September 2001 The Most Inclusive Verse By Rabbi Alvin Kass The Maharil, one of our eminent medieval sages, searched for the Òmost inclusive Biblical verse,Ó i.e., the verse from Scriptures which more effectively than any other summarized the essence of our faith. He considered, for example, the injunction in Leviticus, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (19:18). This statement places morality at the center of Judaism. How we treat other people is what faith is all about. The Maharil then considered another Biblical statement: ÒHear, O Israel, the Lord our God is OneÓ (Deuteronomy 6:4). This too is an extraordinarily important verse, because it summarizes the heart of Jewish theology. Judaism came into being as a result of a religious revolution, started by Abraham, which taught that there was but one God. In a sense the two verses come at religion from totally different directions. The first puts the stress on morality, our relationships with our fellow human beings. The second places the emphasis on theology, the metaphysical truths that undergird our faith. Neither of these options completely satisfied the Maharil so he chose a third: "The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb thou shalt offer at dusk" (Numbers 28:4). This verse, which describes the burnt offering that Jews brought to the Temple every day, morning and evening, seems like quite a come down from the lofty sentiments expressed in the first two statements. One might differ as to whether morality ortheology is primary in religion, but all would agree that both are indispensable and both express the essence of elevated and exalted religious thinking. However, killing animals daily for purposes of sacrifice hardly seems to belong in the same sacred universe of discourse. Yet, the Maharil believes that constitutes the most inclusive verse in the entire Bible. Why? Religion requires a fixed structure which assures that actions and thoughts of a religious nature become part of our daily routine. To be sure, we no longer offer animal sacrifices, but that verse regarding the daily offering of a lamb provides us with the paradigm offixed religious behavior, what our tradition referred to as kevah (fixity). The routine of daily prayer is patterned after the offering of the sacrifices. In all likelihood we will achieve true communion with God only intermittently. Nevertheless, that blessing is so magnificently priceless that it justifies the discipline and the routine, even during those long periods of time when God seems absent even though His name is repeated time and time again. The Rabbi of Rizin addresses this subject in his famous parable about a small village in which the only watchmaker died. Since the population was small, no new watchmaker replaced him. As time went on, watches and clocks began to malfunction, either losing or gaining time. Soon no accurate timepieces could be found. As a result, some villagers let their watches run down while others doggedly wound theirs each day though their accuracy left much to be desired. After awhile, a wandering watchmaker came to town, and all the villagers came to him to have their timepieces repaired. Those watches that had been kept going were easily fixed, but those that had been allowed to run down were beyond repair, since their inner mechanisms had rusted. The message is clear. Our spiritual life must be protected against perfunctory exercise, but even the routine performance serves as anecessary discipline and the prelude to great moments of exaltation which are available to us all. That is the reason the Maharil chose the verse about the daily offerings as the most inclusive statement in the Bible, for it helped to create a routine which at its best embraced the other two verses, by moving us to an experience of the one God and to moral actions that make our world a better place in which to live. May we follow the routines of Jewish living this coming year with ever greater fidelity; and may we thereby draw closer to God and to our fellow human beings. Miryom, Sarah, Lewis, Danny, and Debby join me in the prayer that you and your loved ones will be blessed with a shanah tovah uÕmetukah, a good and a sweet year.