This
past Wednesday evening, I attended the annual dinner for the Iranian American
Jewish Federation, an organization that provides support for numerous worthy
causes in Israel and locally. The
dinner took place, as it did last year, at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln
Center.
Last
year, I was there simply to enjoy the event, which showcased the outstanding
work of an organization that so many Temple Israel members are deeply involved
with, an organization which supports medical research, outreach to the elderly,
Israeli athletes training for the para-olympics and so much more.
This year, I had a role to play. Not the standard rabbinic role, either. Following the speech by Alan Dershowitz, a mentalist performed, someone who, I was told, could make successful predictions about the future.
I agreed to have him send me a prediction to my house, not to open it, and to bring it to Alice Tully Hall.
The Fed-Ex envelope arrived at my house while it was raining and so it got wet. I put it on the counter and, the next day, took it with me into the city.
Anyway, to cut to the chase, toward the end of the mentalist’s show I was called onto the bimah of Alice Tully. I participated in a card trick and read the letter inside, which accurately predicted things that would happen that day.
Finally, it predicted the color of my tie and, moreover, it predicted details about my tie that I myself hadn’t noticed before.
This year, I had a role to play. Not the standard rabbinic role, either. Following the speech by Alan Dershowitz, a mentalist performed, someone who, I was told, could make successful predictions about the future.
I agreed to have him send me a prediction to my house, not to open it, and to bring it to Alice Tully Hall.
The Fed-Ex envelope arrived at my house while it was raining and so it got wet. I put it on the counter and, the next day, took it with me into the city.
Anyway, to cut to the chase, toward the end of the mentalist’s show I was called onto the bimah of Alice Tully. I participated in a card trick and read the letter inside, which accurately predicted things that would happen that day.
Finally, it predicted the color of my tie and, moreover, it predicted details about my tie that I myself hadn’t noticed before.
First
thing I thought of was a statement attributed to Rabbi Akiva – הכל צפוי מראש והרשות נתונה hakol tzafuy merosh
v’har’shut n’tuna – everything is known ahead of time, but we still have free
will.
That morning, I davened over my tie rack deciding which tie to wear, rejected the red one and decided on the blue.
Was my ultimate decision known, even if I had free will to choose?
Second thing I thought of was the detail of the tie. The more I looked at the tie, the more I liked it. Could have gone the other way, I suppose – what was I thinking when I bought a blue tie with orange and white flecks – but I ended up liking it more.
And then I had my sermon idea. Not about predicting the future, but about the value of high resolution. Looking closely. We shouldn’t be afraid.
So I’d like to take us to a few places – to our father, Jacob, to current thinking in how we educate people about Israel, and finally, to what it means for family and friends to hang out with each other over the long haul. I’ll get back to the tie, somehow.
Jacob is a complicated character – we have a fuller, life-long description of him than of virtually any other figure in the Bible. We know about his trickery, his dreams, his worries and regrets. We see him as a manipulative child, an aimless young adult, a weary businessman, a frightened adult brother, an anxious father, a surprised grandfather, and finally, as a patriarch at the end of his life summing up the pleasure and grievances of his long life.
If we look at Jacob’s life closely – do we like him more or less? Again, it could go either way.
The rabbis whose sentiments are often expressed through midrash had mixed feelings about Jacob. So when Jacob is given Leah as a wife, rather than Rachel, according to the midrash he calls out Rachel’s name at night and Leah says “here I am.” So the next morning, Jacob complains to Leah and asks, "how could you deceive me like this? I call out Rachel and you say 'here I am'?” Leah without missing a beat says, “I have a good teacher. Your father called out Esau, and you said, 'here I am!'”
But there is also a kind of affection for Jacob, so that when he’s wrestling with the individual who approaches him, it’s seen by some as a struggle over his guilt, having deprived Esau years earlier of the choicer blessing. Some contend that the ish, the man he struggled with, was actually Esau’s angel.
Jacob connives, complains, dreams big and dreams small, juggles two wives and two concubines, is desperately afraid of his brother, cares a lot about what the neighbors think and tells Pharaoh at the end of his life that his life has been short and lousy.
But he is capable of reconciliation and his struggles are endearing. He sometimes recognizes when he messed up, even if it takes years for the recognition to kick in.
We know a lot of details about this figure, Jacob. In my view, the high resolution ultimately works well, for him and for us.
