A stunning talmudic discussion ends with the sages concluding that while it would have been better if man had not been created, one should struggle for moral perfection. This is not the kind of conclusion one would expect to find in a cornerstone religious text of Judaism. Perhaps it should not be surprising, given that the Talmud was complied in exile, after the destruction of sovereign Israel and the loss of the two Temples in Jerusalem. Nonetheless, it reflects a sad and disheartening reality.
Non-Jewish thinkers can also be pessimistic about human nature and the human condition. The German philosopher Immanuel Kant was the supreme pessimist. He is known for the declaration: “Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made.”
The Bible, in Genesis, unequivocally says that God declared his creation good – except for man, whom He endowed with the choice between good and evil. Choice, it seems, is the key.
If we reflect on the state of the world, we must acknowledge the case of those who view the human condition negatively. Yet, if we ask how much pain and grief is the result of man’s inhumanity to man, what would be the answer? If, miraculously, every person chose – here I reiterate the Divine gift of free will – to act humanely and compassionately, how much adversity would be reduced? There would, of course, be earthquakes and tsunamis, accidents and illness, but what percentage of human suffering would those constitute?
The talmudic sage Hillel responded to a potential convert who wanted to learn all about Judaism “while standing on one foot.” He said, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour. That is the whole Torah. The rest is commentary. Now, go and study.”
The Torah is teaching that the way things are needn’t be the way things will be. If man is willing to learn from history, to listen to “the better angels of his nature,” to act charitably, to take responsibility, the world could be a much better place.
Pagan culture saw humanity as the plaything of the gods, at the mercy of their cruel whim. Judeo-Christian civilization believes in a benevolent God desiring the betterment of his creation and generously empowering them with the ability to repair a broken world.
The Torah teaches “If you encounter an ox of your enemy or his donkey wandering, you shall return it to him repeatedly. If you see the donkey of someone you hate crouching under his burden, would you refrain from helping him? You shall help him repeatedly.” (Exodus 23:4). This is an ethics lesson of the highest order. We are commanded to treat even an enemy with honesty and integrity – and to do so repeatedly. This implies that such an act is meant to be part of a pattern of righteous behaviour, not a single magnanimous gesture. Judaism presents profound lessons in ethics and morality and leaves its implementation to the individual.
Just knowing that the world could be vastly improved and everyone’s happiness could potentially be greatly enhanced if people undertook to make it so, means that it is possible. As Moses declares in his closing remarks at the very end of the Bible: God’s commandment to choose life and to do good is “very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to perform it.” Again, the choice is ours.
World history, including and especially Jewish history, does not condemn the future. Philosophers like Kant represent only their own gloom, not the destiny of humankind. The biblical insistence on human choice and freewill is liberating and positive. Life has too often been almost impossible to bear, but it need not be that way.