Finches : A Question of Priorities
These are Lesser Goldfinches and House Finches. Bird photography is particularly challenging, with quickly moving subjects that disappear in a flash. I envy landscape mavens…. The birds were at slightly different distances from me, so my usual camera settings wouldn’t render them all in focus. So it meant that I had to very quickly - on the fly as it were - adjust my camera to increase the “depth of field,” the amount of the image that would be in focus. It’s something I don’t frequently do, and I failed. I tried to include them all. I couldn’t. And before they all flew off, I acknowledged that I simply needed to make a choice. So the lesser goldfinch in the top left corner took priority over the house finch down to the right.
Jewish observance is based on the 613 commandments in the Hebrew Bible together with subsequent rabbinic commentary. In normal circumstances, we have the rules, and we follow them. Simple. But there are situations where life is at stake, and human life is prioritized over the rules above. So typically we are commanded to fast on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year. But if it would jeopardize a pregnant mother’s life, for example, the fast is not only suspended, it’s prohibited. Less simple. And in three scenarios, involving idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder, even life takes a backseat. It is better to die oneself rather than be coerced into murdering someone. Our social edifice trumps any individual life. Not simple.
We are faced throughout our lives with conflicting imperatives. Reschedule Date Night and go to the dance recital? Attend the family event and miss an important career opportunity? The subjects on which we want to focus frequently conflict and frequently flash away. Nor does it help that we have to evaluate on the fly. Tradition provides guidance, though. We are taught that we are to live by Torah, not die by it. Similarly in the US, “The Constitution is not a suicide pact.” Our laws are intended to advance our lived experience, and thus are seen in the context in which they play out, not merely their theoretical expression. May these Finches - one blurred, one clear - remind us of our own needs to prioritize focus.