This past week I was at a wonderful conference sponsored by Hadar with rabbis of multiple ideological perspectives from all over the country
During a particular session I was studying with two colleagues and one of them, who lives in the Philadelphia area, looked down at his phone and said, “Sorry - Gotta step out.”
He came back in and we asked is everything ok, and he said, the Jewish day school that my children go to just received a bomb threat. All the children are waiting outside. The leadership is trying to figure out what course of action to take next.
Over the next hours he filled us in on the outcome (everyone was ok), on what the leadership decided to share with the children (K through 5), on what procedures they followed.
This, as we know, is part of a much larger recent trend.
The following was recently reported in the JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency):
In total, more than 100 Jewish institutions, mostly Jewish community centers, have received bomb threats since the beginning of the year. The last two weeks saw vandalism at Jewish cemeteries in Philadelphia, St. Louis and Rochester, N.Y., as well as two more waves of bomb threats called into JCCs, schools and institutions across the country, representing the fourth and fifth waves of such harassment this year.
The ADL received a bomb threat over a week ago.
This is not an event here, an event there, this is an epidemic of anti-Semitism which, in its scope and intensity, is, according to several historians, unlike anything that occurred in the United States since the 1920’s.
Dr. Stephen Windmueller points out that there have been cycles of hate in this country when multiple groups have been the targets of discrimination and Jews have generally been targeted when that happens. (“Why now? Why here? Understanding the Rise of anti-Semitism in America,” eJewishphilanthropy, February 28, 2017)
I have said from this pulpit multiple times that we rise together or we fall together. We all have to speak up and speak out when any group is being maligned and attacked. Hateful people who malign one group are likely to malign other groups.
People who are malign woman are likely to also malign those of color. People who malign those of color are likely to malign certain religious groups. Haters tend not to be picky when it comes to the objects of their hatred. And therefore, we rise together or we fall together. We protect each other or we’re all in trouble.
I believe that. And I’ll get back to that.
However. As a rabbi, as a Jew, who has spoken against bigotry toward many groups in multiple situations, I want to say the following:
In order to appreciate the importance of speaking out for others, we first and foremost need to develop a strong sense of our own validity, our own legitimacy. I can’t defend you properly until I learn why and how to defend myself.
We are allowed to, and we must, defend ourselves.
We are allowed to, and we must, demand that the leaders of this great nation of which we are citizens defend our legitimate rights.
They must do so when they are scripted and non-scripted, in front of the camera and behind the camera, and with no qualifications.
It has long been acknowledged psychologically that those who are discriminated against, especially over a long period of time, will on some level internalize the comments and sentiments of those doing the discriminating.
If enough people tell us we are unworthy, we start to believe it.
I strongly hope that Jewish people are not in any way, on any level, wondering if we have a full right to exist as inhabitants of any land with full opportunity and full protection.
To provide some background, I'd like to offer a panoramic overview of the story of the Exodus from Egypt which traces a significant arc in the evolution of our collective self-esteem.
The children of Israel were slaves in Egypt for generations. When Moses told them God’s plan for their freedom, for their redemption, they couldn’t even hear him. They suffered from קצר רוח kotzer ruah, shortness of spirit.
The process of deliverance was two-fold – redeeming the Israelites from Egypt, of course, but also convincing the Israelites that they were worthy of being redeemed.
At Mount Sinai the Israelites were cowering in fear – don’t let God speak to us, they said to Moses, you speak to us, פן נמות pen namut – otherwise we’ll die.
And only later - with the trauma of slavery gradually receding, with the trauma of revelation gradually receding - the Israelites were actually ready to build something.
As they began to feel worthy of having been freed, worthy of God paying attention to them and calling them to a larger destiny, they started to build a sanctuary that would help God to feel present among them.
And then – and only then – were they ready to start to build something else, something at least as significant. A society where they, and the stranger (ger), would be treated justly and compassionately.
From cowering slaves to cowering receptacles of a divine revelation they weren’t quite ready for to builders of a sacred space in which to worship to builders of a sacred place in which they and others could live justly, the children of Israel made great progress.
I can’t fully appreciate the need for you to have justice until I feel worthy of justice myself.
I can’t truly defend you if I am not prepared to defend myself.
I must have been around 17 or so, I was in High School, and a kid decided that I would be fun to pick on and he did a good job of it.
I didn’t really want to go to school during that whole period. I moped around at home, pretty miserable. My parents asked what’s wrong. I told them someone was picking on me. They asked who. I told them the name.
