Belief in G-d = Respect of Man

Rabbi Benzion Milecki - Shabbat Lech Lecha

The latest outburst by the Mufti of Australia should surprise no one. The Jews have long been the proverbial canary in the coal-mine. Whenever someone harms us, it does not take long before their venom strikes down others. Whether it's the Nazis, the suicide bombers, or now the Mufti of Australia. Unfortunately, I don't expect to see much soul-searching by those who callously ignored the warning signs when Alhilali verbally assaulted the entire Jewish people in 1998. Or indeed today. How many people are aware that in the same speech that he blamed women for the crimes committed against them, Alhilali called the People of the Book (i.e. Jews)  "the most evil of G-d's creation" and condemned them "forever" to the "fire of hell"?

At the beginning of the week it appeared that something good was emerging from this fiasco. A number of moderate Muslims were finding a voice and finally speaking out against the extremism of their bigoted leader. I saw this as a tremendous turn-around; a coming-of-age by the Australian Muslim community. By the end of the week, however, it appeared that the mood in the Muslim community had done another about-face, this time for the worse. Many in the community were not battening down the hatches and calling the whole episode a media beat-up - which it clearly wasn't. For the sake of all Australians, one can only hope that the moderates hold sway.

All religious leaders must be fully cognizant of the truth stated at the beginning of the Torah - "Let us make man in our image". Put simply this means recognition of the formula: "Belief in G-d = Respect of Man".

All religions believe that their way is the true way. There is nothing wrong with this, as long as it respects the freedom of others to act according to their consciences without undue denigration. All religions hold modesty in dress in high regard. That too is fine, as long as practitioners of religion understand that this does not give free reign to treating those who do not uphold these standards with disrespect. Needless to say, however, one can and should expect those entering into a House of Worship to respect the mores and values of the religion concerned.

You cannot claim to believe in G-d if you do not respect Man who is made in His image. And this is not limited to "good" people, men or women you agree with religiously. The Talmud applies this formulation even to criminals. When murderers fall into our hands, they too must be treated with dignity and respect. The Mishna goes even further: "Be very humble before all men". In Tanya, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi explains this to mean that you must be humble even before sinners - even they have something to teach you.

Maimonides, who was highly respected in the Muslim world, further elaborates on the metaphor of the Divine image. He explains it to mean that just as G-d has infinite power, so too every human being has an infinite power to make his or her own choices; to choose his or her own destiny. You may think it inappropriate for a man or woman to be dressed the way he or she is - it may be against the tenets of your religion, contrary to your value system. But not for a moment does this excuse bad behaviour towards that person. You will not be called to task for her behaviour, but you most certainly will for your behaviour towards her. No excuses. It was your choice to act the way you did. After all, you too were created in the image of G-d.

To conclude: Believing that Man is created in the Image of G-d  implies respect of others whose values contrary to our own; it also means holding ourselves responsible for our own behaviour.