Mina's Musings: Ki Tavo 2016

Mitzvoth, the Afterlife, and Us

Shabbat Shalom.  I had two very interesting conversation this week, both of which touched upon one of the things I think is most unique about Judaism.  The first conversation was with a congregant and their non-Jewish spouse.  Among the many topics we discussed was the Jewish view of the after-life.  The very next day I had the opportunity to speak with a couple of lovely young women who are students at George Mason who, as part of their World Religions class, were asked to visit a synagogue and ask certain questions about Judaism.  As part of that conversation too the after-life was discussed.  And then I watched a new comedy on NBC starring Ted Danson, Kristen Bell, and William Jackson Harper called The Good Place, about a woman who “accidentally” gets sent upstairs instead of what Kristen Bell’s character refers to as “down there.”  Though the philosophy of the after-life presented was different than my understanding, I laughed quite a bit. 

With all this talk of the after-life in the air, I thought it must mean something.  So I’d like to share a little bit about from those two conversations.  Now, it was two separate conversations on different days and I didn’t write down my words, but it basically came down to me saying this:  “Among all the monotheistic faiths, we Jews have a very unique perspective on the after-life.  You see, we unequivocally believe in an after-life, we just don’t worry about it too much.  There’s no point.   You see, we Jews don’t really believe in a bad place, although we do believe in judgment.  And as far as the good place, our tradition says that as long as non-Jews observe the seven Noahide laws which include belief in God, no blaspheming God, no murder, no adultery or incest, no stealing, no eating a limb off of a live animal, and establishing courts to ensure obedience to the law then they will go to heaven.  Jews, we are so strange that we think it’s harder for US to get to heaven than it is for non-Jews, since we are obligated for the full 613 mitzvoth in the Torah.  Of course we don’t worry too much about that either because we believe we somehow get credit for the mitzvoth observed by members of our community, and a couple hundred can’t be done because they have to do with sacrifices in the Temple which no longer exists!  Besides, our job as Jews is to focus on this world, transforming this world into heaven on earth.  When we do that we are pretty much confident that the after-life will be fine.” 

All of which brings me to this morning’s Torah portion Ki Tavo.  Three times in this portion we find descriptions of the Jewish people’s relationship to God and the mitzvoth, the commandments or divine imperatives which are supposed to bring us closer to God.  The first quote of importance for us is found in Deut. 26:18-19 we find:  "And the Lord has affirmed this day that you are, as He promised you, His am segulah - treasured people which shall observe all His commandments....and that you shall be, as He promised, a holy people to the Lord your God."  The second verse is found in two separate verses in chapter 28.  In verse one of that chapter, we read: "Now, if you heed the word of the Lord your God, to observe faithfully all His commandments which I enjoin upon you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth."  Finally, in verse nine of the same chapter we read:  “The Lord, will establish you as His am kadosh - holy people, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.”   

In each of these quotations we learn that as God’s holy people, the Israelites, the Jewish people must observe the mitzvoth.  Being chosen doesn’t come free – it comes with great obligations.  A few minutes ago I said that there are 613 mitzvoth – or divine imperatives that Jews must observe.  What might surprise you is that the majority of them are not mitzvoth between human beings and God, but rather between two or more human beings.  Indeed in the Torah portion this morning Moses proclaimed a series of 11 behaviors which will result in one’s being “cursed.”  Of the eleven only TWO were the result of our behavior towards God.  The rest were about how we behaved with other people and how we treat animals.

That is in essence the main teaching of Judaism as we know it today.  It is normative Jewish teaching that one can tell how much one truly loves God and desires to serve God by how well or how poorly one treats other people.  As a rabbi I am always delighted to hear when someone tells me they are Shabbat observant, daven/pray daily, keep kosher, etc.  But quite frankly if that same person isn’t also acting ethically, treating others with kindness, compassion, patience, and understanding then it is all fairly meaningless.

I began this morning by sharing the three instances this week when discussions of the after-life took place.   One of those included that new comedy The Good Place.  While I laughed during the show I found its premise fascinating.  The premise was that only quasi-saints get to go to the “good place” after dying, while all the rest of humanity goes to “the bad place.”  I found it funny and sad simultaneously as it’s the exact opposite of Jewish belief.  We don’t worry about the after-life because we’re too busy trying to improve the here and now, and we pretty much assume that most decent people will be heading to heaven, olam ha-ba, gan eden, the good place, whatever you call it after they die. 

This is a basic theological tenet of Judaism.  God is good, just, forgiving, and merciful.  A god who would send the vast majority of his creatures throughout history to some “bad place” for all of eternity because they weren’t good for the few years or decades they had on this planet, is simply not the God that Jews worship.  We worship a God who tells us we are loved, that we are a treasure, that we are holy and special.  May our worship of El Rahum – the merciful, compassionate, and loving God fuel our love for God, our commitment to mitzvoth, and our kindness to our fellow human beings and God’s other creatures every single day.  Amen.