Parshat Re’eh

Playing by the Rules

Issue of August 29, 2008

How confusing does a five-word pasuk (verse) have to be?

Here is a loose summary and translation of Devarim 12:1-4: “These are the laws you have to follow when you’re living in the land of Israel. Get rid of all the places where the nations [of Canaan] worshipped. Uproot their altars, destroy their monuments, and burn their idol-trees. [Note: Here comes the kicker!] Do not do all this to the Lord your G-d.

Judaism prides itself on having an incorporeal G-d. This last verse quoted (12:4) indicates that people should not look to uproot or destroy our non-physical G-d. How would one do that anyway?

Of course one will argue, like Rashi, that it means, “Do not bring offerings in any locale you desire.” Or, is the common sense of Ramban dictates, “Do not disgrace G-d in any fashion” — notably through erasing part of His name. According to Rashi, the verse teaches us that the Temple in Jerusalem is the one centralized location for all korbanot (offerings), as opposed to just “any mountaintop or valley.”

But the literal translation indicates clearly that the physical acts you will carry out against the physical religious structures of the nations should not be carried out against the G-d of the Jews — Who, strikingly, by nature does not possess a physical form.

Confusing indeed.

In the 1960s, Time Magazine produced one of its most famous cover stories entitled “Is God Dead?” The ‘report’ caused quite a stir in its time, but the question is still largely relevant 40 years later.

If humans can ask if G-d is dead, there is ample room to say humans can ‘kill’ G-d. This is our first indication that a physical act, at least in a metaphoric sense, can be carried out against a non-physical entity.

But the message is much deeper than that. Judaism puts a lot of stock in our personal behavior and, in a sense, a considerable percentage of humanity looks at how Jews act to see how we “represent G-d.” On a daily basis, we have the chance to create Kiddush Hashem — sanctification of G-d’s name and reputation amongst Jews and non-Jews, or Chilul Hashem — a desecration of G-d’s name. The former is much harder, as it requires thought, consideration and (often) an action to accompany it. The latter is much easier, and is the kind that usually ends up on the front pages of newspapers.

I’ll use a personal story to take the message one step deeper. As a mohel, I am careful to only circumcise boys who are unquestionably Jewish. In Orthodoxy this is determined by the mother’s Jewish status. A Jew may live with whatever degree of observance or non-observance, but if Judaism is in your blood, as passed through your mother, you are a full-fledged Jew.

The most painful part of my job, however, is when I have to explain to parents that conversions must be approved by my rabbi (whose standards are similar to the State of Israel’s), which means that in some rare cases, I won’t do the bris because the child is not considered to be Jewish due to the status of his mother’s conversion.

This is painful for me because I want to help them. I want to give them a positive experience. I want to share with them in this joyous time in their lives. And I don’t want to call their Jewish status into question. But becoming a Jew is very different than being born one.

Most poskim that I know do not permit doing “circumcisions for conversion” on a child whose parents are not making any commitment to fully convert their child and raise him according to the rules of the Torah.

Which leads us back to “Do not do all this to the Lord your G-d.” The Torah has rules and very clear principles. One is that a Jew who is born a Jew remains a Jew, regardless of level of observance, unless the Jew becomes a complete apostate. Another is that a convert has to commit to a level of observance that may be, in some cases, more observant than many so-called Orthodox Jews. After all, it is unreasonable to expect to be on a team, or even in the same league, if you don’t play by the same rules.

“Do not do all this to the Lord your G-d” means that while Judaism has room for citizens of all colors and stripes, some practices fall out of the realm of Judaism (i.e. offerings on random mountaintops). Additionally, if one chooses to join the team and wants to be recognized as a complete member of the team, one has to learn the rulebook and live by its rules.