Thursday, March 27, 2008

Can one be righteous without observing the holidays?

Can a person be right with God if s/he doesn't observe the Biblical holidays? I think so. IMO, what makes you righteous is not strict adherence to each and every one of the 613 mitzvot but your heart, your effort, your repentance after you sin, your acts of kindess, your study, your devotion to God, your love for the stranger, the poor, the widow and the orphan and your love for your neighbor. Rabbi Tarfon said, "you are not called to complete the task; niether are you free to desist from it." You are not expected to perfectly fufill all of Torah, nobody can, but you are expected to put forth the effort.

Noah was an ish tzaddik (righteous man), tamim (blameless, perfect, worthy) in his generation. Gen 6:9. But the law hadn't been given. The holidays were not in place. How could he be considered rightoues? "And Noah walked with God." When God establishes His covenant with Abraham, God tells Abraham, walk before Me and be tamim (perfect). Gen 17:1 When Jesus preached on loving your enemies, he said, "be perfect, even as your heavenly father is perfect." Matthew 5:48 I do not think that perfect in these instances meant following all the law perfectly. I think being perfect meant walking with God, doing good to those who hate you and praying for those who persecute you. Perfection is acting in a loving manner towards everyone, even as God causes the sun to shine and the rain to fall on the wicked and the righteous.

We can get caught up in the minutiae and miss the forest for the trees. I think this is what Jesus condemned the Pharisees for. They washed the outside of the cup but left the inside filthy. They were concerned about the smallest details of sacrifices but neglected the more important matters of justice and mercy. Do the latter, WITHOUT NEGLECTING THE FORMER. Both are important. As we saw regarding Parsha Shemini in regards to Aaron's sons, right intention without right action is dangerous at best and fatal at worst.

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