Clashing civilizations

Last week saw a battle between Israel and Hamas. At the surface level, the conflict was about deterrence, Hamas had to be convinced it lacked the power to shower rockets on Israel. 

At a deeper level, the roots of conflict are civilizational- Judaism and Islamist Hamas have incompatible claims to one and the same territory. These opposing claims emanate from two competing narratives of God’s Creation, both of which constitute their civilization's sense of legitimacy and its law. 

In both cases, to be legitimate, National sovereignty must be an extension of Nature created by God. The Created world has a law for every one of its parts, for the most remote galaxies, the Solar system and for Earth. Man is no exception to this general rule, as another part of Creation occupying space on Earth we too must act in accord with His law that controls all aspects of Creation.

For Islamists, the proper method for extending law to man is Islamism. Each and every man must live as a citizen in a world wide Caliphate- under Muslim sovereignty. This world wide Caliphate may begin in areas of Muslim power, ie where the "prophet" Muhammed first dwelled. But this merely a practical issue, from the initial staging ground the Caliphate is meant to extend outward to mankind generally.

 As a Non Muslim State within the immediate bounds of sacred territory dwelled in by Mohammed, the existence of Israel is a desecration of scripture, the height of affront to nature. The Islamists interpretation of religion demands that the territory currently under Israeli illegitimate occupation be made part of the emerging  Muslim Caliphate. The rocket attacks staged by Hamas are a stage in the larger campaign to liberate the land and establish the full Caliphate through Holy war of Jihad.

For Jews, sovereignty is also a matter of extending law into the domain of man, this extension is also to be done by scripture. It is in precisely this light that the restoration of Jewish Sovereignty in the territory of Israel is a fulfillment of scripture. Abraham received a covenant from Hashem that the Jewish people would inherit this land. The return of Jewish sovereignty is a redemption of the land, the end of a forced expulsion from our natural home. In the words of Israel’s declaration of independence:

The Land of Israel, was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books.

After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom.

Impelled by this historic and traditional attachment, Jews strove in every successive generation to re-establish themselves in their ancient homeland. In recent decades they returned in their masses. Pioneers, ma'pilim (Hebrew) - immigrants coming to Eretz-Israel in defiance of restrictive legislation] and defenders, they made deserts bloom, revived the Hebrew language, built villages and towns, and created a thriving community controlling its own economy and culture, loving peace but knowing how to defend itself, bringing the blessings of progress to all the country's inhabitants, and aspiring towards independent nationhood.

While this particular clash with Hamas is getting headlines and dominates conversation, in principle there is nothing new about it- Hamas is but the current opponent in a historic process. The Jewish nation was founded upon a core underlying dialectic about the nature of man’s place in the world, the legitimate way to extend natural law into the political arena and its laws for citizens. This dialectic Judaism brings into mankind is the basis of redemption and is the central thread of the Torah story. 

We will deal with this central thread of the Storyline of redemption in the next post. It is in the context of exploring the dialectic about extending the concept of natural law into terms applicable to legitimacy in sovereignty and law that we will move toward an answer to the original question. How does one preoccupied with material security afforded by Goel Yisrael ever come to recognize the Creator of Shamayim V'aretz.

The centrality of Redemption

In discussion with my friend David Guttman an extremely important topic came up, one I would like to clarify my thoughts about and receive feedback from others. See here . The discussion emerged from reading Jim Holt’s new book “why does the world exist”.  As the ambitious title implies, the book deals with the question known today as: “why is there something, rather than nothing”?

The central tenant of Judaism is that nothing but God is a “first existent”, necessarily existing without need of any cause. Attaining deep knowledge of the contigency of Creation upon God the ‘first existent” is therefore the very foundation of the Mitzva system- it is the ultimate goal the Torah guides us to attain.

But how do we reach this lofty goal? Rather than meditating on the Cosmos' need for His causal force, as Avraham Avinu did, our interest in “needs” is self-centered.The focus of our prayers is our material security, as individuals and as citizens of the Jewish nation and the world. We seek his Kingship, his powerful Hand acting to decimate our enemies and secure Israel’s well-being.

