Elevating Religiosity

Parshat B'Shalach

By Rabbi Avi Billet

Every time I hear a "Hillul Hashem" story involving so-called religious Jews going to prison, I contemplate what the term "religious" means. I will not be one to say that people are perfect and don't make mistakes. And perhaps, some people are in the wrong place in the wrong time, and are drawn in for the unfortunate ride.

And, of course, there's always room for teshuva.

But when the media refers to a person, going to or in prison, as "a religious Jew," who demands kosher food, and the need to have a minyan, or to attend his son's bar-mitzvah or his grandson's bris, I can't help thinking that there's something very very wrong with this picture. While in oppressive regimes and anti-Semitic cultures it was common for a Jew to be put in prison under false pretenses, in the United States it is extremely difficult to present such an argument.

And so I arrive at the conclusion that these are not really religious Jews, because a religious Jew is supposed to live a life that will never end him up in prison.

Perhaps the flaw lies in the fact that a rote and systematic form of "religious practice" does not speak for the soul of the human being, does not answer for how a person feels, and how his Jewish practices are supposed to enter his heart – past the surface, to create a Jew who is "tocho k'baro," whose inside (what causes him to do the things he does) reflects his outside appearances of a noticeable kippah and tzitzis, perhaps even a beard.

This is an extremely important lesson that the Israelites learn in the events leading up to the splitting of the sea.

The Torah tells us that "As Paroh approached, the Israelites saw the Egyptians marching at their rear, and they became very frightened ("Va'yi'r'oo me'od"). The Israelites cried out to God." (14:10) The source of their fear is the Egyptian army, which causes them to cry out.

The story plays out – Moshe rebukes and encourages the people then splits the sea, the Israelites cross the sea and are chased by the Egyptians, and the Egyptians finally recognize God and how He has defeated them as the walls of water come tumbling down upon them.

Then the Torah tells us the words that have become so familiar because they are part of the Shacharit service. As the Egyptians lay dead at the seashore, "The Israelites saw the great power that God had unleashed against Egypt, and the people were in awe of God ("Va'yi'r'oo ha'am et Hashem"). They believed in God and in His servant Moshe" (14:31). The Hebrew word for "fear" in 14:10 is the same Hebrew word for "awe" in 14:31.

The problem the people faced initially was that while they were ready to cry to God when things seemed not to go their way, their fear was misplaced. They feared Egypt, when they were supposed to fear, revere, and stand in awe of God.

Only after they witnessed the miracle of their physical salvation were they able to recognize that their fear, until that moment, had focused on the wrong object.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch writes "Fear and belief are the two basic qualities that are always to pulsate in the heart of the Jew who stands before God. There is only one Being Whom we should fear and trust at the same time, and that is God, the one sole God, Who is as loving as He is just, as just as He is loving, and equally omnipotent in the exercise of His love and justice… Just as this moment attests to God's hand acting omnipotently with mercy and with justice, so, too, it is everlasting testimony to the authenticity of the mission of His servant Moshe."

Moshe was and remains our guide to living and leading a proper life. Fear of God is essential, while fear of the Egyptians is wrongly focused. Perhaps the only good quality of fearing Egypt is that it caused our ancestors to show how "frum" they were – to cry out to God.

If fear of authorities will cause our co-religionists to live lives that are only "Kiddush Hashems" (sanctifications of God's name), perhaps it would be good enough. Sadly, and too often, it is not enough of a deterrent to prevent illegal activities.

This is why we need to take the fear of God to a new level. We will not likely witness miracles of the nature of the splitting of the sea. But like the people who believed in Moshe, God's servant, we too can reopen the 5 books of Moshe, learn from our master teacher, and arrive at the kind of fear of God that gives meaning and purpose to our lives.

Religion is not a checklist. The Torah we study, the acts we perform, and ultimately the faith we have, are meant to mold our characters and teach us how to be model, law-abiding human beings.