Cicadas and Talmud Tora
R. Yaakov Bieler
Shavuot, 5764
The cicada invasion has caused a wide range of reactions in our community, from out-and-out repulsion to fascination and deep curiosity. I am glad that at least one writer has reflected upon the philosophical implications of Brood X's emergence at the end of yet another of its seventeen year cycles. In "Insect Insights: Fleeting Lessons of a Bug's Life", (1) Joel Achenbach is struck by this species of insects' "utter obliviousness." They seem to take no notice of anything around them, situations and crises that consternate and obsess us humans. The technological advances that we have developed, the political situations that dominate the news, the economic challenges that engender hardship and even global terrorism, all are irrelevant to these desultory insects, both beneath as well as above ground. "...they teach us something. They remind us that the world isn't about just us." Over the course of an average human lifetime, these creatures emerge only 4.8 times, forcing each of us to reflect upon our personal impermanence and mutability. They remind us that all is in flux, that the evolution of species and institutions is a fact of life, that the world is just a tiny speck of reality within a vast cosmos, and that the earth itself has existed for quite a long time. As Aberbach's subtitle (C7) aptly puts it, "The Humble Bug, Teaching a Little Humility."
While such introspection is valuable in order to put human life and accomplishment into perspective, there is an inherent danger that recklessly extending such thoughts in the spirit of reductio ad absurdum, will lead to the conclusion that it is futile to strive to improve ourselves and our societies, and therefore we ought passively to resign ourselves to the physical oblivion that sooner or later awaits all of us. Not only does such nihilism not appear to be part of normal human nature, but looking at the universe from a teleological point of view, as do not only religious believers, but also humanists in general, the unique purpose of human existence could very well be to attempt to instill meaning and guide our natural surroundings to some higher purpose and perfection to the best of our respective abilities. As the noted psychiatrist Carl Jung, remarked, "As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being." (2)
The assumption that there is purpose to the world and each of us has the potential to contribute towards the realization of such purpose, very much pervades Biblical and Rabbinic literature. An example of this type of thinking appears in Beraishit Rabba 1:4.
There were six things that preceded the creation of the universe. Some of them were actually created prior to the bringing into existence of the universe, while others were merely planned at this point, but created at later times.
The Tora and the Throne of Glory were in fact created.
The Tora? As it is said, (Mishlei 8:22) "The Lord Created me (Wisdom, i.e., the Tora) as the beginning of His Way, the first of the works of old; I was set up as the everlasting, from the beginning, before ever the earth was."
The Throne of Glory? As it is said, (Tehillim 93:2) "Your Throne is established of old; You Are from everlasting."
The Forefathers (and mothers), the Jewish people, the Temple, and the name of the Messiah all were planned to be created.
The Forefathers (and mothers)? As it is said, (Hoshea 9:10) "I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first ripe fruit in the fig tree at her first season."
The Jewish people? As it is said, (Tehillim 74:2) "Remember Your Congregation which You have Purchased of old; the tribe of Your Inheritance which You have Redeemed."
The Temple? As it is said, (Yirmiyahu 17:12) "The exalted Throne of Glory from the beginning, the place of our Temple."
The name of the Messiah? As it is said, (Tehillim 72:17) "May his name endure forever, his name that preceded the sun."
The Midrash's listing these six aspects of Jewish theology and history, is symbolically mapping out the process by which the world is to achieve its potential and perfection. God's Rulership (the Throne of Glory) will authorize the Tora to inform human conduct, as embodied in the founders of the Jewish people (Forefathers and mothers), who will begin as individuals, but will over time be transformed into a nation (Jewish people) acting upon the stage of history which in turn will construct a focal point representing God's Presence on earth (the Temple), and ultimately set the stage for the redemption of mankind by a King Messiah.
