Acivil right and a human right are generally taken to be synonymous, but upon reflection not every civil right is a human right. In fact, some civil rights contradict human rights.
Free societies establish and value civil rights because they keep free societies free. The most fundamental civil right of all is freedom of the press, for without it people are arrested in secret, tried in secret (if tried at all) and sentenced in secret (or simply disposed of).
This is what happened under communism. This is what happened in Argentina in the 1980s when thousands of people simply “disappeared.” Where the press cannot peek, violence and other abuses of freedom flourish.
Yet, the civil right of the press often transgresses the human right to decency. Obviously, freedom of the press can enhance human decency with, for example, insightful essays, informative news articles, or beautiful portraits of heroes — a virtually unlimited panorama.
Yet, freedom of the press can also debase, via pornography and gossip, such as true but derogatory information.
It is often difficult for defenders of civil rights to understand that they are frequently double-edged swords. For the sake of a free society, we defend freedom of the press, yet we must do so fully aware that it can and often does transgress the human right to decency — to be decent, and to be portrayed decently.
Pornography and gossip violate both human rights.
If a civil right is defined as a requirement of freedom, how is a human right defined? A handy definition is this: a human right is a one of the Torah’s juridical canons.
A first example: the Torah, via the Sabbath, articulates the human right not to be a slave, neither to others nor to oneself. Work should not totally dominate a human being, whether one is an employer or an employee. A guaranteed day of rest is a human right.
Civil rights may contradict this human right. A person who works 24/7 has the civil right to do so, and to do so without denunciation and certainly without physical coercion to observe a Sabbath.
This civil right is a double-edged sword. For the sake of a free society, we defend the right to violate a Sabbath, yet we must do so fully aware that this transgresses the human right to rest and to be close to G-d. Violation of the Sabbath, which, under the Torah, is a form of self-abuse, violates that human right.
A second example: the Torah articulates the fundamental division of the sexes. The human right of a male is to be a male and to dress like a male. The human right of a female is to be a female and to dress like a female.
Civil rights may contradict this human right. A male who chooses to be a female, or a female who choose to be a male, has the civil right to do so, and to do so without violation of his or her person. It is certainly no one’s civil right to murder someone who changes from a male to a female, or from a female to a male, or who cross-dresses.
Yet, this civil right is a double-edged sword. For the sake of a free society, we defend the process of becoming a transgendered person, yet we must do so fully aware that it transgresses the human right to human integrity. Transgendering, which, under the Torah, is a form of self-mutilation, violates that human right.
A third example: the Torah articulates the capacity and the obligation to pray — the human ability to discourse with the Alm-ghty and the expectation of G-d that the human will do so.
It is a civil right not to pray or, for that matter, not to believe in G-d at all. To protect people from such practices as being beheaded, burned at the stake, drowned as a potential “witch” or simply fired from work, a civil right guarantees the right not to pray, not to believe, or to believe differently. It is essential to a free society, under which one need not worry about one’s safety at the hands of the government, that this civil right be guaranteed.
This civil right, too, is a double-edged sword. It violates the human right to sanctity, that is, to awareness of oneself as a creature of G-d. Not to pray is to violate that human right.
For the sake of our society, we must be vigilant in defending civil rights.
For the sake of our values, we must be vigilant in articulating and defending our human rights, and in drawing the distinction between them in many cases.
A civil right is the minimum. A human right is the maximum.
A civil right is a necessity. A human right is a blessing.
A civil right is the language of secular culture. A human right is the language of the Torah.
A civil right is a negative — a freedom from coercion. A human right is a positive — a freedom to live and grow under the dispensation of G-d.
A civil right earns safety in this world. A human right also earns a place in the next world.
A civil right is a social obligation. A human right is a spiritual opportunity.
A civil right protects against external limitations. A human right protects against internal limitations.
A civil right is a means. A human right is a goal.
A civil right demands our vigilance. A human right demands our aspiration.
A civil right affords opportunity. A human right affords achievement.
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