Jewish values, ways of life, and traditions often differ from those of the residents in the host countries in which we find ourselves. The manner in which we conduct our daily prayer services, (replete with the obligatory requirements for the fulfillment of the commandment of thrice-daily prayer services), our stringent laws of strict kashrus adherence, the complex and detailed restrictions associated with the observance of our Holy Shabbat, the laws associated with wrapping tefillin on our arms and on our heads, and the varied customs and regulations connected to our unique holidays and festivals are all completely different from cultures, civilizations, and other faith-based populations all around us. It is for this reason (among others) that we are regularly a source of fascination to others, or misunderstood (or even hated) by the masses, and have been so for centuries.

In spite of our being a rare people with a style of living dissimilar to everyone around us, we as Jews have clung to our Yiddishkeit for generations, with a love, devotion, and loyalty unlike any other commitment one can imagine. Baruch Hashem, (thank G-d), we have continued to exist — to live and thrive through all these centuries, in spite of discrimination, persecution, and frequent mass murder by the countries in which we have been forced to flee to find refuge. We can attribute our survival to the mores and values espoused by our beloved Torah, the single-most unifying factor in keeping Jews flourishing in all of our countries of our dispersion. We have managed to inculcate ourselves, our families, and our communities with the teachings of our Torah, which has been solely responsible for our time-resistant compliance to a way of life different from all others.

Jewish conformity to the letter and spirit of Torah and its corollaries, often differs from the style of government, laws, and system of authority to which we are accustomed and on which we rely. What happens when the Jewish way detours from the established American way of life? Are we conflicted? And if so, how do we conduct ourselves? We in America typically believe in, and conform to, a system that includes due process, a democratically-approved system of courts, justice, checks and balances, and appropriate oversight and prescribed supervision. In this way, a methodical, deliberate approach to meting out justice has been put in place so there is less chance for a miscarriage of doing what is right, proper, and deserved.

Simply put, we believe with complete faith that the lessons, values, mitzvot, (commandments) principles, and directives from the Torah, do NOT go out of style. That which we learn from G-d directly and instructively from His Torah does not go out of fashion. Democratic votes, decisions by the Israeli Parliament, The Knesset, or even our halachic Batei Din (Rabbinical Courts) do not have the authority to declare Shabbas non-binding, kashrus (keeping kosher) no longer relevant, or davening unnecessary. Popular thought, decisions, fads, trends, or widespread demands by a population cannot rescind G-d’s authority and teachings to His people Israel, and to the world He created.

It is worth noting that the bracha (blessing) for an aliyah ends with the present-tense verb: “noTANE haTorah”. Earlier in the bracha, we say “…natan lanu” — GAVE us, in the past tense. This is a historical fact, something that occurred at a particular time that can be identified, dated, and understood. HOWEVER, we end the bracha, with the PRESENT tense, “the GIVER of the Torah” or who GIVES the Torah, present tense, since the Torah and its lessons are NEVER in the past, never irrelevant, and with G-d’s help, never far from us.

We therefore learn from this lesson that no matter where we roam, travel, or choose to live, and in spite of the influences around us or the decisions being made for the general populace, the Torah not only accompanies us but it dictates and “sets the table” for the manner in which we conduct our lives and the way we approach every decision we face.

B’Kavod Rav,
Rabbi Dr. Yaacov Dvorin