When We Neglect One Another, Society Falls

Reflections on Observance, Ethical Laws, and Justice for Tisha B’Av

Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, by Francesco Hayez

This Shabbat is called “Shabbat Chazon”, or the “Shabbat of Vision.” Hebcal.com (an amazing resource, by the way) explains it as follows:

“Shabbat Chazon ("Sabbath [of] vision" שבת חזון) takes its name from the Haftarah that is read on the Shabbat immediately prior to the mournful fast of Tisha B’Av, from the words of rebuke and doom coming from Isaiah in the Book of Isaiah 1:1-27. It is also referred to as the Black Sabbath due to its status as the saddest Shabbat of the year (as opposed to the White Sabbath, Shabbat Shuvah, immediately preceding Yom Kippur).” 

This passage from Isaiah iconically challenges the idea that ritual observance in and of itself is enough to please God (in a biblical sense, of course).For you to consider, here is an oft quoted section from the proscribed passage above.

Isaiah 1:11-17

“What need have I of all your sacrifices?”
Says the LORD.
“I am sated with burnt offerings of rams,
And suet of fatlings,
And blood of bulls;
And I have no delight
In lambs and he-goats.

That you come to appear before Me—
Who asked that of you?
Trample My courts

no more;
Bringing oblations is futile,
Incense is offensive to Me.
New moon and sabbath,
Proclaiming of solemnities,
Assemblies with iniquity,
I cannot abide.

Your new moons and fixed seasons
Fill Me with loathing;
They are become a burden to Me,
I cannot endure them.

And when you lift up your hands,
I will turn My eyes away from you;
Though you pray at length,
I will not listen.
Your hands are stained with crime—

Wash yourselves clean;
Put your evil doings
Away from My sight.
Cease to do evil;

Learn to do good.
Devote yourselves to justice;
Aid the wronged.
Uphold the rights of the orphan;
Defend the cause of the widow.

For Isaiah, social responsibility is not just a part of leading a good or just life, it is a core premise of it. So much so, that an absence of social responsibility invalidates the ritual parts – the rituals become vanity, hollow or even rotten without the integrity of social responsibility to sustain them. This passage reminds me of a fabulous text from the Talmud. 

“Tzedakah is equal to all other commandments combined…Rava said to the people of Meḥoza: I beg of you, strive with each other to perform acts of charity and righteousness,” (Bava Batra 9a). 

That is, acts of righteousness are as important as the sum total of all other Jewish laws. Wow. Take a minute with that. It sounds a hell of a lot like Hillel’s famous 1-footed summary of Torah:

"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation of this—go and study it!” (Shabbat 31a).

Human interaction – social justice. These seem to be the obvious front runners of the most important laws for Isaiah and the Rabbis alike. And yet, we tend to not think about these sorts of laws as those that make us “religious.” For some reason, we reserve the adjective “religious” for people who seem to have a squarely biblical theology or keep kashrut. Yet, in his study on Hillel, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin wonders whether this is off base.

“...if two Jews are speaking about a third, and the question ‘Is so-and-so religious?’ is raised, the answer is based exclusively on the person’s level of ritual observance. Such a standard is, of course, precisely the opposite of what Hillel taught about Judaism’s essence...this is not meant to suggest that Hillel was not concerned with ritual observance…He simply deemed Judaism’s ethical demands to be foremost in significance… “It is inconceivable that Hillel would have described a person who consistently violates Judaism’s fundamental ethical laws (obviously, no one’s observance is perfect) as a ‘religious’ Jew.” (Joseph Telushkin, Hillel: If Not Now, When? 131,170)

Is this starting to sound like protestant Christianity? It shouldn’t. No where in these arguments does it say no longer observe ritual or ritual is now evil. The argument is instead that ritual laws are not sufficient to lead a good moral life, and ethical laws are primary. 

The other day I was talking to a friend who is exploring a more orthodox life. We got onto the topic of halacha and I said something like, “What happens when the law is unjust or oppressive?” Is it the more  religious or observant thing to do to continue to follow it or to challenge it in the name of justice?The Thomas Jefferson quote popped into my mind: "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty." Yes, I know this is ironic considering Thomas Jefferson enslaved people among other things. Still, his point rings true. And how so with Jewish life? 

As we approach Tisha B’Av, the commemoration of the destruction of the Temple, let us remember that the Torah puts the blame on people treating other people poorly and leaders focusing too much on their elite institutions than on suffering in town. While this is a particularly fraught theological perspective (and one with which I don’t agree), it also allows us to consider just how serious human interaction is. It shows how taking care of one another is the basis of good moral behavior, such that its neglect can cause an entire civilization to fall. That is perhaps the lesson of Isaiah today, in 2022. When we neglect one another’s well-being and focus too narrowly on the bureaucracy of elite leadership, society falls.

When we neglect those human beings who are created b’tzelem Elohim and are hungry, unhoused, sick, or hurting; when we neglect our children – the orphan – or those who need to be welcomed before they ask; when we neglect the dignity of all people, society falls.

When our “leaders” are too interested in the maintenance of their own office for its own sake and not for the sake of the healing of our world, society falls.

Too real? For me too. 

If Isaiah was alive today, what would he say? Think about this as you observe Tisha B’Av this weekend. What would he say, and what would you do about it?

No really, what would you do about it today? How can you not sit by and point at “those negligent people over there” and become too self-righteous, yourself? For that is also the message of Isaiah. It is to implicate yourself. He speaks directly to you, “Devote yourselves to justice.” Devote. Prioritize. Justice is not a spectator sport and it is not a leisure activity.

This Tisha B’Av, recommit yourself to social responsibility and tzedakah. Our world depends on it.

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