Fake Zealotry

One story in the Torah that I could certainly live without is the the one that concluded last week’s Torah reading, and begins this week’s reading.

And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the tent of meeting.

And when Pinchas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand

And he went after the man of Israel into the chamber, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.

And those that died by the plague were twenty and four thousand.

And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: ‘Pinchas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned My wrath away from the children of Israel, in that he was very jealous for My sake among them, so that I consumed not the children of Israel in My jealousy. (Numbers Chapter 25)

It is not a pleasant story…Pinchas the grandson of the peace-loving Aharon – takes the law into his his own hands and acts with great zealousness.  He takes the lives of the two public sinners, which apparently brings an end to a plague that had brought about the deaths of some 24,000 Israelites.  Pinchas’ act of violence is praised, he is extended God’s special covenant of peace for his actions.

I say that I could live without this story, because I believe it is sorely misunderstood, over and over, generation after generation, by Jews and Gentiles alike.

Each and every generation reads this story and tries anew to understand the message.  Unfortunately, in the State of Israel today, this is not only about wrestling with an age-old textual difficulty, we are living with a whole community of Pinchas wanna-be’s who are taking to the streets in communities all over Israel – particularly of late in Jerusalem – to demonstrate on behalf of the holiness of the Shabbat.

For the past few weeks it has been the controversy over the opening of a parking lot on Shabbat near the old city for the purpose of offering tourists (mainly Gentile)a place to park when they come to tour Jerusalem on Shabbat.  As I write these words, the haredi community is preparing to once again protest en masse in violent public demonstrations that lead to the arrest of a number of the protesters, the injury of protesters and security forces as well.

The Talmud makes it clear that  zealotry of the type displayed by Pinchas is not to be countenanced.

The Elders of Israel sought to excommunicate Pinchas until the Holy Spirit hurried and said: “It shall be for him and his descendants after him a covenant of priesthood for all time, because he took zealous action for his God, thus making expatiation for the Israelites. (Talmud Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 9:7)

In other words, the rabbis came out condemning Pinchas for his actions.  (Whether this actually happened or not, the terminology used by the rabbis of the Talmud here demonstrates their strong aversion to zealous acts) Such a deed must be animated by a genuine, unadulterated spirit of zeal to advance the glory of God.

In such a case, who can tell whether the ”zealot” is not really motivated by some selfish motive, maintaining that he is doing it for the sake of God, when he is actually acting for some other reason?  That was why the Elders wished to excommunicate Pinchas, had not God testified that his zeal for God was genuine.

What really motivates the zealots of Jerusalem?  Why is it that if they are not screaming “Nazi” at Israeli policemen, you might find them burning trash in the middle of their own neighborhood streets?

In 2002, Menachem Freidman of Bar Ilan University wrote in an essay entitled Violence in Haredi Society that ” violence  in haredi society results from the fact that it is internally divided and lacks a powerful and accepted leadership with the authority to make binding decisions on the fateful questions confronting it. These conditions afford various zealots the latitude needed both to use violence and to obtain the required protection and support among the various autonomous and competing Torah authorities. In this respect, rather than being directed outwardly at the secular population and its “religious” supporters, haredi violence and zealotry are directed inward, against those political leaders—and even great Torah authorities—who commit the cardinal sin of seeking a modus vivendi with the surrounding Jewish secular society.”

Perhaps this explains why in a survey conducted this past week, haredim themselves DO NOT think that these protests are liable to minimize desecration of Shabbat by the secular world, and on the contrary, just lead to more Shabbat desecration.

What we are seeing on the streets of Jerusalem then is just another form of fake zealotry where people claim they are doing one thing, while in reality, they are doing something else.

And for this reason, in my opinion, Israeli society needs to take steps to “excommunicate” such protesters – to ostracize them and the shallow leaders who send them out to disgrace the city of Jerusalem, the Jewish people, and the God of Israel.  There is no room for further respect of their superficial religiosity.  It must be condemned from the highest places in the religious world – (it is interesting that although the former chief rabbi of Israel – Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau – condemned the activity- the current chief rabbis did not)

These fake zealots have created for themselves a “righteous” platform from which they spout their resentment of something that we Israelis hold dear – the existence of the modern State of Israel that strives to find answers to the many complex issues associated with the maintenance of a modern state.

Blemished Faith

This morning I found myself reading with jaw dropped about Connie Culp, a very brave woman from  Ohio.  Five years ago she was shot in the face at point-blank range and seriously disfigured.  This past December, she was the recipient of a new face, from a deceased donor, the first such transplant in US history.

On Tuesday she held a press conference and revealed her new face publicly for the first time. Wishing to move the focus of attention off of herself, the 46-year old Culp emphasized that she wants to help foster acceptance of those who have suffered burns and other disfiguring injuries. “When somebody has a disfigurement and don’t look as pretty as you do, don’t judge them, because you never know what happened to them,” she said.

And then I thought about this week’s Torah reading, Parashat Emor…

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the bread of his God. For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a defect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles. No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the LORD’s food offerings; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy things, but he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.” (Lev 21:16-23)

I read God’s words, I read Connie’s words….I am humbled.

Connie Culp knows well the anguish, the feelings of being ostracized for so long because of a blemish, a mutilation that she bears through  no fault of her own.  How could it be that our Torah would pour so much salt on the open wounds of those who must not only suffer the glances and rejection from their fellow human beings, but must also be cast away by God, banished from serving alongside grandfathers, fathers and brothers…even sons….because of a physical disability or condition over which they have absolutely no control?

A life sentenced to standing outside the Temple, being reminded day in and day out that they are blemished, unfit to serve.

I will share with you an insight of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch which goes a long way in offering significance to this prohibition, although it does not necessarily address the personal anguish that the law would no doubt cause the blemished Kohen. I am not sure that can ever be adequately addressed.

Basically, according to Hirsch, the Temple was the center of Jewish life.  Through service in the Temple, the kohanim were charged with presenting to the world-at-large Judaism’s central teachings. The services in the Temple were to symbolically convey the fundamental goals of our faith, the purpose of our religion.

Jewish faith in God was never meant to amount to the sum-total of what you expect to see outside, under a tent at a religious revival healing service. You know, the kind of spirited gathering where a cripple or deaf person comes forward and the minister heals him through the spirit of holiness.

Judaism was not founded as a quick-fix faith, or a faith for the tired and the weary.

Writes Hirsch about those soothsayers and cult leaders:

They and their sanctuaries speculate on the pain and  grief of the “believers.” It is not the vivacious and happy ones who go to their halls.  It is the blind, the lame, the sick and the weak who wend their way to their altars.  Not as the ruler of fresh pulsating active life, and the joy of life, but the consoler for what they had to endure and suffer and do without, is what religion is to them.

Not so is God and His Temple which Israel is to bear through history as the God of the whole humanity. The Sanctuary of  His Torah demands the full complete life with nothing left out, nothing missing, and promises in exchange a rich full life in which even death and pain lose their sting. (on Lev 1:3)

It is not the afflicted and the infirm, not the blind and the lame, the disfigured and the crippled, the broken and the sick, for whom the Jewish Altar is erected, so that weary, burdened humanity can drag itself up to it to to find compassionate consolation or even miraculous healing.  It is life in its completeness, in its freshness and strength, which there is to gain consecration to an active life of God-serving deeds, and thereby acquire the everlasting freshness of youth and unbroken forces of life.  Life and strength, not death and weakness, lives at the Altars of God….That is why it must be perfect, complete men – not blemished ones – who have to perform the offerings in this Sanctuary of Torah. (Lev 21:17)

Of course Judaism provides shelter and support to the weak and the needy, to the hurt and the anguished; however, that was not the purpose for which Judaism was introduced to the world.

In 1843, a Jewish Karl Marx wrote: Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. –

Some 30 years later, Hirsch would set the record straight – what Marx had described was not the mission of Judaism.

In the Temple, the center from which this message was to emanate outward to the world, the symbolism of every rite, every service or sacrifice, was considered to be of great significance.  Those who were leading the sacred rituals must not appear to be drawn to their service by personal needs for healing or sympathy.  They needed to publicly convey the fundamental principle of the Jewish faith – that Jews are meant to takes their good, complete, stable lives, and dedicate those lives to God’s service.

So too today, ideally we are to come forward before God without demands, without yearnings for personal salvation.  We are to approach God carrying with us  all that is good in our personal and national lives , with a desire to make it even better  in service of God and all of God’s creations

Morey

www.rabbimorey.com

How could he do that?

As Jews worldwide ushered in Yom haShoah ve’haGevurah – the day that marks the destruction as well as the bravery of those 6,000,0000 Jews murdered by the Nazi killing machine – the Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu asked the question on the lips of level-headed people worldwide:

How could President Merz of Switzerland, host of the Geneva Racism Fiasco,  give such a warm welcome to Holocaust- denier and Israel-hater Ahmadinejad – enemy number one of the western World?

Mr. Prime Minister, I am no detective, nor am I any sort of historian, but let me paint the picture for you as I see it.

History Repeats Itself?

For Switzerland, it is just a bad habit.

The Harper Collins book “Nazi Gold” by Tom Bower, subtitled, “The Full Story of the Fifty-Year Swiss-Nazi Conspiracy to Steal Billions from Europe’s Jews and Holocaust Survivors” is a powerful indictment. When the War began, Germany had $100 million in gold, at the end of the War, Germany had sold about $900 million in gold.

The following excerpt from a review by Ann Louise Bardach, a contributing editor to Vanity Fair, speaks for itself:

The greatest slaughter in history has, until quite recently, tended to obscure the other horror perpetuated by the Nazis – namely, the greatest robbery in history.

The first order of business for the invading Nazi army as it trampled through Europe was a raid on the national treasury and the hauling of millions of dollars in gold and cash back to the Reichsbank in Berlin. Next were art seizures from museums, galleries and the private collections of Jews. In time, all the valuables and property of Jews would be confiscated, and eventually they, too, would be taken away. Even after their deaths, the thieving would continue. Wedding rings snatched from the corpses, gold wrested from their teeth; in fact, an estimated 72 pounds of dental gold was extracted each day from victims at Auschwitz. Billions of dollars of the looted gold and cash and an estimated $2.5 billion in stolen art were sent to Switzerland, where the Reich’s Swiss bankers attended to its purchase, care and investment. Nazi Germany was, after all, the most important client in the history of Swiss banking.

Before World War II, Switzerland had been a poor country. Thanks to the Third Reich, Switzerland emerged from the war as the second-richest country in the world. In news stories over the last two years, the world has learned that the Swiss were hardly the beset-upon neutrals that they have claimed to be but instead were full partners with the Nazis. Moreover, as Tom Bower’s masterly chronicle, “Nazi Gold,” makes clear, the Nazis could never have prevailed as long as they did without the Swiss. Indeed, as Bower makes clear, the war would most likely have ended a full year earlier had it not been for the financial intervention of Swiss bankers. [derived from the Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review, 6 July, 1997.]

Hans-Rudolf Merz (born 10 November 1942) is a Swiss politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD) and member of the Swiss Federal Council (since 2004). He is the head of the Federal Department of Finance (the Swiss finance minister) and President of the Swiss Confederation for 2009.

The Federal Banking Commission, an independent agency of the Swiss government within the Federal Department of Finance, supervises most banking-related activities as well as securities markets and investment funds.

What this means is that the current President of the Swiss Confederation is also the President of the Federal Department of Finance, directly involved with Swiss banking today.

Now that the background info is on the table, get a load of this….

May 13, 2008: 9:48 AM EDT

Victims of Hamas and Hezbollah Sue Swiss Bank for

Helping Fund Terrorists

NEW YORK (AP) — American victims of terrorist attacks in Israel have filed a lawsuit seeking more than $500 million from UBS AG, saying the Swiss bank made it possible for Iran to fund the terrorists.

The lawsuit says the Zurich-based bank provided dollars to Iran in violation of trade sanctions and Iran funneled the money to terrorist groups.

“UBS knew full well that the cash dollars it was providing to a state sponsor of terrorism such as Iran would be used to cause and facilitate terrorist attacks by Iranian-sponsored terrorist organizations,” the plaintiffs say.

Their lawyer, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, said in a phone interview from Tel Aviv that the bank is liable “as much as Iran or the terrorists” for the damage caused.   [Nitzana Darshana-Leitner is a neighbor of mine.]

Mr. Prime Minister, I humbly submit that if you look closely at the smiles  of Merz and Ahmadinejad, you can see the word “money” written all over their faces.

