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Interaction with the Outside World: Difference between revisions
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Interaction with the Outside World (view source)
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How a Jew interacts with the rest of the world is a complex and critical issue to be well aware of. What do we mean by the "Outside World"? Being a vague term, we chose to define it in this discussion to non-Jews and their cultures. | How a Jew interacts with the rest of the world is a complex and critical issue to be well aware of. What do we mean by the "Outside World"? Being a vague term, we chose to define it in this discussion to non-Jews and their cultures. | ||
==Value 1: Positive Environment== | ==Value 1: Positive Environment== | ||
# | # A person is influenced by his surroundings<ref>Gemara Sukkah 56b</ref> and friends.<ref>Pirkei Avot 1:6, Rambam (Deot 6:1), Mesilat Yesharim ch. 23 citing Melachim Bet 12 and Tehillim 101:7</ref> | ||
# Therefore, a person should chose to live in a place of Torah; that is, a place where there is a positive influence of Torah and mitzvot.<ref>Rabbi Nehorai in Pirkei Avot 4:14 states that a person should be exiled to a place of Torah. Further sources supporting this point are: Pirkei Avot 6:9 and Ketubot 111a.</ref> Inversely, a should stay away from places of negative influence and wicked people.<ref> Tehillim 1:1, Pirkei Avot 1:7, Rambam (Deot 6:1). Shabbat 147b records the story of Rabbi Elazar Ben Arach who left a place of Torah in order to live in a place of comfort. The result was that he forgot his learning completely.</ref> | |||
==Value 2: Isolationism== | |||
# In order to maintain a strong Jewish identity as an individual and as a community, it is critical for the community to remain isolated in some sense. For example, intermarriage is a very serious sin and leads to the breakdown of the Jewish nation.<ref>Evidence that chazal believed in distancing ourselves from the outside world: | |||
* Intermarriage is a very serious sin. The Torah forbids it and warns how it will lead to idolatry. There is a dispute whether intermarriage with non-Jews other than the 7 nations of Canaan is Biblical or Rabbinic in nature. Either way, the gemara Sanhedrin 82a records the punishment from the prophets of someone who intermarries, being cut off from the Jewish people. This sentiment is also found in Eruvin 19a, which says that those who intermarry will not be saved from Gehinnom. Such is the gravity of intermarriage. | |||
* Chazal enacted several decrees against products of non-Jews such as their cheese, milk, oil, wine, bread, and all cooked dishes. The reason for these enactments was to prevent intermarriage.</ref> | |||
# The Jewish people are praised for their isolationism.<ref>Bamidbar 23:9, Devarim 32:12</ref> Chazal see this as fundamental to our identity. <ref>Shemot Rabba 36:1 comments that Bnei Yisrael are compared to oil because just like oil doesn't mix with other liquids, so too the Jews don't mix with the other nations.</ref> | |||
==Approach 1: Seclusion== | ==Approach 1: Seclusion== | ||
# Some people feel in that in order to avoid any negative influences of secular society it is preferable to become completely secluded from society even if it comes at the cost of being able to enjoy a broader, more engaged, and comfortable life.<ref> | # Some people feel in that in order to avoid any negative influences of secular society it is preferable to become completely secluded from society even if it comes at the cost of being able to enjoy a broader, more engaged, and comfortable life.<ref> | ||
* Rambam (Deot 6:1) writes that in order not to be influenced negatively by society it is sometimes necessary to go off to a desert to live there. </ref> | * Rambam (Deot 6:1) writes that in order not to be influenced negatively by society it is sometimes necessary to go off to a desert to live there. </ref> | ||
# When it comes to secular knowledge, some will distinguish and recognize the importance of accepting the truth irrelevant of its source<ref>The Midrash Eicha Rabba 2:9 writes that there is valuable wisdom amongst the nations of the world. The Rambam (Introduction to Shemona Perakim) famously writes that it is wise to accept the truth from whoever said it. </ref>, while others will venture to ignore the value of all secular wisdom due to the "risk" involved in studying it. | # When it comes to secular knowledge, some will distinguish and recognize the importance of accepting the truth irrelevant of its source<ref>The Midrash Eicha Rabba 2:9 writes that there is valuable wisdom amongst the nations of the world. The Rambam (Introduction to Shemona Perakim) famously writes that it is wise to accept the truth from whoever said it. </ref>, while others will venture to ignore the value of all secular wisdom due to the "risk" involved in studying it. | ||
