Beth Hillel Synagogue E-Shul .. Shabbat Mishpatim... sent on February 11, 2010 / 27 Shevat 5770

Weekly Torah Commentary...

written by Rabbi Michael Gold of Tamarac, Florida

After reading last week the broad commitments of the Ten Commandments, the Torah turns this week to the nitty-gritty details. How does Israel establish a just society? How does it deal with laws ranging from robbery to damages, from marital relations to festivals? The first law in this portion regards a Hebrew slave (or more likely, an indentured servant.) Six years he works and on the seventh year he goes free.
       It is certainly a giant step forward from previous practices, where a Hebrew slave worked forever. But why only a Hebrew slave; why not let a non-Hebrew slave free after six years? And for that matter, why does the Torah allow slavery at all? Why not simply outlaw any human being forced to work for another against their will, without a reasonable wage?
       Perhaps the Torah should have forbidden slavery. For that matter, perhaps the Torah should have outlawed capital punishment, war, animal sacrifice, and the second-class status of women. If the Torah is a document of eternal laws, perhaps it should have communicated an ethical ideal from the very beginning.
       The deep teaching is that ethical laws are not given in their complete form once and for all. Ethical laws evolve as human beings evolve. Among the Greeks, Aristotle spoke of justice. But for Aristotle this meant giving everybody their due according to their status in life. The wealthy and powerful were given more than the working poor, who received more than slaves or women. Justice was part of the ancient Greek outlook, but it was a limited vision of justice. As history developed, the circle of ethical concern expanded accordingly. Ethics evolved.
       It is embarrassing that when the United States Constitution was enacted, slaves were counted as three-fifths of human beings. But at time it was a step forward. Giving equal moral status to people of color took a civil war and over two hundred years of history. And we are not there yet. Less than one hundred years ago women were finally granted the right to vote in the United States. In religious circles we are still debating the propriety of full female participation in religious life.
       Today the circle of ethical concern continues to expand.   Only in the past few years is there serious discussion about the rights and participations of gays and lesbians in our civil and religious life.   The debate remains intense about the rights and privileges of immigrants in this country. There is a deep Jewish concern for the humanity of the "other," but this has been a slow evolution. For the ancient Israelites, freeing a Hebrew slave in the seventh year was a huge ethical step forward. In our time, allowing a gay man or lesbian woman into the military, or ordaining them as a rabbi, is a huge ethical step forward. It was as unthinkable thirty years ago as a bat mitzvah was unthinkable in my grandfather's time. Ethics evolve.
       Synagogues and churches throughout America have designated this weekend as Evolution Shabbat, to deal with issues of religion and Darwin's theory. I have spoken directly on the Darwin's theory in recent weeks. But I believe the theory is not only true when talking about life on earth. I believe evolution is true in the realm of ideas. Richard Dawkins, the renowned biologist and atheist (with whom I often disagree), coined the term "memes."   Memes are to the world of ideas what genes are to the world of biology. Some memes, like some genes, quickly disappear. Other memes flourish and spread throughout humanity. Ethical caring for the other is a meme which is spreading. There is an expanding circle of ethical care. Ethics, like life itself, is in the midst of an ongoing process of evolution.