If you ask me, though the Swiss claim to be gliding along throughout history in “neutral,” that is just an alibi – behind the scenes they have their foot pressed down firmly of the  “gas” pedal (read: peddler) of the world.

Thinking outside the box of matza

Anticipation of the seder night is in the air!

Guests will soon arrive, the house will fill with the smells of the horseradish and the charoset…the table will be set, and the ancient ceremony will begin.

What will be the most memorable moment at this year’s seder?  Many of us will prepare ideas for discussion, props to keep the kids into it,  and even new tunes that we want to try out. We will enjoy the annual traditions, be reminded of seders of Passovers that have passed, and before we know it…the whole experience will be behind us…again.

For me, this year, I am looking for the seder night to inspire me about the year to come.  I want to dwell less on what happened before, and focus more on what is yet to be…and how I can be a part of bringing that about in the coming year.

As we begin the main section of the Magid – the telling of the story of Pesach utilizing the words recited by the bringer of  first fruits in the Temple in Jerusalem (Deut. 26:5-8….we add verse 9 as well to our seder), the voice of the haggadah commands us:     צֵא וּלְמַד מַה בִּקֵּשׁ לָבָן הָאֲרַמִּי לַעֲשֹוֹת לְיַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ.

“Go out and learn what it was that Lavan the Aramean wanted to do to our father, Yaakov!Pharaoh only wanted to kill the males, Lavan wanted to uproot everything.”

I really like those words: Go out and learn. What do they mean to you?

Here is what they say to me.

Learning that stays within a certain limited framework, that doesn’t demand of us to go out of our personal comfort zones and thresholds of our lives IS NOT LEARNING.

Think about it – how much can I learn if I only read and listen to the information that tells me exactly what it is I want to hear?

Let’s go back to Yaakov…he went back to Aram to find a wife. He worked for many years in order to earn the right to marry both Leah and then Rachel (albeit not the original plan).  And yet, although he worked hard, his life was to a great extent put on hold.  He wasn’t living in Canaan, establishing there a stable, permanent home.  According to Ibn Ezra, this is what the proof text means: “My father was a destitute Aramean.” That is to say, because of his years in Aram by Lavan, he never was able to stabilize his life – and this led to the ultimate need to take his family to Egypt…further destabilizing them…which then led to slavery and near destruction, if it weren’t for the mercy of God.

So what does all of this have to do with Lavan?  It is because of what Lavan did to Yaakov – holding him back for all of those years – that the Jewish people nearly came to an end….now let’s consider – was that really Lavan’s goal?  Probably not.  He was looking out for his own needs, his own desire to hold onto to his daughters, or at least to get some good years of work out of the deal.

And that is the rub…although his intentions were purely selfish, the impact of those decisions nearly destroyed an entire nation.

Thinking outside of the box of matza demands that each of us consider the long-term impact of what it is we are doing now – the decisions that we are making for ourselves and our families.  It might mean thinking thoughts that are not comfortable – considering life-changing moves that will take us way out of our comfort zone – but doing so in the name of tze ulemad – going out from under the covers in order to rethink and reconsider some things that we have perhaps grown way to accustomed to and that are stunting our growth.

I will eat the matza, eat the maror, drink the wine….but not only to remember what what was. As I do, I will attempt to consider what  is still just matza in my life – common, predictable, comfortable -  what is still bitter around me, and what could be even sweeter in the year to come.

Chag Sameah!

Seek out the Miracles

When it comes to Purim, one who reads through the story as recorded in the Book of Esther should begin to wonder, “exactly where is the miracle?”

The story is dramatic and entertaining.  It has its good guys and its bad guys, its starring roles and supporting actors.  There is suspense, there is irony and and even some humor.

But, in theory, there is no apparent “miracle.”

On the surface, Haman (read: serious Jew-hater) uses his power and position to have the Jews destroyed.  Esther(read: brave Jewess) risks her life in the Persian court to save her people. Haman makes some serious tactical errors, angers the king (read: persuadable super-power), and is killed.

But the story is not over with the death of enemy number-one; the nation fasts, the nation prays, the nation goes to war….and they are victorious in battle.  A lot of Jew-haters in Shushan and all around are killed – we are not told how many Jews lost their lives in these battles…

And so, where was the miracle?

In a recently published book (in Hebrew) called Chayei Shana, Rabbi Adin Steinsalz points out the missing-miracle in the Megillah.  In earlier times, God intervened in supernatural ways, performing what one might call second-order miracles.  For instance, parting the sea, delivering manna to the people during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness of Sinai, the heavenly fires that consumed the worshipers of Baal in the time of Elijah,etc.  However, he points out that none of these miracles turned the nation into followers of Torah, into the faithful nation that our destiny demanded of us.

However, ironic as this might seem, as time moved on and God began interacting with us only in terms of first-order miracles- that is, miracles that unfold in the natural course of things – we became a more faithful, loyal nation. As Rabbi Steinsalz writes:

The implementation of miracles of the natural order did not cease after the time of Mordechai and Esther, nor in the time of Mattityahu and his sons, but has continued throughout the generations. In our days, essentially God says to us: “I no longer want to present you with miracles that every simpleton and child can look at and exclaim- ‘Look! It’s a Miracle!’ – From now on you will experience miracles that you need to think hard about, and to study them.”

It became apparent that these type of miracles demand greater participation on our part. Simply said, the “קיימו וקבלו” (the observance and acceptance of the Purim celebration) of the Jews in the days of Mordechai is still with us til this day, while the influence of the ” השם הוא האלוקים” (of the times of Elijah), was only temporary.

The miracle of Purim is found by making a close reading of the story,  and then, taking a leap of faith. The miracle is there only because we read it into the story.

In our daily prayers, we thank God for “miracles that are with us every day.”  There too we refer to the miracles of a first-order type, the kind that are with us at all times, that we take for granted, until they are, God forbid,  taken away from us, until something unexpected happens, and then we find ourselves praying for the return of the normal everyday things.

So, where is the miracle in the Purim story?  What makes it a miracle?

Not only are our lives governed by natural laws set in place by God that govern our physical existence, such as the laws of gravity, the laws of the harvest, or the biological laws that govern conception of human life, one might suggest that we are also subject to the social-political laws of human nature, these too set in motion by God from the time of our creation.

These social-political laws, corrective measures built into the very fabric of human existence, are no less divine in their nature, and those who suffer the consequences of these laws or ultimately reap the benefits of these laws have also experienced the consequences of divine providence.  When corrupt tyrants are toppled, when evil dynasties crumble, it may be the doings of human beings, but their actions are part of the order of nature – the way that God set up the world that all of us inhabit.  It is no mere coincidence that “evil doesn’t pay,” or that “you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”

The miraculous benevolent world, created and set in motion by God, continues to demand patterns of goodness and grace;the miraculous nature of the world that God created will settle for no less.  God’s ongoing presence in our lives guarantees that ultimately all must move in the direction of good.

The miracle of Purim is there because we choose to open our eyes and hearts to the miraculous nature of our lives. The establishment of the State of Israel as well as the reunification of Jerusalem are miraculous in the exact same way as Purim; because we choose to study the facts and draw our own conclusions….this is what makes the celebration of Purim so important to us – it reminds us that the miracles of Jewish history are in the eyes of the beholder – it is up to us all to seek them out, declare them as miracles, and celebrate them with great joy in each and every generation.

Tthe rabbis teach (Midrash Mishlei 9:2)that in the time of the Messiah, all holidays will be annulled except for Purim; if you ask me, the Midrash is teaching that we will only realize that the Messianic era has come if we are willing to read into the circumstances as we did back in Shushan. When we are ready to do that, then the supernatural events of the past will no longer stoke the fires of our faith; we will be transported into a new era where our eyes will be open to what is happening around us and we will readily recognize the hand of God in every turn of events – Mordechai’s clarity of vision will be with us not only at this time, as we celebrate Purim, but each and every day of our lives.

We will need to cross the sea again

On Tuesday,  a Grad-model Katyusha rocket smashed into the center of Ashkelon.  Israel responded by warning those living in the area of the Philadelphi Corridor that the air force was going to perform the nearly daily post-cease-fire ritual of bombing a few tunnels there.

We warned them to leave.

We gave them a few hours.

They got out of the way.

We bombed the tunnels and warned Hamas that they shouldn’t start up with us…”or else…”

(And let us say, Amen.)

This has been a daily ritual here for six or seven days now. It seems like nothing has changed in Southern Israel.  Our hopes that Operation Cast Lead had brought normalcy back to the lives of thousands of Israelis was short-lived.  Much was accomplished…but clearly, not enough.

I am not a political or military leader – so far be it from me to say that I know what we should have done or could have done – but I do believe that the tales in our Torah are much more than tales – they are blueprints of timeless truths that are pointless to question….

For that reason, it seems to me that what we need to do is to cross the sea again….Let me explain what I mean.

Pharaoh, ruler of Egypt, watched as he and his countrymen suffered ten formidable plagues.  Plagues that caused millions of dollars in economic damage, agricultural chaos, disease, suffering and death…as the first born of Egypt, including Pharaoh’s own firstborn, were taking their last breaths, Egyptian society said enough is enough….

Pharaoh stayed up all night, along with his officials and all the rest of Egypt.  There was a great outcry, since there was no house where there were no dead.  Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron during the night.

“Get moving!” he said. “Get out from among my people – you and the Israelites! Go ! Worship God just as you demanded!”Take your sheep and cattle, just as you said! Go! Bless me too!”

The Egyptians were also urging the people to leave the land.  “We are all dead men!” they were saying.            (Ex. 12:30-31)

And so, that seems to have marked the attainment of the objectives of the original “Operation Moses.”  The Egyptians had suffered the powerful force of the God of Israel.  CNN was broadcasting pictures of the suffering and destruction that Moses and Aaron had wreaked upon Egyptian society.  One might even have felt sorry for the innocent Egyptians who were caught up in the stubbornness of Pharaoh, his delusions of grandeur and irrational resistance in the face of a power much mightier than his own. Innocent Egyptian children – firstborns nationwide – struck down by the mad god of the Israelites, in order to achieve the goals of the operation.

But that was not to be the final curtain for Egypt.

The Israelites hurried out of Egypt….they ran from their persecutors, anxious to be free of their oppressors.  So fast, that the Torah makes a point of stating:

The Israelites baked the dough they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened (matzah) cakes, since it had not risen.  They had been driven out of Egypt and could not delay, and they had not prepared any other provisions. (Ex. 12:39)

“Driven out of Egypt”? That is a very strange way of describing the outcome of the redemption brought about through  “God’s strong hand and outstretched arm.”

I suggest that here the Torah is not telling us what actually happened…but rather, the way the Egyptians were led to understand it…despite the facts  on the ground…Pharaoh spun the story differently…the newspapers in Egypt the very next day carried the following headline:

ISRAELITE MURDERERS AND CHILD-KILLERS DRIVEN OUT OF EGYPT BY THE POWERFUL PHARAOH, PRAISED BE HE.

While the Israelites were busy celebrating their grand victory 0ver Pharaoh, God saw clearly that the story wasn’t over – He saw that Egypt still venerated Pharaoh, that despite the destruction all around it was Egypt that had declared victory over their adversaries.

Pharaoh had turned the story on its head, and thus, the opening words of this week’s parasha,

Vayehi beshalch Paroh, “And it was when Pharaoh had sent the people out…” (Ex. 13:17). Wait a minute, was it Pharaoh that sent the people out of Egypt?  Why does the Torah here give him credit for the exodus?

It has been an age-old question as to how to understand this expression.

I suggest that this phrase is ultimately the key to understanding the necessity of crossing the sea:  in order to bring an end to Pharaoh and his despotic dynasty – in order to drown Pharaoh and his soldiers, and along with them, all delusions that Pharaoh was  a god, or that the ‘gods of Egypt’ were on his side.

As long as Egyptian society would remain under the impression that Pharaoh was still in control -  the Israelites would never find peace. Pharaoh and his armies would eventually come after them…or after another nation for that matter. The powerful plagues were not enough to destroy the spirit of Egypt. The propaganda machine was still in place. The regime of Pharaoh had to be brought down if the Israelites were going to realize their freedom and carry on with their calling. The Egyptian people would need to be freed of their illusion, freed of the falsehooods and the brainwashing. (Speaking of brainwashing…have you seen this? )

I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and he will come after them.  I will triumph over Pharaoh and his entire army, and Egypt will know that I am God. (Ex. 14:4)

This was not about revenge.  Unfortunately, there was….and there is…no other option. We will have to cross the sea again.

