We must build our own society with its own value system. “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: ‘I am Hashem, your God. Like the practice of the land of Egypt in which you dwelled you shall not do, and like the practice of the land of Canaan to which I am bringing you, you shall not do and you shall not follow their statutes. You shall fulfill My ordinances and observe My statutes to follow them, I am Hashem, your God. You shall observe My statutes and My ordinances which a man shall do and live by them, I am Hashem,’” (Vayikra 18:2-5).
The origins of our people are built on a commitment not to follow the values of our host culture. It was true for Avraham the Ivri who defined himself by deviating from the norms of his family and community, ultimately leaving them to follow God. This commitment continued and expressed itself, as we left Egypt and its way of life for the land of Canaan. In neither place would we find an environment and value system that we could rely upon to morally sustain us. We would instead—between Egypt and Canaan—stop at Sinai, where we would learn from Hashem His laws that we would follow that would forge our individual and national way of life.
Our society and peers exert a very powerful influence.
In fact, Rambam (Deios 6:1-2) records a mandate to choose membership in a community that will positively influence our values and actions. Importantly, the verse that supports that obligation is the Torah’s repeated instruction to attach ourselves to God, something that our Sages understood could only be accomplished by connecting ourselves to the kinds of people who live lives focused on God and His word. A society built on the values of other people will not flourish unless those people are reflecting Hashem’s values. This is, perhaps, the reason why the series of verses above that tell us how we cannot live the values of either Egypt or Canaan, begin and conclude by stating and restating, “I am Hashem.” Live by God, not by man.
This is profoundly relevant for us. We are living in a time and a place characterized by a significant level of social dysfunction and moral confusion, along with a weakening of faith and religiosity. We cannot rely on others to define our values and direction. As we revisit the journey to Sinai, we can reinforce our moral and religious independence of thought, values and action— defining our unique way of life by Hashem’s word—וחי בהם.
Rabbi Moshe Hauer is executive vice president of the Orthodox Union (OU), the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization.
