In Parshat Ki Sisa, a taste of the world to come

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he Jewish movements that changed the face of Jewry in the 19th and 20th centuries raised serious concerns about the nature of the Torah and how it stands the test of time. Many of the mitzvot of the Torah, for example, are not applicable in our day and age — highlighted by the lack of a Temple in Jerusalem.

Some mitzvot are simply not observed — for example, the mitzvot of the eved ivri (Jewish indentured servant), amah ivriya (Jewess maidservant), and yibum (levirate marriage) — because our society has evolved in such a way that these are quite strange.

We also have a difficult time swallowing the nature of the mitzvah to wipe out Amalek. While there are enemies of the Jewish people who exhibit Amalek-like qualities, this does not make them Amalekites. As such, I, for one, am glad that we cannot identify true Amalekites and are not subject to the mitzvah of destroying them.

There is a passage in Ki Sisa which is difficult to explain to the modern Jew, and to a world that shies away from the notion that we have the right to administer capital punishment.

To be sure, the Torah makes capital punishment very difficult to administer. The Torah also did not create a prison system. Punishment was carried out immediately to serve as a deterrent and was practiced at minimum expense, quickly, with no attention paid to a concern of “causing undue pain and suffering.” It was done as humanely as possible — very forward thinking for its time.

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hile capital punishment is much easier to understand when someone has committed murder, how do we understand it in the context of — “Six days you shall work, the seventh day is the Sabbath — it is holy to G-d. Whoever does melakha on this day will be put to death” (Shmot 31:15)?

The Torah even describes a case when an individual who gathered wood on the Sabbath was put to death (Bamidbar 15:32-36).

Of course, this is not something we pay any attention to now — in the sense that we would never ever put someone who does melakha on the Sabbath to death. We might, however, explain (as we do for all laws in the Torah that carry a death punishment, such as hitting or cursing one’s parents, which are very serious offenses, not to be taken lightly).

Beyond that, however, I think it is important to understand two points:

•Where is the Torah is coming from in advancing this rule, and

•Why it is not our place to judge the Torah.

I would suggest that the Sabbath, being one of the “Ten Commandments” and being the model of G-d’s rest from the work of Creation, is our best example of how we can imitate our Father in Heaven. He created for six days, and rested on the seventh. In this sense, neglecting the Sabbath serves as a denial of His role in creating the universe.

I don’t feel we can judge the Torah as being immoral for suggesting a capital punishment for this offense, because morality is defined differently in every generation. This point was articulated brilliantly by Rabbi Norman Lamm z”l in a sermon he delivered on March 21, 1970, entitled “In Defense of Samuel.”

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ddressing Shmuel the Prophet’s right to kill Agag, king of Amalek in Samuel I 15:33, Rabbi Lamm suggested there are absolute moral principles, but there are also “moral insights that develop slowly in the history of the human family as a result of various individual insights, until by consensus…they are recognized as binding moral judgments.”

In his homiletical elaboration, he raises historical developments of the practices of polygamy and slavery of old, as well as the draft board (this was during the Vietnam War) and the penal system of our society today, the former two having been defined in more modern times as being morally reprehensible, and the latter two are subject to scrutiny in our evolving society.

Are we to, therefore, judge great, otherwise moral, people of ages past for having practiced these activities in a time and place when our contemporary moral sensitivity did not yet exist, and when the common consensus was that these activities were moral?

“Quite possibly, flogging a man once and for all and letting him free thereafter is more humane than taking 15 of the best years of his life and throwing him into jail with other criminals, there only to compound his injury by making it permanent.”

I do a lot of work, and participate in many education opportunities that cater to non-observant Jews. Many people simply do not have the education, the ability, the know-how, or the wherewithal to change old habits, or to commit to the Sabbath the way many of us are committed.

This does not take away from their commitment to being Jewish, or their desire to represent the Jewish people and to take the proverbial bullet for our People.

I hope that all Jews can engage themselves in a step-by- step process — even if it is a many-years-long process — to reconnect with the Sabbath. Start with Friday night, turn off the phone and computer, light the candles, enjoy a meal and relax. You may extend your “vacation” into Saturday over time, and I am sure your life will be enriched from it.

Enjoy the Sabbath. Enjoy a taste of the World to Come.

Avi Billet, who grew up in the Five Towns, is a South Florida-based mohel and rabbi of Anshei Chesed Congregation in Boynton Beach. This column was previously published. To reach Rabbi Billet, write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com