ויקרא כ"ה:לז לח
The injunction involving property acquisition, adjoined unto not charging interest, have an equal applicability unto all the bnai brit peoples throughout the generations. Both require a time of redemption coupled with a developed fear of heaven. Redeeming one’s peoples or lands or both, requires a unique brit/partners relationship. The spirituality of cutting an oath/brit as contrasted by the popular belief systems common among the non-bnai brit civilizations merits a measured analysis. All generations of humanity explore and weigh belief in G-d(s). Limiting the brevity of this treatise, I bring only my methods and consequent conclusions seeking to contrast organized religion with cutting an Oath/brit. . Organized religions employ certain logical premises. It directs the passions of faith unto belief in a Greater Being. Belief systems tend to place both god(s) and their prophets upon pedestals of awe. Furthermore, belief systems usually establish unquestionable premises thereby designating a “believer in the faith”. A person who challenges or questions these established premises of faith, having embraced heresy faces Divine retribution and wrath.
By contrast, it seems to me, that one of the best sources, in the Talmudic Seas, for acquiring an in-depth understanding of the torah oath/brit - the ק"ש as found in our siddur-merits deep consideration.וגו דכתיב: בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאדך. The repetition of the word – בכל, implies plurality. The yetzer, for example, logical speculation suggests that it holds 26 middot, these middot serve as its primary building blocks, something like an alphabet functions in human languages. Based upon the revelation of middot at Sinai the yazir of man contains 13 middot t’horot and 13 middot t’maiot. Logically its also possible to deduce the spiritual purpose of our Soul(s), they serve as a unique container capable of receiving and containing the 13 middot Elokim. Our soul(s) includes not only the nefesh but further refinements and clarifications on the essential brit creates the Ruach, Neshamah, Chaya and Yichida. The oath serves as a sharp blade that cuts the orlah from our heart. By employing an oath a person can both dedicate and designate a soul to achieve, so to speak, a container capable of receiving and holding the Torah middot revelation of the Elokim. Consequently, according to how I learn, the bedrock of Torah spirituality directly depends upon emotional middot development, commonly referred to as דרך ארץ.
Religion might lead people on the 8th day following the birth of a male child to circumcise their children, but secular Jews also practice circumcision. Circumcision serves as a designated sign of faith for the generations; its expresses the Jewish desire toward accepting the Oath/brit first established by Avraham. Distinguishing between spiritual substance and ritual forms this treatise seeks to address. A person who purposely employs an oath/brit intending thereby to cut the soul(s) delves past religious forms and long standing ancient customs and instead seeks to satisfy a hunger toward understanding the Torah substance. This latter approach clearly requires primary textual investigation, Tanach, Talmud, Siddur, and Midrashim. Lastly, the plurality ofובכל מאדך , wealth either holds or repulses justice; justice and its opposite - tyranny - either builds or destroys a partnership with fear of heaven. Fear of Heaven requires more than simple rhetoric, buying into organized religion in no way transforms a person into emotionally mature person.
In galut, the fundamental and most terrible Torah curse, the bnai brit can still practice both דרך ארץ and the commandments. But the Elokim primarily judges His chosen peoples when we independently rule our own land. Justice which lacks enforcement power cannot prosper; when our peoples live under alien authority in strange lands, how can we achieve just ruler-ship? The Torah obligation to rule a land with justice does not apply to galut Jewry. When disputes occur, all parties to the dispute possess a certain foundation upon which they can make their stand. But this assumption applies when the ruling authorities show equal respect unto both citizens and aliens. Human history testifies that this utopian dream, while intellectually pleasing, lacks a foundation based upon historical reality.
The Torah obligates the father to educate his children. Our Sages of blessed memory ruled that the mother determines physical Jewish-ness. But Tamar and Ruth complicate this general rule. These two examples tell of a history of brit relationships in crisis. In both cases our fathers reached a crossroads and had to make a choice. Yechudah suffered public humiliation to acknowledge the brit alliance partnership. Boaz ruled that Moabite women could adjoin their souls unto the family of Israel, even though the descendants of Lot profaned their brit alliance with the house of Avraham. In the 1st case, Yechudah’s first born, like Sodom, abandoned the brit bnai Noach. The Torah assigns the term “wicked” unto any person(s) who openly abandon the brit bnai Noach, the essential brit of the Torah. In the latter case, Israel during the time of the judges sometimes behaved as a people who had no brit relationship – not between them-selves, and consequently not with the Elokim.
