The lenses through which we see the world determine not only how we experience it but also how we respond to it.
The Dangers of Secularization
One of my greatest learning and teaching challenges is to be vigilant about seeing and showing the world through the lens of a pure, authentic Torah Hashkaffa (worldview) and not one tainted by secularity.
The lenses through which we see the world determine not only how we experience it but also how we respond to it and to the events of our lives. A person who has become embittered or who is simply prejudiced form experiences with, say a certain ethnic or gender group, will often experience these groups in negative ways and respond to them from that negative perspective. He or she will interpret everything members of these groups do or say in the light of the lenses through which they see them. An atheist sees the world and interprets events through godless lenses and a ma'amin (one who believes in Hashem) sees it through a lens of faith.
The challenge is not just the secular perspective through which we see and interpret the world. The problem is that we often use our secularized lenses to see and interpret the Torah too. It is not only "secular people" who are limited by their secularity. The effect of the media, the Internet and the conversation of the masses that often includes Benei Torah, skew our sights and color our lenses without our even noticing it.
Character and Learning
Consider the example of how we view the study of Torah. From a secular viewpoint we regard a person as an expert in a field if he or she has mastered a body of knowledge and has published and achieved recognition in the field. Their character is not a factor in evaluating their expertise. In Torah however, there is another dimension to expertise apart from mastery and professional recognition: character.
Rabeinu Yonah, one of the most authoritative commentators on Pirkei Avos (3:17), says on the Mishna: Im ein derech eretz, ein Torah ("If there is no character there can be no Torah,") that "before studying the Torah a person should refine himself with good character because the Torah cannot possibly dwell in an individual who is not of fine character."
Rabeinu Yonah's axiom underpins the Midrash (Bereishis Rabba 81:2) about R' Levi ben Sissi who was unable to answer three simple halachik questions because, in his own words, he became momentarily enamored with the considerable honor shown to him by the community that had just appointed him their rabbi. (See R' Yerucham Leibowitz, Da'as Chochma uMusar, P 54.)
This idea that even a fleeting feeling of arrogance can annihilate an individual's access to Torah that he knows well is an idea foreign to the mastery of other subjects. This is because Torah is not a body of static information that resides in books. Torah is the dynamic transmission of Divine energy and powerful insight from Hashem through generations of saintly sages. Character, as Rabeinu Yonah says, is the human condition necessary for the effective transmission of the Torah. Without character an individual might have access to information, but not to the wisdom and energy of Torah insight.
Keduahas HaTorah
For Torah to be authentic it needs to be absorbed into the fabric of an individual's identity and personality before he can transmit it further to others. This is the idea expressed in the opening of Pirkei Avos: "Moshe received the Torah from Sinai…" He received it into his being, and only then did he pass it on to Yehoshua and the Zekeinim. If Moshe's character was flawed then the Torah he taught would have been contaminated and would have been void of authenticity.
The implications of this principle are far-reaching: When someone of poor character studies the Torah or expounds on it, the ideas they learn or expound can not be considered to be authentic Torah. Unlike other studies, the authenticity of Torah is determined not only by the accuracy of the material but also by the character of the student or teacher. Torah has kedusha (sanctity) and therefore unlike other studies it requires kedusha in its study, understanding and teaching. In the same way, the sanctity of the Beis Hamikdash(Temple) or Mishkan (Tabernacle) required that those who served in them were people of great character and holiness.
Keduahas HaMikdash
The sons of Ahron who die at the beginning of Achareimos are another example of how a tiny character flaw can contaminate the sanctity of Temple service. The slight arrogance they showed by offering halachik opinions in the presence of their teacher, Moshe, was enough to deem the fire they used for their offerings, an eish zarah - a foreign fire. The flaw was not in the object, the fire, it was in the subject, the sons of Ahron. In the same way Torah that is learnt or taught by people of flawed character is not authentic Torah. This is not because of a flaw in the object, the text. It is because of a flaw in the character of the subject learning and teaching that Torah.
Keduahas HaAretz
At the end of Achareimos we have yet another example of how the quality of people's actions and character can contaminate a holy object. In Vayikra 18:24-28 we learn how the Land of Israel can be polluted and contaminated by immoral activity on the part of its subjects. This moral pollution has led and can in the future lead to the expulsion of entire peoples from the Land, including our own people. Personal stature, moral caliber and greatness of character are not luxuries in the Jewish personality. Musar, the study and practice of character refinement, is not an ancillary to Torah study. Musar is a precondition to the study of Torah. Character is a precondition for the authenticity and sustainability of our national and spiritual identities.
