Actions Shape Character
- Light of Torah
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
In Exodus 12 we find the story of a momentous event that shapes Israel as a people and is told and retold through the generations to this very day. What event? The Passover: the ritual meal shared by the Hebrews on the night of their exodus from Egypt. With this story comes the first comprehensive list of religious precepts that we find in the Bible. Many more will follow, especially in Leviticus. But here, at the critical turning point that is the Passover, we find the first.
Read this passage in Exodus 12:1-28, then let’s focus on verse 14.
“This day shall be to you one of remembrance: you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD throughout the ages; you shall celebrate it as an institution for all time” (Exodus 12:14).
Note all the instructions detailing how this festival is to be remembered (in Exodus 12:1-28). Why does the sacred text interrupt the exodus story with a list of seemingly tedious domestic duties and laborious legalities? Doesn’t this contradict the essence of the narrative which is all about liberation? The Jewish sages have pondered this question over the centuries, and the text continues to be studied today. What insights might Christians glean from Jewish interpreters?
A key insight is found in the Sefer Ha-Hinukh: [1]
“Consider well therefore your occupations and pursuits; for you will be influenced by them and not vice versa. Do not be lulled into a false sense of security as if to say: ‘seeing that my heart is perfect and unimpaired by its belief in God, what harm is there if I occasionally indulge in worldly pleasures, in idling in the streets...engaging in vain and boastful talk with the scorners...Why should they influence me?’”
The text goes on to say that “actions shape character.” How fitting, say the sages, that Israel should commemorate its central redemptive event not only by telling the story but by performing an elaborate set of ritual actions. “Now that you know this, do not be puzzled by the large number of precepts connected with the commemoration of the miracles of Egypt.”[2]
Here, Catholic readers might ponder how Jewish customs have influenced the development of their Church’s liturgical traditions, including its central act of worship: the Mass. To celebrate the Eucharist is not just to tell the story of Jesus' death and resurrection, it is also to perform an elaborate ritual.
But wait! Didn’t Jesus have strong words of critique for religious rituals that had become mere lip service? Indeed. And from where might Jesus the Jew have gleaned such ideas? From the Hebrew Scriptures, from the Jewish prophetic tradition such as the voice of Isaiah:
“Their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote” (29:13, NRSV).
The prophets of Israel warned against the distortions of ritual excess, and they also warned against lack of practice (e.g., see Jeremiah 7:27-28). Convictions of the heart are expressed in concrete action, while our actions confirm and strengthen the convictions of the heart. Christians are familiar with the idea that faith and good works, what we believe and what we do, go hand in hand in seeking to love and worship God. This delicate interplay is core to Christian discipleship, and its roots are to be found in the Scriptures and traditions of the Jewish people.
Reflection
Ponder your own experience of liturgy. What is your response to the claim that liturgical ritual is an “action that shapes character”? •
1. Ha-Hinukh: first book of religious instruction among Jews of the Middle Ages. Quoted by Leibowitz, 179-180.
2. Ibid.
Bibliography: Leibowitz, New studies in Shemot (Jerusalem, 1996).
© Teresa Pirola, 2013. lightoftorah.net. Reproduction for non-commercial use permitted with acknowledgement of website.
Light of Torah is a Sydney-based grassroots ministry encouraging Christians to reflect on Torah with the help of Jewish insights. More... The reflection above refers to Parashat Bo (Exodus 10:1 - 13:16), the Torah portion read for this Sabbath in the Jewish liturgical cycle. Shabbat shalom!
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