"Nothing stands before [the duty of] saving life except for idolatry, incest and murder."
Source: Talmud Bavli, Yoma 82a (AJWS translation)
Today in my Women and Mitzvot course this text came up in discussion. If a Jew is faced with either committing any of these acts or dying, the Jew should choose death. Why these acts in particular? I suppose they represent the worst things a human being can do. They are uncivilized, really dehumanizing and they violate basic laws the Torah says must be part of a society (the Noahide laws).
If a Jew has the choice of violating Judaism in any other way or death, he should transgress and save his life, the rabbis teach. My teacher in Women and Mitzvot said there is an additional specificity added to this halacha. If the Jew is around only non-Jews at the moment of decision he CAN violate the mitzvah (excluding the listed three). However--my teacher thought it was the Rambam who wrote this--if there are other Jews present he cannot even agree to tie his shoes in a way that violates Jewish law. If there are other Jews present he cannot violate even one mitzvah and must choose death even over tying his shoelaces un-halakhically. Even seemingly innocuous laws cannot be violated if Jews witness it.
This is a pretty extreme attitude. It's pretty shocking to me, but in some ways makes sense in the medieval context. With Judaism constantly being challenged, staying firm in one's Jewish values could have larger, group-wide implications. If there are other Jews around when the Jew in question is faced with the decision, the rabbis want him to keep the emotional and physical welfare of Jewish peoplehood in mind at all times. The Jews were vulnerable and were on the defensive frequently about Judaism. If a Jew sees his fellow Jew violate the religion, it hurts the group as a whole because it lowers Jewish self-worth in the Jewish people's eyes and shows Judaism as a weak religion. Also, I guess it sets a bad example for future behavior.
After this discussion, I started thinking about the Jewish service learning programs we are putting together. At its core, the Talmud Bavli's text is about always keeping in mind what is essential in Judaism and not deviating from our values and beliefs. Our programs of course are about service, but even more than that, it's about teens having an experience of Jewish learning and Jewish service. I, as a program leader, along with the group have to keep our collective Jewish values in everyone's consciousness at all times so we remember why are we doing what are we doing. If the service has been firmly rooted in Jewish values and text (the learning), then the service will automatically be framed in the group's minds as a Jewish act.
When I was a teenager, I think I found it easier to remember my "Jewishness" (what makes me different) when I was in situations around by non-Jews. I could easily remember my identity and my limits (ie keeping Shabbat and eating kosher foods). When we are around our fellow Jews, sometimes I think we relax when it comes to gossiping, let our guard down and feel freer to be less strict with ourselves. There's no one here I have to impress or show what Judaism's all about. But of course this isn't true--we are all role models for each other and our behavior around Jews should mirror our behavior around non-Jews. The teens in a JSL program will work through the tension of being in a group of Jews working in a most likely non-Jewish service agency. How do they behave as Jews, eager and ready to remember and express to others who they are, while also being aware, appreciative and energetic to meet people of different values and ideas?
"You will love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev. 19.18). "You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you" (Lev. 19:34). Jews live with these dual commandments both to love and treat respectfully their fellow Jews as well as non-Jewish people among them. Within the JSL context, the group can strike a balance between creating a strong Jewish group and forming a group that is comfortable with and eager to learn with non-Jews and perhaps from foreign customs.
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Rachel - you tap into an issue here that is MUCH MUCH bigger than JSL. In fact, it came up in a class I was in recently - the question of denominational Judaism, halacha and authority in modern Jewish life - especially in the United States and even more so on the West Coast. You titled this piece "Identity in Group Dynamic" which I think is quite appropriate... In JSL we struggle with the question about whom to serve and what/how that choice reflects on the Jewish community. Each individual must decide how she or he will engage with traditions handed down from generation to generation and, often, that decision happens in relationship to groups and what other people are deciding. It is why inclusion of a mission statement exercise in your program is such an excellent way of engaging students in discussion about both their individual and shared values as they pertain to service, action, and hunger.
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