Is It Enough to Be a Good Person?

Hashem desires us to be good people, but at the same time, clarifies that being a good person is not enough. Take, for example, a kind-hearted individual who helps others, volunteers at the MDA, respects his parents, and in short, does everything to be positive and beneficial to his surroundings. But if he does not observe Shabbat or don tefillin, that person will not find favor in Hashem's eyes. Many ask: What’s the problem? Why isn’t it enough to just be good people?

"If we look at the Ten Commandments and the giving of the Torah in general, we see that the greatest moment in history that all Jews were exposed to was essentially the presentation of quite simple laws," explains Rabbi Pinchas Badush. "Imagine if it were announced today that the greatest rabbi in the country is coming to a certain place. Everyone would come excitedly, curious about what he wants to discuss, and then they would see him reciting chapters of Tehillim. It would be quite disappointing, wouldn’t it? The same can be said about the Ten Commandments. We expected something very special, but essentially, 'Thou shall not kill' and 'Thou shall not steal,' for example, are basic and rational commands. So why the grand event?"

Why indeed?

"The Torah advises against relying solely on your human conscience to guide you, as it can easily betray you. For instance, euthanasia can be carried out from a sense of human conscience, but according to the Torah, it's considered murder. The Gemara tells of Rabbi Akiva who once saw a gentile taking his father, tying him up, and letting a dog eat him. Rabbi Akiva explained to his students that the gentile didn't do this out of malice but from conscience. However, it was conscience towards the dog, as it was in a state of needing food more than that man’s father, who was already old, sick, and dying. Consider the Nazis: they operated out of a certain perverse conscience, believing they were purifying humanity, but the atrocities they committed were indescribable. The matter of abortions can also be misleading. The nicest social worker in the world might opine that a certain child should be aborted because he would grow up under difficult socio-economic conditions. But this is like a baby in a cabinet. Is it permissible to shoot into a cabinet with a baby inside just because he can't be seen right now?"

Are there other references in the Gemara regarding human conscience versus Torah conscience?

"Rabbi Akiva brings an example in the Gemara: if two people are walking in the desert and one of them has a bottle of water only enough for one, they should do the simple thing: prioritize his life. Meaning, only the owner of the bottle should drink; otherwise, both will die. This same Rabbi Akiva says, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' My personal conscience might tell me, 'How can you let your friend die of thirst?', but the Torah explains that it is better for at least one of them to live. There's also the halachic rule that one should not ransom hostages for more than their value. The Torah says that if we release hostages for an exorbitant price, it will encourage captors to continue kidnapping others. Thus, we might save one but many others will be harmed. The Torah balances reason and emotion, stating, 'I will determine the true conscience - what the ultimate laws are that stand above human-made laws.'"

Okay, so the Torah wants to set moral guidelines. But why will a secular person, who simply doesn’t murder or steal, still be held accountable for not observing the mitzvot?

"Even a lamb doesn’t murder or steal, but it remains a lamb. What makes us human? The system of laws. Some people naturally give and care, so it’s less impressive because the mitzvot between one person and another are followed due to their own conscience, not because of divine command. Yet, if such a person follows the Torah in its entirety, including the evident mitzvot, he receives greater reward. Why? Because you're observing commandments not necessarily tied to your personal conscience, which is true faith.

"The Torah was given as a singular entity. It isn't a menu where you pick and choose what you like. Judaism was handed to us essentially as a way of life. If you reduce all of Judaism to interpersonal matters, you're making it merely technical, a means of keeping us in check. That’s not the Torah’s goal. The aim is to transform you into someone more special, and thus the Creator of the world tells you, 'This is the blueprint of this machine.' You can't ignore the recipe and use only ingredients that suit your limited, personal perspective. If I have a diesel-powered car, I might argue with the attendant about why diesel instead of gasoline and might not understand it, but ultimately I will fuel with diesel, because otherwise, I'll be in trouble. So too, the Torah serves as operation instructions, manufacturer's guidelines. To say, "I like this, but not that," is essentially to judge divine wisdom."

Rabbi Badush brings another interesting example: the difference between a thief and a robber. According to the Gemara, the thief receives a harsher penalty than the robber: the robber pays "only" double what he stole while the thief pays quadruple or quintuple. Why is that? "The Gemara in tractate Bava Metzi'a explains that the thief moves secretly, while the robber - in our language, a bandit - operates openly without shame. What’s the difference between them? A thief works at night, unseen. A robber operates by day, indifferent to those who might witness him. The Gemara states that the robber doesn't regard Hashem or people who might see him in daylight. But the thief says, 'I do consider humankind - the proof being I come at night so they won’t see me. However, there’s One I disregard despite Him seeing me - Hashem. It's similar to someone who considers humans around him but ignores Hashem, Who created him.'

Rabbi Yiftach Sopher offers his own explanation of why a good heart isn't enough. "Recently, I hired a handyman for some house repairs," he gives an example from his personal life. "He received most of his pay already, but there are still some things to finish. When I call to ask why he hasn’t come, the handyman says, 'Listen, I really like you, but it just doesn’t work for me. What do you want me to do?' It's true, he has a good heart, but what does that help me? He has a job, and he’s not doing it, even if he does good things at other times. If a bus driver needed to travel from Kiryat Shmona to Tel Aviv, and decided he didn’t feel like it, going fishing instead, passengers would complain. His bosses would catch him on the shore, and he would say, 'What do you want from me? I didn’t run over anyone, didn’t run a red light, didn’t speed. What, can’t I sit on the beach a bit? What did I do?' They’d tell him, ‘You're right, but you have a job.’ Surely that driver would pay the price for his neglect. And likewise with our topic—aside from acts of kindness and helping others, which are only a few among the 613 mitzvot, what about the rest?

"In general, a person must understand they have a role in this world. Have a good heart? Great. But there’s a book of laws that guide you on how to live. But this all presupposes a person understands they have a soul and a role in this world, because if they don’t grasp even this - that’s another problem altogether.

Some will respond, 'I'm not sure that Hashem truly wants the rest of the mitzvot from me.'

"How can you truly know? Open the book He gave us, the Torah, and check what exactly He wants from you. It’s a lot simpler than one might think."