The Missing Link in the Evangelical Community

Jewish World Review March 30, 2007 / 11 Nissan 5767

Living the commanded life …

By Rabbi Berel Wein

as a means to fulfilling our ultimate life's purpose

(As I have reflected on the cohesiveness of the Jewish community, it seems that there is within that community a certain discipline that is sadly missing in the world of the Christian Right...Call it pride in being Jewish; call it reactive to minority status; call it whatever you will, but many Jews have managed to build within their religious and family structure a responsibility to contribute...This responsibility spills over into every aspect of public life and has produced a refined excellence that should serve as a model for other communities...

Rabbi Wein has raised an important question: "What is our ultimate life purpose?" That question lies at the root of Christian life in America and seems lost with so many disparate groups vying for recognition and so many competing doctrines...Perhaps it is time to revisit the Westminster shorter catechism - "The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever."

Stan Moody, author of "Crisis in Evangelical Scholarship" and "McChurched: 300 Million Served and Still Hungry.")

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | There is a single Hebrew word that conveys much of the basic message of Judaism and the traditions of Torah life: "tzav", the first word — and name of — this week's Torah portion.

Even though we live, or believe that we do, in a world of ultimate free choice and personal autonomy, the structure of all civilizations and societies is that we are commanded to do certain things in life. Sometimes it is our family that makes these demands on us, other times it is our work or profession and still other times it is the government that intrudes upon our autonomy. There is always a piece of us, deeply hidden within the recesses of our psyche, which rebels against these intrusions on our private choices and lives.

The Torah recognizes this nature of ours and therefore emphasizes the necessary requirement of commandments that can thereby insure a moral lifestyle and a better society. Even the great Aaron, the paradigm of human goodness and peace, the holy High Priest of Israel, has to be commanded. The strength of being commanded — of "tzav" — is the bulwark of Jewish life and tradition. Without that ingredient of asher tzivanu — blessed be G-d Who has commanded us — there is no Judaism and ultimately no private or public Jewish life.

All of our lives, from the time of infancy onward, we are shaped and raised by commandments. The sages called this process "chinuch" — laying of a strong foundation for our lives. Thus, the word "tzav", which introduces our Torah portion this week, is not only to be understood in its literal and narrow meaning as it applies to the laws of sacrifices in the Temple and to the High Priest of Israel but it is to be seen as the basic expression of the values and mindset of Judaism in all of its aspects.

Special note should be made that this word "tzav" appears in conjunction with the commandments regarding the sacrifice of the olah in the Holy Temple. The olah, unlike any of the other sacrifices, was a sacrifice from which no human being obtained any immediate tangible benefit. It was completely consumed by the fire on the altar.

There must have been a hidden voice of hesitancy that resonated within the person bringing that sacrifice and even within the priest that was offering it up on the altar to be totally consumed. After all, of what value was a sacrifice if no one would derive any immediate value from its offering?

Because of the limited range of human logic as compared to G-d's infinity so to speak, the Torah emphasized here the word "tzav" — this is an order, a commandment — not subject to human logic or choice. Many times in life demands are made upon us there are illogical and sometimes appear even to be capricious, but nevertheless they must be met.

By realizing the innate necessity in life for "tzav" — for bowing to Divine Will and for obeying commandments, we therefore make our lives easier to live and more meaningful as well. And we also must realize that life at times demands an olah from us, selfless sacrifice that shows little immediate or tangible reward or benefit. We are here to serve. That is our ultimate life's purpose.

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JWR contributor Rabbi Berel Wein --- Jewish historian, author and international lecturer offers a complete selection of CDs, audio tapes, video tapes, DVDs, and books on Jewish history at www.rabbiwein.com Comment by clicking here.