Who is John Galt?

 

“Who is John Galt?”

Do you recognize the line? It is a recurring question throughout Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, which becomes an expression of helplessness and despair at the current state of the novel's fictionalized world. When things happen which can’t be understood, changed, or improved, the characters simply declare, “Who is John Galt?”

This came to mind perusing the headlines of the past week - especially the July 4 massacre in Highland Park, Illinois. I understand bad news gets more attention – and there are certainly happy stories out there, too, but it seems like it’s the same bad news over and over and over again. Take another example: violent behavior at the Kotel. Last week, a group of extremists overran the egalitarian plaza of the site disrupting a Bar Mitzvah service. (There was a disturbing picture of someone blowing their nose in a Siddur.) Exactly five years ago, I addressed a similar episode in a Shabbat sermon! A congregant wrote to me this morning wondering why these types of things keep happening. I wanted to reply, “Who is John Galt?”

In a way, “Who is John Galt?” seems to channel how we approach the verse, ”Zot chukat haTorah – These are the rules of the Torah (19:2).” A chok is understood as a mitzvah without a reason. We just do it because we do it, and that’s all there is to it. Why do we eat Kosher, observe Shabbat, or sprinkle the ashes of the parah adumah (red heifer) on one who comes into contact with a dead body? Just because.

For some, the use of the word chok is a cop-out. If a practice cannot be understood, we fall back on it being an obligation. There is some truth to this argument. At the end of the day, God commands, “Jump!” and we respond, “How high?” At the same time, employing a chok is not the same as saying we don’t know why or “Who is John Galt?” A chok provides us with a deeper, more sophisticated approach to life and Judaism.

Rabbi Norman Lamm addresses this more complex nature of a chok. He acknowledges that our inclination is to try to make sense out of everything. Modern man wants answers. The existence of a chok pushes back against this. We don’t have all the answers. In fact, the more we know, the more we should respect the fundamental mystery of existence. People like to be able to compartmentalize problems, to put them into boxes. Rabbi Lamm challenges this mentality: “When we affix labels to problems, we erroneously think that we have solved them.” Similarly, if we can explain behavior – ritual or otherwise, then we feel ok. If we cannot, then it’s just something we do. That’s not the case. Describing a ritual as a chok is not a “cop-out” or performance of an action “just because.” Judaism doesn’t accept “Who is John Galt?” resignation or despair. Instead, the chok reminds us that life is more than biochemistry and that there are situations which make no sense that we cannot easily solve – but we persevere and seek a path forward.

In contemporary headline terms: I do not presently have a way to prevent crazy, lone gunmen from perpetrating mass shootings, but that doesn’t mean I live with resignation. Each month may feature heated encounters at the Kotel, but that doesn’t mean I give up on those Jews with whom I disagree. As the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks noted: “Neither side should exaggerate on the issue. Each side has a place to pray – and therefore we must not think of victory or defeat.” Life is full of chok situations – complicated, frustrating, possibly without resolution, but we can still move forward.

In the Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 19:8), Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai describes a chok in the following way: God said, “I have engraved a rule, I have decreed a decree (chukah chakakti, gezeira gazarti),” and you have no permission to transgress. A chok is something engraved. It is part of who we are. It tells us there is no instant gratification or easy answer. In fact, there will likely be a lot of aggravation. This doesn’t minimize the situation. In fact, it deepens it.

As Rabbi Lamm concludes: A chok teaches us that there comes a time when living without explanation is the only valid explanation for life and Judaism that is beyond explanation.