Rabbi’s Corner – Best Served Cold Edition

Dear Friends,


April 23rd commemorates the birth and death of legendary playwright William Shakespeare. Due to the dearth of Jewish characters in his works, the perception of Shakespeare’s attitude towards Jews is largely determined by Shylock – the money lender of The Merchant of Venice. For the most part Shylock is not portrayed as a sympathetic character. Though in one notable exception in Act III Scene I, Shylock defends his tribe on the grounds that essentially Jews people not unlike anyone else:

I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, heal’d by the same means, warm’d and cool’d by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, do we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that.

On one hand we certainly share the biological characteristics of any other human such as mortality. But Shylock also includes seeking revenge – what could be considered an ethical behavior – as a matter of human nature. In the context of the play Shylock had reason to be bitter. In his rage and frustration, Shylock claims that since Jews are biologically indistinguishable from non-Jews that we must also be indistinguishable ethically as well.



On one hand Shylock’s justification is a logical non-sequitur but perhaps there is some validation for his conclusion. After all, as we read in this week’s parasha the Torah does prohibit revenge, but notably only against fellow Jews (Vayikra 19:18). Consider that we are commanded in perpetuity to “remember what Amelek did us [in attacking us] as we left Egypt!” (Devarim 25:17)
If there is a difference, I suggest it is in one’s motivation. Shylock sought his “pound of flesh” out of spite. His ego was hurt by Antonio and so he wished to hurt Antonio on return. There was nothing to gain by Shylock’s revenge in terms of self-preservation except for the basest of human instincts (thus the comparison with physical pain).
But the Torah teaches us to “be a holy nation because God is holy” (Vayikra 19:1). Our acts of vengeance are not of the spiteful nature, but rather those with aims to protect our spiritual nation from outside threats – hence the prohibition against internal revenge which would destroy the community from within.



Today it can be very easy to confuse righteous indignation with actual righteousness. For this we must remember that we are told to “be holy because God is holy” (Vayikra 19:1). Even our instinctive reactions of vengeance and hatred must be defined not by our primal ego, but through our spirituals selves. May we act in accordance with the Torah, and not simply as we like it.



Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Josh Yuter



P.S. Recommended Reading:
Shapiro, James. Shakespeare and the Jews. Columbia University Press, New York. 1997.