#MyJewishValues No. 33

(Art by Robert Deninno)

Kavod Habriyot: human honor and dignity. A concept for how we interpret and apply Jewish laws and rules where we uplift the inherent value and worth of a person over anything else. It is another principle that allows a Jew to violate religious requirements in pursuit of a higher good that is similar to pikuach nefesh (saving a life).

For instance, when Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak is challenged by Rabbi Yohanan, the brother of his good friend Mar. The story goes that a corpse was found in the city of Derokera, and Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak permitted carrying it to a karmelit (a semi-public domain into which carrying on Shabbat only involves a minor transgression).

Notably, "Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak was a renowned scholar who later became head of the Babylonian Academy in Pumbeditha. But as we are taught elsewhere, his primary scholarly achievements involved not innovating new legal positions, but accurately preserving and sharing the Torah teachings that he had received from earlier generations. So this apparently novel interpretation of the law is surprising to onlookers, one of whom challenged Rav Nahman."

"Rabbi Yohanan, brother of Mar, son of Rabbana, said to Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak: In accordance with whose opinion did you permit moving the corpse to the karmelit? If it was in accordance with Rabbi Shimon ... then you have erred, since Rabbi Shimon exempted one from the obligation to bring a sin-offering when moving a corpse for violating a biblical prohibition, but there remains a rabbinic prohibition. Due to your error, you have granted permission to violate Shabbat."

"Here, Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak is challenged by Rabbi Yohanan the brother of his good friend Mar who claimed that he has misapplied a ruling of Rabbi Shimon and unintentionally given permission to violate Shabbat. For Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak, who took pride in his accurate preservation and transmitting of the Torah teachings of earlier scholars, such an accusation amounted to a bitter insult. He responded passionately."

"Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak said to him: By God! Have you entered into an understanding of the matter? . . . For there is a principle that human dignity (kavod habriyot) is so important that it overrides rabbinic prohibitions of the Torah. In other words, what I ruled is most certainly permitted!"

"Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak replied to his challenger that Jewish law does not merely involve the application of specific laws to all situations. Instead, it involves considering a range of laws and meta-principles — some of which derive directly from our moral intuition — and applying them to specific situations. Significant ethical principles ... can override other prohibitions. In this case, it is kavod habriyot — human dignity — that is the determining factor. It would simply have been disrespectful to the deceased to leave the body where it was, hence the permission to move it."

As in all things, Judaism and Jews are constantly changing, evolving, and adapting to the realities of the world we live within. To be Jewish is to be morally constant and ethically flexible in practice. To break a small rule in service of upholding a more important tenet of our values as a people is actually good.

Sadly, it's a lesson far too few people remember.

Take note and take care.