The children of Jacob, in today’s portion renamed Israel, look to him as a fully-formed individual, with a range of behavior and an arc of growth that many of us would find familiar if we looked honestly at one another and at ourselves.
Now a few words about how we educated one another, youth especially, about Israel. Makom is an organization that provides resources for how to educate people about Israel.
One of their educators gave a lecture I heard about the importance of high resolution when it comes to educating people about Israel, starting when children are mature enough to grasp nuance.
There is often a fear about telling young people too much about Israel – what if they find out things that will make them less supportive? You want to restrict the experience to a simple narrative that can be understood, complete with good food and music.
But according to Makom, low resolution education (good guys, bad guys, let’s dance and eat) is a recipe ultimately for weak affiliation.
One of my children attends a school that established a mock Knesset where each student represents a different member of parliament. They have to research that individual and the party and they have to learn about the issues that the Knesset is deliberating on and engage, debate, and cajole each other.
The school offers a class that compares Israeli narratives from 1948 on with Palestinian narratives.
You might think that all of the above would damage the concern that these students have for Israel. By all accounts, it does not have that effect – to the contrary, it demonstrates respect for the maturity of the students and for the complexity of the land, and the result is that students want to engage Israel more, not less.
What are the implications for the recent vote at the UN? If you understand various Israeli and Palestinian narratives, then you can at least understand what’s going on – or know what questions to begin to ask. A person who understands the workings of the Knesset and has familiarity with narratives on both sides of the conflict is better positioned to comprehend the repercussions of current events.
The more people know about Israel’s culture, politics, diversity, the better.
That morning, I davened over my tie rack deciding which tie to wear, rejected the red one and decided on the blue.
Was my ultimate decision known, even if I had free will to choose?
Second thing I thought of was the detail of the tie. The more I looked at the tie, the more I liked it. Could have gone the other way, I suppose – what was I thinking when I bought a blue tie with orange and white flecks – but I ended up liking it more.
And then I had my sermon idea. Not about predicting the future, but about the value of high resolution. Looking closely. We shouldn’t be afraid.
So I’d like to take us to a few places – to our father, Jacob, to current thinking in how we educate people about Israel, and finally, to what it means for family and friends to hang out with each other over the long haul. I’ll get back to the tie, somehow.
Jacob is a complicated character – we have a fuller, life-long description of him than of virtually any other figure in the Bible. We know about his trickery, his dreams, his worries and regrets. We see him as a manipulative child, an aimless young adult, a weary businessman, a frightened adult brother, an anxious father, a surprised grandfather, and finally, as a patriarch at the end of his life summing up the pleasure and grievances of his long life.
If we look at Jacob’s life closely – do we like him more or less? Again, it could go either way.
The rabbis whose sentiments are often expressed through midrash had mixed feelings about Jacob. So when Jacob is given Leah as a wife, rather than Rachel, according to the midrash he calls out Rachel’s name at night and Leah says “here I am.” So the next morning, Jacob complains to Leah and asks, "how could you deceive me like this? I call out Rachel and you say 'here I am'?” Leah without missing a beat says, “I have a good teacher. Your father called out Esau, and you said, 'here I am!'”
But there is also a kind of affection for Jacob, so that when he’s wrestling with the individual who approaches him, it’s seen by some as a struggle over his guilt, having deprived Esau years earlier of the choicer blessing. Some contend that the ish, the man he struggled with, was actually Esau’s angel.
Jacob connives, complains, dreams big and dreams small, juggles two wives and two concubines, is desperately afraid of his brother, cares a lot about what the neighbors think and tells Pharaoh at the end of his life that his life has been short and lousy.
But he is capable of reconciliation and his struggles are endearing. He sometimes recognizes when he messed up, even if it takes years for the recognition to kick in.
We know a lot of details about this figure, Jacob. In my view, the high resolution ultimately works well, for him and for us.
The children of Jacob, in today’s portion renamed Israel, look to him as a fully-formed individual, with a range of behavior and an arc of growth that many of us would find familiar if we looked honestly at one another and at ourselves.
Now a few words about how we educated one another, youth especially, about Israel. Makom is an organization that provides resources for how to educate people about Israel.
One of their educators gave a lecture I heard about the importance of high resolution when it comes to educating people about Israel, starting when children are mature enough to grasp nuance.
