A Jewish Idea- Mitzvot

  

For 1,000 years our early morning prayer service has begun with this Talmudic passage; "These are the things for which a person gains benefit both in this world and in the world to come---

          Honoring father and mother, doing deeds of kindness, arriving early at the Study House both in the evening and morning, welcoming guests, visiting the ill, providing for a needy bride to enjoy her wedding, caring for the deceased, deep attention during prayer, bringing people to peaceful reconciliation, and the study of Torah equals them all."

          It is noteworthy that the large majority of these specific mitzvot are not ritual. Indeed, most Jewish people would call these mitzvot ethical or human-to-human mitzvot. Superficially, 7 of these behaviors do not appear to be linked to God at all. Why then does the Talmud teach that these mitzvot yield a future in the next world, called Afterlife or Olam HaBa? Because the performance of these mitzvot elevate the entire community, one person at a time, with both the doer and the unintended recipient of the action being transformed through these acts of caring. When we care enough about others to modify our behavior we change the world. In effect, we follow God's example of bringing order upon chaos. Just as God organized the universe in Beresheet (Genesis) so are we able to organize a chaotic world in which we dwell.Yet, these mitzvot are so obvious we would like to think that people would act thusly without being reminded to do so. And there are those people who would say "I can perform these deeds even without a belief in a personal God."

          What is it about these specific mitzvot that confer such significance upon the doer? Perhaps because these mitzvot usher a transcendent quality into our world and perhaps because these mitzvot are done selflessly, we can and still do transform our world through our treatment of each other and our utilization of our limited resources of time, money and energy. And perhaps these mitzvot stand out in the Talmud because though they are fairly simple to perform, they effect significant impact upon the lives of others.

           For the Jew who believes in God these mitzvot are a connection through the human realm to the Divine realm. For the questioning Jew, uncertain of a belief in a personal God, these mitzvoth bear true and Divine power, forging a connection to other people and cracking open the door to belief. Our recipe for entering an Afterlife starts with caring for others in a practical and concrete manner, which is the exact opposite of a belief in God or an Afterlife. Ironically, a lesson plan of Talmudic practicality has become a philosophical mantra, recited as a prayer. May we all make this mantra our own!

          

 Shalom,

Rabbi Steve Silberman