As many of you know I had the fun and privilege of traveling to Israel with outstanding educators Avi Siegel, Moji Pourmoradi, Tziona Kamel and 44 teenagers. Some of the teens will be speaking about their experience on the 7th day of Passover and we will all continue to reflect on that trip. Right now I want to focus on our tour of Yad Vashem for reasons that will become clear.
Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust Museum, traces the complex history leading up to the Shoah, during the Shoah, and beyond.
Several exhibits are devoted to the various phenomena that led to the Shoah and in particular, a great deal of emphasis is placed on the role of anti-Semitism
As you might expect, several exhibits in the museum are devoted to pre-existing antisemitism in Europe and how the Nazis capitalized upon it to create nothing less than a murderous propaganda machine.
Anti-Semitism is on the rise in the Europe and the US. Anti-Semitic tropes are being used by national leaders, Democrat and Republican.
I have two points to make about this and I’ll devote a few minutes to each.
1. Jews deserve to have antisemitism specifically named and denounced.
2. Jews must not allow antisemitism to define who we are.
Point # 1. People of color deserve to have racism specifically named and denounced since there are unique features of racism that need to be addressed. People who are gay, lesbian and trans deserve to have homophobia and transphobia specifically named and denounced given the unique features of those expressions of hatred. Muslims deserve to have Islamaphobia specifically named and denounced, as the recent massacre of 50 Muslims during prayer tragically reinforces. Women deserve to have misogyny specifically named and denounced as this too is a specific and very real problem.
And Jews deserve, and have every right to demand, that antisemitism be named and denounced as antisemitism.
When a Congresswoman tweets about the Jews hypnotizing the rest of the world, and more recently about how those who support Israel are pushing members of Congress to have allegiance to a foreign country, she is trucking in longstanding antisemitic tropes and her comments need to be denounced as antisemitism.
When a Congressman tweets about the financial influence of a man with Jewish roots and uses a dollar sign instead of the letter S in his name, he is trucking in longstanding antisemitic tropes and his comment needs to be denounced as antisemitism. The congresswoman is a democrat; the congressman is a republican. And their statements are antisemitic and need to be acknowledged and denounced as such.
Leftwing antisemitism expressed in criticism of Israel through demonization and delegitimization is wrong and needs to be denounced. Rightwing antisemitism that accuses Jews of destroying (a ghastly concept of) racial purity is wrong and needs to be denounced. If we Jews spend more effort yelling at each other from our particular partisan perches than we do pushing back against antisemitism whatever its source, then we are profoundly missing the mark.
And yes - all hatred is bad, and all hatred should be denounced, but we, no less than any other group who is targeted, deserve to have a specific condemnation. We deserve to have antisemitism named and condemned as such when it rears its ugly head.
And it is increasingly rearing its ugly head in Europe, in the US, in Roslyn where the Shelter Rock Jewish Center was defaced recently with a swastika. In Brooklyn where posters of Ruth Bader Ginsburg were defaced with comments that are antisemitic and misogynistic.
If a child is being bullied at school, it’s not enough for the administration to denounce bullying in general; the administration needs to address the specific child’s situation. And so it is with a people who have endured a specific form of hatred for millennia. We deserve to have our specific situation addressed.
Today is Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat of Remembering. We are asked to remember Amalek because we need to, deserve to, prevent future attacks on our people through hateful words and actions.
When Haman tries to convince the king to let him kill the Jews, he tells a whole truth, a half truth and a lie. “There is a people spread out among your kingdom.” Truth. “Their laws are different from ours.” Half truth. Some laws are different, some are the same.
“And they don’t observe the king’s laws.” Lie. While there may well have been individual Jews who broke the laws, Jews operated under the principle of dina d’malkhuta dina. You observe the law of the land in which you live.
The charge that Jews, because they have some distinct traditions, are ipso facto disloyal to their host society, is a lie. A lie that persists and needs to be denounced in every generation.
Point #2. Antisemites shouldn’t define us. We shouldn’t believe, and teach subsequent generations, that the main point of being Jewish is to respond to the people who hate us. The main point of being Jewish, rather, is to bring blessing to the world.
So the children of Israel who defeated Amalek went on to create a society which - while far from perfect - sought to bring justice to the powerful and the vulnerable, including the stranger, the orphan and the widow. Amalek attacked us and we responded. But Amalek didn’t define us.
