Today I spent the morning down in Camp Wise, preparing for an upcoming JFX Bar Mitzvah there. Rabbi Helman and I hung out there with Steve, the in-house maintenance man, helping him help us to build an Eruv and a Mechitzah (divider for prayer) in the rustic, outdoor Sanctuary.
Steve looks every bit the part of the outdoorsman that he is, having spent most his life working at Boy Scouts and wilderness camps. As Rabbi Helman and I, in our beards, suits and ties, crowded into his golf car, he took one look at us and quipped, "If anything bad happens to either of you while I'm driving, it sure won't bring me a lot of good luck!"
Seeing how nice he was, and how respectful he was to Jewish traditions, I got to talking to him about his religious experiences growing up. He told me that his parents were Methodist, but that he opted out of religion after some negative experiences with their minister. "Now I just live by the Golden Rule," he said. "However, my friends like to call me the button pusher."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"Oh, whenever I see someone worshiping a particular faith, I like to challenge them. 'Why are you doing this?' If they say, 'I don't know, it's just my tradition,' then I challenge them, 'Why is it part of your tradition? Does it makes sense to YOU?' I have pushed many people's buttons that
way, and made a lot of people rethink many of their customs and traditions... The way I see it, if it doesn't make sense, why bother?"
Well, not looking for a theological debate on the golf car, especially since HE was the one in the driver's seat, I nodded politely. After all, he did have a point: what's the point if you don't know the point? The Torah does agree partially - it encourages us to study, ask, challenge, debate, etc. Get the point and incorporate it into your lifestyle!
However, the Torah also teaches us to act even if we don't yet fully get the point. Yes, if it's part of our tradition it has intrinsic value, and yes, every Mitzvah that we do, even if don't necessarily understand it fully, does bring "kedushah," holiness, into our lives and into our environment. Tikkun Olam begins at home. Do it and, you'll start feel it!
So, what about that Golden Rule? I'm all for it. In fact, it comes from the Torah (Leviticus 19:18). It's a great place to start...!
