My fear right now is that some things will be soon forgotten, and nothing will have changed.
But the reality is that in the past year, the Orthodox Jewish community, and the Jewish community as a whole, has been stung by some stunning revelations of corruption. Most recently, it was the arrest of several rabbis, mostly from within the tight knit Syrian Jewish community of the Jersey Shore, who were involved in money laundering, while others were involved in trading in human organs for transplant. There was Dina Wein Reis, who lived in an opulence that was funded by her defrauding major corporations. Bernard Madoff, who was not Orthodox, travelled almost exclusively in Jewish circles, benefited, then nearly ruined, many Jewish philanthropies and philanthropists. And a year ago, the raid on Rubashkin and their many violations of labor and immigration laws. There are others as well, many others, that could be added to this list of shame.
Many Jews, when they hear news like this, worry what non-Jews think. I don’t usually worry much about what non-Jews think about us. Those who are anti-Semites will always find what to add to their arsenal. At a time when we hear about plenty of crimes and indiscretions committed by clergy, one can find what to say about any religious group.
What concerns me first is what Jews will think.
Many Jews regardless of their level of ritual observance of Judaism still take pride in its moral and ethical obligations. But there is more to Judaism than ethical monotheism. Covenantal Judaism is a holistic system that includes both interpersonal obligations and commitments between the Jew and God. When one sets himself apart in the garb of a “religious Jew” or under the title of Rabbi, that person should live up to the whole package - it isn’t just about how we deal with God, but also with those who are created in God’s image - Jew and gentile alike. When a Jew sees a “religious Jew” engage in illegal activities, whether it is fraud or the trafficking in human kidneys, what is that person supposed to think? The conclusions are counterintuitive, that neither God nor the ritual aspects of Jewish life make a person a better human being in the eyes of one’s fellow man.
When a Jew engages in unethical practices, it denigrates the importance of all mitzvot. Our tradition teaches us that good business practices are as important as Shabbat observance, that compassion to human beings is as meaningful as kashrut. Our homes are as sacred as our synagogues, and our spouses and children as sacred as any sacred item we can possess.
And yet, what the gentiles might think is also important, but not for the reasons that we usually think.
The task of the Jew in this world, the essence of Jewish chosen-ness, is kiddush hashem, the sanctification of God’s name through the living embodiment of God’s will. The term that we use for the actions of those like the rabbis and others mentioned earlier is hillul hashem, a desecration of God’s name. Traditionally, these terms are used to express the concern for how Jewish behaviors will appear to non Jews, and how those actions might lead them to either sanctify, or vilify, God. We now need to think about the examples set within our community. Often, observant communities apply pressure to members to maintain their particular ritual standards. Perhaps the same communal pressure should apply to the observance of those mitzvot bein adam lachaveiro, those interpersonal obligations of justice, compassion, fairness, and domestic well being, that are meant to protect the dignity and integrity of those whom God created in His own image.
It is also the task of Jewish educators across the spectrum to teach about values that go beyond the letter of the law. Halacha does not spell out the specifics of business and financial practices that may apply in today’s market place, but we can certainly derive from the Torah how we should conduct our dealings. We also have a halachic principle that states dina d’malchuta dina - the law of the state is the law, and we are obligated to abide by it.
On the surface, many Jewish laws that apply in the public realm do not technically apply to the relationships between Jews and gentiles. The sages of the Talmud, however, tended to eliminate those differences mipnei darkei shalom, loosely translated, to promote the ways of peace. Some explain that the rabbis instituted this as a means of protecting Jews as a minority in a hostile majority culture. But shalom, peace, is so important a value that leads me to conclude that such critiques are cynical in character. Our interpersonal and business relationships with the gentile world do matter, and as such, we need to treat everyone with dignity as a means of bringing Godliness into this world. Cheating or mistreating a non-Jew is not acceptable Jewish behavior, as it inhibits darkei shalom, the ways of peace. And excusing such behaviors due to a history of victimization is no longer acceptable, as this sort of behavior against Jews in our society in our day is the exception, not the rule that it once was.
We are at the threshold of the month of Ellul, the period that precedes the New Year and marks the beginning of the introspective penitential season. It is a time when schools resume their classes and communities initiate activities for a new annual cycle. It is appropriate at this time that Jewish schools, synagogues, and community institutions commit themselves to instituting programs and curricula on Jewish interpersonal and business ethics. It isn’t enough to say that living as a Jew has to do with Shabbat or holidays, synagogue and tzedakah. It is about living it, adopting behaviors that allow it to permeate our lives in our homes and at work, in our dining rooms and our board rooms. That is a challenge that we should all consider as we prepare to begin a new year.
