Is there religious value to good deeds performed by a heretic?

In last month’s inevitable last-minute scrambling for ideas to relate at Seder-night, my attention was drawn to a piece from Rav Moshe Feinstein concerning midrashic accounts of how the Israelites merited the Exodus.

One set of aggadot focuses on the famous verse from Yechezkel “And I said to you, by your blood – live! And I said to you, by your blood – live!”. The sages teach that it was through two bloods, that of circumcision and that of the korban Pesach, that the Exodus was earned.

But what, asks Rav Feinstein, was the need for this? Do we not also read in another set of midrashim that the Israelites were redeemed in the merit of having maintained a distinct identity from that of their Egyptian hosts, in terms of language, clothes, names – and even food! The answer he offers is consistent with an important teaching of Rambam in another context.

Jewish tradition teaches that our ancestors in Egypt were heavily influenced by the pagan religious culture of their host country. The sages thus interpret the words “mishchu ukechu”, which introduce the command to offer the first korban Pesach, to be a veiled instruction to first separate themselves from idolatrous ideas and associations and only then to bring the Pesach offering. The two bloods, of circumcision representing the covenant of Avraham and the korban Pesach, represented a highly significant religious act of relinquishing Egyptian ideologies and ideas in favour of the God of Israel. The performance of good deeds and other commandments in the worship of an entity other than God, writes Rav Feinstein is not meritorious. Only once these idolatrous associations had been set aside, therefore, could their various good deeds accumulate as merits towards the Exodus.

This value system strongly echoes the teachings of Rambam in both Mishneh Torah and Moreh Nevuchim.

In chapter 8 of his Hilchot Melachim, Rambam tells us that:

“Anyone who accepts upon himself the fulfilment of these seven mitzvot and is precise in their observance is considered one of 'the pious among the gentiles' and will merit a share in the World to Come.

This applies only when he accepts them and fulfils them because the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah and informed us through Moses, our teacher, that Noah's descendants had been commanded to fulfil them previously. However, if he fulfils them out of intellectual conviction, he is not a resident alien, nor of 'the pious among the gentiles,' rather he is of their wise men.”

For Rambam, it would seem, it is not sufficient for non-Jews simply to observe the seven laws. They must be motivated by (and therefore implicitly believe in) the existence of God and His revelation to Moshe.

The explanation for Rambam’s position can be found in a profound passage towards the end of Moreh Nevuchim (3:51) which teaches that any attempt to worship or connect “without knowledge” to God such as by attributing physical features to Him:

“does not in true reality mention or think about God. For that thing which is in his imagination and which he mentions is his mouth does not correspond to any being at all and has merely been invented by his imagination”

Since, for Rambam, the connection that one achieves with God is an absolute reality and achieved by means of the intellect, the quality and existence of such a connection is directly affected by the correctness of a person’s intellectual perception of God. The good deeds performed by such a heretic, therefore, while being independently and objectively praiseworthy, will not bear the religious value of connecting that person to God.

When it comes to the performance of negative commandments and destructive societal behaviour, however, it is clear from the Torah that God punishes both idolators and believers for their sinful actions. We have no reason to believe that the generation of the flood or the citizens of Sodom believed in or knew of the God of Israel – they certainly had not received prophetic instruction as to how to conduct their lives. Does this indicate that, at least when it comes to negative commandments, the Torah endorses a form of natural law which all humans are supposed to be able to intuit and understand?

Not necessarily.

The “punishments” of earlier generations in the Torah may be better understood as God pursuing His plan for a refined and righteous humanity. The fate visited upon the generation of the flood and those at the Tower of Babel may therefore have been as a result of their inexorable slide away from building a society which could receive, understand and implement God’s word before transmitting it to later generation. It may not have been a consequence of culpability.

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Is the concept of a 'chosen nation' inherently unfair?

Membership of any kind of elite club or select society is often designed to boost the status and egos of those fortunate enough to possess it - while leaving those excluded peering curiously and sometimes even enviously over their shoulder. When it comes to the elite club established by God, such inbuilt inequality can often prompt pointed and difficult questions:

Why did God desire and establish such a two-tiered system in which the apparently privileged “Chosen Nation” enjoys such a significant hereditary advantage over their unchosen counterparts?

Judaism Reclaimed addresses this question on the basis of Seforno’s commentary to a verse (32:7) in yesterday’s Torah reading – as developed by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. Seforno, like other commentators, understands parashat Ha’azinu to represent a poetic progression through human history as seen from God’s perspective.

In Seforno’s telling, God’s initial and ideal plan was for all of humanity to join together as a single society to serve God and implement a thriving moral and spiritual society. As explained by Rav Hirsch, it was only the repeated failures – such as those of the generations of the flood and tower of Babel – which necessitated a recalibration of the divine plan. This was because, while a single cohesive society could, in theory, unite more effectively to further God’s will, at the same time this also created a commensurate potential for evil to be spread quickly across human society.

When God promised, in the aftermath of the flood, that He would never again bring about worldwide destruction, this led to the splintering of human society into different countries, cultures and languages. From this point, evil could be more easily isolated – as seen in the instance of Sodom – but so too would the effective implementation of God’s moral and spiritual teachings be isolated to specific worthy communities.

The opening chapter of Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi’s Kuzari develops the idea that, for God’s purpose in creation to be realised, a broadly righteous and morally functioning society needed to be established which could receive God’s teachings and then successfully transmit it throughout the generations – to its own descendants and also, eventually to the entire humanity. The Kuzari relates that, in the 20 generations between Adam and Avraham, there was a steady supply of righteous individuals who taught this new mission with which humanity had been charged. However, these individuals were unable to influence the world around them by spreading this message and building a society based upon its values.

