We Must Never Compromise Our Principles for Short-Term Political Gains
Parashat Chayei Sarah
As negotiations to form a government in Israel continue, our public representatives face difficult decisions. Among the issues at stake are the future of the Torah world, the status of yeshivah students, and the right of religious soldiers to maintain their commitment to Torah and halachah while serving in the IDF.
These are important responsibilities. Those who represent the religious public must do everything possible to ensure that yeshivah students can continue their Torah studies and that soldiers who wish to observe mitzvot can serve without compromising their religious convictions. Shabbat, kashrut and the preservation of an appropriate standard of kedushah within the army must be properly safeguarded.
Yet there is a broader principle that must guide all these efforts: we must never sacrifice fundamental values of Torah and Jewish life in exchange for short-term political achievements.
Parashat Chayei Sarah offers an important lesson in how to approach such decisions. Avraham Avinu was not concerned only with the immediate needs of his generation. He looked ahead, understood the responsibility he carried towards future generations, and made certain that the foundations upon which Klal Yisrael would be built remained secure.
This is particularly evident in two episodes in the parashah.
When Avraham sought to purchase Me’arat HaMachpelah as a burial place for Sarah Imeinu, Ephron the Hittite appeared to offer him the field and the cave as a gift:
“The field I give you, and the cave that is in it, I give to you.”
Nevertheless, Avraham insisted on paying for the property:
“Avraham weighed out to Ephron the silver.”
Why was Avraham so determined to pay when the property was apparently being offered to him so generously?
Avraham was thinking beyond the immediate need to bury Sarah. He understood the importance of establishing a clear and lasting connection between his family and Eretz Yisrael. He did not want that connection to depend upon the goodwill of another person or to leave room for future claims and disputes. He wanted the purchase to be complete, public and beyond question.
Me’arat HaMachpelah would become the burial place of the Avot and Imahot. Its purchase was therefore far more than a property transaction. It was an act of lasting significance, establishing a tangible connection between the Jewish people and their inheritance in Eretz Yisrael.
Avraham was prepared to pay the full price rather than rely upon a seemingly generous offer that might leave the matter uncertain. He was thinking of the generations who would follow him.
The same foresight is evident when Avraham sends Eliezer to find a wife for Yitzchak. He makes him swear:
“You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell.”
Avraham understood that the home Yitzchak would establish would determine the spiritual character of future generations. The choice of a wife was not simply a personal matter. It was fundamental to the continuity of the values upon which Klal Yisrael would be built.
When Eliezer asks what he should do if the woman refuses to accompany him, Avraham gives him a firm instruction:
“Be careful that you do not take my son back there.”
The possibility of difficulties did not justify abandoning the principles behind the mission. Avraham made it clear that every effort must be made to find the right solution, but that the solution could not involve taking Yitzchak back to the land from which he had departed.
In both episodes, Avraham demonstrates the same quality: the ability to look beyond the immediate circumstances and remain faithful to principles that would shape the future of his descendants.
Chazal teach us in Pirkei Avot (2:1):
“Consider the cost of a mitzvah against its reward, and the reward of a transgression against its cost.”
The Mishnah reminds us that what appears to be a gain in the short term may ultimately prove to be a serious loss. Equally, what demands effort or a measure of sacrifice today may bring lasting benefit in the future.
The Gemara in Masechet Tamid (32a) expresses this idea in a few powerful words:
“Who is wise? One who sees what is yet to come.”
This is an especially important quality for anyone entrusted with public responsibility. Leadership is not measured solely by what one manages to achieve today. It must also be judged by the consequences of those achievements tomorrow. A responsible leader must ask not only what can be gained, but also what price may eventually be paid.
These lessons have particular relevance to the political negotiations taking place in Israel today.
Our representatives have a duty to protect the world of Torah, secure the support and funding needed by Torah institutions, and ensure that yeshivah students can continue their learning. They must also stand up for religious soldiers who wish to observe Torah and mitzvot during their military service. No soldier should have to choose between fulfilling his military responsibilities and remaining faithful to halachah. Practical and binding arrangements must protect Shabbat, kashrut and the standards of kedushah required in a Jewish army.
These are not competing responsibilities. Protecting Torah learning and ensuring that soldiers can observe mitzvot are both expressions of the same commitment to Torah and Jewish life. Neither should be neglected.
Achieving these objectives requires negotiation, patience and hard work. There are many practical matters on which compromise is both possible and necessary. Budgets, timetables and methods of implementation can all be discussed. But there is a fundamental difference between compromising over practical arrangements and compromising over principles.
The desire to secure a parliamentary majority must never prevent us from examining the wider implications of the political partnerships required to achieve it.
Eretz Yisrael is the inheritance of the Jewish people. Our presence here carries a responsibility to build a society founded upon Torah and mitzvot and faithful to the mesorah of Klal Yisrael. This is not simply one political position among many. It is a fundamental understanding of what Jewish life in our ancestral homeland is meant to represent.
When consideration is given to relying on political parties that do not share this understanding in order to secure a parliamentary majority, we must look beyond the number of seats they can contribute. We must consider their fundamental objectives, the commitments that may be made to them, and the influence they may acquire over the country’s future.
A government may gain the necessary numbers to govern, but that does not automatically mean that every political partnership is wise or that every agreement serves the long-term interests of the Jewish people
Those entrusted with public leadership must know how to negotiate and reach agreements. They must be practical and prepared to find common ground wherever possible. But loyalty to Torah and halachah must never become a bargaining chip. No budget, political position or promise of support can justify abandoning fundamental principles.
The responsibility of public leadership does not end on the day a government is formed. Nor should its success be measured solely by whether a majority of sixty-one members of Knesset has been secured. The more important questions are what kind of government will emerge, what values will guide it, and what legacy it will leave for future generations.
An agreement may appear to deliver an important achievement today, yet create the conditions for serious harm in the years ahead. What seems politically advantageous in the present must therefore be weighed against its possible consequences for the future. The real measure of success is not simply what has been obtained at the negotiating table, but what has been preserved.
It is precisely when a parliamentary majority is difficult to achieve and political pressure is mounting that the commitment of our representatives to their principles is put to the test. Standing firm may sometimes mean foregoing an immediate political advantage. That requires courage, sound judgement and a willingness to accept responsibility.
Parashat Chayei Sarah reminds us that Avraham Avinu always looked beyond his own lifetime. He established our connection to Eretz Yisrael, ensured that the home of Yitzchak would be built upon the right foundations, and safeguarded the continuity of the path he had begun. He understood that the decisions of one generation would determine the foundations upon which the next generation would build.
This is the responsibility of our public representatives today: to protect the needs of the community, strengthen the world of Torah, stand alongside soldiers who wish to remain faithful to Torah and mitzvot, and safeguard the fundamental values of Jewish life.
We must pursue these goals with determination, but also with a clear vision of the future. Political circumstances change, governments come and go, and parliamentary majorities are temporary. The principles of Torah, however, are not subject to the changing demands of political negotiations.
We must never compromise our principles for short-term political gains. Our commitment to Torah, to Eretz Yisrael and to the Jewish character of our national life must remain steadfast, even when standing firm is difficult.
That is the lesson we learn from Avraham Avinu, and that is the responsibility we must pass on to the next generation.
