I was reading a book of commentaries on Pirkei Avot, and I found something important and well written that I thought I might share with you.
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The Hebrew words kavata ittim la-Torah could be very literally translated as, "Did you fix the times to the Torah?" Too often do we hear the claim: The Torah must fit the times. Many maintain that the Torah and its teachings must be shaped and modified to meet modern-day conditions and be in step with the times. The entire purpose of Judaism, however, is precisely the reverse. It is our hope to shape the times to the Torah; to transform our environment until it fits the Divine teachings; to elevate prevailing conditions to the level of the Torah rather than lower the teachings of G-d to current standards. This is the question that will be asked of us: "Did you adapt the times to fit the Torah?"
In this spirit we can perhaps interpret the event recorded in the book of Shmuel, how the Holy Ark, which earlier had been captured by the Philistines, returned to the Israelites (Shmuel II, 6). Carried on a wagon drawn by oxen, the Ark was soon escorted by a huge celebrating throng. Suddenly, the oxen stumbled. Uzzah, fearful for the Ark, grasped it in an attempt to prevent it from toppling; thereupon he was stricken dead.
Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook was once asked why Uzzah deserved such punishment. He replied with a striking observation: Uzzah's mistake, said Rabbi Kook, was to overlook the cause of the trouble. The oxen gad slipped and stumbled. Why not try to steady them? Why lay hands on the Ark? The trouble was with the oxen, not with the Holy Ark!
This turn of thought is most suggestive. Indeed, too many of our leaders have attempted to solve the problems of Judaism by thoughtlessly laying hands on the sacred in Israel without first realistically ascertaining the true causes of the problems. Some groups have sanctioned driving to the synagogue on the Sabbath, mixed pews, and a shortened service, in an attempt to bring the people to the synagogue. Has it helped? Have our people turned out en masse to services now that these compromises have been made? There was nothing wrong with the Ark; the trouble was with the oxen. The issue is not one of more or less convenience, but rather that for so many of our people genuine prayer has become a lost art. The need to commune with G-d is buried under layers of trivial distracting activities subsumed under the constitutional right of "the pursuit of happiness." Uzzah laid hands on the Ark when the trouble all along was with the bearers and carriers of the Ark. This is the tragic though sometimes well-intentioned fallacy of our times.
Topic: Shape the Times Based on the Torah, Not the Other Way Around (Read 2194 times)