And the Jews of Shushan, once they defeat Haman, establish a holiday that includes giving gifts to others and, in particular, to those who are needy. Haman attacked us and we responded. Haman didn’t define us.
Antisemites don’t define us. Someone whom I admire recently told me, Israel’s leaders need to act justly because we don’t want to give the antisemites more ammunition. And I said, “Aaaaahhh!!!” Meaning, I disagree.
So, for example, the Prime Minister of Israel should avoid a coalition with a racist party, not because antisemites are watching - the antisemites will hate us no matter what - they can take a hike. He should avoid it because it violates Israel’s own values as recorded in the Declaration of Independence. He, and we, should do right because it’s right, and avoid wrong because it’s wrong, not because we are fearful of giving antisemites ammunition as though they need any.
To extend the analogy. I hope we are telling the younger generation that they shouldn’t try hard to get the haters and bullies to like them. They should find the strength to do what they know is right, to be the people they know they should be.
We have the right and the obligation to demand that hatred against us be acknowledged by name and not diluted. And we have the right and the obligation to define who we are by doing what we believe to be just.
Indeed 44 teens who recently visited Yad Vashem saw the dangers of antisemitism unchecked. They also saw groups of Israeli soldiers touring Yad Vashem as part of their training, Israeli soldiers who are defending the Jewish state and the Jewish people.
And they saw an organization in Tel Aviv that brings children who need heart surgery to Israel for surgery that they cannot get where they live.
And they packed food for needy people in a well-run, well-stocked factory.
And they walked through Mahaneh yehuda, Jerusalem’s outdoor market, in the rain.
Our teens saw with their own eyes what I am trying to convey today. We must demand that we be treated with fairness and respect, defending ourselves directly when we deem it necessary. And we ourselves, not our haters, must define who we are, how we want to behave toward others, who we want to be in the world.
As the story of Esther reminds us, ליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה וששון ויקר Layehudim hayta ora v’simha v’sason viy’kar - ultimately the ancient Jews had light, joy and gladness.
With proper self-defense, and with proper self-definition, כן תהיה לנו Ken tih’yeh lanu. Let that be true of us today.
Originally shared at Temple Israel of Great Neck on March 16, 2019, Shabbat Zachor 5779
Temple Israel of Great Neck Teen Trip 2019
Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust Museum, traces the complex history leading up to the Shoah, during the Shoah, and beyond.
Several exhibits are devoted to the various phenomena that led to the Shoah and in particular, a great deal of emphasis is placed on the role of anti-Semitism
As you might expect, several exhibits in the museum are devoted to pre-existing antisemitism in Europe and how the Nazis capitalized upon it to create nothing less than a murderous propaganda machine.
Anti-Semitism is on the rise in the Europe and the US. Anti-Semitic tropes are being used by national leaders, Democrat and Republican.
I have two points to make about this and I’ll devote a few minutes to each.
1. Jews deserve to have antisemitism specifically named and denounced.
2. Jews must not allow antisemitism to define who we are.
Point # 1. People of color deserve to have racism specifically named and denounced since there are unique features of racism that need to be addressed. People who are gay, lesbian and trans deserve to have homophobia and transphobia specifically named and denounced given the unique features of those expressions of hatred. Muslims deserve to have Islamaphobia specifically named and denounced, as the recent massacre of 50 Muslims during prayer tragically reinforces. Women deserve to have misogyny specifically named and denounced as this too is a specific and very real problem.
And Jews deserve, and have every right to demand, that antisemitism be named and denounced as antisemitism.
When a Congresswoman tweets about the Jews hypnotizing the rest of the world, and more recently about how those who support Israel are pushing members of Congress to have allegiance to a foreign country, she is trucking in longstanding antisemitic tropes and her comments need to be denounced as antisemitism.
When a Congressman tweets about the financial influence of a man with Jewish roots and uses a dollar sign instead of the letter S in his name, he is trucking in longstanding antisemitic tropes and his comment needs to be denounced as antisemitism. The congresswoman is a democrat; the congressman is a republican. And their statements are antisemitic and need to be acknowledged and denounced as such.
