By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
SAN DIEGO — Is ignorance of the law an excuse? Should people be held responsible for things they do not know?
The Ten Commandments appear twice in the Torah, first in parashat Yitro and again in parashat va-Etchanan. While the commandments themselves are substantially the same, there are variations in wording. This allows the rabbis to explore many midrashic possibilities (what a surprise!).
In Exodus 20:11 the Torah says: “Honor your father and your mother, that you may long endure on the land that the Lord your God is assigning you.”
In Deuteronomy 5:16 this is how the fifth commandment is worded: “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may long endure, and that you may fare well in the land that the Lord your God is assigning you.”
The major difference between the two verses is the inclusion in Deut. of the phrase “as the Lord your God has commanded you.” According to the commentator Kedushat Levi, this phrase was included to teach us what the rabbis later codified: Even though children are obligated to obey their parents’ demands, if a parent asks a child to do something which violates the Torah, the child must refuse. It is as if God says, “You and your parent are first obligated to obey me.”
His explanation, however, raises another interesting question: if honoring God takes precedence, why was the phrase “as the Lord your God commanded you” left out in Exodus? Kedushat Levi’s answer: it was because the entire Torah was not given at the time – the Ten Commandments were only the start. Only after the Israelites had received the entire Torah could God hold them accountable for it.
Before we jump to the conclusion that Kedushat Levi is implying that people cannot be held responsible for things they do not know, we must consider that in the case of the Israelites at Mt. Sinai, the question was not of ignorance of the law, but absence of the law. There was no Torah to consult or study. It had not yet been revealed.
Once the Torah was given, however, it was a different story. Jews are expected to read and study it, and to be guided by its precepts. Ignorance or indifference is not an excuse.
I sometimes feel that Jews are embarrassed because they do not know as much about Judaism as they think they should. Sometimes this embarrassment manifests itself in awkwardness in the synagogue or in front of their more educated children or peers. Other times it results in their absenting themselves from Jewish life. Some even ridicule our sacred tradition.
Lack of knowledge can make Jews uncomfortable or embarrassed. Fortunately, there is a relatively easy solution. As Hillel told the proselyte who wanted to learn the entire Torah on one foot: “Go and study!”
As Moses reminded his flock toward the end of his life, “Surely, this instruction which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach. It is not in the heavens, that you should say, ‘Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “‘Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea, and get it for us, and impart it to us, that we observe it?’ No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it.” (Deut. 30:11-14)
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Rabbi Rosenthal is spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego. He may be contacted at leonard.rosenthal@sdjewishworld.com