[Avodah] Some thoughts on Shemonah Perakim

[Michael Makovi]

>>Another comment: we are brought to the vexed question of why G-d
>>commanded the rational commands, if they are indeed rational.<<
>>Mika'el Makovi

> The answer to this is closely related to that famous quote, "If there is no
> G-d, everything is permitted."  Even if people know that there is a G-d,
> but
> He has not clearly said what is permitted and what is forbidden, then
> everything is permitted.
>
> Man is a rational animal who can rationalize away every crime.  All
> societies consider murder to be wrong, for example -- that's a very
> rational
> commandment.  Yet many people feel very comfortable...
>
> R' Toby Katz

That's exactly what Rabbi Leo Adler is driving at. He says the Greeks
overestimated the power of the intellect, and assumed that education
merely needed to tell one what is right and what is wrong. The
Christians however underestimated man, and said he cannot be good, no
matter what. Judaism however says that man can indeed be good (owing
to his Godly soul), but that on the other hand, his intellect is
capable of justifying almost anything his vices and passions demand,
and thus we need the Torah, both for its everpresent laws (which train
and curb and rein-in and for its comprehensive mussar and knowledge of
human psychology.

I reflected further, and realized that whereas Rav Saadia Gaon asks
why we need the Law given our intellect, I'm simply asking the exact
opposite: why do we need our conscience and intellect if we have the
Law? My answer is the same as his, except in reverse: the Law provides
the rules of conduct, but our intellect and conscience guide us and
raise flags and call for further attention. Also, I think derech eretz
kadma latorah means that prior to the Torah telling us what is good,
we first must care about good, and have a general ethical sense and
concern for what is proper.

An example: I was reading Affirmations of Judaism (Rabbi Hertz),
specifically its essay on Hammurabi. He describes Hammurabi as an
enlightened despot at his best: Hammurabi says he was striving to
protect the widow and the poor, and that he wanted uniform justice for
all, etc. Obviously, he didn't achieve this. But the fact that he even
cared to try, and that he got as far as he did, I think illustrates
derech eretz kadma latorah. Had all the Babylonians followed Hammurabi
on this, and subsequently had Hashem appeared to them instead of us, I
could imagine them being Hashem's nation. This is all taking for
granted Rabbi Hertz's interpretation of Hammurabi himself, of course.

On the other hand, we've all heard of people who try to be unethical
within the purview of the Torah, and find loopholes. They're not
trying to do G-d's will, but rather to simply cheat and lie and steal
within the system without being caught. Professor Marc Shapiro as an
interesting take on this: see
http://seforim.traditiononline.org/index.cfm/2008/8/29/Responses-to-Comments-and-Elaborations-of-Previous-Posts-III
, section 5, beginning with citing Rabbi Amital. I think all this
explains why a hasid must study Nezikin: not just the Bavas, but ALL
of Nezikin, including Avot, and not just Avot, but also the Bavas.

Mikha'el Makovi