Duty

I was busy last week preparing a Shabbat sermon for Beth El, which I actually offered from the dining room of an Air BNB in Hamilton, New York. It was about the state of the union and what we need to understand about this country before progress can be made. I can send you an electronic copy if you missed it. I never thought I would be a tele-evangelist.

My last blog was also about the state of the union, more specifically about the tension between individual rights and our desire to create a society based on equity for all its citizens. I posited that equity is the more pressing need and may have to trump our rights in some areas. At the end of my brilliant presentation, I suggested that Judaism doesn’t even talk about rights. It’s about mitzvot, which properly translated mean duties not rights. Let’s explore that now.

Moshe Taragin is a hesder yeshiva rabbi with a B.A. in computer science from Y.U. and an M.A. in English Lit from CCNY. He wrote a piece last month about democracy’s interplay with religion. In it he talks about the challenges that democracy – which he does call “the most elegant and equitable form of governance that human beings have crafted” – raises, one of which is its emphasis on our inalienable rights – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. For much of history, these rights were denied and the human spirit crushed under the weight of tyranny. Having basic human freedom is an amazing gift, of course, augmenting our potential and unleashing our creativity. However, it also transforms us into creatures of “rights,” which Taragin finds problematical. We aren’t placed on this earth to campaign for our rights or to fulfill our rights, he says. Rather, we are born as creatures of “duty,” duty bound to fulfill the will of God (the mitzvot) and mission bound to reshape the world in God’s image.

While modern society is fixated on our rights, Taragin points to the famous medieval ethical work, Mesilat Yesharim, which begins by challenging its readers to identify “chovat ha’adam b’olamo,” man’s duty in this world.

What are the effects of this emphasis on rights vs. duties? In the legal arena this leads to a very litigious society with endless legal battles over the presumed invasion or violation of our basic human rights. In the religious arena the fixation upon rights nibbles away at our sense of “metzuveh v’oseh,” that we should live our lives as summoned individuals, responsive to the divine command and tuned in always to the potential and nobility of duty.

I like what Taragin wrote. Duty is good. Not just the duty to live a life of rich observance but to partner with God in making the world a good place. It is our duty to work to ensure that everyone can BREATHE – not only safe from physical harm but also with a climate that is safe now and safe for our grandchildren, and it’s our duty to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to succeed regardless of what zip code they are born in.

Ponder this and stay safe. Best, Bill Rudolph

P.S. I just watched the launch of the Biden Harris campaign. I think the concept of duty was for each of them very much part of their reason for being involved in government. I haven’t heard that kind of message for 3 1/2 years and found it heart-warming and hopeful.