Being a Hero, Being Jewish, Being Good

By Joel Chorny
George Washington University School of Law

In our day and age, when people are interacting less and less with each other every day, the term "hero" has been reserved for the person who somehow makes the headlines and gets noticed by the rest of the billions in the human clan; for the man who rescued the little girl from the well, the teacher who gave her life protecting her students in an earthquake, etc. These individuals catch our attention and have their 15 minutes of fame, but what about the "unsung heroes?" We've all heard the term, so there must be such a thing. I submit to you that a hero is the person who goes out of his way to do the right thing because it is right, not because he will be rewarded. Now, to be clear, I am not saying that those individuals I mentioned above are not heroes, but merely that the word "hero" refers to an even larger group.

When I was asked to write for the KOACH E-zine, I was asked to write about heroism as it relates to Judaism. After giving it some thought, the way heroism relates to Judaism is at the core of what distinguishes Judaism from the two other mainstream religions: Jews are good for goodness' sake. Jews live for the now, not for a promise of what is to come. For example, I have kept kosher all my life and invariably I get questions from people along the lines of "Why don't you eat pork?" "Why don't you mix meat and dairy?" Why? Why? Why? Those who ask usually offer what they think is the answer: "It's because of trichinosis, right?" "It's because it's bad for your digestion, right?" "You don't eat shellfish because of the danger that used to be involved in catching it, right?" Maybe. But the answer I always give is that Jews don't keep kosher for a reward, but rather because that is what they are supposed to do. It is what is right. It is not like confession in Catholicism, which devout Catholics do in order to absolve themselves of their sins and be able to get to heaven. In Judaism, heaven is not a concern.

Unlike in Christianity and Islam where there is some mainstream concern with the afterlife, Judaism does not have an official party line for what happens to us after we die. That's another question I get all the time: "Is it true that Jews don't believe in Hell?" First of all, it is unlikely that there is anything that ALL Jews can agree on, particularly what happens after death. However, what can be said with confidence is that you won't hear rabbis from the Rabbinical Assembly preaching about fire and brimstone, about what we need to do to be in good with our Maker so that He favors us after we pass away. The afterlife is not a priority on the agenda for mainstream Judaism. So when we are told to do something, as Jews, we are told to do it without the promise of a reward. We are told to do it because, it is "right." We are told to be heroes.

The French philosopher Pascal authored what has come to be known as "Pascal's Wager." He proposed that even though people cannot prove the existence of God, they should "wager" as though God exists. Because if they are right, and there is a God, then they will be rewarded, but if there is no God, well then "no harm, no foul." "If you gain, you gain all, if you lose, you lose nothing." But this is incompatible with being a hero. Pascal proposed belief for its reward. Alan Dershowitz, famous for representing O.J. Simpson in the O.J. case, among other things, explains my point best in his book Letters to a Young Lawyer under the chapter entitled "Why Be a Good Person?": "I have always considered 'Pascal's Wager' as a questionable bet to place, since any God worth believing in would prefer an honest agnostic to a calculating hypocrite. To profess belief on a cost-benefit analysis is to trivialize religion." (p.194). Dershowitz goes on to talk about martyr, individuals who died for their religious beliefs, who believed so firmly in having to answer to their maker in the afterlife that they chose death over angering Him. Like Dershowitz, "I have never quite understood why people who firmly believe they are doing God's will are regarded as 'good' even 'heroic.' For them the choice is a tactical one that serves their own best interests, a simple consequence of a cost-benefit analysis." (Id.) For the person who believes he will receive a reward in the afterlife for his "goodness," "it is a simple matter to choose the edge of the sword that will cut off earthly life but preserve the soul." (Id.) For the martyr the decision to do what he is commanded to is an easy one, and should "earn him a place of honor in the pantheon of true believers, but not in the pantheon of heroes." (Id.) The true hero is the one who does what is right even though it is difficult to do, and even though he might risk punishment for it. Abraham is such a hero. We think of Abraham as an example of having perfect faith in God. The sacrifice of Isaac is the one example we are taught in Hebrew school of having faith in what God asks of us. However, Abraham also has the best example of challenging God's will and we celebrate him for it. When God told Abraham the intent to sacrifice everyone at Sodom, Abraham started to argue with God and, as the story was told to me, to bargain with God. Abraham pleaded with God to spare the innocents, to which God replied, basically, "show me these innocent people you speak of." Abraham knew that the killing of innocents to punish the guilty was wrong, even though it was God's will and Abraham stood up to God for this belief. Abraham was a hero.

We Jews are taught to follow the example of Abraham and be heroes. Judaism is a religion founded on the idea of fixing the world, tikkun olam. We are supposed to leave the world better than we found it when we came into it. But what is "better?" What is "good?" Again, I humbly quote Alan Dershowitz: "Good character [involves] striking an appropriate balance among often competing interests, such as the interests of oneself and of others, of the present and of the future, of one's family (tribe, race, gender, religion, nation and so forth) and of strangers." (p.200). As long as we are being good just because it is good, we are being heroes, each and every one of us. So, plant a tree, write a book, give to the poor, volunteer and help little old ladies cross the street, but don't do it expecting a reward. As Hillel said, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me, BUT if I am for myself alone, what am I?" Be good.

Joel went on the KOACH Taglit-Birthright Israel trip in January of 2007, where he met his fiancée, Nichole. They are getting married in August.  Joel is going into his last year of law school at George Washington University Law School.

[Posted 6/21/09]