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May 30, 2003/Iyar 28 5763, Vol. 55, No. 40
Judaism demands risk-taking
Torah study
RABBI SHLOMO RISKIN
Bamidbar/Numbers 1:1-4:20
For as long as I can remember, Orthodox Judaism has been perceived by much of the world as a conservative, sheltered, old-fashioned way of life unwilling to take risks in the face of new challenges, preferring to retreat into its own shell like a turtle.
A Midrashic comment on this week's portion of Bamidbar stresses a genealogical aspect of Nahshon, prince of the tribe of Judah, and rejects the idea that a conservative, risk-free existence is a Torah value. Nahshon is the courageous individual who risked his life by leaping into the Red Sea when the fleeing Israelites found themselves being chased by the charioteers of Egypt; only after he demonstrated his fortitude and faith did God bring about the miracle of the splitting of the sea.
The Midrash points out that Nahshon had four sons, including Elimelech, husband of Naomi, as well as Shalmon, father of Boaz; hence Nahshon was father and uncle of two major personalities in the Book of Ruth, which we read on Shavuot.
Now we don't usually think of the Book of Ruth as a book of risks, but I suggest that with its genealogy, the Midrash is stressing what kind of risks are favored by the Torah and what kind are not.
The fact is that courage and risk-taking are seen as an underlying theme of the book of Numbers. By the time the book closes, it is clear that the Jewish people have failed their first major test. When the spies return with a frightening report about the Promised Land and the inability to conquer it (Numbers 13-14), the Hebrews demonstrate a total lack of resolve, courage and faith.
But the Torah wants the Hebrews to make the first heroic moves that come with independence. Nahshon at the shore of the Red Sea shines as the antithesis of a cowardly "desert generation."
Nahshon's remarkable ability to take risks was transmitted to his son and nephew. Hence, the Book of Ruth closes with the names of 10 generations from Peretz (son of Judah) to King David, and Nahshon appears right in the center, the pivotal figure between the age of the patriarchs and the generation of the messiah of the Jewish people.
But while Nahshon and Boaz are to be praised for their risk-taking, Elimelech can only be reviled for his. When a famine descends upon Bethlehem, the home of Elimelech, he packs up his family and starts a new life in the land of Moab. This may demonstrate courage on the part of Elimelech, but his motivation was greed; he refused to share his bounty with his starving kinsmen, and he was willing to leave his homeland for wealth. Hence, tragedy strikes. Elimelech dies, and his sons marry Moabite women. His progeny die as well, causing Elimelech to have reaped as his harvest in Moab only oblivion.
In contrast, Boaz does not leave Bethlehem during the famine. And when the challenge arises to do an act of loving-kindness for Naomi and redeem Elimelech's land - as well as to marry the stranger-convert Ruth - Boaz assumes the financial obligation and social risk involved in the marriage. And the descendant from this union is King David, part of the messianic line.
Elimelech's risk was based upon greed; it ends in his death. Boaz's risk was based upon loving-kindness, and resulted in redemption. Risk is positive, and even mandatory, from a Jewish perspective. The question we have to ask ourselves is the motivation, and that determines the result.
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is the spiritual leader of Efrat, Israel.
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