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The Underlying Purpose of Biblical Commandments
To the casual reader of the Torah, there seem to be an awful lot of commandments that don’t seem to make much – if any – sense. Indeed, Christianity’s sub-selection of which commandments Christians follow seems to track pretty closely with this same division (e.g., forbidden relations are kept, while the laws regarding diet are not).
Yet for those who read carefully, there are numerous clues that explain the commandments, even the more obscure and less obvious ones. And sometimes there are clues that apply to all commandments that help us understand why they are there in the first place. There are a whole string of curses in Deut. 28. And in the middle of all of them, there is a verse, a clue, that explains why we get cursed:
Since you did not serve G-d with simcha … (28:47)
What is this word, simcha? Its usage is explained elsewhere (Ex. 4:14), when G-d tells Moses that his brother is coming: “There is simcha in his heart.”
Think on it. The brothers were separated for many years. We have no sure knowledge of the extent or depth of their relationship prior to this event. But we know that Aaron and Moses were to form a deep and dynamic bond that carried them both for the rest of their lives. And it all seems to start with this event, the feeling Aaron has for reunification with his brother: simcha.
And now we have it: simcha is the joy and anticipation one has for reunifying with someone, for investing into a relationship, for seeking and growing positive and holy connections. And so the word is used this way throughout the Torah – simcha is not merely “joy,” because it can only be experienced when someone else is in the picture. A simcha is when people (or people and G-d) come together, ideally sharing a common goal.
And this then beautifully explains the nature of the commandments and the Torah itself. We are not supposed to merely tick the boxes. As the prophets put it, speaking for G-d (paraphrased): “I don’t want your sacrifices: I want you to be nice to each other!” Because sacrifices are meant to change the offeror, not merely be seen as a means to buy G-d off while we refuse to build a holy society. And indeed, this is the case for all commandments, for the entire Torah, as this verse tells us: Commandments are there so we can use them to build holy relationships. Those relationships can be between man and G-d, husband and wife, brothers, or any two (or more) people.
So when we do what we are told, we are supposed to be mindful that everything we do is for the purpose of building connections, investing in relationships, investing in each other. That is why it is not enough that we do what we are told. We must do it while consciously growing productive and meaningful relationships with G-d and with man.
When we see Torah commandments in that light, it unlocks whole new levels of meaning.
Published in General
I have to be nice to people? This religion thing is hard!
I love the idea that simcha is to be shared with others! How can it get better than that?!
I think it is meant to be. I believe we are designed to live in community in joy. Invested in the health of the community.
Were you communicating this week with the pastor of our Christian (Methodist) church?! The subject worship service as a whole and the sermon in particular this morning was “It’s All Relationships.” Relationships with G-d and with each other.
I have read the Torah only in the English language, but when I stop to think about laws (rules) that sound odd to us today, I often start to see some type of a relationship preservation or relationship building element behind them. Maybe not directly with the person mentioned in the rule, but with someone connected to the person mentioned in the rule – perhaps a relative. Some of this relationship preservation or relationship building character of some of the rules also became more evident as I learned more about the practices that were common in the cultures that surrounded the Israelites, cultures that inevitably would exert a pull on the Israelites, with practices that we in the modern West would consider horrid, but were not uncommon in many ancient cultures.
More likely that he was reading the text. :-)
Great minds think alike. And so do ours.
Also our priest.
If I am to be cursed for eating bacon-wrapped shrimp… so be it.
Oh-for-two!