My mother, may she rest in peace, said, “That vantz? Tell him to buzz off.”
Now my mother’s statement needs a little commentary, some Rashi.
Vantz is the Yiddish word for bedbug. It was her way of telling me, don’t feel insignificant next to him. Don’t let him put you down. And by the way, she didn’t quite say “tell him to buzz off.” I edited a bit to make it synagogue friendly.
All in all, I appreciated her message. You are only as small as you allow others to make you feel.
Without burdening you with all with the details, I’ll just say that as I became more capable of protecting myself, I became more useful to others.
Hillel’s famous statement follows this path. First – אם אין אני לי מי לי im ein ani li mi li – if I am not for myself who am I?
Then – וכשאני לעצמי מה אני u’kh'she’ani l’atzmi mah ani – if I am only for myself, what am I.
The defense that we provide others, if it is to be effective and lasting, must come from our bedrock conviction that we deserve defense, that we deserve peace, that we deserve justice.
I was heartened to discover that a Florida Congressman, Ted Deutsch, spearheaded a bipartisan letter to the president calling for the leadership to do the following:
1. Ensure that the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice has access to the necessary resources and information to fully investigate alleged anti-Semitic crimes and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.
2. Ensure that a mechanism exists to coordinate inter-agency detection of and response to new anti-Semitic crimes.
3. Evaluate growing anti-Semitism online, particularly incitement to violence, and devise a comprehensive policy response.
We are worthy. We are free. We have built and are capable of building. We surely don’t deserve the threats and the attacks – no one does. We can and must defend ourselves. We can and must defend others so discrimination doesn’t plague them. Protecting ourselves, protecting each other, are mutually reinforcing, they work hand in hand.
Of course the coda to Hillel's statement applies as well. אם לא עכשו אימתי Im lo akhshav – eimatai. If not now, when? If we don’t demand our rights now, when are we going to get started? How many more children need to stand outside of their schools wondering when they can be let back in? Wondering what’s happening? Wondering if they have a right to exist in peace? How many more cemeteries need to be vandalized?
We will protect ourselves. We will protect others. That is our ancient legacy and the imperative of this hour.
Originally shared with the Temple Israel of Great Neck community on March 4, 2017, Parashat Terumah.
During a particular session I was studying with two colleagues and one of them, who lives in the Philadelphia area, looked down at his phone and said, “Sorry - Gotta step out.”
He came back in and we asked is everything ok, and he said, the Jewish day school that my children go to just received a bomb threat. All the children are waiting outside. The leadership is trying to figure out what course of action to take next.
Vandalism at Mt. Carmel Cemetery In Philadelphia, PA, February, 2017
Over the next hours he filled us in on the outcome (everyone was ok), on what the leadership decided to share with the children (K through 5), on what procedures they followed.
This, as we know, is part of a much larger recent trend.
The following was recently reported in the JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency):
In total, more than 100 Jewish institutions, mostly Jewish community centers, have received bomb threats since the beginning of the year. The last two weeks saw vandalism at Jewish cemeteries in Philadelphia, St. Louis and Rochester, N.Y., as well as two more waves of bomb threats called into JCCs, schools and institutions across the country, representing the fourth and fifth waves of such harassment this year.
The ADL received a bomb threat over a week ago.
This is not an event here, an event there, this is an epidemic of anti-Semitism which, in its scope and intensity, is, according to several historians, unlike anything that occurred in the United States since the 1920’s.
Dr. Stephen Windmueller points out that there have been cycles of hate in this country when multiple groups have been the targets of discrimination and Jews have generally been targeted when that happens. (“Why now? Why here? Understanding the Rise of anti-Semitism in America,” eJewishphilanthropy, February 28, 2017)
I have said from this pulpit multiple times that we rise together or we fall together. We all have to speak up and speak out when any group is being maligned and attacked. Hateful people who malign one group are likely to malign other groups.
People who are malign woman are likely to also malign those of color. People who malign those of color are likely to malign certain religious groups. Haters tend not to be picky when it comes to the objects of their hatred. And therefore, we rise together or we fall together. We protect each other or we’re all in trouble.
I believe that. And I’ll get back to that.
However. As a rabbi, as a Jew, who has spoken against bigotry toward many groups in multiple situations, I want to say the following:
In order to appreciate the importance of speaking out for others, we first and foremost need to develop a strong sense of our own validity, our own legitimacy. I can’t defend you properly until I learn why and how to defend myself.