This preoccupation with material well being starts from the earliest times, from the sojourn of our forefathers in Egypt. We did not cry out to Hashem the Lord of our father’s to aid us in solving Father Abraham’s question “why there is something rather than nothing”. Our interest was much more material than that, we called out only when our personal existence was in crisis.

23 And it came to pass in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died; and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.25 And God saw the children of Israel, and God took cognizance of them. {S}

Our forefathers in Egypt came to believe in God through illustrations of Yad Hashem, His beneficent power to sustain us in material security and to deliver Israel from crisis.This interest in Hashem's mighty "hand" reaches its height at yam Suf, instigating the song of Az Yashir.

28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, even all the host of Pharaoh that went in after them into the sea; there remained not so much as one of them.29 But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.  30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore. 31 And Israel saw the great hand which the LORD displayed upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the LORD; and they believed in the LORD, and in His servant Moses. {P}

1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spoke, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider has he thrown into the sea. 

This central fact, that our service is centered on Hashem’s "hand", is canonized in the culmination of Keriat Shema. We conclude Shema and enter tefilla focused upon recalling the event of Yam Suf, the quintessential illustration of His power. 

Shira chadasha shibechu geulim... the redeemed ones sang a new song (az yashir). All together they gave thanksgiving and recognized His Kingship saying : Hashem will rule for all eternity!

How is one whose service to Hashem centers on attaining security ever to be led to seek the "First Existent"?  How are we to move from focusing on the mighty hand of the Goel Yisrael, to seeking the cause of the Cosmos / Boreh Shamayim V'Aretz?

I will attempt to answer this in the next post exploring the centrality of the notion of "Redemption" as a preliminary stage in service to Hashem.

Theme of Sefer D'varim

ויהי בארבעים שנה, בעשתי עשר חדש, בראש חודש שבט, הקהיל את העם ואמר להם: הגיע זמן מותי, ואם יש בכם מי ששמע הלכה ושכחה, יבוא וישאלני ואבאר אותה, וכל מי שנסתפקה עליו שאלה יבא ואפרשנה לו, כמו שנאמר " הואיל משה באר את התורה הזאת לאמורRepitition or Review
Rambam, based upon Chazal, says that before his death Moshe offered one last opportunity to remember Halachot that had been forgotten, and to ask questions that remained unresolved. Upon reflection, this offer of a "final review" is highly problematic.

First of all, the Torah's term used to characterize this final teaching " הואיל משה באר את התורה הזאת לאמור" is "biur" which refers to "explanation" rather than "review".

In addition, for Moshe to push the people to learn halachos they had neglected, would be a sharp departure from his lifelong educational method. Clearly it was known that the Jews were forgetting Halachot, yet Moshe, wisely, followed a developmental approach, giving the Jews room to grow in Talmud Torah at their own rate. Why would he change this educational strategy at the end of his life?

The efficacy of offering one last review is also highly questionable. Moshe must have covered all the halachot many, many times during the 40 years in the desert. As Chazal point out, Moshe offered to review forgotten Halachot, not to teach new ones. Why would one more cycle of study solve the problem of forgetting Halachot, when 40 years had failed to do so?

The questions rest upon the assumption that Sefer Dvarim offers another instance in the same curricular cycle that had been going on for so many years. From this point of view, doing one more cycle of a curriculum which for 40 years has faiLed to remove forgetfulness from the people is irrational, inconsistent and futile. Rather, Rambam's reading of "הואיל משה באר את התורה הזאת לאמור presupposes viewing Sefer D'varim as a fundamentally new framework of study.

Up until Sefer Dvarim, study had been in the context of Talmud Torah, which by nature is ordered around personal development. From its very beginning the courts were set up to deal, first and foremost, with Mishpat, resolving disputes over property, the quintessentially personal domain.