We must show bravery in the face of this evil. We have no choice but to bring about the end of a regime that would kill infants on the birth stool, that would drown babies in the water. In the war on terror, there are no short cuts. It may not be tomorrow…but there is ultimately no alternative in the war on terror.

“At the end of the day there will be no alternative but to bring down the regime of Hamas, a terrorist organization pledged to our destruction.”  Binyamin Netanyahu, January 13, 2009.

May God give us the wisdom to know what to do, and the confidence to finally do it.

www.rabbimorey.com

My son came home

I wanted to write something here on my blog, to thank all those who prayed for my son and the thousands of other Israeli soldiers who so proudly and bravely defended the right of the Jewish People to live here in Israel during Operation “Cast Lead.”

My son, a tank driver, was camped out close to the Gaza border for nearly two weeks, ready to enter into the battle at a moment’s notice.  In the end, he and his division were not called into the war.  He came home for Shabbat this past week, looking thinner and dirtier than ever.

We thank all of you around the world who prayed for him and the others.  I came across the following words of an Israeli mother, expressing her thoughts as her son came home…as they brought tears to my eyes, I realized I could not say it any better….I share her thoughts – our thoughts – here in my blog.

My son came home

My son came home from Gaza just a few minutes ago. He came home as we had sent him off, only more tired, worn and dirty. Thank you Hashem for bringing him home. To his wife, his brothers and sisters and his loving brood of nieces and nephews.

All of us have been waiting patiently these past three weeks to hold him in our arms. Barely able to wait to embrace him, I ran across the highway where his ride had dropped him off. I grabbed him in the middle of the road and cars driving into my yishuv had to veer around this sight of me standing on tiptoes reaching for my tall, handsome son’s face. The drivers waved at us. A few rolled down heir windows to say “todah — thank you” to my son.

I whispered Todah again to Hashem.

I helped him toss his heavy bags into the trunk of the car. The heaviest among them being the one weighted down with foodstuffs that Israel’s citizens sent to our soldiers. Tens of thousands of kilograms of food poured into the bases in the south. Cartons upon cartons of instant soups, nuts, pretzels, cookies and nosh of every kind. All sent by individuals, families, schools and businesses from throughout the country. We could barely lift his ‘booty’ and we both shared a laugh as we flung it onto the back seat.

The words that had been in my heart for so long melted on my tongue. My eyes drank him in, tall, bearded now and his face and soul, a bit darker than before he left us that Sunday morning.

He reached his hand to his head and apologized for the fact that he was bareheaded. In the midst of everything his kippa had fallen off. “No matter — easy enough to replace,” I said as his hand slipped into mine.

I reached up to grab his neck and felt his lips touch my cheek, and I knew that his presence, like this, was all that I had prayed for each day since he packed his bags and left before the sun even rose that cold morning.

I pulled in front of his apartment, a few kilometers from my home, and as we descended the steps I heard him speak gently and lovingly with his wife at work, telling her how anxious he was to see her. He turned on the boiler and laughingly told me “I’m not getting out of this shower for the next hour.” The bags fell to the floor and he leaned against the kitchen counter to untie his boots swiftly flinging them aside and letting his bare feet rest on the tile floor.

He was exhausted and I hesitated to start with the barrage of questions that had been streaming through my head every day, every hour for these past few weeks. He smiled as he opened the bag of goodies and told me about the elementary school children from Mevasseret Zion who had attached notes with their gifts. He spoke with three of them to thank them personally. One child wrote a three page letter and the soldiers in my son’s unit were grateful to learn more of this 8-year old’s daily life, his favorite subjects and his fondness for playstation. When they called to speak with him, he was overwhelmed and kept calling them “gibborim” heroes.

“Ima” he said, “I’m tired now, but I have to tell you how extraordinary this nation is. The children who wrote to us, the people who sent their good wishes with their packages of food, the businesses that sent truckloads of goods. The soldiers I served with, each one caring deeply about the other one. Zahal who made sure that we were well trained and well equipped for our mission.

But mostly. Mostly. This was a war that was guided by the Hand of G’d.

Everyday we felt His presence — whether deciding to enter a building by smashing down the back wall rather than entering through the front door, only to discover that the front door had been booby trapped, or searching rooms in a house and uncovering a tunnel under a bed we had lifted where tens of Hamas terrorists were hiding in the hopes of kidnapping one of us, or dozens more stories.”

I looked at this child’s face and saw the extraordinary young man he had become. Filled with faith. Feeling a passion for those values that have held this nation together for thousands of years. And, his very presence. His very modesty. His deep felt pride at being part of this nation. All of this wrapped around my heart and left me humbled. Humbled and grateful.

“And I will lift up my eyes unto the mountains, from where my strength will come.”

From: Ilene Bloch-Levy, Shaarei Tikvah. e-mail: ilenelevy@netvision.net.il

Spirit of Change verses kotzer ruach

As I write this Tuesday installment, it is only two hours since President Barak Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States.  I listened to it live here in Israel on my MP3 player while riding the bus home from Jerusalem.  I was moved.  I was proud….and  even the Israeli radio announcers who were busy simultaneously translating every word of Obama’s inauguration speech  – they too were quite impressed.

He said nothing new, nothing unexpected – but he spoke with great confidence and painted a vision for a brighter tomorrow.

As you know, Israel’s gift to the new president was the pull-out of every last Israeli soldier from the Gaza Strip.

Mazal tov, Mr. President.

And while there is a feeling of a great sense of accomplishment here after our short 3-week war with Hamas, there is also a  lot of confusion, a lot of dismay.  Why is that they can still fire rockets?  Why is it that Gilad Shalit has not been returned?

Why is it that the world cannot understand our desire to live normal rocket-free, suicide-bomber free lives?

Why is is that no matter what serious steps we take to defend our people and our country, it is always the same: the world will always invent new ways to find fault.

Frankly, even  amidst the joy of reuniting with our beloved sons, fathers, husbands who are returning from the front-lines,  we are not celebrating like the millions of Americans this day in Washington, D.C.

Maybe the best way to describe our feelings would be with words right out of the parasha – we are suffering from a clinical case of  kotzer ruach - of deep disappointment.

Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni commented today during a speech she was giving in Rishon LeTzion, “I’m jealous of what is happening in the US… I wish Obama well; the leader of the free world. Israel is part of the free world and his success is our success.  I hope that on February 11 [day after Israeli national elections]there will be the same spirit of change here. I want people here to also feel the day after the election that they have power and hope.”

Listen, Ms. Livni, it is one think to “want” that, and a whole other thing to make it happen.  For there to be exhilaration and hope in the wake of the upcoming elections,  the candidates will need to realize that it is not magic – it is the result of clear communication and a well thought out vision.

<!–[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 <![endif]–>

As an example, what happened at the beginning of Parashat Vayeira when Moshe delivered  God’s words of encouragement to the Israelites?

Say unto the children of Israel saying: I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments; and I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, which I vowed to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you as an inheritance: I am the LORD. (Exodus 6:6-8)

These were some very inspiring words – or so one would think.  The Torah tells us that Moshe conveyed them directly to the people, but they would not listen. The Torah reports to us that it was because of their disappointment (kotzer ruach) and hard work.

Kil Yakar (Rabbi Shlomo Efraim of Lunchitz, 1550-1619) explained this passage in an intriguing fashion.  He suggests that Moshe actually misunderstood their reaction.  Their lack of enthusiasm led Moshe to believe that they did not want to leave, that they lacked the spirit, lacked the initiative to play their role in fulfilling the terms of the 400 year old covenant.  In fact, that was not the case.  They wanted to believe, but the fact that there was no mention in Moshe’s words as to how God was going to deal with Pharaoh, they assumed that they were going to have to force their way out of Egypt by themselves, and the hard labor and earlier disappointments had got them down. We know that – the Torah tells us that this was the reason – but Moshe had misunderstood. And it is for this reason that he questions God when He tells him to go speak with Pharaoh, saying, “The Israelites did not listen to me, why should Pharaoh?”  That is, if Pharaoh sees their lack of enthusiasm and desire to leave, why should he consider sending them out?

Moshe misunderstood. They wanted to believe, but could not trust that the leader who stood before them had a cogent plan to get them out of this mess. In the midst of their kotzer ruach they could not have confidence in the empty promise.

Unfortunately, it is kind of like that here in Israel.

Out of the three realistic candidates for Prime Minister, two have already led the country, without great success, and the third is “hoping” that on the day after the elections here in Israel, there will be great enthusiasm….

….at this rate, the only enthusiasm I can imagine will be the  great relief in knowing that the endless campaigning will be behind us!

Here’s to better times and new, inspiring visions….

Morey

www.rabbimorey.com

<!–[if !supportEmptyParas]–> <!–[endif]–>

Pray for our soldiers, and add another stanza to Maoz Tzur

Chanukah Sameach.

With the onset of the attack on the Gaza Strip, I thought I would share with everyone a new stanza that I wrote this year for Maoz Tzur.

It had been bothering me that we left the Miracle of Chanukah back more than 2000 years ago, without recognizing the great blessing of the State of Israel – the modern fulfillment of Al haNissim.

God has blessed this generation with the military might to defend the lives of our people….my son, Naftali,  a tank driver in the IDF,  is awaiting orders.  I am proud of him and ask that your prayers be with him and the thousands of Israeli soldiers who are being called upon to defend our nation, to defend our homeland, to defend Jews everywhere, as an extension of the miracle of Chanukah in our days, at this season.

PLEASE pass on these lyrics, and make them a part of your candle lighting on the final night of Chanukah, in recognition of the great miracle of the State of Israel, and the privilege we have been given to defend its right to exist.

אַלְפַּיִם שָׁנָה שֶׁל זִכְרוֹנוֹת

מֵעוֹלָם לֹא אָבְדָה תִּקְוָתֵנוּ

דּוֹר אַחַר דּוֹר, מֵאֲרָצוֹת שׁוֹנוֹת

לְצִיּוֹן נָשָׂאנוּ עֵינֵינוּ.

חָזַרְנוּ אֶל מוֹלַדְתֵּנוּ, קִבַּצְנוּ גָּלוּיוֹתֵינוּ –

מְדִינָה וְאוּמָה נַגְשִׁים חֲלוֹמֵנוּ

Two thousand years of memories,

Never did we lose our hope in the future-

Generation after generation, from many a nation,

To Zion did we lift up our eyes.

We have returned to our homeland,

We have gathered in our dispersed exiles,

Country and nation, we will fulfill our dream.

Alpayim shana shel zichronot

Me-olam lo avda tikvateinu

Dor achar dor, me-artzot shonot

Le-Tzion nasanu eyneynu

Chazrnu el moladeteinu, kibatznu galiyoteynu –

Medina ve-uma, nagshim chalomeynu.

Hebron: When so much love makes one hate…

It has been bothering me all day….how is it that one can love so much that he hates?

This Shabbat we will read about Yaakov’s passionate love for Rachel.  After working for seven years to gain her hand in marriage, he is duped into marrying her sister, Leah instead – apparently an issue of family custom and respect, according to her father, Lavan – who, nonetheless, fulfills his promise to Yaakov as soon as sheva berachot for he and Leah have come to a close(a week later). Of course, he does need to pay with a commitment to another seven years of work, but, the truth is, he is not really in a hurry to get back to Canaan at his point, still fearful of his revenge-seeking brother, Eisav.

Here is what I am thinking….too much love can make you so blind that you do not even realize the messages of hatred that you are broadcasting to another…. In fact, the Netziv here points out that ostensibly Yaakov was going through the motions of being a loving spouse with Leah – so much so, that at first, she did not realize how much he hated her – only God saw it (By the birth of their second son, Shimon, she too realizes the situation.) However, the more he wanted to show Rachel his devotion and love for her, the more he indirectly gave off hate-vibes…. to the point where God took notice and stepped in to steer Yaakov away from the path he had inadvertently chosen.

In Hebron, as I write these words, there is a lot of love for Eretz Yisrael going around among the idealistic youth and families gathered there.  They love Eretz Yisrael, and Hebron in particular so much…it is truly inspiring to see the personal sacrifices they have been willing to make to hold onto the House of Peace – Beit Shalom.  And yet, as they throw stones at the soldiers who have come to fulfill their duty, and threaten an all out civil-war – I just can’t help but feel that perhaps they are allowing their unabated love for Eretz Yisrael to blind them to the hatred they are spewing at these soldiers and and their fellow Jews.

