Euthyphro\u2019s<\/em> dilemma and this is how it goes: Is a thing good because God says it is good, or does God say it is good because it is good.<\/p>\nUnderlying this dilemma is the issue of whether the realm of ethics exists independently from religion. My discussions with fellow psychotherapists are occasioned by encounters they have had with patients who are religiously devout, but who are \u201cjust not good people\u201d, as well as with those who are ethically exemplary but not religiously observant. These therapists ask: Can a person be a good person even if he is not religiously observant? Or, alternatively, can a person be religiously observant, and yet not be a good person?<\/p>\n
Since my colleagues generally are aware that I am an Orthodox rabbi, they frequently pose these questions to me, sometimes calmly and sometimes in the heat of emotion. I have developed an approach to responding to these questions. It is based upon a passage in the Torah portion of Kedoshim<\/em>, one of the two parshiyot<\/em> that we read this Shabbat.<\/p>\nStudy the text for this week\u2019s Torah reading as carefully as you can and you will find nary a hint of this issue. However, if you consult the commentary of the early medieval Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, known as Ramban or Nachmanides, you will discover that he confronts this issue head on. I should mention that most Torah scholars will concede that, after Rashi, Ramban is the most authoritative traditional commentator on the Pentateuch.<\/p>\n
The biblical verses read: \u201cThe Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the entire Israelite community and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.\u201d Ramban is troubled by this concept of holiness. What does it mean to be holy? What would constitute holy behavior? How is a person to know what the standards are for holiness or its contrary, unholiness? He rejects Rashi\u2019s definition of holiness as strict separation from specific sins, particularly those of a sexual nature.<\/p>\n
This is how he resolves his quandary: \u201cThe answer lies in the fact that the Torah has very clearly admonished us not to be promiscuous and to refrain from forbidden foods. But at the same it permits marital relations and the consumption of meat and wine. It is therefore quite conceivable that a person will act improperly with his own wife, gluttonously consume quantities of meat or become intoxicated with wine. He may utter vulgar obscenities, piously claiming that such language is not explicitly outlawed by the Torah. Such a person can be a naval b\u2019reshut haTorah, <\/em>a knave with the Torah\u2019s permission.\u201d<\/p>\nPeople can conform to the strictest rules regarding forbidden foods and still be gluttons and drunkards. They can be absolutely faithful husbands and yet be foul-mouthed and coarse in their interaction with their wives. They can remain within the Torah\u2019s parameters and yet be bad people.<\/p>\n
Clearly, for Ramban, there are ethical standards which are distinct from sins. We are expected to be \u201cgood\u201d people, yet conforming to the letter of the law will not guarantee that we are \u201cgood\u201d. Therefore, the Torah asks that we be \u201choly\u201d. For him holiness is a category which includes a very wide range of behaviors which are neither explicitly prescribed nor prohibited by the Torah. Ramban insists that the Torah deliberately refrains from tediously anticipating every conceivable human ethical or moral challenge. The Torah just says, \u201cbe holy\u201d.<\/p>\n
For Ramban, \u201choliness\u201d is not synonymous with \u201csaintliness\u201d. Rather, it is the expectation that we be neat and clean, courteous and polite, considerate and fair, modest and moderate. We are holy to the extent that we excel in the realms of ethics and morality.<\/p>\n
Barely a week ago the Jewish people lost a leader who exemplified this definition of holiness by his personal example, and for whom holiness was a major theme of his prolific writings. His name was Rabbi Aaron Lichtenstein, may his memory be a blessing. He was the dean of the Yeshivat Har Etzion in Israel, but his influence was felt far beyond the walls of that prestigious institution. He tackled the question posed by Euthyphro <\/em>and by the colleagues who regularly engage me in discussions on this subject. His teachings, partly based upon the words of Ramban in this week\u2019s Torah portion, support my assertion that it is indeed quite possible to be scrupulously observant of Jewish ritual and yet not be a \u201cgood\u201d person. In Ramban\u2019s terms such a person is observant but not \u201choly\u201d. And I agree with Rabbi Lichtenstein when he states that the converse also obtains. Many are neglectful of ritual observance yet do live up to the noblest ethical standards.<\/p>\nThe titles of two of Rabbi Lichtenstein\u2019s essays reflect his concern with the relationship between religion and ethical behavior. An early essay is entitled \u201cDoes Jewish Tradition Recognize an Ethic Independent of Halacha<\/em>?\u201d It is included in a volume edited by Marvin Fox, Modern Jewish <\/em>Ethics. A more recent essay is to be found in Rabbi Lichtenstein\u2019s book By His Light<\/em> and is entitled \u201cBeing Frum<\/em> and Being Good: On the Relationship Between Religion and Morality\u201d.<\/p>\nReaders of these weekly columns surely know by now that I have a strong affinity with the thought of Ramban. I frequently base my own themes upon his teachings, sometimes quoting him directly and sometimes expanding upon his ideas. I did not know Rabbi Lichtenstein personally, but I was delighted to learn from some of his closest disciples that he too held Ramban in special esteem.<\/p>\n
Ramban\u2019s lesson should be a goal for all of us. Yes, we must live up to the letter of the law and observe every aspect of Torah to the best of our ability. But we must be especially cautious that in our dedication to obedience to the letter of the law we not lose sight of its spirit of \u201choliness\u201d. We must never be the kind of person who lays claim to being Torah observant but is a knave in his ethical and moral life. We must avoid being a naval b\u2019reshut haTorah.<\/em><\/p>\n
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