בס"ד
William Shakespeare (1564 to 1616) is generally believed to be the greatest playwright in the English language. He loved the Tanakh and it greatly influenced his works. Some go so far to say that all of his plays are religious commentaries. There is an ongoing controversy whether he loved or hated the Jews.
Much of the debate revolves around his play “The Merchant of Venice”. Its protagonist is a Jewish banker named Shylock. Grisly comedies were very popular at that time and this one particularly so. Shylock is basically a clown and probably Shakespeare's most successful villain.
The story is that Shylock lends a Christian man money. Part of the contract states that if the money is not paid back by a certain date the borrower must give the lender a pound of flesh. Provisions like that did exist at that time. However they were simply taken as expressions of the debtor's assurances that he would pay off the loan. Here it invites a comparison to Psalm 7 where King David basically says that if the horrible accusations made against him are true then all sorts of horrible tragedies should befall him. Shylock’s approach to religion as parodies could be amusing and even appealing, but as realities would be terrors. The halacha is that a person should not curse himself. From a legal standpoint unconscionable provisions of a contract are invalid.
The loan is secured by ships at sea which should be arriving shortly. Unexpectedly there is a storm and it looks like the ships have been sunk. Shylock then sues in court to collect his pound of flesh and even shows up with a knife. News is then received that the ships were not destroyed but simply will arrive a little late. Shylock is not moved. He is viewed somewhat sympathetically because he has suffered much cruel anti-Semitism and in addition is very upset because his daughter has recently eloped with a Christian under very humiliating conditions. Attempts to make a settlement are not successful.
Shakespeare was a social critic and his satires of existing legal systems were particularly biting. It would seem that he loved law but was appalled at what he saw both in theory and practice. The court proceeding is a dramatic farce. The verdict is that Shylock is indeed entitled to his pound of flesh as called for in the loan agreement. However the contract does not entitle him to even one drop of blood. Because he cannot bloodlessly seize the collateral, it is not collectable. There may be a hint that some of the doctrines and practices in Jewish law were severely flawed, but nevertheless arrived at the correct conclusion.
Another of his plays is “As You Like It”. It is mainly a romantic comedy with themes of good people who have been cheated having their fortunes restored to them. In it there is a famous philosophical soliloquy which starts, "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts". A similar sentiment is voiced in "The Merchant of Venice" with Shylock continuing that his role is a sad one." Here, though, it enumerates seven stages of life that seem to parallel the adventures of Avraham avinu. They are a helpless child, a shining but whining schoolboy, a passionate yearning lover, a dedicated idealistic soldier, the wise and righteous judge, the kind and learned elder, and the old feeble man.
We are introduced to Abraham when he is still living with his father in Or Casdees. So to speak he gets his schooling starts when HaKadosh Baruch Hu tells him to go to the land of Canaan. Education involving love follows when Sarah is seized by Pharaoh and he accepts Hagar as a concubine. Abraham becomes a soldier when he goes to war to rescue his nephew Lot. The binding of Isaac is about idealism as is Abraham’s desire to father a holy nation and live in the holy land. He is the righteous judge when he pleads and fairly evaluates the situation in Sedom. He is the kind and learned elder when he looks for a wife for his son Yitzchak. Finally he is the old man when he takes Ketura as a wife.
לע"נ האמא מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז ניסן תשנ"ח
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