Chagiga 22: Ritual Purity: How to Carefully Create Community

We delve into the purification processes regarding vessels for sacrificial food, non-sacred food and terumah. The rabbis go to great lengths describing which vessels must be immersed.  A large part of their debates is underscored by a sociological reality: some people do not follow the halachot, but they should not be alienated from the community.

The rabbis are clear: certain vessels will be impure in certain situations.  But if we tell an am ha'aretz that his/her evaluations can't be trusted, we are pushing them to create alternative, even less sanctified practice. But how can a chaver  (one who follows halacha) borrow a vessel from an am ha'aretz  (one who does not follow stringently) and use it?  And how can s/he be sure that s/he is not being disrespectful toward the am ha'aretz?  

The rabbis come up with some solutions: always immerse a vessel borrowed from an am ha'aretz; it will be ritually pure after sundown.  Trust an am ha'aretz in certain circumstances.  But are these enough to maintain the relationship required amongst the Jewish people?

This societal structure continues.  Some Jews consider themselves to be today's version of chaverim: they are stringent with themselves and members of their communities regarding the mitzvot.  Others would be today's version of amei ha'aretz.  According to the chaverim, that would be all of the rest of us, though I would argue that many Jews are truly observant without being shomer Shabbat, for example.  The amei ha'aretz are those of us who are Jewish in name but do not maintain an Orthodox standardized religious practice.  

The tensions between these two communities continue, as well.  There is often animosity between these two groups of Jews, each perceiving the other group to be misunderstanding Torah interpretations and to be misrepresenting each other.  Although we share similar cultural practices and many values, we create a chasm between the two groups.  Our daf mentions that amei ha'aretz might be friends with chaverim and/or with priests.  More importantly, our daf demonstrates that the rabbis are concerned that we include each other; that we are respectful of each other.  In particular, chaverim are told to behave respectfully toward amei ha'aretz, who might be easily turned away from more stringent Jewish ritual with any provocation.

I am one of those Jews who has a foot in each world.  For many years I have tried on different orthodox practices.  Some have gelled and stayed and some have not.  All of these experiences have deepened my understanding of what it means to be a Jew.  At the same time, I enjoy some practices that are not in accordance with our halachot.  Rather than feel guilty about this choice, I have come to use those experiences to deepen my connection with my identity as a Jew who is free to learn, to choose and to act.  Had I been pushed away by overzealous orthodox input, I might not be learning Talmud today.  The wisdom of our rabbis continues to influence our lives in profound and meaningful ways.