Solid relationships at core of Judaism

I RECENTLY heard the following question from a visiting rabbi to Port Elizabeth: If a person could sum up Judaism in one word, what would that word be? The answer? “Relationship”. Judaism covers the Jewish people’s relationship with G-D ,the relationship between man and fellow man, and the relationship we have with ourselves.

The Torah is the Jewish people’s code of conduct, ethics and laws – in other words our “constitution”.

The Jewish calendar begins in spring – April (in the northern hemisphere) – with Pesach (Passover) which is the time the Children of Israel left the bondage of slavery and became a nation.

We received the Torah on Mount Sinai seven weeks after the Exodus. The embodiment of the Torah are the 10 commandments. These commandments are divided into two groups of five.

The first five commandments deal with issues of faith and our relationship with G-D ,the second five focus on our relationship with our fellow man , through respect for other people’s persona and property.

The fifth commandment, to “honour thou Father and Mother” bridges the gap between the relationship of man and G-D and man and man as our parents are partners with G-D in bringing life into this world.

The 10th commandment – “Do not covet” (desire what is not yours) – adds a third dimension which is an important but often neglected aspect of our lives, people’s relationship with themselves. How we, individually and collective- ly, deal with aspects of our self-esteem or set our compasses to align with our mission in life.

Days on the calendar help us renew these important relationships.

Religious holidays help us renew our relationship with G-D.

Anniversaries help us renew our relationships with our greatest “friend” – our spouse – and birthdays help us to take stock of our own lives.

To conclude, our holidays, institutions, societies and communal way of life help us build relationships – be it our relationship with G-D, our fellow man, the society around us and ourselves.