Both Jack Beiler and Eli Kohn address a fundamental issue in curriculum.
How does one teach Torah text, like laws of slavery and Sotah -- and other
subjects that are antithetical to our sensibilities of humaneness and
justice -- to a contemporary, thoughtful day school population?
In my opinion, the answer is more philosophical than technical. It hinges
on one's understanding of the nature of the Torah's legal texts and how
they should be taught. If, as Rabbi Beiler wrote, all Torah laws are seen
as eternal and independent of time and place, the problem is not easily
solved. It would mean that slavery and the treatment of the alleged
adulteress (and also parentally dictated child marriage, the "beautiful"
captive, etc) are applicable to the present, at least ethically (if not
practically, only because they are prohibited by civil law). This is very
disturbing to morally-sensitive students.
There are two confluent approaches I have taken in teaching these
difficult social laws. I start with the assumption (based on the Rambam's
understanding of the nature of sacrifices) that some social Torah laws
were legislated as temporary edicts, specifically in contrast to the
contemporary unjust and inhumane practices of pagan cultures. They were
meant to humanize and correct practices, not to represent an ideal ethical
system. As part of the curriculum, I present comparisons to the Codes of
Hammurabi and other codes that the Torah clearly makes reference to, to
show how differently the Torah legislates social law. The second, related
approach, is that of Rav S.R. Hirsch, who sees that each law represents a
set of values --- and it is these values that are eternal, not the
temporal application of the law. For a prime example, see his commentary
on the Sotah -- it is a brilliant presentation on the eternal values of
the marriage relationship, always supported by the text and Talmudic law
(not a homiletic drash). [I have a copy of how I taught this unit for
those that are interested]
With a combination of historical context and analysis of values, students
can more easily accept these apparently unjust laws and come away from the
subject with a sense of awe of the Torah's moral depth.
Steve Bailey, Ph.D.
[Dr. Bailey's pedagogic unit has been uploaded to the Lookstein Center
website at [
www.lookstein.org]
Shalom]
