Be An Unselfish Star

Shortly before his passing, Moses translated the Torah into all the extant languages of his time. The Torah could now be read and understood in Egyptian, Hittite, Assyrian, Aramaic, etc. This was considered a good thing. Many years later, the Greek King Ptolemy commissioned seventy-two Jewish sages to translate the Torah into Greek. The Talmud observed that the day of this commission was a terrible day.

So, is translating the Torah into other languages a good or bad thing? It depends on the translation.

The Selfish Star
A sports analogy: There are two kinds of basketball players, team players and selfish players. Both are very good, but one plays to improve the team and win games, and the other plays to pad his numbers and be a star. Fans often clamor for a particular star to join their team and the coach turns it down. The fans want to see action on the field. The coach worries about the team’s cohesion and performance.

Individual stars don’t win championships. Only teams win championships. The team can only win if it plays like a well-oiled machine, each person doing his or her job. If a star comes to a team thinking he or she can help the team win, they are welcome. If they come thinking the team can help them pad their numbers and set new records, they are not welcome.

On the surface, they look the same. Both are members of the team and both score points. But underneath there is a world difference. One helps the team stand out, the other uses the team to help him or her stand out. One star is subsumed by the team; the other team is subsumed by the star.

Torah In Greek
Ptolemy didn’t commission a Greek translation of the Torah so that Greek-speaking people could learn the Torah. He was thinking that Greek is such a beautiful language that all beautiful works, especially the Torah, should be written in Greek. From his perspective, the Torah would make a nice addition to Greek literature. That is not a good reason to translate the Torah.

Moses translated the Torah into all extant languages, including Greek, so the Torah would be known to everyone. Ptolemy wanted Greek to shine, and Moses wanted the Torah to shine.

This reminds me of a story about the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneerson. The Soviets imprisoned him for his efforts to bolster religious practice among Jews. The arresting agent was a descendant of Chassidim. When the Rebbe was forced from his home, the arresting agent offered to carry the Rebbe’s bag. He said, “My grandfather carried your grandfather’s bag so I will carry your bag.”

The Rebbe insisted on carrying his bag. He replied, “Your grandfather went where my grandfather wanted. He, therefore, got to carry my grandfather’s bag. I have to go where you want me, so you don’t get to carry my bag.”

On the surface, both would carry the Rebbe’s bag. But underneath there was a world of difference. One made the Rebbe shine, the other wanted to shine on the Rebbe’s account.

The Moral
When you stand before G-d, don’t try to stand out, try to make G-d stand out. You are the servant, G-d is the master. If you demand all the attention, it detracts from G-d; it doesn’t contribute to G-d.

Many years ago, when I first came to London, Ontario, a friend attended a Bar Mitzvah at our congregation. I delivered a wonderful sermon before calling up the Bar Mitzvah boy to say a few words. After the service, my friend gave me constructive feedback that I never forgot. He said, you are a gifted speaker, but you must be careful not to outshine the Bar Mitzvah boy. This is his day, not yours. Your role is to make him shine, not to outshine him.

What a powerful lesson for me as a rabbi and for us in life. Our role is to make G-d shine through our exemplary behavior. It is not to make us shine. Our interest should always be in doing the right thing, not in garnering attention or accolades. The same applies socially. Our role is to make others shine: to take one for the team and improve its overall performance. It is never to stand out while others pay the price.

Your Message
We each have a platform. Some of us have larger and louder platforms than others but we each have the ear of people we can influence. Whenever a question arises about an issue related to Jews, we should use our platform to answer those questions. Not so that we could get our names in the media, but so that the Jewish people should be represented well in the media.

Another point. Our first question should be, “What does G-d want me to say?” We should never ask which opinion is most popular or most compelling to others. We should ask, what does G-d’s think?

We can’t know what G-d thinks unless we study G-d’s Torah. If we open the Torah and take our cues from there, we can speak for G-d. If we speak based on how we feel, we don’t speak for G-d. We might be compelling orators, and we might make powerful points, but they won’t be G-d’s points. You might claim you speak for Jewish values, but unless your words are rooted in the Torah, they are not Jewish values. They are the values of one Jew—you.

Remember, be a mouthpiece for G-d and the Torah. Don’t use G-d’s name to buttress your opinions.

An Opinion
Shortly after my dear father-in-law, Dr. Yitzchok Block passed away, our family asked those who knew him to tell us about their interactions with him. One of the stories caught my attention:

One fellow wrote that he once criticized Dr. Block for something, he could not remember what, but he did remember Dr. Block’s reply. “If you spend too much time thinking about my sins, you won’t have time to perform your Mitzvot.” What a lesson for us all.

It is human nature to form opinions about everything. We have opinions on what Israel should do, what our neighbors should do, and what our teachers should do. The important thing to remember is that our words should be guided by what is best for the Jewish people and for G-d. Not by a desire to be right. If we seek the truth, our thoughts will reflect the truth. If we seek attention, our thoughts will reflect our ego.

We might not be able to tell the difference. But it will be obvious to anyone who hears us.