What is a Hero?

By Emma Green
Brandeis University

I have been told before that a good way to start an article is to look up the key word in a dictionary. I always thought I knew what a Jewish hero was, but I decided to look in the Merriam Webster Dictionary to find out where it stood on the matter. The first definition: a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability. We Jews don't believe in divine descent, so that part of the definition is not applicable. Let's look at the first part, a mythological or legendary figure. I guess you could say that the Patriarchs, the Matriarchs, and many other biblical figures, including Moses, fit this bill. But are they endowed with great strength or ability? I guess it depends on your definition of strength or ability. For the most part, they do not have extraordinary physical abilities or physical strength. They do have mental strength, though. Take Abraham. The midrash tells us that he argued with his father about the nature of God, and then left everything he knew to become a nomad, when God spoke to him. Jacob is perhaps a trickier case. He wrestled with an angel and won. At first glance, it seems pretty physical. However, the angel is often interpreted in different ways, and many people consider the metaphor to be more important than the actual wrestling.

The second definition is:  the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work. I guess this one depends on how you view the Torah. Laying aside the diminutive aspect of the word literary, a convincing argument could be made that many of our Jewish heroes are principal male characters in the Torah--except this leaves out the female characters. However, this definition does not seem to quite fit either.

The third definition gives the plural, and mentions submarine. This is not what we are looking for either.

The fourth definition of hero: an object of extreme admiration and devotion: idol. Of all the definitions so far, this one seems to me to be the one that is least applicable. The last word: idol. There's a commandment against it. The second one, in fact. Something about making a likeness of something known and worshiping it. Just like the first definition, this seems to refer to someone or something that is perfect and beyond us mere humans. You don't see the flaws in the being that you worship. The Torah teaches us that most of the people we might consider heroes have flaws. Moses had a speech impediment, and did not listen to God in Numbers about how to get water from the rock. All of the major characters (except for God, of course) in our holy books are human, as are we all. We aren't perfect, but we don't need to be, because humans aren't perfect.

I don't know about you, but for me, Merriam Webster does not quite cut it. Perhaps we need a better definition of a hero, at least in the Jewish context. Here's what I think a hero is: someone who does something great for a person, a group, or humankind. A person whom others can look up to and admire. A hero does not need to be larger than life, but rather, life-sized.

Emma Green is from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and is currently a sophomore at Brandeis University. She plans on double majoring in computer science and Judaic studies, and loves exploring Judaism.

[Posted 3/6/11]