We are allowed to, and we must, defend ourselves.
We are allowed to, and we must, demand that the leaders of this great nation of which we are citizens defend our legitimate rights.
They must do so when they are scripted and non-scripted, in front of the camera and behind the camera, and with no qualifications.
It has long been acknowledged psychologically that those who are discriminated against, especially over a long period of time, will on some level internalize the comments and sentiments of those doing the discriminating.
If enough people tell us we are unworthy, we start to believe it.
I strongly hope that Jewish people are not in any way, on any level, wondering if we have a full right to exist as inhabitants of any land with full opportunity and full protection.
To provide some background, I'd like to offer a panoramic overview of the story of the Exodus from Egypt which traces a significant arc in the evolution of our collective self-esteem.
The children of Israel were slaves in Egypt for generations. When Moses told them God’s plan for their freedom, for their redemption, they couldn’t even hear him. They suffered from קצר רוח kotzer ruah, shortness of spirit.
The process of deliverance was two-fold – redeeming the Israelites from Egypt, of course, but also convincing the Israelites that they were worthy of being redeemed.
At Mount Sinai the Israelites were cowering in fear – don’t let God speak to us, they said to Moses, you speak to us, פן נמות pen namut – otherwise we’ll die.
And only later - with the trauma of slavery gradually receding, with the trauma of revelation gradually receding - the Israelites were actually ready to build something.
As they began to feel worthy of having been freed, worthy of God paying attention to them and calling them to a larger destiny, they started to build a sanctuary that would help God to feel present among them.
And then – and only then – were they ready to start to build something else, something at least as significant. A society where they, and the stranger (ger), would be treated justly and compassionately.
From cowering slaves to cowering receptacles of a divine revelation they weren’t quite ready for to builders of a sacred space in which to worship to builders of a sacred place in which they and others could live justly, the children of Israel made great progress.
I can’t fully appreciate the need for you to have justice until I feel worthy of justice myself.
I can’t truly defend you if I am not prepared to defend myself.
I must have been around 17 or so, I was in High School, and a kid decided that I would be fun to pick on and he did a good job of it.
I didn’t really want to go to school during that whole period. I moped around at home, pretty miserable. My parents asked what’s wrong. I told them someone was picking on me. They asked who. I told them the name.
My mother, may she rest in peace, said, “That vantz? Tell him to buzz off.”
Now my mother’s statement needs a little commentary, some Rashi.
Vantz is the Yiddish word for bedbug. It was her way of telling me, don’t feel insignificant next to him. Don’t let him put you down. And by the way, she didn’t quite say “tell him to buzz off.” I edited a bit to make it synagogue friendly.
All in all, I appreciated her message. You are only as small as you allow others to make you feel.
Without burdening you with all with the details, I’ll just say that as I became more capable of protecting myself, I became more useful to others.
Hillel’s famous statement follows this path. First – אם אין אני לי מי לי im ein ani li mi li – if I am not for myself who am I?
Then – וכשאני לעצמי מה אני u’kh'she’ani l’atzmi mah ani – if I am only for myself, what am I.
The defense that we provide others, if it is to be effective and lasting, must come from our bedrock conviction that we deserve defense, that we deserve peace, that we deserve justice.
I was heartened to discover that a Florida Congressman, Ted Deutsch, spearheaded a bipartisan letter to the president calling for the leadership to do the following:
1. Ensure that the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice has access to the necessary resources and information to fully investigate alleged anti-Semitic crimes and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.
2. Ensure that a mechanism exists to coordinate inter-agency detection of and response to new anti-Semitic crimes.
3. Evaluate growing anti-Semitism online, particularly incitement to violence, and devise a comprehensive policy response.
We are worthy. We are free. We have built and are capable of building. We surely don’t deserve the threats and the attacks – no one does. We can and must defend ourselves. We can and must defend others so discrimination doesn’t plague them. Protecting ourselves, protecting each other, are mutually reinforcing, they work hand in hand.
Of course the coda to Hillel's statement applies as well. אם לא עכשו אימתי Im lo akhshav – eimatai. If not now, when? If we don’t demand our rights now, when are we going to get started? How many more children need to stand outside of their schools wondering when they can be let back in? Wondering what’s happening? Wondering if they have a right to exist in peace? How many more cemeteries need to be vandalized?
We will protect ourselves. We will protect others. That is our ancient legacy and the imperative of this hour.
Originally shared with the Temple Israel of Great Neck community on March 4, 2017, Parashat Terumah.
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