While a number of these stages are either dependent upon God (Tora, Throne of Glory, Name of the Messiah) or transcend any particular individual human contribution (the Jewish people, the Temple), the manner in which relatively non-descript people transform themselves into leaders and founders of movements and nations by means of living committed, idealistic, and meaningful lives, should very much constitute a focus of our attention. Rabbi Zvi Miller writes, "The Midrash teaches the following maxim: The purpose of the world's creation---as conceived by HaShem prior to the creation---is the individual attainment of the level of spiritual excellence attained by the Avot. Only after HaShem Envisioned the Avot did He Create the world--the avenue to bring forth such exceptional people into existence." (3) This commentator suggests that the world is given purpose not only in terms of its long range development, but by the appearance of personalities who mold themselves and thus provide examples for emulation by others, of spiritual and moral excellence. Although HaShem was "disappointed" (Beraishit 6:6) when the descendents of Adam HaRishon did not live up to the potential that He had Implanted within them, He Recognized that Noach possessed such qualities (8:21-22), and therefore He Committed Himself to allowing man to evolve and develop, a faith that was rewarded with the eventual advent of Avraham and Sara and their descendents. Whereas those preceding the founders of the Jewish people may have been content to be born, to marry, procreate and then die, lives not that unlike the cicadas, except for their length and the amount of time spent above ground, as is reflected in the impersonal genealogical listings appearing in Beraishit 5, the Bible also teaches us about individuals who live for a higher purpose, i.e., to spread the beliefs and values of monotheism in the interests of acknowledging the Creator, and forging human societies that are just and redeemed.
Man's striving for self-perfection is hardly inevitable; it is nothing more than a potential that has been placed within him/her, and awaits actualization. MaHaRaL (4) reflects upon the etymological implications of the relationship between Adam (man) and Adama (earth). In contrast to other aspects of the Creation, where there is little or no chance of development and improvement, man has infinite potential, much as does a piece of land. Just as in the case of the latter, as fertile, naturally irrigated, and perfectly situated as the land may be, if there is no one to plough, plant, fertilize, weed and prune, and harvest the land, nothing will come of all of its natural fertility, so too with regard to man, his potential must be cultivated in order for it to come to realization.
A manner, by which the custom on Shavuot to decorate the Beit Kenesset with flowers and branches can be explained, is based upon a comment that is made by J. Mann. (5) The commentator notes that there is a literary connection between Shemot 19:11, in which Moshe tells the Jewish people to be ready to receive the Tora on the THIRD day, and Beraishit 1:11 in which is noted that it is on the THIRD day of creation when plants and trees were brought into existence. The idea that the receiving of the Tora affects the Jews in a manner parallel to the flowering of the earth, i.e., in the same manner that the potential of the earth is realized when its plant life bursts forth in its manifold forms, colors and shapes, so too does man's potential become manifest when he not only receives but also lives by the Tora's dictums and values.
Another association between Shavuot and the actualization of potential can be seen in the story of Ruth, the Megilla that is read on this particular holiday. Ruth, the Moabite, who grows up in surroundings that are hardly conducive to her spiritual longings and aspirations, once she comes into contact with Naomi, and returns with her mother-in-law to Israel and accepts Judaism as her religion, undergoes a marked transformation, to the point where she is one of the progenitors of the Messiah. The Jewish values that she perceived in the person of her husband's mother, so energized and inspired her, that she became a different individual, taking her place among our Forefathers and mothers, a further testament to the powerful affects of the Tora upon those who adhere to it.
