The whole discussion of "Difficult Topics: Eved Kenani and Sotah" has made
me very upset and disappointed. I have read the postings patiently,
waiting for someone to get to the core, the root of the problem and
unfortunately, no one has.
To date, everyone has responded with different ways or sources to
understand these difficult topics, but no one has challenged the very
assumption on which the whole discussion rests: Eved Kenani and Sotah are
difficult to understand because these Mitzvot do not jive with our moral
and ethical sensitivities. All of the postings attempt to grapple with
this problem.
But there should be no problem. As an Orthodox Jew who practices Torah and
Mitzvot to the best of my knowledge and ability, who learns Torah and
teaches Torah, my ethics and my morality stems directly from the Torah
itself, not from any modern sets of values or sensibilities. The Torah is
the basis for my system of ethics. I do not derive my values from the US
Constitution, from Abraham Lincoln, from Jean Paul Sartre or from any
source other than Torah. This is not my personal decision. This is the way
Torah works. We are commanded VaHalachta BiDerachav which Chazal say
means, Ma Hu Rachum, Af Atah Rachum. I am sensitive and compassionate and
caring because I am striving to act in a divine manner, not because it is
the correct humanitarian thing to do.
This means that the fulfillment of the Mitzvot and Halachot of Eved Kenani
and Sotah is also the divine thing to do, no matter what modern
sensibilities might be.
What is the difference between a yeshiva student and a Boy Scout when each
helps a little old lady across the street? For both it is a good deed. The
Boy Scout is motivated by humanitarian ethics and morality. For the
yeshiva student - who understands Torah - this is an act of Chesed that
stems directly from the Mitzvah of VeAhavta LeRe'acha Kamocha. There are
no humanitarian ethics in Torah. There are Divine ethics. VeAsita HaYashar
VeHaTov is the guiding principle, but just remember that the phrase ends,
Lifnay HaShem.
There is no ethical problem with the laws of Eved Kenani or with those of
Sotah. These Mitzvot are a priori ethical and moral, just as every Mitzvah
is imbued with the ethics and morality that God demands of me as a Jew.
These laws are eternal, just as Torah is eternal. Thus, it was exciting,
but not surprising to meet an African-American Jewish man who ancestors
were freed slaves from the time of the American Civil War. Their Jewish
master freed them and in doing so converted them. On a sadder note,
slavery continues to exist in various parts of our world. And let us not
forget that the Nazis used slave labor in WWII.
The Chazon Ish writes that Jewish ethics derive from Halacha and not the
other way around. Therefore, Eved Kenani and Sotah are the source of part
of our ethical system and not ethical problems.
There are no ethically problematic parts of Torah. The problem does not
lie with the Torah's ethics. The problem begins and ends with my
understanding of Torah.
This leads me to the other aspect of the discussion that I found very
disturbing. By saying that a particular Mitzvah was really given to
achieve a particular purpose during the time of the Exodus from Egypt, but
nowadays it has little application or relevance is to place all of Torah
and Halacha in danger. What is to prevent me from saying that Kashrut was
really given only to protect the health of the Jews as they exited from
Egypt, but nowadays, we know better and therefore do not need to observe
these relics of old time Judaism? Or we could argue that Shabbat was
needed to establish the value of leisure time, but in today's world we
know how to relax so we do not need all those Shabbat restrictions. This
game was played and is still played by Reform and Conservative Judaism.
However you want to interpret what the Rambam wrote about sacrifices in
the Moreh Nevuchim, he understood full well that the bottom line is that
Eved Kenani and Sotah and sacrifices we integral parts of the Torah,
halachically and morally. That is why they appear in the Mishnah Torah.
If anyone is looking for an approach for teaching Eved Kenani and Sotah
and all the rest of Torah: Here is the approach. Teach Torah for what it
is. Teach Torah as God's word, as His divine system of laws and ethics,
and as His way of teaching us to act in a divine manner, thus fulfilling
His Berachah in making us in "His image and form."
My question is how can teachers who profess their Orthodoxy think and do
otherwise?
