mean he's really religious. Rebbe Nachman's teachings are a great tool for treating this problem. Conversely, even if people may think they're being great people without Torah, they're ultimately wrong. By being mitzvah-observant too, they could develop even better character traits, and besides that contribute to the future of the Jewish people, achieve their spiritual mission in life (no no purgatory or reincarnation is necessary) and bring us closer to the ultimate redemption. But for them to believe this, they need proof — like friendly, spiritually-advanced religious people who interact with secular people.
1/19/2012
Gulp, indeed. I struggle with the gemara gulp moment of "they don't keep shabbat" when I think of truly wonderful, non-religious people I know. It is very difficult to accept sometimes, so I don't try to understand. Hashem judges us according to our personal circumstances. I may indeed look and play the part, then be judged far more harshly for the lacklustre way I keep shabbos than others might be for not keeping it at all. That keeps me in line from looking over the fence.
1/19/2012
I struggle with the gemara gulp moment of "they don't keep shabbat" when I think of truly wonderful, non-religious people I know. It is very difficult to accept sometimes, so I don't try to understand. Hashem judges us according to our personal circumstances. I may indeed look and play the part, then be judged far more harshly for the lacklustre way I keep shabbos than others might be for not keeping it at all. That keeps me in line from looking over the fence.
1/19/2012
been thinking about the same thing Nice article! I think about it this way. There are non-observant Jews (and non-Jews for that matter) who are good people in the sense that they have good character traits, are kind to others, etc. And there is some reason to say these person-to-person mitzvot are ultimately most important. As Rav Arush said in an article on this website: "I've noticed a peculiar phenomenon – when people make tshuva, they run to the man-and-G-d mitzvas – Shabbat, kashrut, mikva, Torah learning – but they often neglect the real tshuva, adam l'chavero – man & fellow man. Why do we call that the real tshuva? The answer is that we come to this world to perfect our character – to be less brutal, less arrogant, more kind and and more considerate. The way a person observes the commandments that govern one's relations between man & fellow man is a barometer to the quality of his or her character. For example, you can't be a tzaddik – even if you know the Gemara by heart – if you cheat someone or don't repay a debt." However, if Jews are just kind, nice, responsible people who don't follow the "non-ethical" mitzvot, the most of the time their descendants a few generations later will be non-Jews, because of intermarriage. So where has that good behavior got them? In the long run, all was lost, because they were responsible for cutting themselves off from their people and decreasing their people's numbers (or slowing its growth) (after all, to increase and multiply is the first commandment). On the other hand, if someone follows the ritual mitzvot but has bad middot (is a "bad" person) or cheats people, people notice it, call them hypocrites, and conclude that that's what religious Jews are like, creating a huge chillul Hashem. So it's very important we ensure people are cultivating good character traits — if they're following the other mitzvot but not growing in chesed, then something is wrong, and people need to intervene and do something to rectify the situation, just as the prophets did. As Rav Brody is fond of saying, just because someone looks religious, doesn't mean he's really religious. Rebbe Nachman's teachings are a great tool for treating this problem. Conversely, even if people may think they're being great people without Torah, they're ultimately wrong. By being mitzvah-observant too, they could develop even better character traits, and besides that contribute to the future of the Jewish people, achieve their spiritual mission in life (no no purgatory or reincarnation is necessary) and bring us closer to the ultimate redemption. But for them to believe this, they need proof — like friendly, spiritually-advanced religious people who interact with secular people.
1/19/2012
Nice article! I think about it this way. There are non-observant Jews (and non-Jews for that matter) who are good people in the sense that they have good character traits, are kind to others, etc. And there is some reason to say these person-to-person mitzvot are ultimately most important. As Rav Arush said in an article on this website: "I've noticed a peculiar phenomenon – when people make tshuva, they run to the man-and-G-d mitzvas – Shabbat, kashrut, mikva, Torah learning – but they often neglect the real tshuva, adam l'chavero – man & fellow man. Why do we call that the real tshuva? The answer is that we come to this world to perfect our character – to be less brutal, less arrogant, more kind and and more considerate. The way a person observes the commandments that govern one's relations between man & fellow man is a barometer to the quality of his or her character. For example, you can't be a tzaddik – even if you know the Gemara by heart – if you cheat someone or don't repay a debt." However, if Jews are just kind, nice, responsible people who don't follow the "non-ethical" mitzvot, the most of the time their descendants a few generations later will be non-Jews, because of intermarriage. So where has that good behavior got them? In the long run, all was lost, because they were responsible for cutting themselves off from their people and decreasing their people's numbers (or slowing its growth) (after all, to increase and multiply is the first commandment). On the other hand, if someone follows the ritual mitzvot but has bad middot (is a "bad" person) or cheats people, people notice it, call them hypocrites, and conclude that that's what religious Jews are like, creating a huge chillul Hashem. So it's very important we ensure people are cultivating good character traits — if they're following the other mitzvot but not growing in chesed, then something is wrong, and people need to intervene and do something to rectify the situation, just as the prophets did. As Rav Brody is fond of saying, just because someone looks religious, doesn't mean he's really religious. Rebbe Nachman's teachings are a great tool for treating this problem. Conversely, even if people may think they're being great people without Torah, they're ultimately wrong. By being mitzvah-observant too, they could develop even better character traits, and besides that contribute to the future of the Jewish people, achieve their spiritual mission in life (no no purgatory or reincarnation is necessary) and bring us closer to the ultimate redemption. But for them to believe this, they need proof — like friendly, spiritually-advanced religious people who interact with secular people.