Consequently, life is not doomed to follow the pattern of existence of creatures like the cicada. Yet, to live a meaningful and dedicated life is not something that will take place naturally and automatically. It is a life that is self-consciously chosen, and then vigorously and unrelentingly pursued. One never finishes studying the Tora, performing the Mitzvot, developing a relationship with the Divine. It is an ongoing process that consumes the religious seeker throughout his/her lifetime. It therefore seems to me that those of us, who adhere to a Modern Orthodox religious perspective, should feel particularly challenged by the dovetailing of this year's Shavuot with the cicada invasion. There has been a spate of articles of late suggesting that Modern Orthodoxy in on the wane. In the May 24th edition of the Jerusalem Post ("Frum and Frummer"), the noted sociologist of the American Jewish scene, Samuel Heilman, discusses the swing to the right among Modern Orthodox Jews, and attributes this tendency to a number of causes, including, "the perceived decline of American culture; the complete handover by the family of the responsibility of education to the day schools and yeshivot; the decline of modernists in the ranks of the Orthodox rabbinate and Jewish education; and the emergence of study in Israeli yeshivot and women's seminaries as an essential experience in Orthodox education." Berel Wein, in the May 26th edition of the Jerusalem Post ("Ultra Orthodoxy Isn't a Problem"), follows up Heilman's Op-Ed piece by positing that the move to the right is the result of the Yeshiva and Chassidic societies successfully co-opting much of Modern Orthodoxy's agenda by offering the benefits of American society without the dangers associated with overly embracing American culture. Chaim Waxman in the Iyar 5764 issue of the on-line Edah Journal ("American Orthodoxy: Confronting Cultural Challenges"--- www.edah.org ) surveys the Modern Orthodox scene and while acknowledging certain problems, suggests that the shift to the right discussed by Heilman and Weil, is not as pronounced as some would have us think. But the most interesting, and, in my opinion, challenging essay to the Modern Orthodox lifestyle, is by Alan Brill ("Judaism in Culture---Beyond the Bifurcation of Tora and Madda"), also appearing in the most recent Edah journal. As part of his attempt to assess the cultural state of Modern Orthodoxy, Brill writes, "Rather than looking at the ideology, if we look at the practice, we find that Modern Orthodoxy does not perform what it claims to do. In practice, Talmud is the major intellectual concern of an elite group for only a few years of their lives. The demands of ordinary life---the practice of law, medicine, or accounting, maintaining a house, raising many children according to middle class values---leave little room for Talmud. Madda is not taking time away from Tora, but the needs to mow the lawn, clean up the attic, fix the mini-van, visit Disneyworld, and attend parent-teacher conferences consume great amounts of time. In the little time that remains, most people are too tired to do little else than watch television and read popular magazines. Those truly virtuous souls who have time for Tora learn daf-yomi, or printouts from the Web, or at best have once a week Chevrutot." While Brill footnotes a disclaimer to the effect that he has not done a scientific survey in order to ascertain these generalizations, it is difficult to honestly contest his description of Modern Orthodox life. And if this is the case, then the realization of our spiritual and Jewish potentials via Tora and Mitzvot, is far from a reality, let alone even an accepted ideal. At the very least, we should all assess whether or not there is more time in our days for Tora study, regularly, in-depth, in a meaningful and personally engaging format. Without this type of study, coupled with the trends noted by the pundits above, our religious philosophy is at serious risk.
The cicadas and Shavuot challenge us to reprioritize our lives in order to make them meaningful and Jewishly driven in a dynamic rather than passive manner. Let us listen to the song of these insects, and recognize that even as it serves the biological reproductive purposes of these beings before they go off to hibernate for another seventeen years, it is also a potential call to action to all of us, to become more rather than less active vis-à-vis our individual spiritual development.
(1)
(2) Memories, Dreams, Reflections, 1962, Chapt. 11, quoted in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, ed. Elizabeth Knowles, Oxford U. Press,
(3) Translator's Introduction to Ohr Yisrael: The Classic Writings of Rav Yisrael Salanter and his Disciple Rav Yitzchak Blazer, trans. and annotated by R. Zvi Miller, Targum/Feldheim, Southfield, MI, 2004, pp. 37-8.
(4) Tiferet Yisrael, Chapt. 3, Yerushalayim, 5730, p. 12.
(5) The Bible as Read and Preached in the Old Synagogue, Cincinnati, 1940, as quoted in Daniel Sperber, Minhagei Yisrael: Mekorot VeToldot, Vol. 1, Mossad HaRav Kook, Yerushalayim, 5749, pp. 119-20.