[Avodah] Rav Hirsch's Concept ot Mensch-Yiaroel

[Prof. L. Levine]

The following is from the Editors' Preface to Volume VIII of the Collected Writings of RSRH.

The universal applicability of Torah to Jewish life-throughout the
ages and under any circumstance-is an axiom of our tradition. Torah
encompasses every aspect of life, and the entirety of life is under its
domain. All of man's knowledge, endeavors and accomplishments can
be utilized for Torah and are thereby given eternal value: The timeless
supremacy of Torah in the world and the resultant intrinsic worth of all
of Creation for Torah defines what Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch called
"Torah im Derech Eretz."

All of mankind-as God's creations-are to fulfill the basic Divine
laws of humanity, the universal laws of justice, decency and morality
commonly know as the "Seven Laws of Noach." The Jew must also
fulfill these basic laws, but in their fulfillment alone he has failed
his calling as a Jew: Only by fulfilling the Torah, in addition to the
universal laws of humanity, can the Jew achieve the purpose of his
existence. He is not at stark variance with the rest of mankind; he has
additional obligations: He becomes the ideal human being (Mensch)
by faithfully abiding by the Torah (Yisroe[): Throughout his writings,
but in particular in the Horeb, Rav Hirsch characterized this ideal as
“Mensch-YisroeL" The "Mensch-Yisroel" is the Torah-true Jew who
demonstrates what Torah means to the Jew, the ultimate value of its
knowledge, its all-encompassing nature, its applicability to all times, its
promotion of the highest possible moral standards and its compatibility
with life in this world. In essence "Mensch-Yisroel" is synonymous
with "Torah im Derech Eretz."

These are the principles which are the very roots of the teachings of
Rav Hirsch, and it is with them that he boldly defended Torah Judaism
.against the onslaught of Reform and the challenge of change. And these
are the very principles which, more than a century after his passing and
after the cataclysmic upheavals in modem Jewish life, have enabled
Torah life to flourish within modern civilization in an invigorated form
far beyond the immediate confines of the original students and followers
Rav Hirsch.

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