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Perhaps standards should address how things should be. This choice is, in my opinion, what lies at the heart of many of the internal conflicts that continue to divide our society and cause anguish to all concerned. The Jewish people for centuries on end always recognized that the standards, social, personal, religious and national, that they lived by were the standards set in the Torah and in the words and ideas of the Talmud, Midrash and other rabbinic writings. While it is true that the Jewish people as a whole and individual Jews as well, many (if not most) times failed to live up to those standards of morality, piety and inspired behavior, nevertheless the standards themselves were never tampered with.
No one dared to rewrite the Ten Commandments or revise the Torah rules of the sanctity of life, person, family, marriage. The bar may have been set very high for all Jews to reach at all times, but the bar was nevertheless never lowered in order to accommodate those of us who could not reach it. The Torah and its way of life remained as the ultimate challenge in Jewish existence, something always to strive for no matter how weak in flesh and spirit the Jews were.
With the coming of the ideas of the Emancipation, the Enlightenment, Haskala, urbanism, secularism, Marxism and other utopian schemes in the eighteenth century and thereafter, this attitude towards immutable standards began to change. In essence, standards were compromised; the bar was lowered to accommodate the public's behavior. And once that process began it has never been arrested. Under the protective slogans of academic freedom, artistic expression, pluralism, alternate lifestyles and liberalism, the traditional standards for Jewish society and life were lowered and in many cases completely eliminated. The assault on the Jewish home and family that these new standards encouraged has wreaked much havoc in the Jewish world.
The disappearance of millions of Jews from our society because of rampant assimilation over the last decades, when added to the destruction of the Holocaust, has created a demographic problem in the Jewish world of almost unparalleled proportions. Standards once dearly kept and with great personal sacrifice are today merely options and not very popular ones at that. Shabat, family, marriage, tradition, moral behavior and sexual probity have all been sacrificed on the altar of a modernity that no longer maintains any absolute standards and treats every problem evenhandedly and with moral equivalency.
Standards by their very nature oppose the concept of unlimited personal freedom. The entire structure of halacha and Jewish tradition is meant to create a sense of balance between the required personal freedom of an individual and the challenge of standards that order society and enhance personal behavior. High standards can lead to better societies and a life of greater quality. I once had a teacher in college who gave everyone high marks no matter what their performance in class and tests warranted. Having also received a high mark, I nevertheless felt cheated since my high mark in no way reflected my valiant attempt to achieve a goal commensurate to a high and demanding standard.
I think that much of the frustration, stress and dysfunction that so characterize modern Western society can be traced to the inner realization that our so-called achievements are not really being measured against any true standard. We therefore feel cheated because of the very laxity of standards that we craved and created. A study of traditional Jewish standards of education, social behavior and faith would certainly help us all regain a sense of pride in ourselves and in Jewish society as a whole.
Igrot Hare’aya Excitement over a Friend’s New Newspaper – #319
Date and Place: 4 Menachem Av 5670 (1910), Rechovot
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Realtor’s Fee on Large Commercial Building – part I
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
P'ninat Mishpat Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
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Shoftim TESHUVA IN COURT OF LAW?
Parshat Shoftim-Chodesh Elul
Why does parshat Shoftim always come out during Elul? This innovative and central explanation is an eye-opener regarding many aspects of Judaism.
The Month of Elul TESHUVA IS THE ANSWER
The month of Elul serves as a vital time for self-reflection and personal accountability to prepare for true repentance.
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Realtor’s Fee on Large Commercial Building – part I
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
P'ninat Mishpat Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: The Goal of an Agricultural Yeshiva – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
Chemdat Yamim The Goal of an Agricultural Yeshiva – part II
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the cornerstone laying for the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh – 1938)
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the cornerstone laying for the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh – 1938)
Re'e NEVER EXTREME EXCEPT ISRAEL
Parshat Re'eh
Judaism is against extremism, so how can we understand the seemingly extreme statements found in our sages in favor of living in the Land of Israel and against living in Chutz laAretz? The article deals with the seeming contradiction between the strength of Free-Will and the strength of being influenced by our surroundings.
Ekev DANCE FOR ISRAEL- FOR YOUR BENEFIT
Parshat Eikev
Description: The 7 Haftarot we read after Tisha B'Av ("Shiva D'Nichemta") surely get us excited that they're coming TRUE, and awaken us to yearn, dance & join the return to Zion! The short article also deals with the problems and solutions facing the American Jewish community as discussed at a recent panel, as well as the question why Jews come from America to Israel to help when we face problems, but Israelis don't come to aid Jews in America when they face anti-Semitism.
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
