Not
in Heaven
Hazzan Marcia
Lane
In Talmud Bava Metzia 58b-59b, there is a famous story of a
discussion concerning the kashrut –
the ritual purity – of an oven. The majority of rabbis rule in one direction,
but Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus consistently rules in the other direction. He
calls upon a carob tree, and on a stream, and even on the walls of the school,
and they behave in supernatural ways in order to attest to the correctness of
his ruling. Finally, Rabbi Eliezer calls for a heavenly voice to confirm his
judgement, and when it does, Rabbi Yehoshua, speaking on behalf of the
majority, answers the voice by saying, famously, “It is not in heaven!” That
is, the adjudication of this dispute is not a matter for God to decide. People,
fallible though we may be, are responsible to adjudicate on earthly matters. (Bava Metzia 59:b)
In last week’s Torah portion, Parshat Yitro, the assembled mass of people who just two months ago
had left Egypt, stood at the foot of the trembling, steaming, Mount Sinai and
received the Ten Commandments, or Ten Utterances – Aseret HaDibrot in Hebrew. Amid thunder and lightning, in a
bombastic over-abundance of sensory input, we are given primary laws, the bones
upon which the rest of Torah will be hung. The essential action of revelation
happens above us, between Moshe and God, shrouded in mist, hidden from plain
sight.
In this week’s parshah, Mishpatim, law comes right down
to earth with what can perhaps be best described as an accordion-file of civil
statutes dealing with rights of slaves and of slave owners, penalties for
manslaughter, theft, kidnapping, and property damage, principles of
money-lending, of witness reports, the prohibition against bribery, and an
assortment of other legal issues. The range of human affairs is covered in
varying degrees of detail. But then, after covering a long list of person-to-person
legal issues, we have a sudden turn in tone.
“You shall not curse God, nor revile a judge.” (Ex. 22:27) The implication is that earthly judges should be regarded
with a measure of reverence, perhaps because one of the most difficult jobs
must be to adjudicate between people, to deal with personal grievances, to
dispense justice.
The end of the portion turns to the realm of Jewish
spiritual and ritual law: the observances of Shabbat and festivals,
prohibitions on worshipping other gods, ethical treatment of strangers, and the
laws of allowing the land to rest in the seventh year.
One way to understand the tenor of the parshah is to see all
matters of law, whether civil or ritual, as having a double valence; if you
will, a foot in two worlds. While it is true that civil law primarily concerns
matters between people, and that human judges have total responsibility for
rendering a decision, God also has an interest in the outcome. A just verdict
is one that satisfies not only the letter of the law, but the spirit as well.
One might say that heaven is pleased when human judges agree with the One
Judge.
In a similar vein, in the observance of festivals and
Shabbat, while these are primarily matters between an individual and God, the
community fares better when ritual law is observed. Beasts of burden rest on the
seventh day, the land rests in the seventh year, and the earth is better for
it. The act of bringing first fruits or a tithe from the harvest fulfills two
purposes: It acknowledges our gratitude to God for the bounty of the earth and
it makes us thoughtful concerning best practices in agriculture. Both heaven
and earth have a stake in the outcome.
In his book on the nature, function, and intricacies of Halakha – Jewish ritual law – Eliezer
Berkovits opens his very first chapter with these words:
The Torah is all-inclusive. It embraces the entire
life of the Jewish people. Halacha, therefore, has to interpret the intention
of the Torah for all areas of Jewish existence; the spiritual, the ethical, the
economic, the social. (Not in Heaven, Eliezer Berkovits. Shalem
Press, 1983, p.3)
Despite the title of his book, our parshah seems to hint that all matters
of law exist in both the earthly and in the heavenly realms. Something to think
about the next time you are tempted to drive and text.
