At Avot 3:11 we find the first of three similar and arguably related teachings by Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa:
כֹּל
שֶׁיִּרְאַת חֶטְאוֹ קוֹדֶֽמֶת לְחָכְמָתוֹ, חָכְמָתוֹ מִתְקַיֶּֽמֶת. וְכֹל
שֶׁחָכְמָתוֹ קוֹדֶֽמֶת לְיִרְאַת חֶטְאוֹ, אֵין חָכְמָתוֹ מִתְקַיֶּֽמֶת
One whose fear of sin takes
precedence over his wisdom—his wisdom endures. But one whose wisdom takes
precedence over his fear of sin—his wisdom does not endure.
To the contemporary reader there is a sort of imbalance
between the two halves of this equation. We all know what wisdom is. We value
it, pursue it if we can, make great personal sacrifices in order to obtain it
and are prepared to pay handsomely for the advice and guidance of those who
have more of it than we do. Many of the most respected and highly-paid professions
in the modern world are wisdom-based: physicians, lawyers, accountants,
actuaries, economists provide obvious examples.
Fear of sin, in contrast, is a closed book to most people who
live in the world today. The concept is incapable of bearing any meaning unless
one first ascertains what is meant by “sin”, an idea that has faded from
Western society along with the religion-based morality of what was once the domain
of Christianity. While “fear of sin” still has some traction in those small
pockets of society that practise Judaism, it cannot compete for popularity
against the tide of moral relativism that promotes the notion that, if it feels
right, do it because it’s right for you. For society at large, “fear of sin” is
a concept that, to all intents and purposes, has been decommissioned and put out
to graze in the Garden of Ideas that have Outlived Their Usefulness.
When this mishnah was first taught, its audience would have
understood clearly that fear of sin meant fear of transgressing the laws and mores
of the Torah. This could be viewed as fear of losing one’s Olam Haba (World
to Come), fear of punishment or retribution, or fear of falling short of the
expectations of a God who, though kind, merciful and forgiving of sin, was
entitled to expect more of His people than that they throw His kindness back at
him. But what is the connection between wisdom and fear of sin that demands
that the former will not take root, as it were, in the absence of the latter?
Rabbi Shlomo P. Toperoff (Lev Avot) asks this
question and offers an answer if, perhaps a little rhetorical, is also a little
prophetic, given the way the world has evolved since he wrote these words in
1984:
“It is generally conceded that
wisdom is pursued by many people today. We possess a plethora of schools,
colleges and universities, but too often the wisdom acquired is divorced from
the fear of sin, resulting in angry and rebellious students who are ready to
overthrow the Establishment…
Wisdom built on the rock
foundations of fear of sin will endure and save civilisation, but wisdom not
preceded by fear of sin will eventually destroy the world”.
The events on campus that have unfolded since 7 October
2023, conspicuously in the United States but also in many other countries, have
shown that objective, analytical scholarship and debate have too often given
way to selective use of sources, confirmation bias, fake news that is taken to
be genuine until the contrary is proven, and the pre-emptive adoption of
partisan conclusions that are accepted as being self-evident and therefore in
no need of verification. One wonders how much of the accepted wisdom of the day
will ever stand up to scrutiny in the long run, when scholarship based on fear of
falsehood is allowed to have its say. Or will it all be too late by then?
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