In contrast as the name of the Sefer- "Dvarim" - suggests, Moshe's final teaching articulated a complete formulation, a precise order of D'varim which would serve as a new framework of Mesorah for all generations. Moshe saw the time of his death as a unique opportunity to frame Torah in its Mesorah context. It is in the moments prior to death, when the leader's objectivity is most evident, that such a perspective is possible. The follower is naturally focused on the reality of continuity, in light of the leaders approaching demise. Mussar that a youthful follower would previously have angrily rejected as an intrusion into his personal affairs, will at the proper historic moment, be perceived in its civilizational, rather than personal context.

It is in this context, that the last teaching is properly understood. This review is meant as an integral part of the emergence of a systematically presented Mesorah in clear, precise "Dvarim". In this sense, the review is in fact a true "biur" of the Torah not as another instance of the Talmud Torah that had been done up till then.

Avraham Avinu's approach to "rule of law"

 A redemptive message
Avraham taught that Hashem is the unique essential existent and is therefore necessarily El Olam: the source of the unified causality presupposed by all research into the systems of the universe. 

Implicit in this general principle of Avraham, lies a core application. This application has many implications which require a long process of reflection, indeed a full scale redemptive process, to become completely acknowledged and worked through. First let us deal with the application of Avraham's principle, then its redemptive implications.

Redemption 2.0
If all processes in the Universe are expressions of a unified causal order, it certainly follows that human life is itself, subject to causality. In fact, human life is a component process that occurs within the dictates of causality of the ecosystem of Earth. 

This insight, that human life must be understood as a special case of causality, has fundamental implications for the concept of "rule of law" in the State. If man is a part of the causal order,we are not free to live in accordance with any law which happens to produce consensus in the State as determined by popular vote, or any other means. Rather, each and every law must stand the test of harmoniously arising from the natural system in which we function.

This imperative to test each law by its consistency with natural Justice demands our best objective Judgement, not the simplistic political pronouncements we are so familiar with, which are no more than first opinions founded in ignorance and prejudice.

To fully implement the principle of natural justice is a transformational process because it contradicts a core convention of man. Law is classically intertwined with custom and ancient consensus about myths and folklore that people are deeply attached to. To educate the population in a dramatically new sense of natural justice is extremely difficult. Yet such is the redemptive mission of Talmud Torah, a study in which each and every law is released from first opinions, in favor of increasingly abstract conceptions. The abstract conceptions form a unified thought system, meeting the most rigorous logical standards. The centrality of this of redemption from first opinions is clearly indicated by the theme of Chumash, which is clearly a narrative which depicts the "sippur yetziat mitzraim" in a series of stories from the Creation of man until Sinai.

Taryag Mitzvot: the final articulation of redemption
Redemption of man reaches it height through the agency of Moshe Rabbenu. It was only the constitutional document of Torat Moshe Rabbenu that could give complete articulation to Avraham Avinu's call for a "rule of law" harmonious with nature. The taryag Mitzvot contain the system of principles, terms as well as the full set of cases and Biblical narratives needed for the ongoing education of the nation. It is the Talmud Torah process that redeems generation after generation of men away from a law of their own preconception and into a divine law organically emerging from discovery of natural processes which allows for a harmonious social system of citizens.

This redemptive sense of taryag was first presented by Moshe Rabbenu in Sefer D'varim and subsequently passed down through the generations until its current formulation by Rambam.

B'Shem Hashem version 2.0

Based upon helpful comments by Yacov Trachtman and others I have modified this piece on B'Shem Hashem.

Rambam begins each and every one of the books of the Mishne Torah with a part of the verse
 ויטע אשל בבאר שבע ויקרא שם בשם ה אל עולם. If one does not pause to think about it, the verse is easily overlooked, or perhaps brushed off as a unimportant literary flourish. Upon reflection however, this dismissive treatment of Rambam's use of verse hardly does justice to his genius and careful writing style.

In fact, the conceptual centrality of בשם ה אל עולם to all of Talmud Torah becomes apparent if we carefully consider the message of this verse. The reference is to Avraham Avinu's battle to restore the concept of Hashem's unity to its proper place in the world human thought,namely- the foundation stone of all service to God. Avraham was alone against all mankind in this struggle, living in a time when the foundational concepts of "world" and "service to God" had been subverted. He became the vehicle by which the "pillar of of all sciences" became reestablished- the Amudo Shel Olam.

