gth@erc3ba.UUCP (A.Y.Feldblum) (05/16/85)
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This posting serves a dual purpose. First, it is the weekly dvar torah
for this week's parsha (portion). It is also a reply to two topics which
have been discussed recently on the net, which is why I did not simply
use the Dvar Torah subject line. The two topics are antisemitism and
the response to it (started by the egg-throwing incident), and the
issues raised by the presidents trip to Bitberg. What I hope to do, is
try to identify some of the underlying issues, and show how these issues
have been dealt with by the Rambam and Ramban.
First, to justify that this is related to this weeks parsha, the Torah
tells us in Leviticus, chapter 26 verses 3-46 that the destiny of the
Jewish people is determined by whether or not the Jewish nation follows
the commandments that Hashem gave us. In verses 3-13, the rewards for
following the commandments are given. Verse 14 begins the section known
as 'the Rebuke', where the punishments for rejecting the law of Hashem
are detailed. If one reads it carefully (and the associated passages in
Deuteronomy 28:15-68) it is not hard to project it into the pogroms and
even into the horrors of the Nazi holocaust.
If we accept the above, there are still quite a few questions that
arise, some of which have been asked in one form or another on the net
in the last few weeks. One class of questions deal with the issue of "Is
it just that something happened to someone" and various modifications of
it. This is partly related to the issue dealt with in Job and other
places of "a person does good and evil befalls him, another is wicked
and good comes to him". This is a very difficult issue, and one that I
am not going to deal with at this time. A second class of questions
deals with the status of the persons or nations who oppresses, killed
etc. the Jewish nation. If they are really the agents of Hashem's
punishing the Jewish nation because of the sins of the Jewish people,
should they themselves be punished for their actions. If yes, why are
they to be punished, and what portion of the oppressing nation is
guilty. This is the central issue behind the Bitberg question, as well
as part of the issue behind the response to antisemitism.
This same question is dealt with by the Rambam (Maimonides) in the sixth
chapter of the laws of repentance. In particular, he asks that if Hashem
told Abraham that his descendents would be enslaved in a strange land
and oppressed there, then the Egyptians were only playing out their
preordained role. The context of the Rambam's question is somewhat
different than ours. He is concerned with predetermination versus free
will, but in relation to Egypt the issues are very similar. Are the
Egyptians responsible for what amounts to carrying out Hashem's will as
foretold to Abraham. The answer is clear, yes! as they were clearly
punished as the Torah tells us. They question is why. The Rambam
explains that each individual Egyptian had the choice to stand up and
refuse to persecute the Jews. Since he did not, he is responsible, as an
individual for his actions, irrespective of his actions being part of
some larger picture - the prophesized enslavement of the Jewish people.
If we examine the Rambam's statement, we can draw certain conclusions
(which are supported by other statements of the Rambam). The first is
that he rejects the two main defenses that are usually put forward to
defend ones actions in cases like these. The first is not having taken
an active part in the persecution, that one simply removed oneself in a
figurative sense and just watched and did nothing. The second is that to
have opposed the regime would have been dangerous, could have led to
ones being killed. If one looks at the Rambam in the end of chapter 9 of
the law of kings, he talks about why the people of the city of Shechem
were killed by the sons of Jacob after their sister Dina was kidnapped
and raped by the son of the ruler of the city. The Rambam says that it
was the duty of the people to see that justice was maintained and the
son of the ruler should have been brought to trial and executed. Because
the did nothing, in a situation where action could very well have been
dangerous, they were guilty of the death penalty. One last point one
sees from the Rambam is that in the context of free will and
accountability, the fact that something may be very hard to do, that the
cards may be stacked against you, does not relieve you of the
responsibility of doing the right thing.
The Ravaad and the Ramban (Nachmanides) are not satisfied with the
explanation of the Rambam. If indeed the Egyptian acted as the agent of
Hashem, then he should not be liable to punishment. The issue is how to
define "acted as the agent of Hashem". In the case of the Egyptian, it
is easy to argue that he was not individually appointed to be an agent,
but what about Nevuchadnezzar, whom the prophets state clearly that he
was the appointed agent of Hashem to destroy the Temple and ravage the
city of Jerusalem in punishment for the sins of the Jews at the time. We
are told in the prophets that he was punished for his actions, even more
than the Egyptions were punished. The real issues according to the
Ramban lie in intent and degree. Some level of punishment was decreed to
befall the Jews as a result of their sins. If some nation were to come
and inflict that punishment, for no selfish reasons, just to carry out
the will of Hashem, and limit their actions to what was decreed, they
would not be liable to punishment. [I realize that this seems like a
almost impossible situation, it probably is close to impossible although
the Ramban gives one example. But there is nothing wrong with that, it
just says that one is almost always for ones actions.] The Egyptians
carried out the enslavement, which was decreed. The killing of the male
children is given by the Ramban as an example of the excesses of the
Egyptians which is mentioned in the Torah, and in general the making
bitter their lives is viewed as not being part of the divine decree. The
later commentaters who follow the Ramban's way of dealing with issue add
that once it is clear that they did not act simply as the agents of
Hashem and went beyond what was decreed, they were punished for
everything that they did, because thier motive was not selfless, rather
they wanted to oppress the Jews. The same is true for the case of
Nevuchadnezzar.
The issues are complex, and this by no means answers the questions.
Maybe it raises more than answers. The main points that I want to say
are that these questions are not new, the have been around for a long
time and people greater than myself have struggled with them. As an
orthodox Jew, (probably even a 'frummie' according to recent articles on
the net) I believe that we can profit by seeing what approaches have
been taken by those we view as leaders of our people in our past. I do
not believe in the slightest that we should simply accept things without
asking and trying to understand. One of the commandments according to
the Rambam is "To know that there is a G-d". The word 'to know' does not
mean to believe. There is a seperate issue of belief. But besides for
believing, one is commanded to understand to the extent that one is
able. This is getting long now and moving away from my main topic, so I
will conclude now (maybe continue in a seperate posting sometime).
I wish everyone a Shabbat Shalom - a good and peaceful Shabbat.
Avi Feldblum
AT&T Tech. - ERC
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