Living the Whole Torah
As someone who has spent time in synagogues across the Jewish spectrum, I find myself drawn to different aspects of both Orthodox and progressive worlds, while also not feeling fully connected in either. Each realm elevates certain mitzvot (commandments) over others, sometimes to the near exclusion of entire categories, resulting, for me, in an incomplete embodiment of Torah.
I deeply appreciate the progressive movements’ contributions to humanist values, Jewish creativity, and academic and scientific advancements. I deeply appreciate the Orthodox world’s commitment to fostering Torah literacy, holding tight to tradition, and building robust supportive networks within their communities.
And while there is some overlap, in my opinion there is not enough.
The universalist mitzvot emphasized by non-Orthodox movements, largely in the realm of bein adam l’chavero (between man and his fellow), are essential for humanity to flourish. But they alone cannot sustain Jewish continuity in the way that the covenantal practices of bein adam laMakom (between man and God) — such as kashrut (dietary laws), Shabbat, and family purity — have done for centuries and continue to do today.
Conversely, the particularist mitzvot emphasized by Orthodox communities powerfully distinguish us from the nations, yet a focus on bein adam laMakom has often come at the expense of mitzvot concerning our responsibilities to broader society. In many communities, bal tashchit (avoiding waste), tza’ar ba’alei chayim (humane treatment of animals), le’avdah u’leshomrah (environmental stewardship), and shmirat haguf (taking care of one’s body) are often treated as if they carry little or no weight.
What if Orthodox Jews approached bal tashchit with the same seriousness they bring to kashrut? What if progressive Jews brought the same devotion to tefillah (prayer) that they bring to social justice? And what if, across all denominations, we resisted the pull of a consumer culture that prizes status, social approval, comfort, convenience, immediate gratification, and self-interest, and instead committed ourselves to the restraint, humility, and responsibility that the Torah demands, challenging and inconvenient though they may be? Then perhaps we would all live more authentically Jewish.
When both the first and second Beit HaMikdash were destroyed, our ancestors did not simply blame their adversaries. They looked inward, asking which moral failures had made them spiritually vulnerable. Yet today, in the face of rising antisemitism, few of us worry about which mitzvot we have set aside – probably because they feel inconvenient, unfamiliar, or uncomfortable to us. But perhaps that is what HaShem is waiting for.
Instead of continuing to live our lives on the comfortable paths of our familiar realms, blaming antisemites, or criticizing each other for being “out of touch”, imagine if we all approached every mitzvah as relevant — even if we interpreted them differently – and strived to do more in all spheres? We would live truer to Torah, draw closer to each other, and earn more respect from the non-Jewish world.
Dracheha darchei no’am, v’chol netivoteha shalom. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. Some interpret this verse to mean that any path toward Torah leads to peace, but it can also be read as all the paths together lead to peace. Just as shalom infers shalem or wholeness, true peace requires completeness, not selectivity. Perhaps each Jew needs to take steps on every path that leads to Torah, and not just the ones our denominational realms have come to focus on.
Starting does not mean finishing. In Pirkei Avot, we are told: L’fum tza’ara agra. (According to the effort is the reward.) Nowhere in Proverbs or anywhere else are we told that reaching the endpoint is what brokers peace, but rather that it is the journey along the path that transforms us.
The Torah encourages us to take a step wherever we are on each path. If you are used to eating in nonkosher restaurants, consider supporting kosher restaurants once a week and keeping kosher at home. If you use disposables because life is so busy, consider using compostables or having your children help with the dishes. These steps keep us moving along the path in the direction of peace. And as the years go by, and we do more and more, we continue on those paths, on all those paths at once, embracing the multitude of challenges the Torah entrusts to us.
I like to think of HaShem delighting in each of our simchas (celebrations), but I believe that His delight is only complete when the simcha attempts to honor Torah in every dimension: with healthful food that follows Jewish dietary laws, served on real dishware. A way of life that honors body, soul, and the environment alike. All the paths that lead toward peace.