As the Yesod ha-Yesodot points out, all human success is built upon developing an ever more complete scientific "map" of the external world.

 יסוד היסודות ועמוד החכמות לידע שיש שם מצוי ראשון והוא ממציא כל הנמצא

The first of all "first principles" and the pillar of all sciences is to know that there is a first existent and that He is the cause of all that comes into existence

To attain this scientific "map" society must focus research on moving away from first perceptions in favor of the abstract sense of "systems" which are ultimately traced back to a first existent- Hashem El Olam. Abraham discovered that his brethren had moved in the opposite direction, abandoning the pursuit of abstract "systems" in favor of a world of simplistic magical notions easily translated into popular religious movements. Rambam describes the process by which Avraham became Amudo Shel Olam, whose discovery of the dependence of the abstract systems upon a first cause became the very pillar upon which the world of human thought and its derivative service to Hashem was restored.

The transformation began with Avraham himself rediscovering the notion of His Wisdom, a unified sense of the material world in which all things are but parts of the great system which is the universe. It was from this vantage point that Avraham understood Hashem El Olam, God as first existent was the exclusive source of causality underlying all subsystems of the unified system of the universe.

This unified sense of causality, inevitably points to "kav ha-tzedek" the recognition that man himself is a subsystem in the universe. Accordingly, human success depends upon seeking "kav haTzedek" an abstract formulation of natural Justice. This formulation must result in a rule of law for the social system whose harmony and wisdom is a microcosm of the causal harmony seen in the systems of the universe generally. It was in the course seeking to bring such natural justice to his own real world political community, that Avraham had a chance to observe first hand the extent of the resistance of myth based religion to abstract thinking.

As an animal species, man seeks a simple vision of his environment, one easily applied to immediate survival needs. Such simple visions provide a false sense of security, seemingly removing the need for the ongoing research needed to attain true abstract notions of the world of "universal causality". The simple vision supplants the world seen through the prism of thought and research with a myth based world, religious systems arising out of folklore in which the peoples need for security is easily satisfied by a psychological misrepresentation of Hashem. In this misrepresentation Hashem is pictured in simplistic terms based upon our unreflective relationships with authority figures. Sadly, the distorted myth based world ultimately gives rise to tyranny, a regime of corrupt individuals who subvert the simple minded peoples need for security to their own material interest. In exchange for performing religious rituals that "secure Gods blessing" these priests and religious elites attain fabulous wealth and power for themselves at the expense of the people. This form of "religion" promotes a mythical reality, in which man succeeds through "rituals" tailor made to promote the divine right of political leaders to make laws in their own material interest. Such a social order prevents true research into the systems of the universe needed for recognition of the first existent, it is therefore Avoda Zara, a distorted alien service, hateful to God.

It was precisely this kind of tyrannical political regime that Avraham saw in his own community of Ur Kasdim. He confronted the leadership of his own community, demanding that the irrational myths be removed and that rational pursuit of His Wisdom be restored as the exclusive basis of service to Hashem. The regime fought back, fearing loss of their privilege and power. Avraham only escaped with his life through providential events, clearly beyond his own, considerable, political abilities to anticipate.

Avraham subsequently abandoned his homeland in favor of a grass roots movement, offering an alternative to those few who were open to releasing themselves from mythology and the resulting tyranny. He used a variety of ways to make his alternative way of life known, as pointed to by the verse,ויטע אשל בבאר שבע. The sight of the eshel in the desert attracted attention to Avraham's community, offering an incentive for friendship and intimate discussion.

It is in this context that Rambam's use of the verse בשם ה אל עולם can be appreciated as the proper introduction to Talmud Torah. At the very least the simplistic appeal of myth and folklore discourages abstract thought, at worst it is manipulated as propaganda to maintain the self serving claims of tyrannical leadership to divine right.

