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OUR CHALLENGE:

RESPECTING NON-JEWS WHILE REMAINING DIFFERENT FROM THEM

by Shira Leibowitz Schmidt

When new styles of modern women's fashions reached the Jewish communities
of Galicia in the early 19th century, the hassidic women began to be swept
along with the prevailing trends. Rabbi Haim Halberstam (b.1793) was asked
the following question ("she'elah"): Is it permissible for a [married] Jewish woman to wear the kind of stylish headdress ("mitznefet") worn by
the Gentile women?" The "mitznefet" was a kind of hair covering which,
along with wigs, Jewish women were adopting in place of traditional
scarves or hats.

Rabbi Halberstam prefaces his responsum, or "tshuvah", with a lengthy
introduction. One basic issue here is to what degree should Jews separate
themselves, as far as their customs go, from the non-Jewish nations in
which the are domiciled. The rubric for the laws and concepts dealing with
this is "hukkat hagoyim" — imitating the "hukkim" of non-Jewish nations.

It
should be noted that "hukkim" can refer to customs, practices, legal
statutes, culture, traditions, or norms. Our parashah, Kedoshim, states
this as
follows: "You shall not follow the norms of the nations which I am driving
out before you"(Vayikra 20:23). There is an unstated paradox which he
addresses, and
that is: How can we separate ourselves from non-Jews and nevertheless
maintain the utmost respect for them?

Before we examine Rabbi Halberstam's responsum, let us first note the
context in which the statement appears. "You shall not follow the norms of
the
[non-Jewish] nations" ("v'lo telkhu b'hukkat hagoy") comes at
the end of the list of prohibitions against adultery, incest, and other
forbidden unions (Vayikra 20:10-21) so it is clear to what
"practices/norms" the Torah refers in stating "You shall not follow
'hukkat hagoy.'" A similar statement appears in
"Aharey Mot" which is the parashah immediately preceding ours. There the
phrase is: "You shall not copy the practices [k'maaseh] of the land of
Egypt…or
of Canaan… You shall not follow their norms" ["b'hukotehem lo telekhu"] (Vayikra 18:3). This verse is followed by a list of forbidden unions
(verses 6-23). We read this not only on parashat Aharey Mot, but also
during Minhah of Yom Kippur because of the pivotal importance of these
prohibitions. Note that when the prohibition appears, in both Kedoshim and
Aharey Mot, these "maasim" (practices) are forbidden even if they have
become "hukkim" – legalized norms in the surrounding nations. This does not
mean we cannot learn from the positive aspects of other cultures. But we
must reject the
"to'evot" [abominations], even if these practices and
relationships have become legally sanctioned in their hukkim. Our Sages
(in
Sifra 132) make a comment on the verse: "You shall not copy the practices
[k'maaseh] of
the land of Egypt…or of Canaan… You shall not follow their norms"
"[b'hukotehem lo telekhu]" that has relevance today. The Sifra states,
"This does not mean we are prohibited from copying the manner of non-Jews
in their way they build
houses or work the land, but only that we must reject their legalized
norms
[b'hukkim hahakkukim] such as a male marrying a male, a female marrying a
female, etc. This is the meaning of 'b'hukkotehem lo telekhu.'"
We are especially prone to err and to be influenced if such practices
receive the
imprimatur and stamp of approval of the non-halakhic or non-Jewish legal
systems around us.

As the Sifra points out, not everything in the surrounding nations is
forbidden. Under the rubric of "hukkat hagoy" we must distance ourselves
from certain aspects of these cultures, but this does not mean we must
disparage other nations. Rabbi Haim Halberstam ( born in 1793, in Sanz,
Galicia) addresses this problem in his responsum to the aforementioned
query about Jewish women emulating the non-Jewish fashions in his day, and
he emphasizes our obligation to respect these nations. In the
collection of his responsa titled "Divrey Haim" (Yoreh Deah #30) he rules
out the adoption of the custom of wearing wigs, but he prefaces
his answer with a lengthy introduction.[The English version can be found in
"The Sanzer Rav" A.Y. Bromberg, Mesorah Publ., Jerualem. pp. 163-4].