It is a delicate balance, and only God knows where this will lead….but here in the holy land we must strive to ensure that at all times we  keep things in perspective…love for country, without hatred for countrymen…

Morey

www.rabbimorey.com

Leave those Midrashim alone!

One of the many Torah leaflets that fill our synagogues here in Israel every Shabbat caught my eye this past week.

The article addressed the questions as to how old Abraham was when he first recognized the existence of God. There are a number of contradicting sources, here are two of them:

1. Said Rabbi Ami bar Abba, Abraham first recognized God when he was three years old…. (Babylonian Talmud Tractate Nedarim 32)

2. Rabbi Chananiah and Rabbi Yochanan both said Abraham was forty-eight years old when he recognized his creator…(Bereshit Rabbah 30:8)

Of course, the difference between these two positions is quite significant?  How are we to explain this serious discrepancy?  The Hagahot Maimoni (glosses to the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah by Rabbi Meir Hakohen , Germany, 13th century), suggests that there is no discrepancy, but rather Avraham’s religious development grew in stages: At the age of three he was already quite advanced and began his search from God.  By the time he had reached forty, he had made great advnaces in his understanding.

While Rabbi Meir HaKohen offers a wonderful way of resolving the contradiction between these two midrashic sources, I suggest that this approach is seriously flawed, and in fact, counterproductive.

Let me explain.

The study of midrash is not comparable to the study of history.  Some will suggest the information conveyed in  Midrash represents specially preserved insider information that was not recorded for one reason or another in the Torah text itself – a type of oral tradition that has accompanied the Torah since revelation on Mount Sinai. That being the case, it would seem that we have here two conflicting traditions of what happened, and so, Rabbi Meir HaKohen, like others of this ilk, search for a way of smoothing over the discrepancy (not to mention that the Rambam in the Laws of Idolatry 1:3 writes that Avraham was actually 40 – Rabbi Meir HaKohen offers a resolution to this as well!)

Franky, I choose to see it differently.

These two midrashic sources ARE in conflict. More importantly, neither Rabbi Ami bar Abba nor Rabbi Chananiah and Rabbi Yochanan were the least bit interested in transmitting to us some sort of orally preserved tradition passed down from Moses.  Rather, each of them wished to tell us something about Avraham.  Not something they knew for certain, but rather, the way they chose to comprehend his greatness.  Each approach actually teaches a different message.

According to Rabbi Ami, the greatness of Avraham was that he was a child genius.  He was an exceptional individual, a child prodigy. His unique intellect and insight is what launched him on his career as founder of monotheism and progenitor of the Jewish People.  Go d chose him in recognition of his superior mind and thoughtfulness.

Onthe other hand, Rabbis Chananiah and Yochanan offer a very different picture.  They offer us the role model of a man for nearly five decades lived as an idolater.  Only in his late 40’s did he come around to the realization that all he had believed in for so many years was a pack of lies – worship based on superstitions and service of gods created through the fears and nightmares of human beings who had come before him.  He reasoned that he had been mistaken, and he came to the realization, as an adult, that there had to be a transcendent God, with unlimited power and not constricted by space and time.  And so, it was based on this mature realization that came after having lived as an idolater that grabbed God’s attention and led Him to choose Abraham as the founding father of the Chosen People.

As long as we don’t try and make these two midrashic sources “fit together,” they stand to offer us two very different ways of understanding Avraham – or even better, of understanding the qualities of a great leader.  Some will argue that excellent leadership is an innate ability that when nurtured can raise a person and his or her followers to the highest of heights. On the other hand it might be the case that the best leaders rise up form the masses, they are people with first-hand mature understandings of what is out there, what people are thinking, what concerns them, what they are lacking.  According to this approach, an Abraham-type leader is a person who as a result of personal experience is able to empathize with the plight of others, and know what it is they are searching for in their lives.

Who is a better leader? There is no need to answer this question!  The excitement of the reading the midrashim in this way is to offer both models as possible options, and opening up channels for discussion and consideration.

Leave those Midrashim alone!  There is no need to make peace between them.  They ARE saying different things, and we are all richer for the diversity found in our tradition.

Have a great “day after Tuesday”,

Morey

http://www.rabbimorey.com

Why Abraham would NEVER have been elected president

It has been a long time since I have posted….a long time.  I have no good explanations – just excuses.

It is nice to be back, and a belated Shanah Tovah to one and all!

My fellow American citizens will read this either in the midst of or just following the U.S. presidential elections.  As I write this, the polls have only just opened and neither we have no idea as to who will be the next leader of the free-world.

All I know is that even a quick look at this week’s parasha – Parashat Lech Lecha – makes it very clear that if our forefather Abraham were running for office, he would never get elected!

Let’s begin with his age – after all, the first time we really meet him – on his way to Canaan on orders from his “commanding office” he is already 75 years old!  According to the polls, that is way too old…and if he were elected and then died in office, would his nephew Lot be next in line…sure, he has good yichus, but his mere association with Sodom and Amora makes him highly suspect…..

And what about his foreign policy position?  Well, when there is a famine in his own land, he abandons home and goes down to Egypt, where he puts his wife and himself in serious danger.  When a regional war breaks out between the four kings and the five kings, Abraham stays out of it, until his own nephew is captured.  He then takes a small army of several hundred to do battle with armies of thousands!  True, he pulls it off, but at what risk!

And one more seeming weakness – in the area of decsion making.  When Sara tells him to take Hagar ad have a child with her, he does so, wihtout discussion or hesitation.  When it backfires, and Sara insists that he choose between Hagar and herself, he avoids making the decsion and pushes it back to her – “Yor maid is in your hands – deal with her as you think right!”

With all of this “dirt” Avraham  would had never been elected…..I guess that is why it was good that he wasn’t being elected as father of our nation by we – his people- but rather by the Lord, whose insights into the makings of leadership are far more than skin-deep, far mre than based on specific circumstances – specific bills he voted on or specific decsions that appear on the surface to be somewhat “sketchy.”

Perhaps Abraham’s election to enter into the covenant with God (end of the parasha) was based not on his past track record alone, but based on what God “knew” Abraham was capable of doing in the future….Abraham was chosen to me more than a president – he was chosen to found a nation… fortunately God had inside information, and seems to have voted for the right guy.

Whoever wins the election….may God too choose that leader to bring about a better and safer world.

Morey

www.rabbimorey.com

Celebration Obligation

How many of us would dream of missing a Pesach seder?

How many of us would just skip lighting Chanukah candles?

We have grown to understand that celebrating the exodus from Egypt and the victory of the Maccabees are not just invitations to make a party – rather, they are national obligations, part and parcel of our Jewish identity.  In other words, these are a couple of examples of the rituals that Jews do, because they are a part of being Jewish.

Now you must realize,  these two celebrations are very different in terms of their origination.  While the celebration of Pesach comes to us from the Torah itself, the celebration of Chanukah was a rabbinic creation.  In fact, we know from a variety of sources that it did not catch on right away.  The Books of Maccabees, ancient books describing the events of Chanukah, seem to have been written to elaborate on the miracle of the Chanukah victory, and to convince Jews in Israel as well as those living in the Diaspora that this event was worthy of celebration.  For instance, the second Book of Maccabees was originally written in Greek about 40 years after the events it recalls, and was most likely designed to encourage Egyptian Jewry, particularly the large population in Alexandria, to adopt the observance of Chanukah. 

My feeling is that we are at just about that same stage as regards Yom Ha’Atzmaut.

The Talmud, regarding the establishment of the mitzvah of reading the Megillah on Purim (another rabbinic innovation), asks:

Our Rabbis taught: ‘Forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses prophesied to Israel, and they neither took away from nor added anything to what is written in the Torah, with the exception of commanding the reading of the Megillah’. How did they derive it [from the Torah]? — R. Hiyya b. Abin said in the name of R. Joshua b. Korha: If for being delivered from slavery to freedom we chant a hymn of praise, should we not do so all the more for being delivered from death to life? (Megillah 14a) 

According to the great posek of Pressburg, the Chatam Sofer (1762-1839), when the Talmud teaches something based on a kal vechomer – that is, where the Torah instructs us to do something in a certain  case, then all the more so should that same thing be done in an even more serious case – and then the observance, the new one that is being legistlated as a result of the kal vechomer - is to be considered a TORAH OBLIGATION – not just a nice idea. [Yoreh Deah 233]

In other words, practically speaking, just as it is incumbent upon us to make a seder and sing hallel on Pesach, based on the fact that the Torah OBLIGATES us to celebrate our redemption from Egyptian slavery, all the more so, when our lives were spared from the evil decree of Haman,it should be obvious that we are OBLIGATED IN THE SAME WAY to read the megillah and express our thankfulness for our salvation.

Today, it our OBLIGATION to celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut.  This is the way we need to approach it.  For this day marks Jewish independence from foreign rule – the first time in 2000 years!  It also marks the establishment of a Jewish homeland, a refuge for Jews worldwide – the State of Israel provided for and continues to provide for the safety and well being of Jews worldwide…millions of Jews today owe their lives to the establishment of this State….for this reason along we must consider ourselves OBLIGATED to celebrate this day…to say words of hallel, and to make the day into a celebration.

Tomorrow morning, our family will be hosting a seudah chagigit – a holiday meal – at our home.  Together with other friends who have made aliyah and made Israel their new home, we will offer a toast to the miracle of the State of Israel, and join together in recollection of what an incredible modern-day miracle we are all privileged to be a part of. 

We will do this not only as an excuse to get together and eat, but as an OBLIGATION, as we do our part to establish Yom haAtzmaut as the a full fledged Yom Tov, no different than Purim and Chanukah.

Chag Sameach!

A RABBI FOR ALL OCCASIONS…..Please visit my new website at www.rabbimorey.com

 

 

 

 

The Bare Facts about Rebuke

I begin with some self-rebuke for getting away from my weekly blog, and still not being able to keep track of the coming and going of Tuesdays….again, this week Thursday will have to do!

The parasha this week reminds us of the Torah’s built-in system of generating halakhic observance. We who are obligated to follow the mitzvot, are empowered to become the policemen of mitzvah observance as well:

You shall not hate your brother in your heart. Reprove your kinsman and incur no guilt because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. (Lev. 19:17-19)

Much “ink has been spilled,” , much Torah has been taught focused on defining the precise meaning of these verses, both in terms of context and practical ramifications. This is not my purpose in this blog entry.

Rather, I would like to take this opportunity to “expose” (excuse the pun) the misguided attempts by some of my fellow Israelis who in pursuit of righteousness have once again crossed the line.

On the Monday of chol haMoed (second day of Yom Tov in the Diaspora), a 27-year-old man claiming to be a yeshiva student decided to give his own interpretation to the recent ruling that stores may sell chametz on Pesach if it is not publicly displayed.

To make his point he stripped naked in a Bat Yam supermarket.

The man entered the store and took off his clothes, leaving only a sock covering his private parts. Inscribed on his stomach were the words “This is not [a] public [place].”

He explained that if selling chametz in the store during Pesach was not to be considered a public breach of Israel’s Chametz law, then neither was his act to be considered to be “public.”

As you can imagine, the incident drew much attention – not that it made people think twice about selling chametz (and by the way, most store owners – even the secular ones – do not do so) – but it pointed once again to the fact that our charedi (ultra-orthodox) kinsfolk are out of control.

To bring you up to date, in 1986 the Knesset passed the Prohibition on the Display of Chametz Law. Several proprietors who sold chametz in their eateries or stores last Pesach were brought up on charges of breaking that law, but were exonerated based on the judges narrow reading of the law, limiting the prohibition to public display and sale, not just sale to the public.

A number of members of Knesset were outraged. They have begun to compose a bill whose intention is to outlaw the sale of chametz during Pesach altogether. One MK, Moshe Gafni (UTJ) claimed that the judge left them no choice but to resort to religious coercion.” Boker tov!!!???

The Jerusalem Report carried a very interesting article that analyzed the differences between the charedim and the religious Zionists over the legitimacy of using legislation to enforce religious observance in inherently personal matters, such as selling chametz on Pesach. Interesting, they pointed out that in general, charedei leaders are much more inclined to use legislation as a means of enforcing Jewish law. They are concerned that if they do not do everything in their power to enforce Jewish observance, then they will be held responsible for the sins of their wayward kinsfolk. Religious-Zionist leaders, on the other hand, are more sensitive to the downside of religious coercion, in that it creates a backlash of opposition among secular Israelis who have strayed off the path. (See the whole article at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1208870486807&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull)

Here are the real bare facts: legislation does not lead to mitzvah observance among the chiloni population of Israel – it leads only to greater and greater disdain for Torah and Mitzvot.