Leftwing antisemitism expressed in criticism of Israel through demonization and delegitimization is wrong and needs to be denounced. Rightwing antisemitism that accuses Jews of destroying (a ghastly concept of) racial purity is wrong and needs to be denounced. If we Jews spend more effort yelling at each other from our particular partisan perches than we do pushing back against antisemitism whatever its source, then we are profoundly missing the mark.
And yes - all hatred is bad, and all hatred should be denounced, but we, no less than any other group who is targeted, deserve to have a specific condemnation. We deserve to have antisemitism named and condemned as such when it rears its ugly head.
And it is increasingly rearing its ugly head in Europe, in the US, in Roslyn where the Shelter Rock Jewish Center was defaced recently with a swastika. In Brooklyn where posters of Ruth Bader Ginsburg were defaced with comments that are antisemitic and misogynistic.
If a child is being bullied at school, it’s not enough for the administration to denounce bullying in general; the administration needs to address the specific child’s situation. And so it is with a people who have endured a specific form of hatred for millennia. We deserve to have our specific situation addressed.
Today is Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat of Remembering. We are asked to remember Amalek because we need to, deserve to, prevent future attacks on our people through hateful words and actions.
When Haman tries to convince the king to let him kill the Jews, he tells a whole truth, a half truth and a lie. “There is a people spread out among your kingdom.” Truth. “Their laws are different from ours.” Half truth. Some laws are different, some are the same.
“And they don’t observe the king’s laws.” Lie. While there may well have been individual Jews who broke the laws, Jews operated under the principle of dina d’malkhuta dina. You observe the law of the land in which you live.
The charge that Jews, because they have some distinct traditions, are ipso facto disloyal to their host society, is a lie. A lie that persists and needs to be denounced in every generation.
Point #2. Antisemites shouldn’t define us. We shouldn’t believe, and teach subsequent generations, that the main point of being Jewish is to respond to the people who hate us. The main point of being Jewish, rather, is to bring blessing to the world.
So the children of Israel who defeated Amalek went on to create a society which - while far from perfect - sought to bring justice to the powerful and the vulnerable, including the stranger, the orphan and the widow. Amalek attacked us and we responded. But Amalek didn’t define us.
And the Jews of Shushan, once they defeat Haman, establish a holiday that includes giving gifts to others and, in particular, to those who are needy. Haman attacked us and we responded. Haman didn’t define us.
Antisemites don’t define us. Someone whom I admire recently told me, Israel’s leaders need to act justly because we don’t want to give the antisemites more ammunition. And I said, “Aaaaahhh!!!” Meaning, I disagree.
So, for example, the Prime Minister of Israel should avoid a coalition with a racist party, not because antisemites are watching - the antisemites will hate us no matter what - they can take a hike. He should avoid it because it violates Israel’s own values as recorded in the Declaration of Independence. He, and we, should do right because it’s right, and avoid wrong because it’s wrong, not because we are fearful of giving antisemites ammunition as though they need any.
To extend the analogy. I hope we are telling the younger generation that they shouldn’t try hard to get the haters and bullies to like them. They should find the strength to do what they know is right, to be the people they know they should be.
We have the right and the obligation to demand that hatred against us be acknowledged by name and not diluted. And we have the right and the obligation to define who we are by doing what we believe to be just.
Indeed 44 teens who recently visited Yad Vashem saw the dangers of antisemitism unchecked. They also saw groups of Israeli soldiers touring Yad Vashem as part of their training, Israeli soldiers who are defending the Jewish state and the Jewish people.
And they saw an organization in Tel Aviv that brings children who need heart surgery to Israel for surgery that they cannot get where they live.
And they packed food for needy people in a well-run, well-stocked factory.
And they walked through Mahaneh yehuda, Jerusalem’s outdoor market, in the rain.
Our teens saw with their own eyes what I am trying to convey today. We must demand that we be treated with fairness and respect, defending ourselves directly when we deem it necessary. And we ourselves, not our haters, must define who we are, how we want to behave toward others, who we want to be in the world.
As the story of Esther reminds us, ליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה וששון ויקר Layehudim hayta ora v’simha v’sason viy’kar - ultimately the ancient Jews had light, joy and gladness.
With proper self-defense, and with proper self-definition, כן תהיה לנו Ken tih’yeh lanu. Let that be true of us today.
Originally shared at Temple Israel of Great Neck on March 16, 2019, Shabbat Zachor 5779
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