There is often a fear about telling young people too much about Israel – what if they find out things that will make them less supportive? You want to restrict the experience to a simple narrative that can be understood, complete with good food and music.
But according to Makom, low resolution education (good guys, bad guys, let’s dance and eat) is a recipe ultimately for weak affiliation.
One of my children attends a school that established a mock Knesset where each student represents a different member of parliament. They have to research that individual and the party and they have to learn about the issues that the Knesset is deliberating on and engage, debate, and cajole each other.
The school offers a class that compares Israeli narratives from 1948 on with Palestinian narratives.
You might think that all of the above would damage the concern that these students have for Israel. By all accounts, it does not have that effect – to the contrary, it demonstrates respect for the maturity of the students and for the complexity of the land, and the result is that students want to engage Israel more, not less.
What are the implications for the recent vote at the UN? If you understand various Israeli and Palestinian narratives, then you can at least understand what’s going on – or know what questions to begin to ask. A person who understands the workings of the Knesset and has familiarity with narratives on both sides of the conflict is better positioned to comprehend the repercussions of current events.
The more people know about Israel’s culture, politics, diversity, the better.
High
resolution – an approach which trusts children, teens and adults in age
appropriate ways to encounter the complexity of eretz yisrael, is more likely to yield a deep, abiding commitment
than slogans and platitudes.
Which is why classes, discussions, lectures, concerts and trips need to delve beneath the surface.
Sometimes you look carefully and you don’t like everything you see.
Sometimes you look carefully and you realize it’s time to do an about face.
By the way, if that happens, aren’t you especially glad you looked carefully?
Which is why classes, discussions, lectures, concerts and trips need to delve beneath the surface.
Sometimes you look carefully and you don’t like everything you see.
Sometimes you look carefully and you realize it’s time to do an about face.
By the way, if that happens, aren’t you especially glad you looked carefully?
With
one another, high resolution is also ultimately worth pursuing. Deeper knowledge
is illuminating and, if you do decide to stick with the program, it often
results in deeper bonds.
Whenever I am with members of our Shalom Club, which has been in existence for decades, I am struck by how well people know each other. Mind you, to their credit, they are quite willing to embrace new people.
But the bonds that are decades old are inspirational. People have seen each other, in shul and out of shul, at simchas and at sorrows, week after week for decades, and it shows.
In romantic relationships, it’s nice to see when the oxytocin starts to flow, along with the estrogen and testosterone – there is a level of comfort and commitment that comes from knowing someone really well, even if there are always surprises.
So here’s to high resolution! Look closer and you don’t know what you’ll find, but the likelihood is that you’ll be drawn in further in positive ways.
The closer we examine Jacob’s life, the more likely we are to regard him as a true paradigm for a flawed approach to engaging dream and reality.
The more precisely we understand the land and people of Israel and her surroundings, the more likely we are to feel חיבת ציון hibat tzion – a deep love for Israel.
And, as the years go on, we are likely to have a deeper regard for one another.
High resolution. The closer we look, the stronger the ties. (Alright, so there’s the tie reference that I promised. . .) At Alice Tully, at Temple Israel, wherever we may find ourselves.
Whenever I am with members of our Shalom Club, which has been in existence for decades, I am struck by how well people know each other. Mind you, to their credit, they are quite willing to embrace new people.
But the bonds that are decades old are inspirational. People have seen each other, in shul and out of shul, at simchas and at sorrows, week after week for decades, and it shows.
In romantic relationships, it’s nice to see when the oxytocin starts to flow, along with the estrogen and testosterone – there is a level of comfort and commitment that comes from knowing someone really well, even if there are always surprises.
So here’s to high resolution! Look closer and you don’t know what you’ll find, but the likelihood is that you’ll be drawn in further in positive ways.
The closer we examine Jacob’s life, the more likely we are to regard him as a true paradigm for a flawed approach to engaging dream and reality.
The more precisely we understand the land and people of Israel and her surroundings, the more likely we are to feel חיבת ציון hibat tzion – a deep love for Israel.
And, as the years go on, we are likely to have a deeper regard for one another.
High resolution. The closer we look, the stronger the ties. (Alright, so there’s the tie reference that I promised. . .) At Alice Tully, at Temple Israel, wherever we may find ourselves.
Originally delivered at Temple Israel on December 1, 2012
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