Left and right imbalance
I had never thought of it before; have you? There are very many fewer characters on the left-hand side of the Luchot (that side of the two Tablets of Stone that lists the Commandments dealing with peoples’ responsibilities to other people) than there are on the right! There are five commandments on each side, but the commandments on the right-hand side dealing with peoples’ responsibilities to Hashem, are much longer than those on the left dealing with interpersonal obligations. On the left each is a mere phrase in the imperative. On the right there is detailed narrative in each of the five commandments. That being the case, the wording on the left took up a fraction of the space occupied by the wording on the right. What was done with all the blank space on the left-hand side, and why was the formatting so poor?!
I heard Rabbi Revach of Los Angeles quote a Mabit who makes that comment and says that the words on the shorter, left-hand side were written in much larger characters than the words on the right. And so the imbalance was in character size, not in format. The margins were the same width and height on both sides. The left-hand side could be read from a much greater distance than could the right.
Headlines and the small print
I have been reflecting on that idea of the Mabit for a few weeks now. Imagine the scene: Moshe descending from the mountain (let us say, the second time when the people were not otherwise preoccupied!). Immense anticipation among the People: What will this covenant that Moshe is bringing us from G-d, say? What will it demand of us? We have already committed to it without knowing its content; what is its content?
Imagine the almost palpable wave of excitement growing in the People as Moshe appears. They tentatively step forward, then more quickly. They strain to see what is written on these large stones Moshe bears high in his arms. There is the silence of awe: the same silent questions in the hearts of every person. Curiosity. Wonder. Anticipation. Finally he is close enough for those of them with better eye-sight to read. It is as if the Headlines are all listed on the left-hand side, and the articles are on the right! They can read the headlines, but not yet the articles.
What? No mention of G-d? No ritual? No ceremony? No formal worship? Just a list of worthy moral principles to govern the relationships between people? What religion is this? Is it a religion at all? Did that take forty days to receive?
And much later, as Moshe steps lower and lower down the mountain, cautiously avoiding the rocks and obstacles that must have littered his way, they can read the writing on the right: I am Hashem your G-d; There shall be no other G-d; Take not My Name in vain; Shabbat. Honor your parents.
First impressions count
The Nations first impression of the Torah was a code of interpersonal behavior and ethics. Only later, when they read the small print, did they see that there was a requirement of a vibrant relationship to G-d as well. Perhaps this was a source for Hillel’s contention that loving your neighbor as yourself is the whole Torah, the rest is explanation. The essence of the Torah is in the Headline. The Headline is the left- hand side of the tablets not their right.
That is how great Jewish people appear to the world: From the distance all you notice about them, is their dignified conduct, their sensitive human interactions, their compassion and empathy, their extreme cautiousness not to damage others physically or emotionally. From the perspective of first impression and appearance, it is their humanity and morality that so radically differentiate them and set them apart: Princes among nations. Only when you get closer, when you become more intimate, do you notice the “ritualistic” side of their religiosity. It is not the external uniform and symbology of their religious affiliation and commitment that first strikes your eye. Hatzneah Lechet im Elokecha (walking with tzeniut – the word tzeniut means hiding – with G-d). When we walk with G-d we are deeply intimate with Him. There is no place for public demonstration of so deeply private a relationship. This is not because we are embarrassed about our Jewishness, but because we protect it in our reshut ha’yachid (private domain) where all precious things mostly belong.
My great-uncle, Reb Eliyahu Lopian, when still a young boy, saw Reb Yisrael Salanter. He told my father that what most impressed him at that moment was the majesty of Reb Yisrael’s bearing, and the fact that in appearance and dress, he resembled an ordinary businessman. Reb Yisrael epitomized the Luchot: From the distance a man differentiated only by his majesty, not by his rabbinic clothes. Only later did his piety become evident.
Which comes first: the Man or the G-d relationship?
Why then, if the interpersonal laws are the more important ones, did G-d not place them first on the Luchot? The Headline usually begins the newspaper, in this case the small print preceded the Headlines! The reason is because the interpersonal is not more important than the laws that govern Man’s relationship with G-d. Our Torah lives start with Emunah and Bitachon, (belief and faith). Our precious and ever growing relationship with Hashem drives everything else we do including our interpersonal behavior. Our standards and expectations of interpersonal conduct need to be way beyond those of a secular moralist or humanist. To us, the prohibition of murder includes killing a person’s dignity. Theft includes the theft of time, reputation or even sleep. These demanding definitions of our moral standards stem from the very fact that they originate in our relationship to Hashem. Our connection to our fellows is premised on the fact that our souls share a common root.
Internally and in process, the man G-d laws precede the interpersonal laws. However in the way we project ourselves to the world, our religious observance (while never really hidden) is always part of our very private lives. It is our majestic dignity in interpersonal conduct that defines us and differentiates us in the eyes of our communities and the world.
