Parshat Kedoshim: Societal Norms Reassessed
Original author - By Rabbi Carmi Wisemon, edited by the GrowTorah Summer Inchworms 2021
View Accompanying Source Sheet Here
“You shall not place a stumbling block in front of a blind person; and you shall have fear of your God—I am Hashem.”[1] This directive has been widely explained in its figurative sense of prohibiting one to lead another to his detriment.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch details actions that fall into the category of placing a stumbling block: “he who deliberately gives wrong advice, who gives the means, or prepares the way for wrong…who in any way actively or passively assists or furthers people in doing wrong….transgresses this prohibition. Thus the whole great sphere of the material and spiritual happiness of our neighbor is entrusted to our care.”[2]
Rav Hirsch’s conclusion carries a meaningful and somewhat eerie message for the post-industrial world. Has modern society misled us concerning our material and spiritual happiness? Have we even conflated the two?
Contained within contemporary society, lies a severe and far-reaching stumbling block, which has led to abuse of the environment by endangering the earth’s delicate ecosystems and limited natural resources. At the turn of the 20th century, the Industrial Revolution allowed a higher quality of life for many Americans due to expanded production capabilities. Alongside this quality increase came a heightened emphasis on consumerism—the public mindset intent on over-consumption beyond people’s actual needs. Consumerism equates personal happiness with purchasing more and more material possessions. The businesses and governments who stood to gain from increased trade overlooked the public’s moral shortcomings and “blinded” them by perpetuating their pursuit of the material.
In his book, Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, Richard H. Robbins explains that for consumerism to take hold in the United States, the public’s perception and buying habits had to be transformed.[3] Advertising aggressively shaped consumer desires. It imbued commodities with the power to transform the consumer into a more desirable person. Luxuries became necessities. In 1880, $30 million was invested in advertising in the United States. Today, that figure has climbed to well over $120 billion; even adjusting for inflation, that figure has jumped by about $119 billion. The advent of the credit card in the 1950s, enabled people to buy things that they would not normally consider purchasing. Originally meant to stimulate economic growth, credit shopping, unfortunately, leads to increased consumer debt.
The US Department of Commerce, created in 1921, serves to illustrate the role of the federal government in the promotion of consumption. The Commerce Department encouraged maximum consumption of commodities, producing films and leaflets advocating single-dwelling homes over multi-unit dwellings and suburban housing over urban housing. Our present standard of housing is just one example of how the powers of consumerism have changed accepted norms, creating raised expectations of standards of living and subsequently causing us to deplete more of the earth’s natural resources. [4]
Many of our environmental concerns are caused by the subtle, but potentially lethal stumbling block of consumerism. It can be found in crises such as global warming (by increased burning of fossil fuels), species extinction (through the clearing of forests), the proliferation of landfills, and subsequent contamination of water from the residue of the chemicals used to produce more material goods. While Hashem has created a planet for us to enjoy, we must be honest with ourselves in identifying the line where enjoyment becomes misuse.
So much of our lives are made easier and more efficient by industrialized systems, but there are major costs. Today we find ourselves simultaneously the victims and culprits of “lifnei iver lo titen michshol.” We may wish to challenge ourselves to produce, sell, and consume fewer products. Leading up to moments where we might spend significant funds on material purchases or moments of buying a one-dollar toy, we can make a big impact by considering the consequences of our actions. The Jewish and environmental response is to reduce our levels of consumption. In a world in which we often trip into society’s current norms, our goal should be to ethically and intelligently consume. It is not always easy but it is our imperative. We must strive to appreciate the benefits of industrialization, without falling prey to overconsumption. Conscious consumption is possible.
Suggested Action Items:
Watch “The Story of Stuff,” a short internet clip about where our resources come from and where they go. Visit the site here.
Organize a toy exchange (or a hat exchange, or a book exchange) in your community, so that you don’t need to buy new products. (The goal here is not to give to the poor, but to share products with your friends and neighbors.) .
Click here to sponsor a parsha.
Notes:
[1] Vayikra 19:14
[2] In his commentary on the Torah, Vayikra 19:14
[3] Allyn and Bacon, 1999
[4]Another example of a change in accepted norms for the worse is the credit card. Workers were given higher wages to increase their buying power in order to be able to create a consumer economy. The world’s first credit card was introduced in the United States in the 1950s, expanding consumer credit by enabling people to buy things that they would not normally consider purchasing. By the 1970s shopping habits had been transformed by credit. An effect of this credit was to increase consumer debt, while creating mass markets for consumer goods that stimulated economic growth.
