The spiritual call to humanity is to instill our lives with a higher sense of meaning and purpose. We call this “principle.”
Principles are the set of beliefs and standards we set above even life itself. They become the definition of “what we live for.” Morality is when we set principle above expediency, above our immediate human craving for comfort or satisfaction.
“I could do that, but I won’t, even if it would be to my immediate advantage, because it’s wrong.” Or, “I don’t really want to do that, because it’s not to my immediate advantage, but I must because it’s right.”
There are times when we have to set principle aside – when we have to “pick our battles.” And there are times when setting principle aside, means we also set aside what makes life worth living.
Rabbi Donniel Hartman teaches that what makes us Jewish is not simply being a part of the Jewish people and a member of the House of Israel. What makes us Jewish is our commitment a very particular set of core values and principles, and a way of life devoted to elevating those values and principles.
Sin, we teach, is when we violate those principles because of expediency, selfish concern, or for personal gain – greed, a lust for power, or fear of losing wealth or status or privilege.
The confluence this week of the celebration of Purim and Parashat Ki Tisa puts a spotlight on what it means to live with principle.
Last night in recounting the book of Esther, we read how Mordechai was willing to sacrifice not simply his elevated position in Shushan society, but the safety of his entire people, by refusing to bow to Haman.
The sages provide a variety of explanations for Mordecai’s refusal to follow the king’s order. After all, Abraham bowed low to the Hittites when purchasing a burial site for Sarah. Jacob bows low to Pharaoh when Joseph introduces him to his patron. As Professor Erica Brown writes: “It was inconceivable to them [the Sages of the Talmud] that Mordecai would not obey royal orders unless a value far greater than being a good citizen was at issue.”
But Mordecai cannot bow down to Haman because he thinks Haman is a demon. Haman imagines himself as a god, but a demon is a god who has no principles, and Haman has no principles. What matters to Haman? Power, prestige, status, and wealth. He worships power for power’s sake. He worships himself.
It isn’t that Mordecai cares nothing for power and privilege. He too has a place in the palace gate. But for Mordecai, there is something more important: principle. Standing for his principles requires Mordecai to risk everything that matters, and he refuses to waver, because a life without principle is a life that doesn’t matter.
In Parashat Ki Tisa, however, Moses’ brother Aaron chooses a different path. Facing Moses’ prolonged absence, the Israelites gather against Aaron and say, “Come, make us a god who shall go before us, for that fellow Moses — the man who brought us from the land of Egypt — we do not know what has happened to him.” (Exodus 32:1).
Aaron had a range of options. He could have stood on principle and said: “What’s wrong with you? It was barely 40 days ago when we all heard God forbid us to build or worship idols. We will never violate that commandment. Shut up and go home!”
But instead, Aaron tells the Israelites: “[You men,] take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” (Exodus 32:2). From this he fashions a molten golden calf, to whom the Israelites declare: “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 32:4)
The greatest threats to principle and integrity are fear and expediency. Stand by your principles, and you could lose your power, your prestige. Stand by your principles, and you could lose your job, your business, or your livelihood. Stand by your principles, and you might get hurt, or even killed.
Our tradition has a name for standing up for principle. It’s called Kiddush HaShem – sanctification of God’s name. It’s the highest, most righteous calling for anyone. By standing for principle, asserting that there are values that transcend even one’s individual life, we elevate the holiness of those principles, and the God who in love taught us what it means to live a holy life.
When God threatens to destroy the Israelites for transgressing their new covenant, Moses commits the ultimate act of Kiddush HaShem. Standing on principle, he asks God to relent, returns to the people, takes their god, grinds it into power, puts it in their drinking water, and makes them drink it. For Moses, the only thing that matters is principle. And the people revere him for it.
The foundations of a holy society are built on pillars of principle and integrity. When we allow fear and expediency to erode those pillars, we risk losing everything that matters.
God has no use for a world devoid of principle. And neither should we.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Dan Levin
Temple Beth El of Boca Raton
