[Avodah] main idea of Judaism

[Simi Peters]

It seems to me that we can talk about the main idea of Judaism in terms of two things:  (1) the message of Judaism to the world (which also includes us) and (2) the main idea of Judaism in terms of what a Jew is supposed to be and do.

It seems to me that the message of Judaism in the first sense is "ein od milvado".  This isn't a purely theological statement,  It has implications for how everyone at the level of consciousness (i.e., the recognition of God) and at the level of practice (i.e., that we should be living in the world in consonance with His will and in order to express the ideas of harmony, unity, truth, peace and purpose/meaning with which He created the world and which are the nearest we can get in an attempt to emulate Him.)  

As far as the second main idea of Judaism (in terms of what a Jew is supposed to be and do), it seems to me that "Kedoshim tihiyu" is an explicit statement of that.  The Meshekh Hokhma's definition of this mitzva encapsulates its essential meaning: to dedicate everything to God--our time, our energies, our possessions, our relationships, etc.  (This is not to disregard the Ramban on the pasuk, but to broaden the definition considerably.)  For me, personally, the Netziv's understanding of how the mitzva is applied to individuals is a central ingredient in the main idea of Judaism, and dovetails nicely with elements in hassidut.  He follows the Ramban's approach (perishut min hamutarot), but points out that the definition of perishut will differ from individual to individual and will change with life circumstances.  To me, this connects with the idea that every Jew has something unique in his shoresh haneshama (Netivot Shalom, but others as well) that finds a particular expression in his avodat Hashem.  Or, as the Ramhal puts it:  the person has to clarify for himself, "ma hovati be'olami" (What is *my* obligation in *my* world?)  This goes beyond the hiyuv of mitzvot to something equally and sometimes much more profound--a genuinely personal relationship with Hashem.

Kol tuv,
Simi Peters

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