The Jewish Attitude Toward Gentiles (2)

"Israel, through you I shall be glorified": The Jewish role

            The principle of "You shall walk in His ways" in fact teaches us much more.  The prophets and the sages claim that walking in God's ways is in essence the defining characteristic of the Jewish people.  The Jewish nation bears God's name: "Hearken My Nation and I will speak, [hearken] Israel and I will testify to you... I am your God..." (Psalms 57).  The midrash explains this verse as follows: I am God to all people, nevertheless I have granted My name to Israel alone (Mekhilta De-rabbi Ishmael, 20).  Thus, the original order is reversed.  Initially, the obligation to walk in God's ways took the form of a commandment; however, for the rest of the world it has become a fact.  The world learns of God's attributes through observing the ways of the Jewish people.  This is the source of the idea that the Jewish people's behavior necessarily entails either the sanctification of God's name or, God forbid, the opposite.

            One may infer the connection between our moral attitude to Gentiles and the sanctification of God's name from the words of Shimon Ben Shetach upon returning a Gentile's lost object (Jerusalem Talmud, Bava Metzia 2:5).  He responded to his students' query thus: "What do you think, that Shimon ben Shetach is a barbarian?  Shimon ben Shetach wished to hear: More blessed is the God of the Jews than all of the reward in this world."  Later on, the Jerusalem Talmud brings other examples.  Another case that can teach us much is the story of Rabbi Samuel Bar Susrat, who did not return the King's lost object by the time the King had specified, and returned it later, in order "that you should not say that I acted out of fear of you, but rather out of the fear of God."  The attitude of the sage to the Gentile is not enforced by the fear of the government; rather, the opposite is true.  He mocks the Government, and returns the lost object because Jewish morality compels it.  Because of the behavior of this sage, the Gentile declared: "Blessed is the God of the Jews."  The moral attitude is adopted in the name of God, AS OPPOSED TO THE PERSONAL INTEREST of the individual.  This behavior expresses a definite awareness that, through his deeds, the Jew represents God's name and His attributes, and that in effect he is the subject of the verse in Isaiah, "And He said to me, you are My servant, Israel, through you I shall be glorified." (Isaiah 49:3)

            However, this fact leads us to another principle which must guide us in our attitude to the Gentiles.  Certain actions are sometimes necessary for political reasons or security purposes.  Yet, we may not free ourselves from the concern that these actions might corrupt us.  This claim is not a modern one, stemming from Western liberalism.  We find a similar attitude in the writings of the seventeenth-century sage, the Chakham Tzvi.  After summarizing the different laws regarding the moral attitude of the Jew to the Gentile, he writes: (Responsa Chakham Tzvi, 26, Warsaw 1876, 18a):

"And when laying siege to a Gentile city we were commanded to leave one side without siege... and even [regarding] animals, who cannot talk, [the Torah] commanded us not to cause them pain... and even [regarding] flora we were commanded 'Do not destroy its trees' and all this is not due to the [wrongness of the] act as much as for us the actors to acquire in our souls true knowledge and honest and good character traits in order to merit us for our own good, and this is very clear."

            There are actions that objectively are justified.  Nonetheless, we may not carry them out, lest they corrupt us, God forbid.

            Thus we have discovered three principles which must guide us in our attitude to the Gentiles.

            An attitude of reciprocity obligates us to extend the sphere of our moral behavior because of "ways of peace."  However, this principle is encompassed and defined by the highest Jewish principle - sanctification of God's name, which is linked to the commandment to walk in God's ways.  The gemara teaches us (Bava Kama 113b): "... R. Pinchas Ben Yair says, [in a situation] where there is [potential for] desecration [of God's name, it is forbidden to take] even ...[a Gentile's] lost object [which would have otherwise been considered ownerless]."  In addition, the Jerusalem Talmud teaches us (ibid. 4:3) that "at that time Rabban Gamliel forbade robbing Gentiles, [claiming that] it should be prohibited because of the desecration of [God's] name."  And in the Tosefta we find the following statement (ibid. 6:15): "Whoever steals from a Gentile must return it to the Gentile; it is worse to steal from a Gentile than from a Jew because of the desecration of [God's] name."  The Tosefta believes that beside the Torah prohibition, stealing from a Gentile involves the additional transgression of desecrating God's name.

            A mysterious bond links the Jewish nation to God, a connection that is expressed through the concept of the sanctification of God's name.  When the Jewish people follow God's ways, God's name is sanctified; when the Jewish people sin, it is desecrated.  Moreover, the behavior of the Jewish people obligates God, as it were.  In the words of Isaiah the prophet, whoever looks on the Jewish nation must say: "These [people] are God's nation," the nation that follows the ways of God.  On the other hand, when the Jewish people suffer, the suffering itself contains an aspect of desecration of God's name: "Why should the Gentiles say, Where is their God?" (Psalm 115).  The redemption of the Jewish people, then, involves sanctification of God's name.  This concept appears in many places, and reaches its most extreme expression in the words of the prophet Ezekiel, who maintains that Israel's redemption will occur solely for the sake of sanctifying God's name.  This connection is thus a reciprocal one, which cannot be severed: "His glory is on me, and my glory is on Him."  This is the true glory, the connecting thread that weaves through the destiny of God' nation.  This relationship can be described as a two-sided equation.  On the one side of the equation we find Jewish destiny, testimony to the workings of heaven.  We, the children of Israel, bear witness to God's existence and to the creation of the world.  On the other side of the equation we find the behavior of the children of Israel.  We must behave righteously, for if we sin, God forbid, we desecrate the name of God.  The nations judge God based on our actions.  The commandment to "walk in His ways" creates a similarity to God, both on the part of the individual and the whole.  The Jewish nation must achieve a collective resemblance to the Almighty.

            Thus, we have found that in each particular case different laws may apply.  The Jew who speaks of humane behavior towards the Gentile does not present an extra-halakhic position; he expresses the halakhic ethic itself.  The halakhic system embodies morality and justice, both in an ideal and in a less-than-ideal reality.  Were we to remain within the realm of ethics alone, we would become barren 'bleeding-heart liberals.'  Halakha permits aggressive action in certain situations.  This is a realistic approach, for mercy may easily become brutality.  We are, however, commanded to maintain a moral standard of behavior even while exercising this right.  The Talmud (Tractate Ketuvot, 37b) states: "Rav Nachman said in the name of Rabba bar Avuha: the verse says 'Love your neighbor as yourself;' [this means:] select an easy death for him."  Although war and capital punishment seem to manifest the absolute failure of moral principles, their halakhic sanction does not nullify the general moral principle which applies explicitly to those sentenced to death by the Jewish courts: 'select an easy death for him,' and do not humiliate him.  You may need to take undesirable action at times.  Nevertheless, moral principles must guide you.

(This lecture was translated by Gila Weinberg.)

Copyright (c) 1996 Prof. Shalom Rosenberg, Yeshivat Har Etzion.  All rights reserved.