The Spiritual Journey of Jewish Law 

There are four types among those who attend the study hall. One who goes but does nothing—has gained the rewards of going. One who does [study] but does not go to the study hall—has gained the rewards of doing. One who goes and does is a chassid. One who neither goes nor does is wicked. – Ethics of the Fathers, 5:14 

My wife and I have a game. We study two pages of Shulchan Aruch, the Code of Jewish Law, in front of a big bowl filled with small pieces of watermelon. Each page can have anywhere from two to twelve laws.  

If we learn a law about something we are already doing, we each take two pieces of watermelon. If we learn a law about something that is still beyond us, we take one piece of watermelon. If we learn a law about something we could be doing and decide to start doing it, we take three pieces.  

Jewish law is called halacha. The word means to move or to walk.  

If I drove 100 kph (about 62 mph) on the highway and a police officer pulled me over to cite me for good driving, I’d be pleased. But following the law of the land doesn’t move you ahead, it merely keeps you from falling behind in the form of paying fines, serving time in jail, or having your professional background tainted with a crime.   

A Lot to Cover 

The Shulchan Aruch is 600 pages long with an average of at least 6 laws on each page. That can be more than 2,400 laws that cover the life of a Jew.  

To be able to learn, understand, and follow every one of them takes a lifetime of commitment. It’s a slow journey where each law you learn means that you take a step forward.  

That’s why we measure our progress in fruit! 

Take, for example, one of the Laws of Shabbat: You should light candles at least 30 minutes before three stars come out.  

The Shulchan Aruch is giving you good news: It is instructing you to do a mitzvah you are likely already doing. If you light Shabbat candles at the time when the Jewish newspaper tells you to, you are doing a mitzvah. Take two pieces of watermelon!  

How about another law about determining what exactly makes a tzitzit kosher. 

That’s a learning mitzvah. It might be so complicated you will have to take the Rabbis’ word for it when you buy your next tzitzit. But even if the law is too complicated, you get credit for learning. Take one piece of watermelon! 

The Best Laws 

The best laws are those that you both learn and perform. The following halacha is an example: During Shabbat, you should not talk about any plans for after Shabbat. 

Reading this halacha makes it official. Do not talk about things outside of Shabbat while you are safe inside God’s special island in time.  

This is a law any of us can work on. It’s a law that we just learned, and now we can perform.  

Take three pieces of watermelon! 

This is halacha in the sense of moving! We’re taking small steps toward Hashem by gradually bending the walls of our comfort zone. 

The Halacha 

In the earlier example of speeding, it follows that obeying the speed limit law means you won’t get punished.  

In contrast, following Hashem’s laws brings you closer to God. You become more spiritually sensitive to everything beautiful around you. You want to come even closer to God. As you take on laws like “don’t talk about non-Shabbat matters on Shabbat” that constitute low-hanging fruit of personal and spiritual improvement, laws that once seemed fanatical or too complicated, suddenly make a lot more sense.  

Many of the laws that right now seem extreme will, over time, become low-hanging fruit. 

This is the spiritual journey of Jewish Law. Take one small step at a time, and scale mountains as you travel deeper into the Holy Land.  

*** 

David Ben Horin lives in Afula with his family, millions of sunflowers, and Matilda, our local camel. David‘s Israeli startup, Center Stage Marketing, is a lean marketing agency for startups and small businesses that creates and promotes SEO optimized ROI-driven to the right audience on LinkedIn to make your business the star of the show.