Timeless Torah

This past century, the bloodiest in all of human history, should have lain to rest two of the most cherished theories about mankind that the professors of Enlightenment and Secular Humanism postulated. One was the idea that all moral questions, all issues of right and wrong, good and evil, were subject to being correctly decided on the basis of man’s reason alone, without the necessity (better put, without the interference) of divine revelation or organized religion. Man, and man alone, would be the final and autonomous arbiter of morality.
This, supposedly modern and innovative, idea brought with it as a necessary corollary, hence our second idea: the firm belief that man, left to his own reasoning devices, would invariably choose to do what is right, and all things which promote life, fairness, and the common good. This idea, or should we say, wishful thinking, of man’s innate choice of goodness was aided and abetted by an arrogant belief that an educated person was more likely to do good than an illiterate one. Simply put, that a Ph.D. graduate would be less likely to kill, harm, maim and destroy than a poor, backwards farmer.
But none of these theories have proven true. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Milosevic, and the entire slew of other murderers of this century (we dare not leave out their cousins, the terrorists) have all given the lie to these fantasies about human morality and rectitude. One-third of all of the commandants of the Nazi death camps held either a Ph.D. or M.D. degree. Man, left to his own reason, will not choose right. Reason, by itself, is death and destruction, oppressive theories, and murderous social engineering. Does that sound like a harsh statement? Unfortunately, it’s true. No faith, and no belief in a Higher Being that has formulated an Absolute Morality, has led us to the brink self-destruction.
Several years ago, there appeared a powerful op-ed piece in the New York Times that argued, “Our present crisis is better described as religious, or at least as moral and religious, rather than simply as moral alone. For the underlying question is deeper than moral. Why are our sentiments about justice so strong? Why do we long for universal unity? Why should we trust reason? Why should we be moral, especially when no one is looking and no one is harmed and no one will ever know? Our society hungers for a return to self, to a system of eternal values, to a disciplined life-style and to the true liberty of faith, which will free us from the ills of mindless conformity.”
But as the wise King Solomon informed us long ago, “There is nothing new under the sun.” It therefore comes as no surprise (for those of us who read the Torah) that the current sociological belief in the ‘Thinking Man’ has its precedent recorded in the Good Book for all to see and learn from. Balak and Bilaam, the two main characters in this week’s Torah reading are powerful, respected, and most importantly, very intelligent people. Bilaam even possesses the gift of divine intuition and prophecy. Nonetheless, they are both; base, evil, and immoral people. Indeed, they are so convinced of their own powers, of their own ability to reason correctly, that they have convinced themselves that they can hoodwink G-d and destroy the Jewish people, all without consequence and hurt to themselves.
They exhibit all the immoral traits of the dark side of human behavior - greed, corruption, jealousy, foul speech, and causeless hatred. But their worst trait is arrogance - they know better, they are better, hence they deserve better. From their vantage point upon the peaks of Moabite mountains littered with false idols, only one thing stands in their way, the People of Israel. So their reason comes to one logical conclusion. Destroy the People of Israel, so that all those who believe that puny idols and false gods are invented to justify man’s avarice will have their fortunes assured. Even more amazing is their belief that a Jew-less world, will be world greatly improved.
We have seen the genocidal plan of Balak and Bilaam take on the flesh of reality in this century as well. We now know how dangerous such people are. But inexplicably many Jews, who have been the victims of this folly, are loath to relinquish the good old theories of Secular Humanism. And that is a truly sad and dangerous error.
Jewry needs a healthy dose of realism. We should forsake the utopian, naïve, and dangerous theories that have characterized our ‘enlightened’ journey into the modern era. We should never forget that Balak and Bilaam are unfortunately real. But so is our faith and tradition.