In subsequent chapters, Judaism Reclaimed continues to develop this idea of the nature and role of the Chosen Nation – including a teaching of the Rambam that the spiritual achievements of the Avot led to such a powerful providential overflow that it was even able to guide the fortunes of their descendants. Ultimately, as is also demonstrated, membership of the Chosen Nation is not solely a privilege but, in reality, a double-edged sword. The heightened providential focus which facilitates our ability to carry God’s torch and be a light unto the nations also means that, when we fall short, this attracts more immediate and intense divine correction.

Finally, the more universalist approach of Rav Hirsch, Rambam and the Seforno also informs their interpretations of prophecies which concern the messianic era. Having recognised that the humanity’s ideal is for the entire world to join to serve God, these commentators emphasise the prophecies which see all of humanity unite to serve God.

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Non-Jews in Jewish tradition: a comparison or rationalist and mystical approaches

The chapter of Judaism Reclaimed which relates to parashat Chukat uses the Torah’s discussion or ritual impurity (tuma) as a springboard to analyse different rabbinic approaches to the differential between Jews and non-Jews. One phrase, which appears near the start of the parashah, teaches that a certain form of tumah (ohel) is generated by proximity only to a Jewish corpse. This is derived from the words “Adam ki yamut be’ohel” – a person who dies in a tent. Rashi quotes a teaching of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai that “only you [Jews] are called Adam, the nations of the world are not called Adam”.

Having examined the rationale of this law from both a mystical and symbolic perspective, our attention turns to its derivation. What does it mean to say that non-Jews are not considered “adam”? Doesn’t a nearby verse uses the term “nefesh adam” to refer to a form of tumah which applies equally to corpses of all religious affiliations?

We examine the source of Rabbi Shimon’s statement regarding non-Jews, in which the prophet Yechezkel says “You [the Jews] are adam”. This phrase forms part of a Messianic prophecy that the Jews will return to their former elevated status and “reunite” with God. The implication is that “adam” does not refer to basic humanity, but rather identifies the “tzelem Elokim” that was granted to Adam HaRishon and gives mankind the ability to think freely and contemplate Divine truths. Radak connects this “Adam” description with another prophetic vision which depicts the world as being awash with Divine knowledge and prophecy. When this position is reached, the status of “adam” will truly have been achieved.

This rendering of the word “adam” finds support in the Tiferet Yisrael commentary to Avot. There, Rabbi Yisrael Lifschitz suggests that the word “adam” refers to those charged with the unique mission of the Jewish People, while “bnei adam” is a description of the entire human species of homo sapiens: the common descendants of Adam. The assignment of the special ‘Adam’ status of the Jewish people to their moral and spiritual mission rather than to any inherently enhanced holiness, is consistent with R’ Hirsch’s understanding of the concept of a ‘Chosen Nation’.

Being a holy nation, for R’ Hirsch, means having been set aside and given a responsibility to act as an example to other nations. Drawing on other phrases employed by the Torah such as “my firstborn is Israel” and “a kingdom of priests,” R’ Hirsch teaches that the relationship between Jews and the other nations is more akin to “first among equals.” As the nation chosen to receive God’s word at Sinai, the Jews are charged with carrying His torch in the world and thereby bearing the privilege and responsibility of serving as a light unto the nations.

This puts R’ Hirsch at odds with those approaching the subject from a mystical perspective such the Ohr HaChaim commentary, which explains how the distinction in tumah arises from a qualitative difference between the holiness of Jewish and non-Jewish souls. Such an approach is firmly grounded in Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi’s Kuzari, which proposes that the generations from Adam to Avraham contained many Godly people to whom the “Divine Essence” became attached on an individual basis. Once the Avot and family achieved such a level as a group, this Essence attached to them on a communal and national level so that their descendants are rendered distinctly holy.

R’ Hirsch’s approach is consistent, however, with the position of Rambam who has no place for any inherent holiness differential between the souls of Jews and non-Jews. Having examined Rambam’s position, Judaism Reclaimed brings passages from the Tosefot Yom Tov commentary to Avot of Rabbi Yom Tov Heller, who argues powerfully that Rambam’s understanding is supported by Rabbi Akiva’s statement that all “adam” is created in God’s image. Rabbi Heller argues that Rambam’s position represents the primary Jewish position on the matter and declares himself “astonished” that so many authorities ignore this teaching of Rabbi Akiva, preferring instead the “distant derash” of Rabbi Shimon, mentioned above, which limits the status of “adam” to the Jewish People.

While Rambam therefore views all mankind as having identical souls, his understanding of the Jewish people’s unique status as recorded in the Torah requires further investigation. We develop an approach based upon his statement in Moreh Nevuchim that “the providence of God over them [the Avot] and their descendants will be great”. This implies that the Jewish People has a constant and considerable hashgachah clalit (national Providence) which guides the community as a whole towards the Divine will. It is this unique national providence which ensured that it was the Jewish People who were suitable to receive the Torah at Sinai and be elevated and refined by its teachings.

The chapter concludes with an investigation of Rambam and R’ Hirsch’s views regarding the envisaged relationship between Jews and non-Jews in the Messianic era – a subject which has been the subject of a previous post.

Posted to Facebook 3 July 2022, here, and 1 July 2020, here.