Torah for Today – 27/03/14
With Rabbi Anthony Knopf
What does the Torah say about…the sanctity of life?
The recent manslaughter of Andrew Young, an autistic man, and the dismissal of the seriousness of the crime by the killer’s mother, with the words: “it’s no big deal”, raises the question of Judaism’s approach to the sanctity of human life.
In the Jewish world view, man’s stature is partly a result of his having been created by Hashem. A person who kills another human being has extinguished a life that was brought into being by God. This is something that can never be trivialised.
On another plane, the sanctity of human life is rooted in the fact that the Torah tells us man was not merely created, but was formed “in the image of God”. This means there is something about a human life that is a reflection of the Divine.
The 19th Century thinker, Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin, explains this concept in terms of the capacity of human beings for free will.
Man is not a robot, programmed to perform good deeds. This means the good deeds that are performed have so much value.
A human’s choice to opt for good rather than bad is one of the most potent expressions of Hashem’s goodness in this world.
A contemporary of Rav Tzadok, Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, relates his thesis on the pure creation of man in the image of God, near the end of his commentary to the Torah. In Rav Meir Simcha’s view, man was created with an inner purified sense of justice and morality. Each time a person dies, their spark of goodness is, at least on some level, lost from the world.
According to 20th Century thinker, Rabbi Joseph B Soloveitchik, man’s distinction lies, not only in his nature, but in his role in this world.
Rav Soloveitchik explains that man was bidden to complete God’s creation, to serve the function of God by perpetuating humanity.
When a human being fulfils his purpose in life, he does not merely resemble Hashem but, rather, steps into God’s shoes and fills His role.
Each human being has a role to play in bringing about God’s vision for the world.
That is why the loss of each human life is a tragedy.
In ancient cultures, the value of human life was measured on the basis of how useful that person was to society. Against that trivialisation of human life, Judaism speaks with a clear voice.
Human life is precious because mankind was created by God to express His goodness in the world and to work towards a vision of the world as one permeated with Divine goodness.
• Anthony Knopf is the rabbi of Camps Bay Shul, Cape Town
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
