The Way

I often use the word halakha.  Taken non-literally, halakha means Law.  We speak of the Laws of Judaism (traditionally numbered at 613) as the binding concept of the Jewish people.  The halakhot govern the way in which courts function, how we daven; they cover rules of relations and discourse.  In effect, halakha dictates not just the way our society functions but how we relate to God, as well.

Halakha is the practical application of the Written Word, i.e. the Torah.  That which makes the Torah more than an interesting narrative, more than just good fireside stories, is the way that it leaps into the realm of living.  As a matter of fact, one of the primary functions of a rabbi is to breathe life into the Divine text, to make it available for usage.  That is why the Torah is more than a book of ideas or theology.  It is a handbook for life. 

And yet, if you have ever read the Torah for more than three minutes, it is clear that the Bible is not a completely useable document.  Example:  What does the episode of Noah teach us about life?  Sure, it’s a neat story and has fascinating insights and morals but how can it be used as a yardstick for living?  That is where human reason comes in.   Toward the end of the tale of the flood God tells the survivors, “…but flesh with its soul, do not eat its blood.” (Genesis 9:4).

Peering intensely at this passage the Rabbis deciphered several messages.

1). We are allowed to eat meat.

2). We are prohibited from eating living flesh.  That is, implicit in the words ‘flesh with its soul” is the idea that God does not want us to tear a limb from a living animal.  That is cruel.  As an extension of this interpretation comes the law that any part of an animal that is severed while it is still alive negates the whole beast.

3).  As blood is also mentioned in the same verse, that too, is equated with the soul of the animal.  So we have the halakha that any hint of blood in an animal renders it unfit for consumption. 

Our religion is a fusion of both God’s will and human insight.

The literal meaning of the word halakha is way.  For us halakha is the path to the living, organic faith that was born millennia ago.