And in fact, the verses quoted above bear this out quite clearly.

Notice that four different words are used in these two verse to describe the other – the guy who is doing the sinning.

Here they are with the translation I have offered:

Verse 17: achicha - your brother/amitecha – your kinsman

Verse 18: bnei amecha – you countrymen/rei’echa – your neighbor

I would argue that these four words were not randomly chosen for literary purposes, but they come to make a distinction in terms of who and how to rebuke our fellow Jews. (There is evidence to this being the case in the Tanya as well)

In short, the first verse, 19:17, is speaking to the observant Jew with reference to other Jews who have chosen to live observant lives as well, other Jews who have chosen to be “a part of the club.” They are bound by this common bond in terms of their strong desire to be observant. This common cause makes them more like brothers than just friends. When one strays from the path, the other must not become resentful; instead, he must gently rebuke his coreligionist, his kinsman, helping him to get back on the path. And he should do this because no doubt it is what his brother would want him to do, to help him overcome his yetzer hara and get back on the path. Neglecting to rise to the occasion and take responsibility for his brother makes him partially culpable for the sins being committed by the other.

Verse 18 relates to a different scenario. Here the relationship is one of fellow countrymen and neighbors. What they have in common is that they share the same country, or happen to live in close proximity to one another. They see each other on the streets, take the same buses, vote in the same elections. Yet, they are not especially close, perhaps they do not even know each others names. Within this context, says the Torah, there is no place for rebuke – it is in fact not only pointless to rebuke- it will end up being detrimental. Here, the mandate is very different – first, one must remove any sense of resentment or ill-will about the choices the other has made. For the Jew who has chosen to live a fully committed halakhic life, this can be very difficult to do when he sense that the other non-observant Jews do not share the same commitment. Yet, the Torah teaches there is no room to bear a grudge – in fact, the operative approach is to do just the opposite – to show love for that neighbor as if he were kamocha – a “part of your club.”

Most poskim agreed that the well-know concept of “kol yisrael areivim zeh bazeh” – that all Jews are guarantors for one another” only applies to cases where protesting or rebuking other Jews has the potential of proving to be effective. Legislating halakhah might prevent halakhic transgressions in the short-term, but it is leading to greater resentment and ultimately to a greater amount of cumulative transgressions in the long-term.

Rav Ronan Lubitz, a teacher and writer here in Israel, has argued that much of the halakhic literature related to Jews who transgress halakha might be considered completely irrelevant to today’s secular or chiloni Jew. In the pre-modern period, when the great majority of Jews lived in autonomous Jewish communities, in which almost everyone was observant, the decision not to observe the mitzvot was generally a sign of conscious rebellion against the Torah and against the community. It was often part of conversion to another religion, and involved some degree of leaving the fold of the Jewish people for another, often competing and hostile, community.

None of this is relevant today, when the chiloni is part of the majority of the Jewish people, and his decisions are generally based not upon a rebellion against Judaism or the Jewish people, but rather based upon modern notions of personal autonomy, and a belief system in which the mitzvot do not play a significant role.

Israelis are definitely yearning today to bring more and more Jewish observance into their lives – but its their journey, and they won’t get there any faster by legislating the route.

A RABBI FOR ALL OCCASIONS…..Please visit my new website at www.rabbimorey.com

Entering Adar Covered in Blood

As I begin to write this blog entry, only about two hours have passed here in Israel since two arab terrorists from East Jerusalem – Israeli citizens – entered into Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav in the midst of Jerusalem, opening fire on the eighty young men who had gathered with singing and dancing to celebrate the onset of the month of Adar II, the month in which we will soon celebrate Purim. At the time of my writing, reports waver between 7-8 murdered, and several more in serious condition.

The Mishnah in Tractate Taanit instructs us that upon entering into the month of Adar, we are to increase joy and happiness.

We have entered Adar, and that does not seem to be the case; however, what is very much like Adar is that we are once again experiencing what it feels like to live in an upside down world.

Random kassam and grad missiles are be launched at Israeli cities…we have more than our share of miraculous misses – and yet, the word out on the streets of the world is that these missiles are understandable for they are in retaliation for Israel’s targeted killings of Hamas terrorists.

Of course, it has been forgotten that the Hamas terrorists are being targeted by Israel because the have already been involved in terrorist activities and they must be stopped before they plan or get involved in carrying out more terrorism.

In the spirit of the month of Adar, and the holiday of Purim, vna’hafoch hu – everything is upside down. Israel is in the midst of an ongoing defensive battle. Israel does not randomly aim at and kill civilians – that’s what Hamas and others do to us…when Israel does, unfortunately, kill civilians, it is because they are in proximity of terrorists. Period.

And another thing, when Israel targets terrorists and unintentionally kills civilians, we send our apologies, and we all feel remorseful for the human costs associated with self-defense. Hamas, Hizbollah, Islamic-Jihad and all the others, on the other hand, set their sites on random civilian targets – like a yeshiva in the heart of Jerusalem – slaughter and butcher with the intent of killing as many as possible, expect to die as martyrs, and then, celebrate in the streets, cleverly handing out candy to children as a means of indoctrinating them from a very young age that their highest aspiration should be to one day blow themselves while taking as much Jewish blood as possible along with them!

The members of Amnesty International are the ones who should seek amnesty for the confusion they have caused the free world whose goals are to make the world a better place, despite the hatred, violence, and disregard for the value of human life that is hiding around every dark corner of the fanatical arab world.Who on earth do these members of Amnesty International think they are? Who gave them the mandate to close their eyes to our story, to demand that we stop killing terrorists whose only goal in life is to live long enough see the State of Israel come to and end!

How do we cope with the kind of butchering that was carried out Thursday night in Jerusalem? After we, the appreciative and humane citizens of Israel, grieve at the loss of life and the high price we must pay for preserving our rights to live in our homeland and to build a country that is dedicated to making the world a better place, we continue to live on, to celebrate the opportunity of another day, of the ever-present hope that tomorrow will be better.

I am sorry if I have said nothing new, but experience has taught me that when faced with setbacks, we must always re-align ourselves with the mission, and remind ourselves that we are still fighting the War of Independence.

Despite it all, I give thanks to God who has blessed me and my family with the merit of living here in Israel. I know that most of my fellow citizens feel the same way.

I have chosen to include a poem that I wrote six years ago, at the height of a period when we were experiencing day-to-day terrorism here in Israel. Unfortunately, its message is still relevant.

Shabbat shalom

A soldier, every one

It now appears that

the war has begun,

A soldier, every one,

The battle is raging, and no where is safe,

A soldier, every one.

Who fights the battles, who’s on the front lines?

Our fathers and brothers and sons.

But no, not just they,

Every citizen here is

A soldier, every one.

A saba and savta at the Pesach seder,

A soldier, every one.

A nine month old in her mother’s arms,

A soldier, every one.

Teens eating pizza, or at the cafe,

Our children, our daughters and sons,

And so it will be ‘til the battle is won,

A soldier, every one.

“Chamushim alu Bnei Yisrael,”

A soldier, every one,

Every man, every woman,

Every daughter and son,

A soldier, every one.

And God was with them,

Every battle they fought,

Until the fighting was done.

“Vaya’aminu ba’Hashem uv’Moshe avdo.”

A soldier, every one.

 

And here we are,

It’s been thousands of years, yet

A soldier, every one.

Some armed with guns, most just with hope,

A soldier, every one.

Brave heroes go off to school every day,

A soldier, every one,

Their mothers and fathers bid farewell at the door,

A soldier, every one.

A cup of coffee, a trip to the grocer,

A soldier, every one,

The daily routine is the way we do battle,

A soldier, every one.

Synagogue prayers amidst

Rifles and pistols,

A soldier, every one.

We are no longer citizens,

As we live, we do battle,

A soldier, every one.

And so, we Israelis,

Our lives on the line,

A soldier, every one.

We do this for you,

and for all our descendants,

A soldier, every one.

Preserving our home,

Our Eretz Yisrael,

The war is far from won.

Together we pray,

May we be the last, to be

Soldiers, every one.

© Rabbi Morey Schwartz, Hashmonaim Israel. March 2002

The Anonymous “They say”ers of Life

In life, we find ourselves surrounded with opinions and suggestions.  Not just those shared with us by family and friends, but also those we hear on the news and read in the papers.  Often, it is the pessimistic voices that rise above the optimists.  There are many reasons that might be suggested for why this is – but that’s not my point.

The thing that bothers me is not the fact that “they say” this or “they say” that – what annoys me is that we are prone to listen to what they say.

The anonymous “they say”ers rule the way we think, the way we choose, the way we act.

An example: last we a friend of ours who lives in the United States was telling us that her daughter had been planning on making aliyah; however, she wants to be a nurse and “they say” that nursing is not a respected profession here in Israel.  My wife, a successful and respected nurse herself, suggested that you just can’t listen to everything “they say.”

Another example: There is a phenomena that has developed in certain circles of our society, where parents have decided that giving their children vaccinations is an unnecessary – they believe in a more holistic approach.  “They say” that is a risk, and better to refrain.  As a result,m there is now a serious measles epidemic circulating in the the ultra-orthodox world here in Israel.  this has been going on for months, and it just keeps reoccurring – measles!

Anyway, it seems to me that until now, I have been reading the Torah with “They say ” glasses, and if I allow myself to remove them, I can find a very different understanding lying beneath the surface.

Let me explain.

As the Bnei Yisrael are standing at the edge of the waters of the Reed Sea, with the Egyptians fast approaching, the Torah tells us that they became frightened and “they”cried out to God.  (Exodus 14:10).  It then says that “they” said to Moshe: “Weren’t there enough graves in Egypt?  Why did you have to bring us out here to die in the desert?  How could you do such a thing to us, bringing s out of Egypt?  Didn’t we tell you in Egypt to leave us alone and let s work for the Egyptians? It would have been better to be slaves in Egypt that to die here in the desert!”

When we read these words and words and compliants like these, attributed to the unspecified they – the bnei Yisrael – we are normally persuaded to beleive that it is as if all of them, in unison, said these words.  Similarly, when we read the az yashivr the song at the sea i nthis week’s parasha, we seem to picture everyone participating – however, does it seem reasonable that 2,000,000 men, women and children complained or sang in unison here?

I suggest that the Torah presents the story to us in the way we are used to understanding life. I can imagine that actually, there were many Israelites at the sea who had faith in Moshe and in God.  They were the stood silently, waitng for the miracle, while Moshe contended with the loud mouths who spoke out -

Of course, that is what a leader is forced to do – to deal with the lud mouths, the complainers – the “nay-sayers.”

With this perspective, I have come to listen  to the voices of the faithful – I know they are there – they are all around us, they fill our lives, they are a part of our journey – it’s just that sinc they don’t speak up, we forget they are there.

Have a very positive, songful Shabbat Shira – gotta go.

What’s a Rabbi to do with the Rob Tannenbaums of the World?

In the 1980s, I recall there was tremendous debate revolving around the question: “Who is a Jew?” As the Reform Movement adopted either patrilineal or matrilineal descent as their standard, the Orthodox and Conservative Movements shook their heads and began to contemplate a generation not too far down the road where marrying a Reform Jew would be impossible without conversion. And of course, they would only have themselves to blame for it….

That was a very painful chapter in modern Jewish life.

Setting aside the ramifications of how that question will ultimately be resolved, I am sensing that in recent times the central question has been changing. And the new question is not being raised by rabbis or movements. It is not being debated by scholars of Jewish law or Jewish historians. Actually, the question isn’t even being asked….but it is being answered nonetheless.

Here is the new question: “What is a Jew?” And it is at the grass roots level that people are answering the question for themselves.

It is a subtle shift in focus, but it seems to this rabbi that it is THE significant question that we need to be addressing at this time.

You see, while the leadership of the central Jewish movements worldwide have been fine-tuning their definitions, and repackaging their theologies…the majority of the Jewish world has stopped caring altogether about this question. Instead, whether consciously or unconsciously, Jews worldwide are redefining for themselves NOT who is a Jew, but what does it mean to be Jewish?

In a recent article in the Jewish week, (http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c345_a1481/The_Arts/Music.html#), a popular young Jewish performer named Rob Tannenbaum, was interviewed regarding his Jewish identity.

“I was a ‘bar mitzvah’ Jew,” Tannenbaum admits. “But I believe my personality and my sense of humor are deeply Jewish. In fact, I’m Jewish in every way except my religion. I guess ‘real’ Jews would call me a Christian.”

