subject: Rabbi Akiva Said [print this page] Rabbi Akiva Said Rabbi Akiva Said
Rabbi Akiva said it is THE fundamental rule of The Torah: "Ve'ahavta le'reacha kamocha" ("Love thy neighbor as thyself").Known to many as "The Golden Rule", Hillel later restated it as: "Whatever is hateful to you, do not do unto others."(Leviticus 19:18)
Whichever version you prefer does not matter to this writer. What does concern me, however, is the deceptive simplicity of "The Golden Rule". Can you or, for that matter, any of us honestly say: 'While true I do not know the fellow human being next to me, I regard him and all that which is his as if it were my own?' Ponder that honestly for several moments.
Does it still seem as easy as before? It shouldn't because "living the Golden Rule" requires having reached a spiritual level to which most people can only aspire.
Is it understandable if we throw up our hands in frustration? "Forget about it. I've got enough trouble taking care of myself." The Jewish answer is a resounding 'No' because we believe the inherent difficulty of reaching a new goal does not excuse us from making a good faith effort.
I have known Ariel ben Avraham-known by his friends as "Arie"-for ten years and have always found him to be an engaging personality about whom I have previously written: (Http://triblocal.com/skokie/community/stories/2010/10/great-storytellers-are-not-everyday-listening-to-yehoshua-ariel-ben-avraham-yoel/)
I refer to Arie as a "religious Jew" but with the caveat that he does not do the things religious Jews routinely do; for example, Arie does not go to shul regularly. I thought it both a good idea and an appropriate opportunity to invite him to commemorate my son's tenth yahrzeit at my synagogue. When he showed up the next morning for services, it marked the first time hewould bein an orthodox shul in more than fifty years.
The memory of my late son Ben, whom Arie never knew, brought him back to his roots even if the experience lasted less than an hour.
The Creator fashioned man's life to be fragile, fleeting and as distant from death as the amount of space one breath occupies. Jewish tradition teaches us to strive toward G-dliness by becoming better human beings, better Jewish human beings. We can accomplish this through the vehicle of "teshuva"-returning to one's roots, "straightening out that which is crooked" in our lives though the first steps taken may seem insignificant.
This is perhaps how we can best define Arie as a "religious Jew", as one who uses "teshuva" as a vehicle to reach "ve'ahavta le'reacha kamocha" (love thy neighbor as thyself) that makes him the human being, the Jew he is and may yet become.
May we all become the person each of us possesses the potential to be. Oh, and one more thing: the next time you're going to criticize your fellow for his shortcomings, proceed to the nearest mirror and introduce yourself.
