בס"ד
Parshas VaEthchanan contains what is generally considered the central religious tenet, "Listen Israel, Hashem our G-d, Hashem is one", (Deuteronomy 6:4). The verse strikes many as somewhat cryptic and does not translate into English well. The first meaning of the first word " שְמַע " is "hear", but its use here is to listen. There is a Hebrew word for "listen", "להַקשִיב" and it is used in the Nach (Prophets and Sacred Writings) but not the Torah. A bigger difficulty is the use of the word "one" as an adjective. Conventional explanations are that there is one G-d that is unique, uniform, and indivisible. Homolitcally the verse is used as a declaration of faith and the mastery of heaven.
In connection with this the Sefer HaChinuch (ספר החינוך - Book of Education) mitzvah 417 says that this is not just an anecdote rather it is a command to believe that Hashem is the one ultimate power. In addition it is forbidden to deny this even under penalty of death. However this presupposes that a person has arrived at belief, which is not always the case. One can cite various proofs, but they do not make an impression on all people. There is inherent belief but in some it is very weak.
What this seems to be saying is that a person may not launder their system of beliefs so as to reject an existing belief in G-d or in Scripture. In addition they may not deny things that they fundamentally believe to be true. A question arises as to what is appropriate behavior when faced with ideas and practices a person does not believe are true, especially when there is pressure to accept them. There is a story in the Gemara (Bava Metzia 59) in which Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus takes the position that a particular type of pot cannot become ritually unclean. Everyone disagrees with him but he wins all the arguments. In the end the community excommunicates Rabbi Eliezer but he doesn't change his mind. I remember Rabbi Uziel Malivsky at Yeshiva Ohr Somayach discussing the story. He added that Rabbi Eliezer's son wished to follow his father's tradition but he forbid him to do so. This was because Rabbi Eliezer really believed the pot was pure. The son though would be taking this position to honor his father and this is not an adequate reason to disagree with the community.
In another story (Gemara Brachos 27b) Rabbi Yehoshua, when privately asked if reciting the evening service is required, answers it is optional. The reply reaches Rabban Gamliel, the nasi (chief), who holds that it is obligatory as do the rest of the sages. When Rabbi Yehoshua is publicly confronted he first tries to remain silent and would lie about it, except that he has been caught. Consequently he is publicly humiliated.
There is a story of Elisha the prophet in which he cures the general of the army of Aram of leprosy. Naaman is impressed and declares, "Now I know there is no god in the whole universe, except the G-d of Israel", (2 Kings 5:15). In addition he says that from now on he will not bring offerings to any god except Hashem. Nevertheless he asks that he be forgiven for the times he is required to take his king to the Temple of Rimmon and bow down to the idol with him.
The lesson to be learned is that a person is required to be honest with himself. It's best if a person's words and deeds are consistent with their beliefs. In addition it is worth suffering for this. However it may be appropriate to keep silent or even lie in order to avoid pointless aggravation over an abstract argument that has no practical significance. In addition one should be very careful about putting their life in danger over issues involving faith. Consequently there are times a person should give lip service to invalid ideas and go along with bothersome practices for the sake of appeasing the powerful. Just the same one should recognize that these are stupidities and guard the purity of the mind.
לע"נ האמא מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז ניסן תשנ"ח
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