It is interesting that from Rob’s perspective, there are ‘real’ Jews, and then there are ‘Christian’ Jews. Obviously we all know he is not using the word ‘Christian’ in a theological sense, but rather what he perceives that ‘real’ Jews consider to be the equivalent of being non-observant, or non-affiliated with the formal Jewish community.

Where did Rob T. get that idea? Where did Rob get the idea that a Jew who is not observant, a Jew who is unaffiliated, might as well be a Christian, for all intents and purposes?

The article continues with the interviewer making the following comment regarding Rob’s perception that people would probably call him a ‘Christian’:

Probably not, although they might call him an apikoros (apostate).

Is that true? Would Jews who meet Rob T. really think of him as an apostate? As one who learned and then rejected it all?

I would suggest that this comment says more about the impressions and perspectives of the interviewer than it does about Rob T. Even suggesting this betrays the fact that the interviewer himself has the sense that non-affiliation, and non-observance, leads in some degree to be ostracized from the affiliated community, the Jewish “in-group.”

The article continues:

The simple fact is, like so many other secular Jews, Tannenbaum feels drawn to Jewish thought, Jewish ethics, Jewish cultural efforts, but not to synagogue. “The things I love [about being Jewish] have to do with my friends and family,” he says. But he is completely committed to the idea of Jewish identity….

In the weekly Torah reading, we find ourselves at the beginning of the Book of Exodus. Moses’ mission is to take the Jewish people out of Egypt. He is not to check around to identify which families are living “authentic” or “real Jewish” lives, patterned after the teachings and values of Abraham. No, they are all meant to leave Egypt, they are all meant to go forth to freedom, they are all meant to stand at Har Sinai, they are all meant to experience the revelation. Every man, woman and child. Period.

At the beginning of this week’s parasha, Va-eyra, the nation is shocked. They had become hopeful, they had become excited that the time had come, they were to be delivered; then, after Moses and Aaron spoke with Pharaoh and demanded the release of the Jewish nation, suddenly life got more difficult for them, their suffering increased, their hope waned.

Moses reassures them that they will be delivered, and then the Torah tells it like it is:

“…but because of their disappointment and the hard work, they would no longer listen to him.” (6:9)

Is the Torah making excuses for the people? Is there not a standing covenant on the books, made with Abraham, a promise to be delivered from this foreign land? How dare they deny their heritage, how dare they reject the word of God!

And yet, their disbelief, their disappointment, does not upset God. They will not be punished or “ostracized” from the nation because of their lack of faith at this moment….Moses and the elders of Israel will still look after their interests, they will still be included in the plans for exodus…as long as they are willing to go out with the people when the time comes, as long as they are willing to cast their lot with fate of the nation.(The midrash suggests that many who did not even want to cast their lot with the nation at this time died during the three days of darkness – they had severed their connection completely.)

It seems to me that the contemporary message is quite powerful. Like the Jews in Egypt, masses of Jews today, in Israel and throughout the Diaspora, are feeling disappointed with what Judaism has to offer them. We who have embraced it, who hold Jewish life and Jewish law to be one and the same, we who feel at home in the synagogue and secure within Jewish tradition – we need to stop and reassess the situation.

Who is affiliated? Why is that so important?

To what extent am I living my Jewish life selfishly, making sure that my needs for authentic Jewish living are being met, always welcoming of others to come join me in my ways – even at their own pace – but failing to look outside the bubble to take note of all those who are out there on the fringes, looking for their place within the Jewish people, but unable to listen to the message as it is being packaged?

I am not advocating here for a revolution – for changing Torah or amending halacha to meet this challenge. I am simply advocating for a little bit of thinking outside the box, in a very, very practical way.

What is a rabbi to do with the Rob Tannenbaum’s of the world?

Kiruv is only one approach.

It is time that we come to terms with the reality that kiruv alone will not resolve the challenges we are facing in the modern world. We have a responsibility, like Moses, to look beyond the rejection of Judaism and see the Jew, to come to terms with the fact that some Jews just will not find synagogue or halachic living to be appealing – ever!

It is time that we who are committed to Jewish living find ways to broadcast the message loud and clear to those who are not, that we do not stand in judgment of them, and that as long as they are willing to cast their lot together with ours, we will consider them to be full-fledged members of this nation – no strings attached.
We cannot assume that they know this – in fact, many of the messages being broadcast out there indicate just the opposite.

I realize that this will be more difficult(read: impossible) for some than it will for others, but we who value the notion of Am Yisrael must begin making this critical adjustment.

Too Many Trees, Not Enough Forest

Before I begin this week’s musings, I just want to express openly my thanks to the many well-wishers and those who are offering their prayers on behalf of my son, Naftali, and his fellow soldiers in the Israeli Defense Forces. Naftali was home for Shabbat Chanukah, and when I showed him your messages, he was quite touched by the outpouring of support.

Now, as an observant Jew, I am a strong believer in the importance of mitzvah observance – in all areas of halacha. I believe that the halachic system serves as the foundation of Jewish identity and Jewish continuity. I am completely at peace with the recognition that not all Jews will opt to observe the halacha in a rigorous fashion, some out of conviction, others out of sheer ignorance. However, it is my hope that all Jews will respect the importance of the halacha, even if they have chosen not to fashion their lives according to its teachings.

It is important for we who have chosen to take the halacha seriously to make sure that our observance of its details serves to guide our lives and, at all times, project divine calling that we have accepted upon ourselves.

This brings me to one of two emails that came to my in-box this week….

Shabbat observance addresses many very detailed issues in our lives…even the issue of brushing our teeth. I will be honest with you – I do not brush my teach on Shabbat. (I do rinse in the morning and night, so no need to keep your distance if we happen to be together for a Shabbat.) I abstain for a number of halachic reasons, none of which I choose to get into at this point.

The email that came my way brought attention to a “technological advance” in Shabbat tooth-brushing – the development of the “Shabbos Toothbrush.” This simple invention has been developed to obviate the halachic issues and enable people who are concerned about the halacha to brush their teeth on Shabbat with reliable rabbinic authority.

Read all about it at: http://www.kosherimage.com/toothcare2.html

It took me a few days to figure out what it is that bothers me so much about this new invention. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for enlisting technology in the service of halachic observance. That’s not the issue.

Franky, I feel like it reflects the growing disparity in priorities for Am Yisrael. It is indicative of a world of Jews who live among the trees of Jewish life, and pay lip-service to the forest.

Each month I receive a publication from a prominent rabbinical organization in the United States, addressing kashrut issues. One feature that seems to be present each month is the ongoing clarifications of which slurpee flavors are under reliable kosher supervision this month, and which ones are not.

It makes me chuckle…and then it makes me cry.

In my opinion, the halachic Jewish world of which I am a part is focusing so much energy on issues like slurpees, Shabbos toothbrushes and “the original tefillin sweater” (see same website) that they are running the risk of becoming completely out of touch with the realities of Jewish existence today….and, even worse, completely disinterested with what’s really happening all around them. Focusing so much energy on issues like these gives us a superficial sense that we have made it, that all is well for the Jewish people. My fellow halachic Jews run the risk of fooling themselves into believing that all is well, that Baruch Hashem , all that there is to be concerned about now is how we can find ways to meet the most strict halachic standards, and that in doing so, we will do our part to bring the Messiah closer….

Wake-up and smell the cholent.

The Jewish forest is burning down around us….here in Israel we are still dealing with serious existential issues, even if there are no buses blowing up around us. Assimilation continues to be on the rise, and hundreds of thousands of young Jews worldwide are expressing Jewish identity and brotherhood in worldwide rock concert festivals(see The Eight http://goeight.com/?p=88).

What I am advocating is simply this: don’t lose sight of the forest for the trees! Those who are committed to thorough Jewish living must remain conscious of the fact that we do not have the luxury of finding satisfaction with the newest high tech ways to brush our teeth on Shabbat or to seek out and destroy the camouflaged bugs on our lettuce.. this DOES NOT replace our collective responsibility to keep our eyes open to the condition of worldwide Jewish life around us and make that our foremost priority.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Chanukah celebration and, in the spirit of Chanukah, I pray that we will all find a sense of rededication to the central issues confronting our people today.

Gifts, Prayer and Soldiers

As the leaders of several countries in the Middle East were making their way to the Annapolis conference (which has just gotten underway at the time of my writing this blog entry), I was sending my son off to take his place in the Israeli army.

It reminded me of Rashi’s comment in last week’s Torah portion, where he suggested that Yaakov covered his bases as he prepared to meet his brother, Eisav – the last time he had seen his brother, Eisav has vowed to kill him.

In preparation he did three things:

 First, he sent gifts. 

It seems to me that the various veiled promises and “painful sacrifices” that Olmert continues to allude to are a form of a gift to the arabs.  In case they might really want peace this time, we must go through the motions of “gift-giving” -  indicating what we will give up if they ever become serious about living together with a Jewish State…..most Israelis have lost interest in this whole peace-making endeavor, feeling like we all have been down this road before, and it just has never paid off – in fact, it has consistently made things worse.

Next, Yaakov prayed.

Despite all that has happened over the last couple of years.   Despite the painful disengagement, despite the failed war in Lebanon, despite the corruption charges and scandals, we continue to ask God to protect the leaders of this government, to direct them to do what is right, what is best for the Jewish people and our homeland.  I have heard that there are people and places that have stopped reciting the Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel – that is upsetting. In the end, this is our governemnt, these are our leaders, they need our prayers…and how!

And third, Yaakov was a realist – so he divided up his family and he prepared for war.

Annapolis or no Annapolis, Israelis soldiers are being trained and prepared to defend the State of Israel and to protect her inhabitants. 

And we are proud to say that our son, Naftali, has become one of those soldiers.

We pray that there will be peace, we pray that we shall know no more war here, and yet, we prepare for all scenarios.

I heard a man who returned from a trip to Poland with my son, Yoni, and his senior class, speak about his expereiences there.  He said that after visiting the death camps of Poland, he now had a new realization.  He offered a new spin on the rabbinic maxim: The world stands on three things: Torah, Avodah, and Gemilut Chasadim.

From his perspective, Medinat Yisrael stands on three things:

1. Torah – for it alone gives us claim to this land

2. Avodah – work and contribution to society

3. TZAH”AL -The Israel Defense Forces.  Never again will Jews be at the whim of other nations and their national interests.  Jews will not be defenseless. 

He encouraged our young men to see the army as a privilege -as difficult as it may be to do so. 

I pray that Naftali will be safe, I pray that he will find positive experiences awaiting him, friends that he will have forever, and a sense of great pride in the invaluable contribution he is making to the Jewish people here in Israel and throughout the Diaspora, today and forever.

Gates of Heaven

In the city I grew up in, there were three synagogues – one Orthodox, one Conservative, one Reform.  The Orthodox synagogue was called Beth Israel, meaning the House of Israel.  The Conservative synagogue was called Agudat Achim, meaning a Unity of Brethren.  Both of these names reflect a focus on the People of Israel, the congregation of participants who come together to create a kehilah.

The Reform house of worship was called Temple Gates of Heaven. 

What did it mean to name a synagogue Gates of Heaven.  It sounded pretty ominous to me!

 Well, it may very well be that the expression got its start in this week’s Torah reading, Parashat Vayetze. 

Yaakov is on the run.  One night he goes to sleep and has a dream.  In the dream, Yaakov sees a ladder with angels going up and down. God speaks to him and promises to be with him, to protect him, and to increase his number so greatly that they will spread throughout the land, bring blessing to all with whom they have contact.   Although he is a man on the run, God promises him that He will ultimately return Yaaakov to the holy land. Upon awaking, Yaakov exclaims:

‘Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.’ And he was awestruck, and he said: ‘How full of awe is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the sha’ar haShamayim.’ (Gen. 28:16-17)

The house of God – eventually called the Temple. 

And the sha’ar haShamayim – generally known as the Gate of Heaven.

What did Yaakov mean when he described what he had experienced as the gate to heaven? 

Rashi tells us that he meant that this was a unique place for prayer, a place through which prayers are raised up to the heavens.  From this description and this understanding eventually came the custom of directing all of our prayers from around the world toward Jerusalem,  toward the Beit HaMikdash – the Temple – which serves as a portal through which all prayers travel in order to reach God, to reach heaven.

The notion that there is some sort of gate outside heaven has translated into the name we have given to the concluding service on Yom HaKippurin – the service called neilah which is actually short for neilat hasha’ar – the closing of the gate. We are stricken with the image that the gates of heaven are closing, and this our last chance to get our prayers through.