Among other points that he makes, the Divrey Haim writes, "Although the
poskim [decisors] have made clear to us the prohibition against following
the norms of the Gentiles, the intention is not, G-d forbid, to belittle
the honor of the other nations; for on the contrary, we are strictly
enjoined to honor the nations, both the rulers and the general populace."
This holds for all nations, even the Egyptians under whose rule we suffered
tremendously. Although we are specifically prohibited, as cited above,
from copying their abominations, practices and legal norms, we are
nevertheless commanded: "Do not abominate an Egyptian" [lo titaev Mitzri,
Devarim 23:8]. We are "instructed not to belittle their honor because in
spite of everything, we did derive benefit from their country. All the more
so,
then are we obligated to show honor to those countries in the shade of
whose protection we rest, and where HaShem, Blessed be He, has caused us to
find favor in their eyes so that they have… spread out a protective wing
over us to defend us from the wrath of evildoers; those nations that are
lovers of kindness and honor the Torah – may HaShem reward them
appropriately."

In Rabbi Halberstam's view, the intentions of the poskim when they cite
the verse from our parashah, "You shall not follow the norms of the
nations", is not to belittle the honor of non-Jewish nations. We are also
"not commanded to refrain from interacting with them". He brings examples
of numerous Sages who were often guests of kings and emperors, among them
R' Abbahu, R' Yehoshua, Shmuel and Rava.

If this is so, then why were we commanded not to follow their norms –
"b'hukotehem"? The Divrey Haim explains this concept in relation to the
difference between the Noahides and bnei Yisrael. The bnei Noah are
obligated to observe the seven Noahide laws and are not punished for
violation of the 613 mitzvot that Jews are obligated to keep.
Against this background, he makes a surprising point. "Now, included
within the commands of the Torah is the requirement that we make many
'fences' for ourselves to keep ourselves far from such faults as arrogance
and sexual misconduct; and we must not be influenced by the nations in this
regard, to follow their way, for they were never commanded… This
obligation to make 'fences' for the remaining mitzvot, and the 'fence'
itself is counted as a negative commandment. Thus we see that Israel has
been commanded to make a 'fence' against sexual misconduct and pride." We
were commanded to make 'fences' not because of our virtues, but rather
because we are stubborn and stiff-necked and thus "the Torah was given to
us to break the boldness in our character… Therefore the Torah warns us
not to follow the ways of the other nations." The Divrey Haim concludes his
discussion by returning to the theme he broached in the beginning where he
wrote that we have benefited from them, and they have spread out a
protective wing over us to defend us from the wrath of evildoers. "By no
means should we look down upon the other nations, because we are indebted
to them in many ways."

What was the decision vis-a-vis the new wigs and headdresses that he was
asked about originally?

The Divrey Haim served the community in the city of Sanz in Galicia. He
writes that, "when I visited my father-in-law in Moravia, there, too, no
one wore, Heaven forbid, these immodest fashions. And according to what I
heard then, no respectable woman in the German-speaking lands wore a wig –
this was only done by certain popular elements and the practice was looked
down upon by all… Therefore, Heaven forbid that the women of our land
should be permitted to follow this custom. The prohibition stands."
In writing his responsum, he warns us not only to respect the non-Jewish
nations, but to respect Jews as well! "I must state that the only purpose
of what I write is to instruct the people as to the position of our holy
Torah. My conclusions, however, are not to be forced upon any one against
his will, not even by means of verbal embarrassment. My task is just to
state these matters until they are set forth before the governing
authorities."

Rav Halberstam,z"l, leaves us with a warning whose import is ever relevant
to us today. "Whatever I say here is addressed only to those who willingly
accept upon themselves the yoke of Torah and seek to know the verdict of
the law on this issue."

Shira Leibowitz Schmidt is a Hebrew-to-English translator.