The Book of Numbers
begins with God's commandment to take a new census of the Israelites as they
were about to enter the land of Israel. A census was needed to prepare for the
military campaign and know how many people were eligible to receive a portion
in the land according to their tribes. Unlike previous censuses, this census
counted the people according to their tribes. It took place after the building
of the sanctuary – mishkan, a year after leaving Egypt.
The literal reading of
take a census - ' S'ooh '- is elevate the heads of the assembly of the children
of Israel. It is forbidden to count people, so a census was taken by counting
half-shekel contributions made by the people for the running and upkeep of the
sanctuary –mishkan. If we counted people, we might be mistaken and think that
the ' whole is the sum of the parts.' Knesset Yisrael ' – Israel as a unified
group are so much more than the sum of all the individual Israelites.
Individuals now share the destiny of the group and benefit both the blessings
and power of prayer of the group.
By being part of the
group or community individual choice is limited, but choice per se is not, as the community has the ability to get people
to cooperate and work together to provide for people and solve problems
collaboratively. The author and speaker
Jonathan Haidt who studies Moral Psychology says HERE in his Ted Talks that
when people become loyal contributing members of a group they feel uplifted and
elevated and experience a sense of spirituality. They ' transcend themselves '
and attach themselves to the group and its values. They lose themselves and
give up their selfish and personal interests for the group. This is why it is
so important in education to create schools that are cooperative communities of
caring and responsible kids who love learning. Instead of rewards and punishments
that focus on self-interest, kids in the community now ask themselves moral
questions - how my behavior impacts on others, what type of person do I want to
be, what type of school or community and their values I want my school and
community to be and have.
After examining multi-disciplinary
literature on morality, Jonathan Haidt came up with the 5 foundations of morality,
the draft of the moral mind with which we are born. Harm and care - caring, bonding, feeling
compassion for people and strong feelings against those who cause harm to
others. Fairness- reciprocity as expressed by the Golden Rule –' treat people
as you would like them to treat you.' In-
group/loyalty – Being loyal to a group, contributing and cooperating.
Authority/ respect – ideally based on voluntary deference and even at times,
love. Purity/Sanctity - not a hedonistic
life , but controlling what you do with your bodies and what
you put into your bodies – the political right moralizes more about sex and the political left is doing a lot of that with food.
Conservatives generally have more of a five-foundation morality. Liberals
have a kind of two-foundation morality – care/harm and fairness/reciprocity. They
have problems with in-groups, authority and purity as these can become the
foundations of xenophobia, authoritarianism and Puritanism preferring to
celebrate diversity, questioning authority and saying 'keep your laws off my
body'. These foundations can be repressive and restrictive to those at the bottom,
women or those who do not fit in. On the other hand we need some ideology that
tells people to suppress their carnality, to pursue higher and nobler ends
rather than individuals focusing on their own individual pleasures and
self-interest which ultimately will reveal the truth of social entropy. Moral
arguments within cultures are especially about issues of in-group, authority
and purity.
One of the most
important principles of morality is that morality binds and blinds. It binds us
into teams that circle around sacred values and thereby makes us go blind to
objective reality and the truth. Because when people all share values and
morals , they become a team and once you
engage the psychology of teams , it causes polarization, shuts down open-minded
thinking and paralyses any chance of society dealing with the major issues
facing that society.
Jonathan Haidt shares 4 asteroids that are on their way and will cause disaster
and destruction – Global warming, wealth and income inequality, family values-
risingnumbers of single mothers, and national debt. Each group has their own agenda. The left
– global warming and poverty. The conservatives deny the problem of global
warming, it does not exist and the solution for poverty is with the individual –
no raising of taxes. A rising National
debt is not an issue or problem for the left and the kind of family is a choice.
Wealth and income inequality divides and separates people. Some people are
sitting safe and sound in gigantic yachts while others are clinging to a piece
of driftwood. When we are not all in the same boat that means nobody is willing
to sacrifice for the common good.
That reminds me of the public discussion and debate within the
Orthodox Jewish world between those who champion keeping most men in full-time
learning as long as possible to deal with the challenges of the open society
and those who say - not only is this unsustainable but people have to
contribute to society by serving in the army and support the economy by
working. Because each value is the agenda of the other group, it becomes a non-issue
for the opposing group. The challenges of the open society for those in the
army, working or studying in universities with regards to modesty, keeping
mitzvoth and dedication to learning etc.
is not an issue for the group that is very involved with the world, while
dealing with poverty in a way that individuals make a contribution – is not
an issue for the more insular group. So society
is polarized and issues are not addressed.
The answer is in Parashat Bamidbar - the census according to the
tribes and encampment around the Sanctuary – mishkan and the lesson of Matan-
giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. The counting of the people according to
tribes could lead to tribalism and factionalism, but after the building of the
Sanctuary-mishkan, the tribes now all shared the same values and formed a
circle around the sanctuary. The separateness of each tribe was only there to
support them in their service of the nation as a whole and support national
unity. ויחן שם ישראל נגד ההר'' (שמות יט, ב). ופרש''י (שם) עפ"י המדרש:
"ויחן שם ישראל – כאיש אחד בלב אחד". At Mount Sinai, at the
giving of the Torah there was an incredible unity - the nation was like one man
and one heart - a precondition of being able receive the Torah and strive for the truth.
Unity, feeling we are in the same boat, is a prerequisite for
seeing the objective reality and truth. Jonathan Haidt quotes the Zen Master
Seng-ts'an ' if you want the truth to stand clear before you, never be for or
against. The struggle between for and against is the mind's worst disease'.
Society can face the asteroids and deal with problems only by
feeling we are all in the same boat, objectively looking at problems ,collaborating and addressing the concerns
of all and being guided by the values of the Holy Torah.
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