Between "Fire and Brimstone" and "Everything's Cool": How to Talk about Being Jewish

In his book, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce wrote a creative first-person narrative about an author coming of age in Catholic Ireland.  The book traces the linguistic, spiritual and emotional development of this young man.

The religious education that the narrator received was rather austere, not exactly lovey-dovey.

Corporal punishment was frequently used in his school and in one extended passage, one of the priests delivered a real fire and brimstone speech, designed to terrify the students listening into obeying the rules.  Here is a video of Sir John Gielgud portraying the priest as he delivered the sermon.

I watched the first two minutes of it and was terrified.

Now we might be tempted to think that the the Torah doesn’t aim to frighten us like that.  But of course, that’s not true. 

Taking Out the Garbage

Ufashat et begadav.  ופשט את בגדיו  He removed the clothing he was wearing. 

V’lavash b’gadim aherim.  ולבש בגדים אחרים  And he put on different clothing.

V’hotzi et hadeshen el mihutz lamahaneh.  והוציא את הדשן אל מחוץ למחנה  And he took the ashes outside of the camp.

The Torah is a profound book.  It talks about the creation of the world.  It talks about creating a just society.  It talks about journeys from slavery to freedom, from wilderness to promised land.

Why on earth does this same Torah tell us, in effect, that the Kohen, the priest, changed his outfit in order to take out the garbage?

Rashi says that the Torah is teaching basic derekh eretz, good manners.  The Kohen didn’t want to mess up the clothing that he used for the ritual sacrifices, so he wore a less dignified outfit.

For me personally, this little action on the part of the Kohen is a metaphor for what we need to do more often than we do, and that is, to step away from business as usual, to dress down if we need to, and to begin to remove the garbage that’s all around us and that sometimes seeps within.

By garbage, I mean unacceptable circumstances that we nevertheless accept, due to factors like inertia, obligation and fear. 

When you see an individual or a nation “put on new clothing” and begin to remove the garbage, it’s inspirational.

I want to share some of the inspiration, and then I want to challenge each of us to look within ourselves.

A few days ago, the acting president of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, wrote an op-ed to the Times in which he presented a message to the Russian leadership, especially Vladimir Putin. 

Downton Abbey and the Jewish Approach to Change

The fourth season of Downton Abbey just finished.  For those who may not know, Downton Abbey is a TV series about an upper class British family and their servants at the beginning of the 21^st century.

Spoiler alert:  I’m going to frame my comments with two scenes from the final episode of the season. 

There are two "grand dames" in the show – one British, played by Maggie Smith; one American, played by Shirley MacLaine.  They have a relationship that is icy at best.  Maggie Smith is all British restraint, subtle sarcasm, old money.  Shirley MacLaine’s character is brash American, overt hostility, nouveau riche.  In the final episode, they have kind of a showdown where Shirley MacLaine's character accuses Maggie Smith's of being a snob and says, in effect, you are clinging to the past and I am facing the future.

I want to talk about change.  The inevitability of change, our resistance to change, and the wisdom Judaism offers us regarding how to face change.

Of course, change is universal and changing circumstances impact all people, all countries, all cultures. 

Downton Abbey explores it in Great Britain.  Jumpa Lahiri’s novel, Lowlands, traces the arc of change and its impact on multiple generations in India. Khaled Hossein’s And the Mountain Echoed explores is in Afghanistan.

We need to learn how to handle change because it happens – to us personally and to our surroundings.