PARSHAT EKEIV – GAINESVILLE
One of the interesting ways of reading the Bible is trying to figure out the meanings of words. It’s not always so easy. For instance, the word Shalom is one that everyone knows. We all know it means ‘peace.’ But what, exactly, does that mean? If you look at the Russian word for peace, Mir, it means that everything is calm after the enemy has been conquered. In other words, Mir, is a subjugation of the population after victory in war. What about Shalom?
To know that we must know the root of the word, sh–a-lem. That root comes from a much older word that means to be whole. So when we wish someone Shalom, we are wishing them a sense of wholeness and fulfillment. Yes, the root of shalom sounds very Zen.
There are hundreds of examples of this throughout the Bible and, specifically, the Torah as we see this week. So, this week an interesting phrase with interesting words appears at the end of last week’s portion and at the beginning of this week’s. The words are well-known but the fact that they are used in a rare kind of phrase makes us sit up and take notice. The phrase is ha-brit veha-chessed (Deuteronomy 7:9) or in this week’s parsha, et ha-brit ve-et ha-chessed (Deut. 7:12).
Okay, brit we know. It’s the same word we use in brit milah, the covenant of circumcision. Brit is a covenant, a promise between God and the Jewish people. Not simply a promise but a binding vow between these two parties.
Now, chesed is a bit more interesting. Most people translate it as loyalty or kindness. You may know the phrase ‘gemilut hassidim’ – acts of lovingkindness. Now, the translation is not wrong but it is also not complete. It misses a nuance.
So we need to look at the word as part of the phrase, brit and chesed. They are clearly both listed to provide a contrast. If Brit is a covenant, what is a contrast to a covenant? What is the biblical author trying to teach us?
I think the Torah is teaching us about a unique relationship. The relationship between God and Israel is defined by brit, covenant. That, essentially, is the content of the Torah. Think of the Torah as a ketubah, a marriage contract, where each party has obligations. Fair enough. But what other meaning is added by the word chessed?
The translators have a problem with it. The Jewish Publication Society’s translation of the opening verse of our parsha is: And if you do obey these rules and observe them carefully, the Lord your God will maintain faithfully for you the covenant that He made on oath with your fathers” This translates chessed as “faithfully” and takes it as an adverb to the word “maintain” or “keep”.
On the other hand some Christian translations are highly influenced by the Christian notion of grace and many translate ha-brit veha-chessed as “covenant of love.” As you can see, this is a very Christian translation. But listen to the translation: it is a covenant of love. The covenant is founded on love, not law. It is a Christian notion but it is not the idea of covenant that the Torah means when it used ‘brit.’
Both the standard Jewish translations and the Christian ones are, in a word, either misleading or plain wrong. Now a grammar lesson: the use of the terms ‘brit’ and ‘chesed’ are preceded by an untranslatable term ‘v’et’ – which indicates a direct object. What this means is that brit and chesed – covenant and chesed are two distinct things. So how to translate this: How about “God will keep the covenant and the love with which He made an oath to your fathers.” Not “covenant of love” but “covenant and love.” But still: what is the covenant, and what is the love that is distinct from the covenant?
It is not a minor problem because too often Judaism is categorized as the religion of law while Christianity is a religion of love. The unintentional misuse and misunderstanding of words and phrases have implications that echo through generations. So, if we translate this as our Torah is a covenant of law and an expression of love, both at once, both all the time, then we have a much more elevating of idea of our relationship with God and each other. We have one foot in law and tradition and obligation and the other foot in deep and abiding love.
What then is the meaning of chessed and how important is it? Well, no less a luminary like Maimonides addressed this very question at the end of his magnum opus, his Moreh Nebuchim – the Guide for the Perplexed. When someone writes something at the end of the book, that is the sure sign of its great importance. And about chesed, Maimonides says:
In our Commentary on Pirkei Avot (5:7) we have explained the expression chessed as denoting excess. It is especially used of extraordinary kindness.
Loving-kindness is practised in two ways: first, we show kindness to those who have no claim whatever upon us; secondly, we are kind to those to whom it is due, in a greater measure than is due to them … “
This is a beautiful idea. Chesed is love and respect and honor due to someone when there is no benefit to the giver. And chesed is that same honor and respect, yes, even love, to those to whom it is due but in even a greater measure than we would normally offer. Chesed is the overflowing of celebrating the joy of the relationship.
Brit, covenant, is about our legal obligations. Brit means that I am entitled to the protection of the law and the obligation of tzedakah, justice. But to chessed, I am not entitled at all. When someone acts toward me in chessed, that is an act of pure grace. I have done nothing to deserve it.
The Psalms say that “The universe is built in heed – lovingkindness,” that creation was an act of pure chessed. The creation of the universe in the mind of the Psalmist was one that we did nothing to deserve.
We see this played out in the book of Ruth. First we see it when Naomi, whose sons and husband have died decides to return to Israel. She says to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me…” You owe me nothing, she is saying. You have been kind, you have been good daughters-in-law, but now we must go our separate ways.
The second speech occurs when Ruth has gone to gather grain in the field of Boaz, who treats her with great care and consideration. She asks him: “Why have I found such recognition in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?” A modern commentator observes that “The two key words here are “recognition” and “foreigner.” “Recognition” means that you have behaved toward me as if you had obligations to me. But “I am a foreigner.” The word used here is not “stranger,” i.e. a resident alien to whom certain duties are owed. It means, a complete outsider. Ruth is saying to Boaz, you do not owe me anything.”
That is what chesed is: the good done to another who has no claim whatsoever upon you.
And so now we can see what the Torah is trying to teach us. Namely, that the relationship we have with God and that God has with us is more, much more, than a legal binding covenant. It is a relationship based on love and mutual respect. It is not based on the fear of not earning a place in the world to come but rather an ongoing hug of comfort and love in this world. Chesed exists and flows not out of obligation but out of affection.
And how the Torah inspires us to look at God who will never abandon us, so too do we imitate God where chessed becomes a part of who and what we are. As God is like a husband to his wife the Jewish people or a father to His children, so too are we bound to each other and to God in chesed. There may be moments of tension, even estrangement, but the parent is still a parent and the child is still their child. As a modern commentator taught, “Marriage is a covenant; parenthood is not. Do not forsake us, we say to God, because whatever we have done, You are our parent and we are Your children. Chessed is the kind of love a parent has for a child, whether they deserve it or not.” Chessed frees us from fear. Brit keeps us on the straight and narrow.
Hesed is the highest achievement of a moral life. It is what Ruth did for Naomi, and Boaz for Ruth and what everyone of us can and ought to do above and beyond what is required. Chesed is the outflowing of the heart. It is given freely and openly. It is not rationed or given with the expectation of reward or recompense.
I conclude with this thought written by a man who sums up what Hesed is: He writes, “I am the mystic of the dollar store and the all-night diner. I am the prophet waiting in the drive-thru to get my coffee. What is most sacred is usually right in front of us, right where we live. The holy is in the everyday, the common, the simple. It is hidden in places that have become so routine for us that we hardly notice them anymore. There are revelations in the hallway and epiphanies on the playground. All around us the Hesed is present, vibrant and alive, just waiting for us to make a connection…I am the pilgrim of the neighborhood, the sage of shared wisdom, stopping by to wish you well.”
These are the words of Hesed and they are holy words that may not be able to fix the world but can do wonders for a person whose soul was lifted at that precise moment because of that kindness.
