This story relates to my Jewish, South African and now Australian heritage and picks up on several themes from my earlier Humanism: My Journey post.
Coincidentally, on Friday night I was scheduled to talk on Tzedakah or righteousness at SpiritGrow, the Jewish holistic centre I attend, and Nelson Mandela could not have fitted more naturally into my chosen theme when I heard the news that morning of his passing.
Jewish tradition-Torah teaches that the world is built on righteousness or justice, which is the literal meaning of Tzedakah, although this term is often translated as ‘charity’, normally understood as support for the needy.
The key Torah principle of healing the world, Tikkun Olam, is based on real concern for others and its connection to righteousness-Tzedakah will be evident from the comments below.
Tikkun Olam is the overarching principle in Jewish Ethics, based on the notion that if a person saves another human being it is as if they have saved the whole world.
Many will know the famous Talmudic story (Shabbat 31a) about the sage Hillel who is asked by a prospective convert to Judaism to teach him the whole Torah while standing on one leg. He replied: “That which is hateful to you do not do to your neighbour.” Hillel then added: “This is the whole of the Torah, the rest is commentary. Go forth and study.”
This statement of the Golden Rule is of course echoed in the foundation texts of most other religions and cultures. For example, Hinduism teaches “This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you.” (Mahabharata 5:15-17)
The same message is contained in Proverbs: “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.” (Proverbs 25:21)
Nelson Mandela, champion of justice and father of the South African rainbow nation, died on Friday morning Australian time. A steadfast campaigner for democratic equality, against poverty and for the needs of AIDS victims, Mandela’s life was devoted to freedom and justice for all in South Africa.
President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela appreciated the worth of all peoples and cultures, and through his actions and words promoted the African value of Ubuntu, true respect for the humanity we all share.
The prerequisite for Tzedakah-righteousness is often said (by Rabbis, non-Rabbis, people with beards and those with no beards, this author being a bearded non-Rabbi) to be mercy–Rachamim or compassion, and this humane capacity was perhaps the moral essence for Mandela who even forgave his prison guards for 27 years of incarceration and other Apartheid oppressors.
This did not stop Mandela from hiding chapters of his biography, “Long Walk to Freedom”, in the prison garden on Robben Island as justice does require both truth and reconciliation.
The core value espoused with similar vigour by Torah and post-Enlightenment ethics is Tzedakah, righteousness, justice or Ubuntu. “The rest is commentary. Go forth and study.”
May we continue to be inspired by the legacy of Mandela and the values of Tzedakah-righteousness-justice-Ubuntu that his life of courage and principle embodied. These equivalent terms from different traditions all form part of the universal human experience embraced by humanism.
ozhumanist 