Judaism’s Constitution

Judaism has a constitution: the Torah. The fifth book of the Torah, Deuteronomy, outlines rights, privileges, proscriptions, and constraints, all aimed at creating a God-centric society. Like any constitution, adherence to these rules requires commitment from its followers. This might explain why this week’s Parsha, Eikev, commands us nine times to “keep” or “observe” God’s laws.

Deuteronomy also predicts disloyalty among the people. It anticipates that they will forget the commandments and disregard God’s laws. Testing boundaries is part of human nature. Outright rejection of the rules is anathema.

Some people take the Torah at face value without interpretation. They are called Karaites. Karaites remain in the Middle East, resisting change. Their numbers are few.

In contrast, modern Judaism adopted a radical reinterpretation of the Torah. Judaism had to adjust after the destruction of the Second Temple. The rabbis recorded and codified their interpretation of the Torah laws, to suit a world without a Temple and Judaism in diaspora.

Despite the repeated demands for observance in Parshat Eikev, some rules are impossible to follow. Others are too esoteric or repugnant. For example, we don’t stone a wayward child, turn red heifers into magical potions, or stone a man to death for failing to observe the Shabbat.

The values of the Torah, expressed in Parshat Eikev, include: “And now, O Israel, what does your God יהוה demand of you? Only this: to revere your God יהוה, to walk only in divine paths, to love and to serve your God יהוה with all your heart and soul, keeping God’s commandments and laws, which I enjoin upon you today, for your good.” This relationship with God forms the foundation of the Jewish Constitution, the rules of observance an extension of those values.

Progressive Judaism focuses its observance on upholding the values expressed in the Torah. The Torah instructs us dozens of times to be kind to strangers, feed the hungry, and care for orphans. These value-focused mitzvot appear far more frequently than any other law. The principles upon which many Jews focus their observance keep them walking in Divine paths, sometimes lacking the rigor of ritual practice, prayer, and community connections that should reinforce our devotion to the core principles that serve humanity.

On the other end of the spectrum, the ultra-Orthodox community adheres strictly to rabbinic interpretations, demanding rigorous observance. These rules endure because observant communities choose to abide by them and reinforce them. Observance through daily routine and community norms is elevated above the principles undergirding the laws. For instance, if the Torah commands us to keep the laws as a sign between our eyes, small black boxes with straps are donned each morning. As the Torah says not to boil a calf in its mother’s milk, the community has agreed to prohibit cheeseburgers and veal parmigiana. The traditional Jew focuses on observance of the rabbinic rule of law as the Divine path ultimately upholding the values of being merciful and just.

Parshat Eikev offers both a directive to follow God’s laws and a guide to creating a civil and caring society. That is the nature of a constitution, a pact governing a community to uphold and protect foundational values through sanctioned behaviors.

Americans face similar challenges with interpreting the Constitution. Should we be originalists, strictly interpreting the document in the context of its authorship, or uphold its values while adapting its principles to modern times? Unlike the Divine connection central to the Torah, some in the U.S. read a Christian nationalism into the Constitution, while others see the Constitution’s precepts as suggestions rather than obligations. Originalists claim to believe the Constitution is immutable through interpretation. Progressives advocate reinterpretation to reflect modern realities. In practice, neither approach suffices. To sustain a constitution requires deference to the original structure  complemented by elasticity for the future.

Ultimately, our approach to the Torah or the Constitution reflects our understanding of observance. The progressive view understands observance as elevating the values embedded in legal language. Meanwhile, the conservative view focuses observances on closely adhering to the text’s stated intent. In a healthy society, neither approach should prevail, and both should be honored.

Observance binds people together with a common purpose. We cannot remain strictly confined to ancient words nor dissolve society into individualized practices. The key to understanding our civilization lies in maintaining the sanctity of our constitutional obligations, both the plain meaning and the inherent values.

Rabbi Evan Krame