Right, Left and Together

The Israeli elections surprised virtually everyone.   The expectation was that the extreme right wing in Israel would gain greater strength than they had before, and lo and behold, a centrist party under the leadership of a charismatic politician, journalist and actor named Yair Lapid, gained more seats than anyone expected.

I’d like to take us on what I hope will be an enjoyable and enlightening ride.  I want to talk about what motivates left-wing and right-wing thinking.  And the 10 commandments.  And the importance of unity, given the reality of diversity.

But first, I want to say a few words about ketchup, that delightful sauce that we squeeze onto hamburgers.

Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and Outliers, wrote an essay which appeared in his book, What the Dog Saw, about why there are so many brands of mustard, but only one brand of ketchup that virtually everyone eats. 

Walk into any shop and you’ll see hundreds of brands of mustard, and some prefer this type, and some prefer that type, but when it comes to ketchup, one brand has a near monopoly and that is Heinz.

What is the secret of the success of Heinz ketchup?

So Gladwell brings research that suggests that Heinz ketchup hits all 5 taste receptors in a positive and balanced way.

It has the right combination of bitter, salty, sour, sweet and umami (meatiness) to be pleasing to a wide range of palates.

So Heinz carries the day.

Why am I talking about ketchup?

The social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt, brings extensive research in his book, The Righteous Mind, to demonstrate that the same way that we have taste receptors, we have morality receptors.  Studies in anthropology and comparative biology demonstrate that human beings are wired to think that 5 things are important and these 5 things, in some combination, form the basis of our morality.

We think caring is important.

We seek fairness is important. 

We think loyalty is important.

We think authority is important.

And we think sanctity is important.

All of these concerns evolved due to specific circumstances.  Our caring concern, for example, evolved from having to protect vulnerable children.  Our authority concern evolved in response to the challenge creating relationships that will benefit us within social hierarchies.  Etc.

How does this work out in real life?  Haidt says that liberals tend to speak more about concern regarding the first two areas – care and fairness – and less about the others – loyalty, authority and sanctity. 

Conservatives, according to Haidt, speak equally about all five areas and, if anything, they stress loyalty, authority and sanctity even more.  Democrats didn’t talk about “family values” during the 80’s and 90’s;  Republicans did.  For that reason, until recently, conservatives enjoyed political advantage in the United States. 

It’s changing a little bit, as each group is learning to speak the language of the other. 

So conservatives say that requiring a hospital to pay insurance for a staff member to terminate a pregnancy infringes on the hospital’s rights, invoking the liberal fairness issue.

And liberals say that marriage equality is better for family stability than forcing people into relationships that go against their inclinations, invoking the conservative loyalty issue. 

The Torah reading we heard this morning describes a dramatic moment of divine revelation.  The Torah describes how God utters “et kol  had’varim ha’eileh,” all these words, and what follows are what later were known as aseret hadibrot, the 10 statements or, more commonly, the 10 commandments.

After re-reading Professor Haight’s analysis, I decided to see if the 5 morality receptors apply to the 10 commandments which, certainly in numerous Judea-Christian settings, have been invoked as a cornerstone of morality.

Here’s how it shakes down.  You can certainly argue each one, but I’m making a basic point.

You shall have no other gods besides Me.  You shall not commit adultery.  Loyalty.

On the seventh day, you shall not do any work – you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements.  Fairness – slight stretch.

Therefore God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.  Sanctity.

Honor your father and mother.  Authority.

Granted, missing is a commandment that clearly addresses the issue of caring, which is abundantly addressed later in the Torah. 

In fact, I would say that the Big 10 lean down heavier on loyalty, authority and sanctity than caring and fairness. 

But the Torah overall is pretty balanced.  Numerous passages elsewhere outline our responsibility to act justly and to care for even the most vulnerable in the community.

The 10 commandments to some extent, and the Torah overall to a larger extent, present a framework that seems to hit a variety of human preoccupations when it comes to morality. 

It is as though there was some implicit understanding that in ancient times, and throughout the generations, there would be right wing and left wing, those more fired up by loyalty and authority and those animated primarily by fairness and caring.

With more understanding of some of these dynamics, I wonder how possible it is for us to talk to, rather than past, each other.  I grew up in a home that was progressive on social issues, and my children have grown up in a similar home. 

I know that I benefit from conversation with people in a different part of the spectrum – if nothing else, it clarifies my own thinking and occasionally, it reminds me that I’ve forgotten something valuable. 

Understanding the main touch points of others need not just provide a strategic opening to score points with them, it might also allow for opportunities for increased understanding on both sides.

So Yair Lapid, the gentleman I mentioned at the beginning of my sermon, addressed a group of Haredi, ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.  The speech was recorded on video.  And he said to them, we are still a nation of tribes.  The Haredi Ashkenazi tribe, the Haredi Sephardi tribe, the secular tribe, the Russian tribe and on and on.

And mostly, the ultra-observant like you and the secular like me don’t talk to each other much and we go our separate ways.

That’s very convenient, he says, except that the State of Israel cannot survive this way.  With us ignoring you and you ignoring us.  And he implores them to concern themselves with people beyond their community and to serve in the Army.  And he says, you may think that the secular Israelis have no respect for Jewish tradition or for you and your practices.  If you give us some latitude and don’t try to legislate our observance, we will be more respectful and even more observant. 

Is it inevitable that various “tribes” in Israel and the US will continue to move further apart from one another, or is it possible to find genuine points of contact that can yield greater respect?

Notwithstanding enormous differences in outlook human beings, by and large, crave caring, fairness, loyalty, authority and sanctity in some proportion.

I don’t think that it’s inevitable that we grow further apart from each other.  The base of Mt. Sinai provided a fertile setting for bringing a diverse group of people together, as does the Israeli Army, as does a synagogue like Temple Israel.

Regarding God’s words, the people say to Moses, as recorded in this morning’s Torah portion, “vaya’anu chol ha’am yachdav vayomru kol asher diber adonai na’aseh.  All the people answer as one, saying, All that the Lord has spoken we will do.”

Are such moments of unity possible?  When the moment is ripe?  When all of our receptors are engaged?  When we speak to one another, and together as one?

For Israel’s sake, for Temple Israel’s sake, for the sake of societies worldwide that face untold challenges, I hope so.   

Originally delivered at Temple Israel of Great Neck on February 2, 2013