The Gift of the Law

September 10th, 1999

Dear friend:

Years ago - maybe as many as 35 years ago - I heard a lecture on THE LAW at Jewish Theological Seminary, which is directly across Broadway from Union Theological Seminary, where I went to divinity school.

To be honest, I can't remember with certainty the name of the lecturer. I believe it was the famous Jewish theologian, Abraham Heschel. But, even if I can't remember exactly who gave the lecture, I have never forgotten what he said.

He said that THE LAW is not meant to punish us, or to threaten us, or to limit us in any way. On the contrary, THE LAW IS A GIFT. It is given to us by God so that we can have the psycho-social structures (individual and societal structures) that will allow us to grow to be all that our Creator wishes us to be.

And then he gave two examples which I remember to this day.

Do not forget, he said, that the People of Israel were slaves in Egypt. There they were ruled by tyrants whose power was not restricted by the rule of law. But when the Israelites passed through the Red Sea to freedom, they were given THE LAW to protect the potential that came along with their freedom.

For instance, in Egypt the slaves worked without ceasing. But when they were freed from slavery, they could take a day off and rest their weary bodies and souls. THE LAW, specifically the Fourth Commandment, would protect this freedom.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, your son, or your daughter, or your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle…….

Another example. In Egypt there was no respect for families. If the slave owners wanted the father to work on the pyramids or the mother to work in Pharaoh's house, they just took them away and left the children parentless. And so the children learned not to love or to trust their parents. It was too painful when they were taken away. But with freedom that could change. We must learn again to love our parents and trust that they will care for us. And so we have the Fifth Commandment.

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

I don't think I need to go on to the other Commandments. I trust you get my point.

THE LAW is a gift that accompanies freedom and invites us to grow, as our Creator would want us to grow.

This basic truth applies to the laws of our land, including a very important set of legislative acts, executive orders and judicial decisions that contribute to the so-called SEXUAL HARASSMENT LAW.

It was just 35 years ago that Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banning discrimination because of a person's color, race, national origin, religion or sex. The last two words - "or sex" - were added to the legislation late in the process and have proven to be particularly perplexing.

• In the 1970s the notion of sexual discrimination was expanded to include sexual harassment.
• In the 1980s the notion of sexual harassment was expanded to include such things as hostile environment.
• And by the early 1990s, most especially during the hearings for Clarence Thomas to be a Supreme Court Justice, the entire nation was in a state of confusion about how to interpret this law.
• And in our confusion we began to lose sight of the basic purpose.

THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT LAW is not meant to threaten us or to punish us or to limit us. It is meant to give us the protection to use our freedom to rediscover the Creator's intention for us as sexual persons. God made us male and female and said, "It is very good."

At Roberts Consulting Inc. we have developed what we call Second Generation Sexual Harassment Training. It is very different from what is generally offered. We would welcome the opportunity to talk with you about it.

Sincerely,

 

Bill