WHAT is spirituality? One might answer: prayer, fasting, contemplation, meditation, seeing natures beauty; that is, things that connect one to G-d.
Is spirituality equivalent to Judaism? Maybe not, since Judaism requires deeds, not just spirituality. Judaism is a system of mitzvot, of commandments, both ritual and ethical.
Judaism, in other words, is bigger than spirituality. It is a system of behavior, a major part of which is how to treat people. Thats ethics, right?
Actually in Judaism its not.
The Talmud says:
What does it mean, You shall walk after the L-rd your G-d? (Deut. 13:5). Is it possible for a human being to walk after the Divine Presence? The L-rd your G-d is a devouring fire! (Deut. 4:24).
But [the meaning of walking after G-d is] to imitate Him. As He clothes the naked And the Lord G-d made for Adam and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them (Gen. 3:21) so you too clothe the naked. He visits the sick And the L-rd appeared unto him [Abraham, when he was in pain from his circumcision] by the oaks of Mamrei (Gen. 18:1) so you too visit the sick. He comforts mourners And it came to pass after the death of Abraham that G-d blessed Isaac his son (Gen. 25:11) so you too comfort mourners. He buries the dead And he buried him [Moses] in the valley (Deut. 34:6) so you bury the dead.
This is a striking statement.
It revolutionizes the definition of both spirituality and ethics. While seeming to highlight the ethical element in Judaism clothe the naked, visit the sick this statement actually eliminates the ethical category from Judaism altogether.
This statement does not say: Do right by people because it is the right thing to do. It does not even say: Do right by people because G-d commanded us to do so. It says a lot more. It says: By doing right by people, you imitate G-d. You become like G-d. Just as He comforts mourners, you comfort mourners. Act like G-d acts.
What could qualify as spirituality more than imitating G-d Himself?
THERE are no ethics in Judaism because ethics is a strictly humanistic category. Yes, humanistic imperatives to be merciful, to bury the dead, for example are, indeed, Jewish imperatives. The problem with humanism is not that it is wrong, but that it is attenuated. It omits the essence.
Ethics is to do right by people. Ethics is focused on the other person.
However, in Judaism, to perform the ethical act is to do right by others and by oneself and by G-d. To perform the ethical act is, in Judaism, to help others and to transform oneself, to elevate oneself, to put oneself in congruence with the ways of G-d, to imitate G-d.
To be spiritual.
Imitation, they say, is the sincerest form of flattery. A way to come very close to someone is to imitate him exactly. In Judaism, one comes close to G-d by performing those acts that are customarily called ethical.
To feed the hungry, for example, is to come close to G-d.
To be spiritual.
Are prayer and fasting spiritual? Yes, but be careful. The Torahs system of commandments, of behavior, is not designed to bifurcate a person, to tell him: Pray! Be spiritual. But now, give! Be ethical. If you want G-d, pray; but if you want a better world, act right.
In Judaism it is not this way.
One finds G-d directly, in acts such as prayer and contemplation; and one finds G-d indirectly, in acts such as visiting the sick.
But in both instances, one finds G-d. Through both types of commanded behavior, one achieves spirituality.
To say that there is ethics in Judaism may be compared to saying that the reward for exercise is exercise itself. But the actual reward of exercise is so much larger: it is to perform well, to feel well, to sustain or achieve good health. Ethics is to Judaism what exercise is to the body: limited. Judaism is larger than ethics, just like exercise is larger than running on a treadmill. The Torah says that to perform ethical acts is to come close to G-d, to walk after the Divine Presence, to be spiritual.
Spirituality is the pinnacle, just like good health is the pinnacle.
There is no exercise for its own sake.
There are no ethics in Judaism.
In Judaism, every noble act, ritual and ethical, is G-d-centered.
Copyright © 2012 by the Intermountain Jewish News