Of course, the image of the “pearly gates” has also become for some people common terminology for passing into the afterlife.

Frankly, I don’t like it.

I have never felt comfortable with the idea of a physical gate, a portal of a sort, located in a certain place.  With the notion of God being ever-present in all corners of the earth, not bound by place in anyway, it is hard for me to fathom the idea that one physical place has better prayer reception than any other.  The Beit HaMikdash and its location on Har haBayit has great significance and importance as the central gathering point for Judaism and for its teachings, as the place where God chose to establish “mission control” – so to say – of the Jewish people, from which we are instructed to send forth the teachings of Torah to the world, and to gather as a nation to find inspiration in our mission. But to say that God hears our prayers “better” at the kotel than in Overland Park, Kansas – that just doesn’t make much sense….does it?

In addition, I have a feeling that it isn’t the pshat here – it isn’t the simple meaning of what Yaakov meant to say.

Take a look at last week’s Torah reading, and the context in which the word sha’ar appears there: 

And Isaac sowed in that land, and found in the same year meah shearim; and the LORD blessed him. (Gen 26:12)

If sha’ar means gate there, then Isaac planted seeds that grew into 100 gates – obviously not the meaning of the Torah here.  Rather, there Rashi actually makes it clear to us that the Torah is using the word sha’ar (or shearim in the plural) to refer to measures or portions – that Isaac was blessed with 100-fold the amount of produce that should have actually grown there. (In 1874 a group of Jews left the old city in Jerusalem to found a neighborhood outside the walls which they named Meah Shearim. The residents hoped that like Yitzchak, they too would prosper and enjoy God’s blessings.)

So, applying the meaning of the word in chapter 26 to the word as it appears this week in chapter 28, I would suggest a radically different understanding of what Yaakov was saying when he awoke from his dream, and therefore, an important comment about what he was NOT saying.

As Yaakov ran, his father’s blessings weighed heavy upon his heart.  The blessings were for prosperity, for fertility and success in the land of Israel.  His escape to Padam Aran seemed to negate the intentions of those blessings:

“May God give you of the dew of the Shamayim.”

Side bar: What is the meaning of being blessed with the dew of the heavens? It seems that most places on earth have dew…even if they lack in rain.  To bless him with an abundance of dew would be a blessing…but just dew? That doesn’t seem to be all that special.

Jump to the Book of Micha:

The remnant of Yaakov shall be, in the midst of the many peoples, like the dew from the Lord, like droplets on grass – which do not look to any man nor place their hope in mortals.(Micha 5:6)

Ah ha!  The blessing of dew is a metaphor for God’s protection.  To be blessed with dew is to be blessed with security.

Back to Parashat Vayetze -

Yaakov awakens from his dream, his fears have been allayed. God has promised him that He will be with him throughout whatever lies ahead.  And so, Yaakov exclaims:

“God has spoken to me in this place – this place is a House of God, a place where God has invited me in to feel at home, to feel secure.  And the promise he made to me – to increase my numbers and to protect me from harm – that is the fulfillment of my father’s blessing to me – this is my measure of heavenly blessing (sha’ar haShamayim),  the “dew of heaven” of which my father spoke!”

The ladder and the angels going up and down with God sitting atop it is what makes us assume that Yaakov considered this a gate to heaven, a portal to God. However, years later, when Yaakov returns to that place to build an altar and give thanks to God for having kept His promise, Yaakov makes no mention of it being a “gate unto heaven,” just that it was the place that God had appeared to him as he ran away from his brother, Eisav.

And so I would like to suggest that the idea that there is somewhere a physical gate to heaven runs counter to my belief in an All-Mighty, All-Knowing God. For this reason, I have never put a note in the Western Wall.  It just doesn’t fit into my perception of prayer. 

Today there are numerous organizations that offer various sorts of prayer or Psalm recitation services.  You can fax a note that will be placed in the kotel  within minutes!  Last week I read of the Tehillim Network – you  make a call to a toll free number and within seconds you have people offering prayers for you or your loved one in 3 or 4 “prime prayer locations,” including the Western Wall and a selection of graves of great rabbis worldwide!

And of course, there is always http://www.chabad.org/tools/ohel_cdo/aid/36248/jewish/How-to-Send-a-Letter.htm

It just doesn’t make sense to me….but as usual, I am open to your thoughts!

As he has entered into the covenant….

Life in Israel is not only interesting, it is also most dramatic.

With 365 days in a year, what is the probability that the brit milah of the newborn son of the murderer of a former Prime Minister would come out on the very same day that the nation was marking 12 years since that assassination?  It’s unbelievable – and created quite an emotional couple of days here in Israel.  

The big question here was: should the new father be allowed to attend the brit milah of his newborn son?

Of course, as so many other things here in Israel, the issue spun itself into a right wing vs. left wing explosion, with fingers being pointed in both directions.  

The Israeli High Court of Justice ruled that Yigal Amir had the right to attend his son’s brit – in prison. And so he did, this past Sunday. There was a lot of anger going around that day – rekindled hatred for what Amir had done, and new-found anger with the justice system. 

How could they privilege this assassin with the pleasure of being at his son’s brit?

At the Saturday night rally at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, marking the secular date of the assassination (the Hebrew date was marked nationally last week), Yuval Rabin, son of the murdered Prime Minister, accused the legal system of being helpless, allowing the brit of the murderer’s son to be held on November 4, the day of the murder. “The man who on that night, 12 years ago, stood at the foot of this square and with self-control took the role of the judge and the accuser. The man who abused the laws of democracy continues to mock them to this day,” Yuval Rabin said. Even Prime Minister Olmert indicated that he felt he had no choice but to identify with the moving remarks made by the son Yuval.  

I understand the pain and anger.  But I can’t help but offer an additional perspective. 

Please don’t misunderstand what I am about to say. I have no sympathy for the murderer Yigal Amir, and believe that he absolutely should spend the rest of his life behind bars. Period. 

However, from the perspective of Jewish law, a father attending his son’s brit is the fulfillment of an obligation – not only a joyous occasion.  It would seem somewhat un-Jewish to prevent any Jew from performing a mitzvah incumbent upon him, even a Jew who has shed blood.

The whole problem here started when the Supreme Court permitted him to marry in the first place.  Once married, it seemed inhuman to prevent him from having a conjugal visit.  That led to conception and then birth. 

How can we justify keeping Amir away from his son’s brit if we allowed him to marry and father the child already?  What should be allowed, what not?  Will it be decided that brit is one thing, but first birthday is out of the question? 

It seems that the decision about these things was already made a while ago – life in prison is not synonymous with a living-death.

Also, somewhere along the line, Israeli society has gotten off onto the wrong track in addressing this heinous crime – we need to be focusing on the murder – not the murderer.  How to prevent murder, not how to punish the murderer. 

Such relentless discussions are just not becoming of the Jewish people.

In addition, we must remember to consider one other important point: where there is birth, where there is new life, and new life can bring with it new hope.   

As much as I feel sorry for newborn Inon Elya Shalom Amir, knowing what he is going to endure as he grows up the son of an assassin, I cannot help but look at him as a human being and a Jew, brought into this world by no choice of his own, deserving of our concern, respect, and even love.  He should not be punished for what his father did, and it is our responsibility to differentiate between Amir the murder, and Amir, the son. 

Jewish history is full of father-son surprises; some tragic, some inspiring.  

Take for example the story of the king of Judah, Yoshiahu (Josiah).  His grand-father, Manasseh, and his father, Amon, were both responsible for introducing and supporting idolatry and ruling amidst the highest levels of corruption and depravity during their consecutive reigns, during the 7^thcentury BCE.  

After Amon was assassinated by his own servants, who conspired against him, the people crowned Amon’s young son,Yoshiahu, as the new king of Judah. Imagine, they chose the son of that corrupt idolater to be their king, knowing full well what his father had stood for! 

Yoshiahu, son and grandson of some of two of the most depraved Kings of Judah, went on to become one of Israel’s most beloved rulers of all time: 

And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him. (II Kings 23:25) 

New life brings new hope.   

As he has entered into the covenant, so may he enter into a life of Torah, chuppah, and acts of loving-kindness. Amen.      

A Striking Habit

I love Israel…but there are some things that just make me crazy.

 Today’s Jerusalem Post reported:

The high school strike entered its 14th day on Thursday, as Secondary School Teachers Organization representatives accused the government of failing to take the strike seriously.

Last Friday, my 10th grade daughter came home with exciting news:  “Next week, we only have school on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.  The teachers will be striking on Monday and Wednesday.”

It seems to me that even the teachers aren’t taking the strike seriously….

But that’s not my real point here.  What bothers me is that this culture still thinks that the ultimate way of getting things done is go on strike. 

 Garbage-men go on strike, indifferent to the health hazards and the general disgusting mess they leave  – after all, they are hoping to make the rest of us miserable!

Ben Gurion Airport employees, in search of their deserved pound of flesh, call, or at the very least threaten to strike from time to time, indifferent to what that makes Israel look like to the rest of the civilized world looking to come vacation and spend their dollars here.

Of course, teachers striking is par for the course around here…usually they just don’t even begin the school year, extending the summer for Israel’s thousands of kids, knowing it will just make us parents miserable.

The things is, the fact that we are miserable makes very little difference.  It’s not like I can call my local congressman and ask that he do something about it….I keep on asking, who do I call?? All I get is blank stares….but, I guess it’s just because the “government isn’t taking the strike seriously.”

It’s the wrong message all around.  Teacher have a calling – to teach – and the lesson they are conveying to the students in this country time and time again is that education is important, but not that important.

 I understand that the teachers are underpaid.  Somethings does need to be done about that.

I understand that the government doesn’t really seem to care. Something needs to be done about that too.

But giving kids more vacation time doesn’t make sense – it is not the long term answer.

You see, striking has become a bad habit in Israel.  And it’s hard to break a habit. It seems to me that going on strike is the civilian form of declaring war upon your enemy. 

In war, try as you might, there are alwyas going to be innocent bystanders that suffer as part of the collateral damge of warfare.  That’s just how it goes. 

In this teacher’s strike, the teachers are declaring was on the givernment, and our kids and their on and off high educations are the collateral damage.  And because this country is so used to warfare and so used to the price that is paid in order to defeat our enemies, perhaps that’s why the government is perfectly happy to ignore the fact that our children are paying for the sins of their parents!

This habit must go!  Strking must become a thing of the past. 

Firstly,because it is just unbecoming of a modern country in the 21st centruy to shut down like this!  It’s wasting time, it’s wasting money, and frankly, the whole thing is becoming quite embarrassing;  however, to break the habit, there has got to be an alternative approach.

Therefore, I suggest that in any situation where until now striking has been the accepted approach to “getting your way,” medication liason committees be put in place to proactively address the inevitable hurdles.

This is what I mean: we need to establish committees that meet regularly, with reps from both “sides,” so as to keep their finger on the pulse of the employees and their neeeds, and working “together,”reps of both parties can headoff the roadblocks before they reach them, rather than allowing things to come down to the wire, leading tthe plaintifs to conlcude ”the only thing we can do is strike.”

So, we would have committes with reps from the government with reps from the Post office, the teachers unions, the tranportation authority, the sanitation workers, and whoever else has turned to striking to get their way over the past 10-120 years. 

Just  a thought…..it strikes me that it may be a bit simplistic, but something has got to be done!

Morey

Turning into Salt

I just don’t get it.   

As Lot and his family (some of them) fled their homes just before the cities of Sodom and Amorah were to be destroyed, one of their guardian angels tells Lot that what ever he does, he is not to look back at the destruction.   

Lot’s wife looks anyway. 

Lot’s wife looked back and she thereupon turned into a pillar of salt. (Gen. 19:26) 

Why was this crime punishable by death?

Why a pillar of salt and not just a lightning bolt or some other method?  

According to Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra (1093-1167), the text is misunderstood.  

Yes. Lot’s wife did look back, but no – she was not turned into a pillar of salt, but rather, the verse reads: 

Lot’s wife looked back, and she – that is, the land – had become a pillar of salt.  

And this makes a lot of sense, fitting well with the verse in Deuteronomy (29:22), in the context of Moses’ prophecies regarding Land of Israel post-exile:  

….all its soil devastated by sulfur and salt, beyond sowing and producing, no grass growing in it, just like the upheaval of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zevoiim, which the Lord overthrew in His fierce anger… 

I have to say that I admire the ibn Ezra.  Despite the usual understanding of the verse and the midrashim that back up the usual understanding, ibn Ezra took a different path of understanding, one that just simply made more sense….as I asked earlier, why so bizarre a punishment for such a transgression – especially given the circumstances that this woman had grown up her whole life in Sodom, and that her two eldest daughters and their husbands and families were being incinerated in the flames….who could blame her for looking back! And what kind of God (or angels of God) would have her transformed into a pillar of salt – whatever that entails – for desperately searching for signs of her family or friends left behind!  