Each and every piece of Torah therefore, should function as an instrument of "calling in the name of El Olam", restoring man's focus on the the world of causality and liberating man from the false security offered by the world of Avoda Zara mythology and the ruthless propaganda of tyrants. This foundational concept is the basis of true service, seeking success on the basis of discovering His wisdom established by Avraham Avinu, the amudo shel Olam.

Bshem Hashem El Olam

Rambam begins each and every one of his S'farim with a part of a verse ויטע אשל בבאר שבע ויקרא שם בשם ה אל עולם. If one does not pause to think about it, the verse is easily overlooked, or perhaps brushed off as a unimportant literary flourish. Upon reflection however, this dismissive treatment of Rambam's use of verse hardly does justice to his genius and careful writing style.

In fact, the conceptual centrality of בשם ה אל עולם to all works of Talmud Torah becomes apparent if we carefully consider the message of this verse. The reference is to Avraham Avinu's battle to restore the concept of Hashem's unity to its proper place in the world human thought, the foundation stone of all service to God. Avraham was alone against all mankind in this struggle, living in a time when the foundational concepts of "world" and "service to God" had been subverted. This process is described by Rambam in Hilchot Avoda Zara Chapter 1.

Human success is built upon the reality of a natural world, one in which research and discovery of the Craft of the El Olam is the basis of service to God. Abrahams' brethren degenerated into a world of magical thinking, the prison of myth based religion. Rambam describes the process by which Avraham became Amudo Shel Olam, the very pillar upon whose discovery the world of human thought and its derivative service to Hashem was restored.

This process began with Avraham rediscovering the notion of His Wisdom, a unified sense of causality underlying all events in the universe. This unified sense of causality, inevitably points to "kav ha-tzedek" a unified sense of natural law in which mankind is but a special case of the world of causal phenomenon. In the course of understanding the unique challenge of applying his understanding of "kav hatzedek" to his own real world political community, Avraham encountered the source of myth based religion first hand.

As an animal species, man seeks a simple vision of his environment, one easily applied to immediate survival needs. Such simple visions remove the need for theoretical thought, the careful research needed to attain true abstract notions of the world of "universal causality". The simple vision supplants the world seen through the prism of thought and research with a myth based world, religious systems arising out of folklore in which the peoples need for security is easily satisfied. Sadly, the distorted myth based world ultimately gives rise to tyranny, a regime of corrupt individuals who subvert the simple minded peoples need for security to their own material interest. In exchange for performing religious rituals that "secure Gods blessing" these priests and religious elites attain fabulous wealth and power for themselves at the expense of the people. This form of "religion" is hateful to God, it is Avoda Zara, a distorted alien service.

It was precisely this kind of tyrannical political regime that Avraham saw in his own community of Ur Kasdim. He confronted the leadership of his own community, demanding that the irrational myths be removed and that rational pursuit of His Wisdom be restored as the exclusive basis of service to Hashem. The regime fought back, fearing loss of their priviledge and power. Avraham only escaped with his life through extraordinary fortuitous events, clearly beyond his own, considerable, political abilities to anticipate.

Avraham subsequently abandoned his homeland in favor of a grass roots movement, offering an alternative to those few who were open to releasing themselves from mythology. He used a variety of ways to make his alternative way of life known, as pointed to by the verse,ויטע אשל בבאר שבע. An Eshel does not naturally grow in the dry desert environment of Beer Sheva, it requires considerable research to make this happen, especially in Avraham's time. The unusual sight of the eshel in the desert attracted attention to a human lifestyle of a very different kind, capable of supporting life in new ways. (Rabbi Rosenthal based upon Ibn Ezra).

It is in this context that Rambam's use of the verse בשם ה אל עולם can be appreciated as the proper introduction to every work of Torah. Each and every piece of Torah must be seen as an instrument of "calling in the name of El Olam", extending the world of causality and thereby liberating a domain that had, at best, been imprisoned in the world of myth and folklore and ,at worst, served the agenda of self serving tyrannical leadership. This foundational concept is the basis of true service, seeking success on the basis of discovering His wisdom revealed in the natural world.