Hillel famously taught: “If I am not for myself, who will be
for me? If I am only for myself, what am
I? If not now, when?”
While the gist of this teaching is fairly obvious—finding a
balance between self-interest and communal responsibility—a subtle reading
reveals much more. It is especially
critical to note the shift in pronouns from the first question to the
second. One would expect Hillel to have
asked, “If I am only for myself, who
am I?” But the who changes to what—suggesting
that when we don’t tend to the needs of others we become something less than
entirely human. Narcissism and greed
distort our core humanity.
This is worth remembering in the aftermath of the 2016
legislative session. Once again, our
representatives refused to extend health care to Idaho’s poorest citizens. Then, adding insult to injury, Governor Otter
called a press conference to affirm that callous decision. Senator Jim Rice of Caldwell captured the
prevailing ethos of the Idaho Republican party when he declared: “There is no right to health care. Not one of
those who left the bloody tracks in the snow at Valley Forge did so for free
health care.”
If I am
only for myself, what am I? Apparently,
for starters, a Republican member of the Idaho House of Representatives.
In Jewish
tradition, the saving of human life is known as pikuach nefesh. This
obligation overrides virtually every other religious consideration. When a person is in danger, it is permissible
to violate almost every commandment in the Torah to rescue them. We derive this imperative from the Torah’s
teaching: “You shall not stand idle while your neighbor bleeds” (Leviticus
19:16). By this understanding, health
care is absolutely a basic human right, and denying it to those in need is disgraceful. Idaho’s leaders are, indeed, standing idle
while the most vulnerable of the citizens they serve are bleeding. When Idahoans die needlessly, due to lack of
access to healthcare, as too many surely will in the coming year, let there be
no doubt: the bloodguilt is on the heads of those who voted to deny them.
This is
not just bad policy—it is moral bankruptcy.
Shame on
our legislature and governor.
And shame
on us, for continuing to elect them to high office.
We can do
better.
And if not
now, when?