Ramban explains that she looked and saw the Divine Presence – and that that killed her.  But why the salt?   

A midrash says that she was stingy with salt when it came to guests, so she was punished measure for measure.  

But let’s put these explanations aside for a moment because they are all trying to explain this difficult passage assuming it meant that she actually did turn into a pile of sodium….if we instead choose to follow the approach of ibn Ezra, where might that lead us? 

I have been thinking about it a lot this week, and here is where I find myself at this moment – (and as always, I am open to suggestions) 

My son, Yoni, is with his senior class at this time, confronting the destruction which came to be known as “The Holocaust.”  They are doing a lot of looking back.  Looking back can be a very positive thing to do.  It can teach lessons, it can provide us with heroic stories to inspire us, it can serve as a reminder of what is most important –  However, looking backward is only productive when its purpose is to direct us in the steps we are taking forward. The problem is that without purpose or direction, looking backward is stifling. 

The time had come for Sodom and Amora to go.  There was nothing there for Lot and his family – they needed to move on.  The angel therefore instructs Lot that there can be no looking back, they must climb the mountain and get as far away as possible from Sodom and all that it stood for.  That’s because Lot is shortsighted.  He went to Sodom in the first place for economic reasons, good grazing, lots of dollars to be made…he didn’t take notice or consider for a moment if this was a good place to raise a family.  In fact, it seems pretty clear that his whole value system became warped as he offered his two daughters “who had never been with men” to the raucous crowd surrounding his house.  

And where was the wife of Lot until now?  Look back in the text, as she is nowhere to be found.  She has said nothing and done nothing noteworthy.  In fact, while at the beginning of the parasha we see Avraham and Sarah working together as a team to hastily make food for their guests, when the guests come to Lot’s home in Sodom, it is he alone preparing and offering the food.  His wife is not in the picture. She is a true-blooded Sodomite! 

Therefore, I suggest the story goes like this. 

As they are being whisked out of the meltdown in Sodom, the angel tells Lot and only Lot that he must not look back; that is, the time has come for him to completely separate from his life in Sodom.  It will be difficult, but everything must go.  And although his wife will be spared, he cannot continue with her.  She is bad, bad news. 

She, on the other hand, is not instructed to refrain from looking back; that is, to make a clean break – she is from Sodom and it is beyond expectation that she make the change.  Lot grew up in the house Avraham; he knows better.  She will of course look back, she will look back her entire life – but Lot must use this chance to leave her, and to try to salvage his life. It is not because she became a pillar of salt that she no longer appears in the parasha after the pillar of salt verse – it is because Lot did as the angels instructed…he did not “look back” – he left her.  He needed to take that step, he needed to accept the realization that this would be his first step in remaking his life. 

Unfortunately, his daughters still carried on the corruption.  They got their father drunk and took advantage of him for their own selfish purposes, giving birth to the leaders of less than exemplary nations. 

Yesterday, the State of Israel marked the twelfth anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. The entire day was marked by ceremonies and memorials.  What are we meant to accomplish through “looking back” at such a horrible historical moment? There was much talk about perpetuating Rabin’s dream for peace.  There was much talk about making sure that his assassin never sees the outside of his prison walls – even to attend the brit of his soon to be born child.….of course, both of these issues create controversy and no doubt that’s why they make it to the news. 

Unfortunately, there was very little talk about what we as a nation should be doing to help ensure that such an unspeakable event never repeats itself. 

It seems to me that when we dedicate this day every year to looking back on that black day, it needs to be a day of introspection and resolve to narrow the gaps in society that have only become more pronounced in the last 12 years…..         

Boteach Beyond Reach

This time he has done it.  He has just gone too far.   

I have been watching Hollywood hob-nobber Shmuely Boteach from the side lines for several years now.  I, as many others, have been at times somewhat shocked at his methods and his out-there-in-your face way of addressing delicate Jewish and other religious issues (You must admit, when he came out with his book Kosher Sex, it certainly raised more than a few eyebows!) 

He has written and spoken unabashedly on many occasions.  Most recently he took sides with Noah Feldman who publicly slandered Modern Orthodoxy, employing outrageous characterizations, referencing the murderers Amir and Goldstein as examples of what modern Orthodoxy produces, comparing the Tefillin worn at morning prayers to masochistic devices, etc. 

In recent weeks he has been on a kick to make the whole world “Jewish.” In Monday’s Jerusalem Post, Boteach had a column entitled Offer Judaism. (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380553265&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull)  

In the article he asks:

What would a universal Judaism look like? I propose the following as the basis for a worldwide campaign that the Jewish community can launch, to illuminate the world with the light of Jewish values, heal the world of many of its social maladies and inspire Jews themselves to recommit to a tradition their non-Jewish counterparts find awe-inspiring and wise. First, and foremost, there would be a declaration that you don’t have to be Jewish to practice Judaism. Rather, it’s about bringing the following principles into your life, whatever your identity.  

I think Boteach has over-reached this time. If you don’t have to be Jewish to practice Judaism, then why be Jewish?  Even a born Jew might ask him or herself this question! 

He goes on to suggest a whole litany of practices that one can consider observing… 

Marital Law: Have sex in marriage as often as possible. Lovemaking is the glue that keeps a husband and wife intimately connected. But separate sexually for 12 consecutive days each month in order to impose an erotic barrier that both enhances lust and makes your bodies exciting and new. 

On Succot, immerse yourself in nature. Reflect on removing artifice and manipulation from your life and reconnect with your most authentic self.  

Light candles on Hanukka and reflect on the soul’s capacity to illuminate the world’s darkness, and the power of goodness to triumph over evil.

Dietary Laws: Eat only kosher animals, defined as animals that are not themselves predatory and are only vegetarian. They possess split hooves rather than paws, which makes them incapable of preying on the weak. Never mix dairy and meat products, as a symbol of the need to always embrace life (milk) and abhor death (meat). 

Boteach offers all of these as suggestions as to how all human beings can incorporate Judaism into their lives – again, without becoming Jewish.  In order to do this, he has offered a set of values, that are to accompany these holidays and observances, which sell ALL of them short. Not to mention the fact that in addition to his oversimplification of their messages, he has removed from all of them the sense of mitzvah or commandment that makes these actions not only grand ideas, but duty. 

I am all for finding meaning in the commandments, but let us not forget, for many of us – including this modern Lubabivitch  phenomenon – our  fulfillment of these duties is closely bound to the covenant made with Abraham when he was told to leave his family and culture and go to the land that God would show him. God had attempted to make His covenant with the entire world – that failed – they did not accept the commandments of Noah as binding – and without that firm commitment, society was doomed.

When Rabbi Boteach suggests that people incorporate Jewish ideas and emotions into their lives – without the sense of duty – their ability to maintain these wonderful ideas will not be effective – try as they may, there will be no consistency to their practice.

And so while they may find inspiration in Jewish living and rituals, the Chanukah candles next to a Christmas tree or the refraining from putting cheese on an Oscar Meyer wiener will not lead Gentiles down the path that he hopes for them.

Judge Hendel of Bar Ilan University (2001) wrote:

There is, certainly, a difference between the inspiration of the Good Samaritan and that of “Neither shalt thou stand idly against the blood of thy neighbor.”   The Good Samaritan is a notorious important parable with a clear message which had influence for generations; yet it is no more than a parable. “Neither shalt thou stand idly against the blood of thy neighbor” is a religious commandment and a law within a legal system.

Rabbi Boteach should choose his words wisely and reconsider the ramifications of his bold suggestions. 

Modern and Ancient PR Disasters

Up and coming 22 year old Israeli model Bar Rafaeli has made the headlines a few too many times these past two weeks, first here in Israel, and now abroad as well.  Instead of sticking to the normal lingua-de-model –  you know, things like, “I just love everyone I meet” or “My one wish is that there be world peace”- Bar chooses to bring attention not only to her sexy looks, but to her sassy mouth as well. 

Answering a question posed to her by a Yediot Aharonot reporter, this blonde and icy blue eyed Israeli icon unabashedly replied, “I don’t regret not having been drafted into the army, because I made out big….What does it matter, Uganda or Israel…Why is it good to die for one’s country, isn’t it better to live in New York?”

I suppose putting a muzzle over her mouth would put a damper on her modeling career, but it may be called for as an act of defensive warfare against a painfully offensive self-centered hedonistic teeny bopper who is endangering the future of the State of Israel. 

This repulsive episode demands that we Israelis ask the question: “How did we come to this?” 

Take a look at Noach.   The Torah tells us (Gen. 6:9) that Noach was righteous…maybe not the most righteous person to have ever walked the face of the earth, but righteous on some level nonetheless. God had had it with the world and instructed Noach to build a massive life raft to save his family and representatives of the animal kingdom.   Rashi asked the question (6:14) as to why God chose this particular method to provide salvation for these living beings. After all, God has infinite options before Him, so why this?  Suggested Rashi, that the project was destined to take 120 years to complete, so that throughout those years, people would see Noach building the ark, and they would ask, “What do you need this for?” And Noach would answer them, “The Holy One, blessed be He, is about to bring a flood upon the world” – perhaps they would repent. 

Nice idea, but we know for the end of the story, that Noach’s PR effort on behalf of God was a disastrous failure – not a single human being outside of Noach’s immediate family joined him on the ark. In 120 years, he could not convince a single human being that God meant business!  How could that be?  I would suggest that his failure lay in the fact that he himself wasn’t convinced of the mission, or of the justice of God’s actions.  His lackluster commitment showed through to every person he met, and so, no one bought into his cause, no one could understand why he was wasting his time year after year building the world’s largest ever cruise ship! (And remember, the Guinness Book of World Records had not yet been written!) 

I can hear them shouting out to him, “Noach, forget about this.  Come with us and get a real job, where you can make a fortune and live well for the rest of your life.  Why is it better to throw away the next 120 years of your life, isn’t is better to live it up, to pursue all of the opportunities that await you in the modern city of Enoch? (Gen 4:17)” 

And Noach, albeit righteous, didn’t have an answer. He didn’t really completely understand his mission and calling. And so, there was nothing he could say to make sense of the situation. 

Bar Rafaeli’s comments are symptomatic of a generation that has lost sight of their mission, can no longer answer the tough questions, has forgotten their calling as Jews.  And so, the only thing that makes Bar different from so many others is that she is in the spotlight….unfortunately, thousands of others feel the same way. 

The good news is that people are waking up and realizing that this is the case, and efforts are being made to turn things around. 

Many of my readers are committed Jewish learners who dedicate time every week to the study of Jewish texts.  You will no doubt appreciate and the significance of the following news items. 

Sept 30, 2007 – The front page of the Jerusalem Post brought attention to an initiative that has been developed by ORT schools here in Israel.  The opening paragraph reads: 

In the face of increasing draft dodging, one of the nation’s largest secular high school systems is teaching traditional Jewish texts and Judaism to foster patriotism and a willingness to serve and, if need be, die for one’s country.  In the words of one of the ORT teachers, “It is essential for a future soldier to figure out what it means that he or she belongs to the Jewish people and how that is different from being an Israeli citizen.” 

October 9, 2007 – The Jerusalem Post featured an article titled “God’s army?” It spoke of the initiative of pre-army academies for the religious Zionist crowd, where “these young men…join the IDF after spending one, and often two years studying Jewish texts to build a modern army.”  

In the words of Rabbi Eli Sadan, head of the Bnei David pre-military academy, “The soldier, like the priests of the Temple in ancient times, should undergo a metamorphosis when adorned with an IDF uniform.  The military man ceases to be solely an individual with a family, with personal interests, with desires.  He becomes a messenger of the entire nation out to perform God’s commandment, to serve Him.”  

Essentially, both of these initiatives are seeking to use ancient Jewish texts to inform and build modern context for these young Israelis.  I personally applaud the work of these institutions and others that have assumed this task.

Too bad Noach didn’t have teachers like these…..the world could have turned out very differently. 

Maybe the best we can hope for is that someone arrange for Bar to meet up with another blonde (?) sensation, reformed  material-girl Madonna, who visited Israel for the High Holidays and beckoned President Shimon Peres, “Tell me what I should do, Mr. Peres, because I am in love with Israel.”