It is childish, and pagan, to anthropomorphize
God as an “eye in the sky”, watching our every move. It is more mature to focus
on our mental and spiritual awareness of the reality of God in our lives.
Admittedly
I have taken this passage out of context, but its meaning is clear and it troubled
me nonetheless. Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi (Avot 2:1) teaches:
הִסְתַּכֵּל בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה דְבָרִים, וְאֵין אַתָּה בָא
לִידֵי עֲבֵרָה, דַּע מַה לְּמַֽעְלָה מִמָּךְ, עַֽיִן רוֹאָה וְאֹֽזֶן שׁוֹמַֽעַת,
וְכָל מַעֲשֶֽׂיךָ בְּסֵֽפֶר נִכְתָּבִים
Contemplate three things, and you will not come
to the hands of transgression: Know what is above you: a seeing eye, a
listening ear, and all your deeds being inscribed in a book.
I am
uncomfortable with the suggestion that this Mishnah is a childish anthropomorphism
and I do not believe that R’ Yehudah HaNasi intended it as such, either. He is
inviting us to conduct a thought experiment, at any moment when we might be
tempted to do contravene Jewish law or the moral standards that accompany it: we
can ask ourselves to imagine that we are being watched by the God who is also
our judge. If, at the point of sinning,
we can “focus on our mental and spiritual awareness of the reality of God in
our lives”, this would indeed demonstrate a greater maturity on our part. But,
in general, which is the more direct route to stopping us when we are in “about
to flout” mode?
….. ….. …..
….. ….. …..
The quote above
comes from Rabbi Anthony Manning’s halachic analysis in Reclaiming Dignity
(Mosaica 2023) at p.237.
For comments and discussion of this post on Facebook click here.
