And you will see that this [some versions read, "attainment" and some read, "divine providence"] is not attained without intense effort … indeed Scriptures recounted three matters before their chronological occurrence [in the narrative] because they comprise the essential preparations for receiving the Torah; by completing them, the Israelites convinced Hashem to allot the inheritance of Shaddai, our pleasant Torah, to them. The first matter: Overcoming [laziness] and strengthening oneself in Torah study … until the point where the individual kills himself over the study of Torah. [and this with no ulterior motives, Z.HL.]

The second matter: the humbleness and the humility, for the Torah can only reside in one who has humbled himself and turned himself into a desert [See Eiruvin 54a].

The third matter is the issue of the appointed task of the scholars as they join together with hearts whole and pure; they will not be like peas in a pod (bad be- vad), "a sword against the diviners (ha -badim )"(Jeremiah 50:36); rather, they will come together and sharpen one another['s arguments], treating one another with generosity, as it is written "and there Israel camped "(Ex 19:2), in the singular, for they all came together as one man. (Or HaHaim 19:2)

Law, Education and Values

Disobedience to the legal system parallels the problem of military discipline which certainly seems to be the cornerstone of all military organizations. For the law constantly grapples with its need to have people identify with it .

The very essence of the law is expressed through two main imperatives: establishing clear boundaries for moral order: defining that which is permitted and forbidden, and the issue of coercion. The law is not supposed to determine or engage itself in any way with the contents of these values, that is for the ethicist, homo religiosus , the philosopher. The law is only a vehicle for putting these values into play. Therefore its playing field is reality, the dimension encompassing public-social behavior, and it has no right to have a say in the private sphere. Law fulfills its raison d'etre when one individual's actions threaten to injure another; at the point when the individual strays beyond the boundaries of his private sphere.

Thus, it is apparent that law does not have a role to play in the educational realm . The law is not meant to educate toward certain values; rather, it is supposed to guard them. The law's responsibility to define actions as permitted or forbidden in no way implies its concern for the nature of these values; the law adopts a certain way of dealing with the world, a structure without content. It draws its values from the world of values and, itself, needs to be educated in order to take its proper place on the public stage, as mentioned above.

Attempting to introduce law without educating the people first is doomed to the grotesque failure which befalls any coercive approach . Raising the tax burden above twenty percent of peoples' wages does not fill the treasury's coffers, instead it leads to less tax revenue. This problem also exists in unnatural and arbitrary frameworks like the military. The greater the level of legal coercion conflicting with societal values -- where the educational system is not used to convince the population -- the greater the lack of motivation to fight and the greater the evasion of disciplinary measures. This fundamental problem arises when children are forced to follow certain laws or when the law is enforced upon a primitive people which has not been educated to observe the law, and lacks the notion of public responsibility. Likewise, this problem arises when the law does not serve an immediate need, for instance, a war tax during times of war is legitimate, but a security tax in peacetime is problematic.

The Torah approach to this problem is discussed in Parshat Yitro which begins with Yitro's advice: take the transcendental law and lower it to the people' s level. Democracy: engaging the people in formulating the law, crystallizing it and putting it into practice. Fast-forward to the giving of the "ten commandments," whose authority is distinct from their contents. The contents provide the pillars which uphold the ethical foundations of society, "Thou shalt not steal.;" Thou shalt not covet …"(Ex 13-14). However, they are included within a fiat stemming from the most absolute of authorities: "I am the Lord, Your G-d…"(Ex 20:2). Thus, Jewish law is divided into mitzvoth (commandments), hukim (statutes), and mishpatim (judgments).

Hukim (statutes) – possessing no apparent reason or explanation.

Mitzvoth (commandments) – whose reasons are intrinsic to them.

Mishpatim (judgments) – related to the field of ethics in interpersonal relationships, by broad consensus vital to the healthy functioning of society.

The Or HaHaim delineated the means through which Torah law can be acquired :

Immersing one's entire being in the study of Torah: Active and creative participation stemming from personal identification with the law's contents.

Humility : Treating the supernal origins of the law with respect, both as regards the contents of the law and the foundations of its authority.

Cleaving to one's colleagues: Utilizing the fundamental principle of general consensus . Democracy.

Crucially, each one of these modes is vital to acquiring all three types of law; however, each has a particularly crucial role to play in a particular type of law. Thus, general consensus is of central import in laying the foundations for public law: interpersonal law, the relationship of the individual to society. Humility is the gateway which allows hukim, seemingly free of any moral purpose, to penetrate into the legal pantheon. Immersing one's entire being in the study of Torah is the basis for introducing ethical values into the legal system.

Translated by Rabbi Meshulam Gotlieb
www.MGtransEd.com