Majority Rules - or does it? (adapted from Rabbi Y. Goldman)
This week's Torah reading tells us the following story:
Moses sends 12 men to scout the land of Israel. They are supposed to return with a plan of how best to conquer Israel. Yet instead of bringing back hope and optimism to the people, ten of the spies, report back; describing the inhabitants of Israel as so fortified and so powerful that conquering it would be impossible.
Only two of the dozen, Joshua and Caleb, remain faithful to their leader and to the purpose of their mission. They assure the people that, with G‑d’s help, they will surely and successfully conquer the land.
Who did the people listen to? Which testimony did they believe? The negative report of the ten or the faithful words of the two?
Unfortunately, the people chose the former. Ten vs. two. Ten wins. Majority rules. They allowed the words of the ten to enter their hearts and instill fear and panic. The people began to doubt G‑d and Moses. Munity and tragedy ensued.
In democracies and in Jewish law alike, the majority does rule. A beth din (court of Torah law) must always consist of an odd number of judges, so that there should always be a majority opinion.
But the fact is that that the majority sometimes gets it wrong. Although we may be believers in the democratic process, clearly, there will be times when the minority is right.
All too often, the values and judgment calls of "the world" around us are simply wrong. No matter how outnumbered moral people may be, we will continue to follow the path of decency and sanity.
We Jews have never played the numbers game. In fact G‑d tells us “you are the smallest of nations” (Deuteronomy 7:7). We are known not for our majority, but for our morals (at least we should be!).
I remember in 2002 when Secretary General of the UN Kofi Anan questioned, "Can it be that the whole world is wrong and Israel is right?" Guess what. He was spot-on. The whole world was wrong and Israel was right.
Unfortunately the conventional norms that surround us are, many times, a deep pervasion of truth and righteousness.
A colleague of mine wrote recently of a young woman who approached his wife. She needed some guidance. Everyone was telling her she was crazy for insisting on not moving in to live with her boyfriend before her wedding and she sought affirmation that she hadn't lost her sanity.
So as we prepare to enter this Shabbat, let us take the strength to stand up for that which we know is true; for the values and traditions that our grandparents passed down from their grandparents. It might not be the norm and we might need to be that one lone voice, but it’s the truth – and that’s what counts.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Raleigh Resnick
