{"id":80897,"date":"2020-10-04T16:08:13","date_gmt":"2020-10-04T13:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=80897"},"modified":"2020-10-04T16:08:13","modified_gmt":"2020-10-04T13:08:13","slug":"what-constitutes-a-virtuous-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/what-constitutes-a-virtuous-life\/","title":{"rendered":"What Constitutes A Virtuous Life?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"80897","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":62571,"related_cahpter":"582","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"But who is capable of doing all these things? An intriguing answer from the insect world.\r\n\r\n","content":"

The Psalm asks the age-old question: what in God\u2019s eyes constitutes a virtuous life? Although Jewish tradition is replete with commandments that govern our responsibilities both vis-\u00e0-vis God (<\/span>Mitzvot Bein Adam LeMakom<\/span><\/em>), as well as the appropriate manner in which to treat our fellow man (<\/span>Mitzvot Bein Adam LeChaveiro<\/span><\/em>), the specific examples that appear in this extremely short psalm all refer to the how we ought to relate to human beings, as opposed to the Divine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Psalm 15 supports taking quite literally what Hillel says to the potential convert, upon being asked \u201cto be taught the entire Torah while \u2018standing on one foot\u2019:\u201d (Shabbat 31a) \u201c<\/span>That which is hateful to you do not do to another<\/span><\/em>;<\/em> that is the entire Torah, and the rest is its interpretation. Go study.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There are many instances in the Rabbinic tradition when a sage gives one answer to an \u201coutsider,\u201d and quite a different response to his personal students (see e.g. Leviticus Rabbah 4:6; Numbers Rabbah 19:8; and Tanchumah, Parashat Chukat #26). I have wondered whether Hillel\u2019s interaction with this individual was another example of this \u201cdouble-sided\u201d phenomenon. However, Psalm 15 suggests that the aim of Judaism is indeed to produce a virtuous individual, and the program is deemed successful only when the qualities that the psalmist lists are in ample evidence.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the midrash suggests that the words of the psalm, rather than being reassuring to men and women who devote their lives to aspiring to virtue, could have just the opposite effect. It is notable that the erudite R. Akiva applies a derivation from overt ritual law to encourage his colleague with respect to Psalm 15:<\/span><\/p>\n

When R. Gamliel would read this text, he would be reduced to tears. He said: Who is capable of doing all these things? However, when R. Akiva read these verses, he would laugh.\u00a0
\n<\/span>Gamliel asked him: Why are you laughing?
\nHe said to him: See what the Torah says concerning \u201cswarming things:\u201d (Leviticus 11:43) \u201cYou shall not draw abomination upon yourselves through <\/span>everything <\/span><\/i>that swarms, you shall not make yourselves ritually impure therewith….\u201d One might think that one doesn\u2019t become ritually impure until he is contaminated by <\/span>all<\/span> of the various types of swarming things. Yet if an individual comes into contact with a single bean-size swarming thing, he is deemed ritually impure.
\n<\/span>God\u2019s desire to do good is 500 times greater than his inclination to punish. If touching a single bean-size swarming thing is considered equivalent to having had contact with all of them, doesn\u2019t it logically follow that if a person does a single aspect of one of the commandments listed in Psalm 15, he will be considered as if he has carried them all out? (Yalkut Shimoni, #665)
\n<\/span>Gamliel said to R. Akiva: You have comforted me. You have comforted me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But we are left with the question: did R. Akiva really believe what he was saying to R. Gamliel? Does it not matter?<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":80898,"id":80898,"title":"ps15-virtues","filename":"ps15-virtues.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps15-virtues.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/what-constitutes-a-virtuous-life\/ps15-virtues\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"ps15-virtues","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":80897,"date":"2020-10-04 13:07:04","modified":"2020-10-04 13:07:16","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":3000,"height":2000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps15-virtues-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps15-virtues-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps15-virtues-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps15-virtues-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps15-virtues.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps15-virtues.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps15-virtues-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps15-virtues-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"What Constitutes A Virtuous Life?","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"But who is capable of doing all these things? 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