I Don’t Do TOV to Get To Heaven!

I was having lunch recently with a pastor friend of mine. When we're together, we discuss everything about "Religion", no subject is taboo. He asked me why Jews are not concerned with their "Salvation."

I answered, that for many reasons, our Sages steered away from that issue. In fact, it is one area that really does separate Judaism from Christianity. Jesus followed the path of the Sages and his focus was on how to live here in this world, but after the Romans executed him, his movement began to diverge from his path.

Most leaders of the early Christian communities were Gentiles, not Jews. They were not like the original apostles. Their focus was on life after death – “Salvation” -- and claimed they knew exactly what one had to do to do it. If you did what they said, you would not face eternal punishment, but you would go to Heaven and live in eternal bliss. How did this transition happen?

Words must be understood in their context, which means first and foremost – they must be viewed in their cultural context. Jesus and the members of his original group were all Jews and they shared the same Jewish culture – Late Second Period Judaism. They viewed what Jesus taught through the lenses of their shared culture. One side note: neither Jesus nor any of the members of his movement were called “Christians.” It was the members of another group that were first called “Christians.” That group was led by another Jewish man from the Diaspora called Saul, a.k.a. Paul.

What Christians understand as Paul's "Salvation", is understood as "Redemption" for Jews. But, being Redeemed and being Saved are very different things. For Jews, "Redeemed" can mean a vindication through history, because in Jewish Tradition, history is where God's Plan is played out. For instance, in 1948 the Jews were gathered in their own land and many people saw this as the beginning of “The Redemption” -- that eventually the world would turn to God and Israel would have a place of honor, a "light to the nations." For many traditional Jews this is either the beginning of a "Messianic Era", or the appearance of a Messianic figure guided by God's Spirit (not a Supernatural Superman). Remember, Messiahs don't come to cause changes – in the Jewish culture, their appearance coincides with a dramatic change in human nature and in nature itself.

In Jewish Tradition, there is no such thing as individual salvation or redemption. Redemption is tied to the rest of creation. No one can be "saved ' while the rest of the world is in chains! Many people do not understand that being "saved", originally had to do with Original Sin, for the sin of Adam and Eve. Jesus didn’t teach about a sin like that – but Augustine did 400 years later. In the story of the Garden in Eden, God did NOT CURSE the humans – he punished them for disobeying the commandment. He cursed the Serpent and the Ground. After the Jewish people were conquered by the Babylonians and exiled to Babylon, some of them picked up the idea (meme) of “Reward and Punishment after death” from Zoroastrianism and brought it back with them to Jerusalem when Cyrus the Great allowed them to return. Some Jews accepted it, while others rejected it.

So my friend asks, “Why do we follow all those commandments.” I responded that first of all, we are commanded to do so. By the way, for me this has nothing to do with what you wear, how kosher you are, how you pray, or with whom you pray. It only has to do with moral and ethical behavior, loving-kindness, justice and righteousness – the things that are all part of what I call TOV. I do TOV, because it helps repair the world, it concentrates on whatever brings Life and Light to creation. I don't do TOV to get a ticket to Heaven -- I do TOV to bring some of Heaven to this life! For me, these actions help bring “Redemption” to the world. 

Rather than Salvation, Judaism concentrates on "Sanctification." Using the ancient wisdom of the TOV Standard as the model for behavior, we can raise our everyday acts and sanctify them. Eating, parenting, working, even sex are acts that become sanctified -- sacred. Acts that many view as mundane or common are elevated to the level of sacred and holy acts – acts that reflect the image of the Creator.

Of course, there are no guarantees either way. Just because some religious authority says you have your ticket to heaven does not make it so! It might not be accepted by the Heavenly Doorman. In my case, if God is who I think he is – a God that judges His acts by the TOV Standard, then I think he would be happy to spend some time with me if I did acts of TOV too.

People have asked me if there is life after death, I tell them, possibly. But I concentrate on life after birth, not life after death – Sanctification instead of Salvation. Then, when my journey through life in this world is finished, I will have left it a little better than it was.

Regardless of what you believe about the afterlife – will you join with me and others and Do TOV while we live together on this planet in this life? That’s what Hillel and Jesus would do.

Do TOV and Choose Life!

Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor

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