I vividly recall the day he gifted me with a three-volume set entitled Makor Baruch<\/em>. This was the first time that he presented me with a book written in Hebrew. Up until that time, he understood my Hebrew reading skills were limited, and he found English language books for me to peruse.<\/p>\nAlthough I was initially intimidated by three thick volumes of Hebrew text, I quickly came to realize that the author, Rabbi Baruch Epstein, had written a masterwork with which I was familiar, Torah Temimah<\/em>, and had a very clear and simple Hebrew style. Rabbi Epstein was a nephew of the great Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, the dean of the famed Yeshiva of Volozhin in late nineteenth-century Lithuania. Rabbi Epstein devoted several sections of his three-volume work to his famous uncle. This was my introduction to this unique rabbinic scholar and prolific writer, and Rabbi Berlin, known as Netziv, has remained one of my favorite heroes to this day.<\/p>\nI am occasionally asked to identify a passage from Netziv\u2019s vast oeuvre which typifies his religious ideology. I have no difficulty in doing so. Netziv wrote a comprehensive commentary on the entire Pentateuch or Chumash<\/em>. There, we find his brilliant and particularly relevant introduction to the book of Bereshit<\/em>, Genesis, which we are now reading in the synagogue every Shabbat. That introduction is the gem which displays his central teaching.<\/p>\nThe Bible, in at least two places, refers to a mysterious work known Sefer HaYashar<\/em>, the \u201cBook of the Upright.\u201d The Talmud, Avodah Zara<\/em>25a, suggests that this work is the Book of Genesis, Bereshit<\/em>. There Rabbi Yochanan explains that Bereshit<\/em> be known as the \u201cBook of the Upright\u201d because its major characters, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, were upright individuals par excellence.<\/p>\nNetziv accepts this explanation but wonders why the term \u201cupright,\u201d yashar, <\/em>is used rather than terms such as tzaddik, <\/em>righteous, or chassid<\/em>, pious. Netziv explains that there were periods in Jewish history where there were individuals who were righteous and pious, but not quite upright. They were not upright in their relationships with others, often to the extent that they were guilty of sinat chinam<\/em>, of vain hatred of their fellows. He goes so far as to say that by not being upright, they were even capable of murder.<\/p>\nHe writes: \u201cThe Holy One, Blessed Is He is yashar<\/em>, upright. He cannot tolerate those who are merely \u201crighteous\u201d in their religious practices but cannot get along with others, and commit deeds done for the \u201csake of heaven\u201d which lead to the ruin of creation and the destruction of society.\u201d The Patriarchs, particularly Abraham, were yesharim<\/em>, upright souls, who \u201cconducted themselves well even with decadent pagans, and live with them with love and concern for their well-being.\u201d <\/p>\nAs we read the weekly Torah portions at this time of year, we can study just how resoundingly Netziv\u2019s words ring true.<\/p>\n
One wonders about the origins of upright behavior. How did Abraham, for example, learn to be yashar<\/em>? How can we, his descendants, instill yashrut<\/em>, uprightness, in ourselves and in our children?<\/p>\nI propose that the answer lies in a verse in the Book of Ecclesiates, Kohelet<\/em>. The verse appears at the very end of chapter 7. It reads, \u201cThe Almighty made men yashar<\/em>, upright, but they sought out many schemes.\u201d<\/p>\nThe Book of Kohelet<\/em> is often read as a pessimistic work. But this verse implies an alternative to pessimism. Humans are not stained by original sin. They are not evil from birth and therefore incorrigible. Quite the contrary. We are all created yashar<\/em>. The word \u201cyashar\u201d<\/em>literally means \u201cstraight.\u201d We are all born straight, insists Kohelet<\/em>. But somehow, we seek out crooked schemes which distort our straightness.<\/p>\nI cannot conclude this column without quoting from the wise Rabbi Shimon Schwab, of blessed memory. He diagnosed our Jewish society as placing our emphasis on kashrut<\/em> but neglecting yashrut<\/em>. We tend to be careful about kosher but need to do better withyosher<\/em>.<\/p>\nPerhaps reflecting upon the narrative of the current weekly portions, the words of Netziv, and the verse in Kohelet<\/em> will inspire us to be straight, upright, and yashar<\/em>. We will thus conform to the Almighty\u2019s intentions when He created us, and the world will be a better place.<\/p>\n
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