Looking Back, Looking Forward, Noah Willis

Noah Willis

ey man, If you’re getting this when I hope you will, then you will have just graduated eighth grade. Congrats. High school is a lot different from middle school. I remember when I started high school. I was so ready to focus on the classes that I thought were important. I remember thinking that I was not going to pay attention at all in Talmud or Bible and instead put all of my effort into my secular classes. I will always regret wasting those classes Freshman year. However, at the time I thought that Judaic classes and Judaism overall were not important to me. H

I would never imagine how important and meaningful these classes would become for me after I changed my mindset. So, to help ensure you do not fall into the same trap that I found myself entangled in, I am writing this letter to give you a glimpse into how meaningful living in this eternal covenant truly is. God is hard. I wrote an essay at the beginning of my Junior year of high school in which I explained at that time that I had a hard time believing in God, and thus Judaism. How could I look outside at all the pain, all the suffering, and believe in a God who allowed this to happen? How could I believe in a God who allows me to feel pain?

Religion was and is still hard for me. But that is okay. It is supposed to be hard. I concluded that paper with the sentence: “I am comfortable with these struggles.” Struggling is inherent in Judaism. Israel literally translates to “wrestling with God” (another line I stole from that essay). Dr. Avivah Zornberg, a modern commentator, whose writing I am sure you will become well acquainted with, claims that “[k]nowing oneself, maintaining communication with oneself, [is] a spiritual ideal, requiring rigorous and transformative work” (The Beginning of Desire). Finding yourself and your Judaism requires work, but eventually pays off beautifully.

Another issue I had with religion — something that turns off many people — is the impossibility of it all. Scientifically, a higher power who created the world in seven days is impossible. Going back to that same paper (last time, I promise), I wrote that a quote from Albert Einstein had helped me overcome this barrier. “The most beautiful and most profound experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead.” A man who had dedicated his entire life to the pursuit of knowledge, a man smarter than you or I will ever be, felt that the unknown does not push away science. It cultivates it. I would listen to Dr. Einstein if I were you.

Ok, so now that this extended intro/expression of empathy is over, I’m going to begin writing what I actually intend to. So, what does it mean to live in covenant with God? It is a lot more than just praying on Saturdays. The covenant allows us to have a deep connection to our ancestors. It envelops us a powerful community. But most importantly, it teaches us how to be good, moral people.

In my opinion, one of the most important things Judaism can teach us is the value of a human life. You probably know the story about keeping a piece of paper in each pocket, one which reads “the world was created for me” and one which reads “I am but dust and ashes.” This is a good starting place, as this story teaches both humility and demonstrates the value of each life. However, Judaism teaches many more lessons about human worth. When God created man, He blew into man’s nostrils the “vayipach b’apav nishmat chayim” (Bereishit 2:7). This act places man above all of God’s other creations and makes man holy.

Because God gave this gift to man, every human life has infinite value. This value is expanded upon in Mishnah Sanhedrin. This text claims that, because every human life is infinitely valuable, to destroy a life would be equivalent to destroying an entire world. Furthermore, this text claims that no man can say they are superior to another, for every life is worth the same. Every human is infinitely worthy and we must treat them as such. This idea is the reasoning Understanding that no one person is superior or inferior to others is essential in living both Jewishly and morally. Another idea that stems from the idea of infinite value is the Jewish concept of kevod habriot. Human dignity is a universal concept, taken a step further by Judaism with the laws that mandate how human dignity is preserved. These laws help ensure that the infinite value of all people is maintained.

peaking of laws that stem from this idea of infinite value, tzedakah and chesed are two very important laws that help ensure everyone’s dignity. Chesed and tzedakah are very similar laws, as they both involve helping others. The difference between them is that chesed involves face to face interaction while tzedakah can consist of giving money to those you do not know. The idea of chesed can be sort of confusing, but a quote from Rabbi Shai Held has always stuck with me when thinking about chesed. S

Drawing from Maimonides, he explains that chesed is an “excess in kindness” (“Daring to Dream with God”). To do chesed means being good to people. It means seeing someone suffering or lacking and helping them up. Running towards those in need. Another important idea of chesed is who actually deserves your aid. Going back to that Held quote, it is important to remember that chesed can mean either giving someone more of something than they have right to or giving someone something they have no right to. Give in excess.

Tzedakah is a little different. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks explains that “the word tzedakah … joins together two concepts that in other languages are opposites, namely charity and justice” (To Heal a Fractured World). Tzedakah is mandated by Judaism, which is the justice part, and giving funds is giving charity. The fact that Judaism can take two contrasting ideas and join them together in an effort to give aid to others really speaks to the beauty of Judaism. Despite everything, Jews do all they can to help others.