SHAVUOT LEIL TIKKUN: Revelation, Ethics and Software Piracy
Rabbi Moshe ben Asher
Magidah Khulda bat Sarah
Signposting
·
SHAVUOT, ONE OF THE SHALOSH
REGALIM, COMMEMORATES MATTAN TORAH, THE GIVING AND RECEIVING OF THE TORAH
AT MOUNT SINAI SOME 3300 YEARS AGO.
1.
The festival lasts for two days, although it’s
only one day in Israel.
2.
There is virtually no unanimity among the
Sages on the revelation at Mount Sinai:
—For some it was a one-time event.
—For others, revelation was understood
as an ongoing process.
3.
According to Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel of
Prague, one of the great rabbis of the 16th century, the Divine
word is available to anyone who properly strives to hear it—not just
Moses.
·
IN THE 16TH
CENTURY, THE KABBALISTS OF SAFED BEGAN THE CUSTOM OF SPENDING THE FIRST
NIGHT OF SHAVUOT STUDYING TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY.
1.
This innovation sprang from the idea in the
Zohar that what actually occurs at Sinai is not just a renewal of the
covenant, but also a reenactment of the marriage between God and Israel.
2.
A great rabbi once asked his students, “What
is the basis for a good marriage?” They answered, “Love and
understanding.” He then told them that although their sentiments were
correct, they would not be able to begin their marriage with love
and understanding, because true love and understanding of one’s
partner only comes with time.
3.
So love and understanding in our
relationships—to our partner and to God—are goals, which come about
through a commitment to do what is right and, eventually, thereby, to
learn.
·
RABBI SAMSON RAFAEL HIRSCH
TEACHES THAT THE DEFINING KERNEL OF JUDAISM IS THAT AT SINAI WE WERE NOT
GIVEN A BELIEF OR DOCTRINE BUT A SYSTEM OF LAW—THE MITZVOT.
1.
The revelation at Sinai was not aimed
to help us reach olam haba.
2.
Instead it was designed to transform darkness
into light on earth, here and now.
3.
Rabbi Hirsch taught that, “Faith may effect a
change of the spirit and mind, but only deeds can effect the
transformation of the world.”
Teaching
(Leviticus 19:17-18)
You shall not
hate your brother in your heart—Your
“brother” includes all Jews (Chofetz Chaim) about whom, when we observe
or encounter their wrongful acts, we are not to keep our condemnation or
hatred festering within ourselves, thus destroying klal Yisrael.
You
shall surely rebuke your neighbor—You
shall tactfully challenge wrongful speech or actions, never publicly,
and always with respect and kindness, giving your fellow Jew the benefit
of the doubt that an honest mistake has been made (possibly yours) or
that there is good reason for the behavior in question. You shall do
this regardless of whether the person is your senior or your junior, as
it is said: “Even the disciple must rebuke the master” (Baba Metzia
31a).
And you shall not
bear sin because of him—If
we do not speak out to protest that which destroys the individual and
the community, then we ourselves have done evil (Kohelet Rabbah 8);
because in failing to rebuke we carry the sin not only of the individual
whom we could have helped return to the path of goodness, but the
community as well, as it is said: “Jerusalem was destroyed only because
they did not rebuke each other. . .” (Shabbat 119b).
You
shall not take vengeance—You
shall live in the image of your God, guided by the Torah, not adopting
the values and behaviors of those who harm you.
Nor [shall you]
bear any grudge against the children of your people—You
shall not poison yourself and your community by refusing to forgive
those who have harmed you by error or ignorance in word or deed; but
neither shall you make yourself or your community vulnerable to those
who intend malevolence against you.
But you
shall love your neighbor as yourself—This
is not a matter of how you feel but what you shall do toward others:
only that which you would have done to yourself (Rambam, Hilchos
Chanukah 4:14); that is, you shall sanctify yourself, make yourself
holy, by applying in your daily life—toward yourself, your neighbor, and
your God (Rashi, Shabbos 31a)—the Torah’s statutes and ordinances.
I am
Adonai—Thus
in this way you and your community shall remain aligned with the plan of
your Creator.
R.
Johanan b. Nuri said: I call heaven and earth to witness for myself that
often was Akiba punished through me because I used to complain against
him before our Rabban, Gamaliel Beribbi, and all the more he (Akiba)
showered love upon me, to make true what has been said: Reprove not a
scorner, lest he hate thee; reprove a wise man and he will love thee. (Arachin
16b)
Problem & Questions
Your employer, who
is also a member of your synagogue, says casually in front of a group of
friends, including you, that he has been using software without paying for
it—“borrowing” copies from various people—but obviously he doesn’t think
it’s a big deal.
You
feel uncomfortable, having written some software yourself. You know that
what he’s doing is stealing, but you’re anxious about saying anything to
him. What should you do?
1. Why
would it be more loving to tell your boss that he’s doing something wrong
than to
keep quiet?
2. What
are the things that you might be worried about in telling him?
3. What
might be the price if you say nothing?
4. How
would you want to talk with him?
©
2003 Moshe ben Asher & Khulda bat Sarah |
