At the end of the Parsha, we meet a person who “sins and betrays God.” (Vayikra 5:21-22) We think this must be a heinous villain, yet the Torah lists seemingly mundane crimes: theft, withholding collateral, lying, or keeping a lost object. While significant, these do not seem to be the worst of crimes. Why is this deemed a rebellion against God?
The Tosefta in Shevuos (3:5) offers insight. Chananya ben Chachinai teaches that no one cuts off their fellow without first cutting off God. The Tosefta continues with a story. Rabbi Reuven once met a philosopher in Teveria who asked: Who is most hated in this world? The philosopher expected it to be murderers, thieves, or adulterers. But Rabbi Reuven explained: one who denies God. He explained that without God, one’s ethical foundation collapses, leading to every other crime. The reason people are able to destroy the lives of others is their abandonment of God in the first place.
Rav Soloveitchik further elaborates that faith in a personal God is the crux of social ethics. Skeptics think “I am the Lord your God” is irrelevant to society. But they find without that anchor, morality is subjective and collapses. If people construct their own moral boundaries, they just as soon find exceptions and bend them since they themselves created them.
Thus, the Parsha’s lesson is stark: rituals matter, but if one abandons belief in God, all social ethics unravel.
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