Hassagot השגות

Some thoughts about Abortion

The Woman Mourns the Loss
A woman who miscarries feels the loss of ‘her baby.’ She grieves. Several Jewish texts relevant to abortion do not express this grief. Of course, that is because these texts address the status of the fetus. At the very same time, such grief is naturally a factor in thinking about abortion, certainly in thinking about abortion beyond the point of the viability of the fetus.

Unless one has stood in her place
A traditional Jewish value is not to judge another if one has not stood in her place. It is easy to be judgmental and say, “If I had been in that situation, I would never have elected to have an abortion” or “If I had been in that situation, I would certainly have elected to have an abortion.”

We all pray that children should be conceived in love, lovingly borne, safely birthed, and raised with care and affection.

- H. A. Massig

Is there a “Jewish law” view?

It seems misleading to me to speak of “the Jewish law approach” or “the view of Jewish law” when learned and ethically sensitive people may come to different conclusions in the same case (as one may see in the discussion of the Tay-Sachs baby in the Tzitz Eliezer and Iggros Moshe). As one who likes to “keep it oral,” I prefer not to even speak of “Jewish law” as if it were an entity unto its own. The more I learn, the more I appreciate the view that legal codes misstate the Talmudic tradition!--with all due respect to Maimonides, the codifier par excellence.

-- H. A. Massig

Keeping it Oral

I have been told that there have been cases of Chasidic rabbis permitting abortion in cases where amniocentesis has shown that the fetus has Tay-Sachs. Such rabbis have given oral, not written, permission. I am certain that this is in large part due to political concerns: When even renowned rabbinic scholars say things that are unpopular, they stand to forfeit their reputation. Yet, I think there is a positive lesson here as well. Ethical dilemmas do not lend themselves to codification. Frequently, an ethical dilemma has unique dimensions that are ill-suited to legislation and certainly to codification. Considering how eager traditional Jews are to codify precedents, it is often the better part of wisdom to keep it oral. If one does codify, people (rabbis included) may start generalizing from past decision to present dilemma.

- H. A. Massig

Law is not identical to Ethics

A particular law may reflect ethical values, and a legal system may reflect a system of ethics, but that does not mean that laws are coterminous with ethical norms.
This point is expressed in several classic texts from our Jewish tradition. For example, Devarim 6:18 in context: “Be sure to keep the commandments, decrees, and laws that the L-rd your G-d has enjoined upon you. Do what is right and good in the sight of the L-rd, that it may go well with you and that you may be able to possess the good land that the L-rd your G-d promised on oath to your fathers” (6:17-18). The phrase “right and good” (הישר והטוב/hayashar vehatov) has often been taken to refer to behavior that goes beyond keeping “commandments, decrees, and laws.” The rabbis of the Talmud even derive new laws in an effort to capture “right and good,” finding rights or limitations of rights that are not explicit (as one can see in rabbinic discussions of property sales, for example). The point, I think, is the effort to capture “right and good,” as opposed to the particular legal application of the
“right and good.” I believe that the rabbis understood that one can be a jerk within the letter of the law. The Ramban (Nachmanides, 13th c. Spain ) wrote as much in his comment to Vayikra 19:2 “You shall be holy, for I, the L-rd your G-d, am holy.” Just as the letter of the law does not exhaust the category of the holy, so it does not exhaust the category of the ethical.

- H. A. Massig

Transgressing is so old-fashioned

Who are the old-fashioned ones?

Many years ago, I believed that crossing borders was progressive and would lead us to a bright future.  Now, I understand that trans-gressing /transgressing are leading us back in time.  Crossing borders is a feature of paganism. 

A friend told me that his child's teacher commended his daughter on crossing borders--his daughter had imagined a cat having sexual relations with a monkey in a creative writing assignment.  How progressive!  How transgressive!  How old-fashioned.  My friend commented that his daughter's teacher is a Lesbian.

Leviticus 18:22-23 juxtaposes sexual relations between two men and between humans and animals.  A person of liberal inclinations with an aversion to biblical morality might say, "Oh, when religious conservatives say that homosexuality is connected to relations with animals--who would ever imagine relations with animals!"    In fact, the Greeks and Romans were fascinated by human-animal bonding, as their myths  and iconography attest. 

Sexual relations by definition involve a border crossing, and the Torah teaches us to navigate that crossing with care, commitment, and purity.   

Impurity and being trans-gressive aren't hip; they're  hopelessly old-fashioned.  Disciplining our passions--now that's a novel idea.

-- H. A. Massig

The Disappearing Book

A great man set out to write his book.  He cut many quills and prepared for himself bottles of ink.  Parchment he purchased in quantity.   Late into the night he would write.  Week in and week out, he labored over his book.  He poured his tears and dreams into the book.

As the months followed one after the other, still the great man wrote.   Once, after many months, he began to look back at what he had written, and was very pleased.  Then, he returned to his composing.  Again, after many months, he looked back.  In this way he wrote, paused occasionally to look back, and wrote some more.

After some years, the great man saw that, for all his writing, his book grew smaller.  Some months later, he saw that it had grown smaller still.  And so it was, that as he wrote and wrote, his book became smaller and smaller, until it consisted of six words.

-- H. A. Massig

Scholar and Fool

In the same house lived a scholar and a fool.  When the scholar told others about his dwelling, he described a house surrounded by myriad trees.   The fool simply said that his house stood in a forest.

The scholar loved many books and wrote many books.  As time went on, his books became longer and longer.  Their letters grew smaller and smaller.  At first, he wrote about a certain tree.  Then, he wrote about a particular branch.  After that, he wrote a tome about a leaf.  Once he was on old man, he set out to write an encyclopedia about the tip of a certain leaf.

When he had been a young man, the fool had read many books.   As he grew older, he realized that he did not understand these books well.  The more he read, the less he understood.    Yet, he was filled with love for the books.

On occasion, the scholar would despair.  Perhaps, he cried, the tip of the leaf does not exist?  At such moments, the fool consoled the scholar.

-- H. A. Massig

A Giant on a Hill

A giant dwelt on a hill that led down to a great sea.  He built for himself a castle overlooking the waves.  Once, as he slept, a swarm of birds came over the sea and attacked the castle.   The sound of the birds roused him from his deep slumber.  He stood and saw a plain where the castle had once stood.

Many people came to console the giant on his loss.  Some said, the castle that you built was destroyed by a swarm of birds that came over the sea.

Others said, your castle was destroyed by a wind that came over the sea.

Others said, your castle fell of its own accord, but we don't know why.

Another group said, your castle fell because it was poorly made.  As it fell, it crushed a swarm of birds that came over the sea.

Among these, some said, the castle was a bad castle.  Blessed is the one who allowed it to fall.

There were a few who insisted that the castle had never existed.

When the giant heard the first group, he was filled with anger.  Later, he became confused and felt a deep slumber coming over him.  Since that time, he has sometimes felt angry, sometimes confused, and has sometimes slumbered.

-- H. A. Massig