A Torah scroll. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

There are two laws in this week’s Torah portion that specifically promise that if one carries them out, the person will have a long life.

The first comes in Deuteronomy Chapter 22, verse 6. It says that:

If you come across a bird’s nest on the road whether in a tree or the ground and there are fledglings or eggs and the mother bird is sitting on the nest, do not take the mother together with her young. Let the mother go, and take only the young, so that you may fare well and have a long life.

One may wonder why the Torah considers this so important that it adds this specific reward of a long life. The rabbis disagree as to whether this is a law that intends to show that one has to be sensitive and not cruel to animals, or whether it’s designed to teach us that if we are commanded to be sensitive to birds, how much more so should we be sensitive towards all human beings?

Later, in Chapter 25, verse 13 it says:

You shall not have in your pouch alternate weights, larger and smaller. You must have completely honest weights and completely honest measures if you are to endure long on the soil that your God gives you. For everyone who does those things, everyone who deals dishonestly is abhorrent to your God.

The most famous example of promising long life comes in the Ten Commandments, both in Exodus Chapter 20, verse 12, and in Deuteronomy Chapter 5, verse 16.: “Respect (or Honor) your parents so that you will have a long life on this earth which the Lord God gives you.”

What exactly does “long life” mean? We see that good people are often not rewarded, and bad people do rather well. If you behave dangerously or carelessly, accidents are bound to happen no matter how good a person you are. This is one of the fundamental theological debates within Judaism.

There is an alternative explanation. Long life can mean long life for us as a people or for humanity, in contrast to individuals. These are three fundamentals that ensure that humanity thrives on our planet. First comes the family unit, and the relationship between parents and children. Second, comes the balance of nature between all species and the natural world. We see today what happens when we neglect these areas. The third is commerce and business ethics, which are essential for us to trade and help each other.

A long life has many possible meanings, but being a considerate, caring human being tops the lot.

The author is a writer and rabbi, currently based in New York.