The Law

I wish I knew more about the Biblical law.  I read the Mosaic Covenant when I was growing up, but I did not find it to be particularly relevant.  I read about all the stuff that the Jewish people were supposed to eat and wear and sacrifice.  Most of the commandments did not pertain to me, though because I am not Jewish.  I paid attention to the moral commandments like, “Thou shalt not murder,” and “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” but those make up a relatively small portion of the law, and I just skimmed over the rest.  Coming to Israel, however, has inspired in me a new interest in the Biblical law. 

“The law” is, hands down, the most controversial and highly debated religious topic in Israel.  Most of the Jews who in live in Jerusalem (especially in and around the old city) are religious. That means, by definition, that they observe the law in one way or another.  They all disagree, however, about how the law should be followed.  The Haredi are the most meticulous observers of the law.  They interpret the law literally, according to strict rabbinical tradition.  They want to be absolutely certain they do not break a law, so they take everything to an extreme.  They dress in black and white, grow out their payot (side curls), wear tall black hats, and have tzitzit (tassels) hanging out from under their shirts.  God commanded them to bind His commandments to their foreheads and hands (Deuteronomy 6:8), so they literally tie little boxes to their foreheads and arms when they pray.  The little boxes have the law inside.  I could go on for days talking about how they observe the law, but that should at least give you an idea. 

Not all the religious Jews in Jerusalem are that literal or strict in their interpretation of the law.  Some men wear kippot and tzitzit but do not grow out their payot or dress in black and white.  Many married women have their hair covered completely, but others just wear a symbolic headband.  Most of the restaurants in Jerusalem are kosher and the whole city pretty much shuts down on the Sabbath.  There are people who eat at the non-kosher Chineese food restaurant, however, and there are always a few bars open, even on Friday night. (Although there may be a group of Orthodox Jews standing outside chanting and hissing in protest.)  There is a huge range of ways that people choose to relate to the law, but it is a very public decision that is expressed externally for everyone to see. 

Living in the middle of such a controversial dispute, I cannot help but think about how the issue relates to me.  I am still a gentile; living here does not make me Jewish.  That does not seem to be a good enough excuse, however, to just ignore the topic.  It is impossible to live here and not get dragged into the debate.  I have to make decisions every day about what I am going to wear, what I am going to eat, what I am going to do on Shabbat, and how I am going to celebrate holidays.  I want to take the law seriously, and I want to encourage the people around me to take the law seriously, but that is where the challenge lies.  What would it look like for me to take the law seriously?  What would it look like for the Jews to take the law seriously?  How could I be supportive and encouraging of that?  These are gigantic questions that have opened up a whole new section of the Bible for me to study. 

Based on my initial reading of the law, I am suspicious that God had a different set of expectations for gentiles living in the midst of Israelite society than for gentiles living elsewhere in the world.  It appears as though God intended some of the laws for His people as well as “the stranger dwelling among you.”  These laws were intended to be culture wide, and they required everyone in the society to follow them.  The law about the Sabbath is a good example.  Deuteronomy 5:14 explains that “[On the Sabbath] you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you…”  God apparently wanted every person and animal to rest during the Sabbath, not just the Jewish people.  Some of the laws, however, were not intended for gentiles, even the gentiles living in the middle of Israelite society.  Deuteronomy 14:21 explains, “You shall not eat anything which dies of itself.  You may give it to the alien who is in your town, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people to the Lord your God.”  This suggests that the kosher laws were specific to the Jewish people, and the whole society was not required to follow them. 

If I am right about the fact that some laws were intended for Gentiles living among the Israelites, that raises a whole new set of questions for me.  Which laws did God intend for the Gentiles?  How did He want the Gentiles to follow them?  Would God want us to follow the law today the same way He commanded the ancient Israelites?   If there are laws that I should follow, what do they really mean, and how do I follow the true spirit of those laws?  The questions go on and on. 

Regardless of how I decide the law applies to me personally, I also have to consider how my choices affect the people around me who are trying to follow the law.  I have a friend who is an Orthodox Jew.  Orthodox girls are required to wear skirts that come down below their knees.  We were going on a trip one time with a group of secular students, and my friend started complaining about the fact that she would be the only one on the trip wearing a skirt.  I told her that I would wear a skirt too, and her eyes lit up.  I was surprised how happy that made her.  It is hard to know, however, what your actions will communicate.  If I go out and eat with a Jewish friend and order pork chops, I can imagine a number of ways that a friend could take that.  She may realize that you can eat pork and still be a good person.  She may think I am saying, “I do not have to follow your silly rules, and I am going to rub that in your face.”  She may think that I am just a stupid gentile who is completely oblivious to the Jewish law.  It is hard to know how someone might take my actions, but it seems like it is my responsibility to try to understand what I am communicating.  I want to be as loving as possible to the people around me and encourage them to follow God and follow His law as He intended it.  This is all the more reason I need to understand God’s law.  I need to figure out what God did intend and how that would look today.  I also must take each individual situation and person into account as I make my day-to-day choices.

Beyond the practical reasons for wanting to understand the law, however, I am also just really curious.  Every time someone walks by me with long side curls, I cannot help but wonder what in the world God meant when He said, “You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard.” (Leviticus 19:27)  I wonder about the law when I cannot get a cheeseburger at the kosher McDonalds; when the girl on the street walks up and gives me candles for Shabbat; when I walk by the window of a shop selling mini prayer shawls for babies; and when I’m sitting on Ben Yahuda Street, starving, waiting for the sun to go down so the restaurants will finally open up again.  I wonder where all these traditions came from.  The law makes up large section of the Old Testament, and it is clearly a significant part of God’s revelation.  It contains a wealth of information, instruction, symbolism, and illustration to help us understand who God is and what God values.  Coming to understand that revelation, however, is going to be a big project.