Jewish Life #52. Sjemot #9: Summon Bonum

In our blogs #17 and #19 we wrote about Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s idea about the purpose of man. According to the Rav, man’s purpose is to be creative on the one hand and at the same time relational at the other hand. The dignity of man is based on the two aspects of life, for which Victor Frankl stated: “It really does not matter what we expect from life, but rather what life expects from us.” Life expects us to be creative and relational.
 
The study of Torah is one of the core aspects of the Jewish lifestyle. This is the starting point from which the Jew shapes his life. For him, the study of Torah, by definition, means gleaning new, creative insights from the Torah (chidushei Torah). 
 
In this week’s parashah Mispathim we learn about the details of the Ten Precepts, as we read in the previous parashah Yitro. Mispathim highlights the social implications of the Precepts, in detail, so halachic man is able to be creative and relational (to Hashem and his fellow-man). 
 
We learn that Torah study has two distinct aspects: study to perform the mitzvot, which is a means to an end, and study as an end in and of itself. The Jewish people’s proclamation at Mount Sinai, ‘we shall do and we shall listen’ (na’aseh ve-nishma), was their crowning moment. Quite literally, in Shabbat 88a, the Talmud depicts heavenly crowns covering the head of every Jew. Two crowns, one for na’aseh and one for nishma.
 
Based on the Zohar, na’aseh refers to the performance of mitzvot and nishma to the study of Torah. By putting the performance before the learning, the Jew accepts upon himself Torah study for its own sake. 
 
Some commentators say Torah learning is the summon bonum. This Latin phrase meaning the highest or ultimate good. It was coined by the Roman philosopher Cicero to indicate the fundamental principle upon which an ethical system is based: the end of actions that, if consistently pursued, will lead to the best possible life. In all modesty, I think something different about that, namely that the summum bonum lies precisely in the harmony between and study and practice, the orthopraxis. As man strives for the integration and harmony of the creative aspects of his personality and his relationships, so the best possible life (man’s ultimate purpose) lies in the harmony of studying Torah and performance in daily life.
 
In our current parashah we learn how that practice can be given shape in detail.
 

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