I take enormous pleasure when I read a truly learned person writing what I have said before. Granted, they are almost always more erudite than I, and add insights that I never could have imagined. Still, that I am functioning in the same universe as they are, makes me smile.
I had that experience recently when Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks who was Britain’s Chief Rabbi until just recently wrote about the two main pillars of Western Society – Greece and Judaic. I have many times spoken about how Christianity is best understood as Jewish thought filtered through a Greek prism.
Rabbi Sachs explains (much better than I) that Greece was a very visual society. Ancient Greece produced great art, sculpture, and architecture as well as group events such as theatrical performances and, oh yes, the Olympics. Plato thought of knowledge as a depth of vision, seeing beneath the surface to the true form of things.
On the other hand, Judaism is a culture of listening. The most important statement in Judaism (not actually a prayer) is ‘Hear, O Israel’. In the Torah, that is quickly followed by Moses’ admonishment to Israel that, ‘If you surely listen to my commandments’. The Hebrew root (sh-m-‘) is almost impossible to translate – hear, listen, pay attention, understand, internalize, respond, obey, plus, probably, a few others.
The Greek idea that knowing is seeing is dominant even today. We strive for insight and foresight. We accept that hindsight is 20-20. We offer an observation – we illustrate – we illuminate. When we understand something, we say, ‘I see’.
Judaism on the other hand is based on the concept of a Divinity that cannot be seen. God communicates in sounds, not sights. The Lord commands, calls, speaks – and we are obligated to listen and obey.
This is the difference – subtle though it may be – between ancient Greece and ancient Israel. Seeing is passive. Listening is interactive. We can discuss and argue with the Source of our knowledge. Since the time of the Covenant, we have been partners in Creation. Observing and inferring lead to science and philosophy – some of Greece’s many gifts to us. An understanding of the universe and our place within it – that is Judaism’s gift to the world.
B’Shalom
Rabbi Stanley Halpern