On One Foot

Jewish Treats was asked to summarize the Jewish faith in one tweet. For those unfamiliar with the Twitter format, that means in 280 characters or less. It seems, at first glance, a daunting task.

Oddly enough, the perfect answer for such a request can be found in the Talmud:
“…it happened that a certain heathen came before Shammai and said to him, ‘Make me a proselyte, on condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot.’ Thereupon [Shammai] repulsed him with the builder’s cubit which was in his hand. [Shammai thought that he was making light of Judaism.] When [the heathen] went before Hillel, [Hillel] said to him, ‘What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah, while the rest is the commentary thereof; go and learn it’” (Shabbat 31a).

Is it possible that the answer to that profound question is that simple? Yes, and no. Jewish law is divided into two main categories: laws that affect one’s relationship with other people and laws that affect one’s relationship with God. And, while both are equally important, Jewish tradition teaches that God can forgive a human being for trespasses against Himself, but not for sins of one person against another. (God destroyed the generation of the flood because they treated each other badly, but, because the people were united, He only confused the language of and scattered the generation of the Tower of Babel, who sought to overthrow Him.)

All of Torah is meant to teach a person how to be a “mentsch,” a good and decent person. The golden rule of the Torah “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18), is phrased differently by Hillel, but is, nevertheless, the heart of Torah. While many people quote this story, some neglect to remember Hillel’s final instructions: “Go and learn it” (meaning the entirety of the Torah). Only by learning Torah, can one learn how to master the golden rule and to show deference and love to our fellow humans.

This Treat was originally posted on December 28, 2012.