We Must Pursue Ethics and Ritual Together

I recently read something that gave me a bit of indigestion.

Writing in the Forward, two Israeli thought leaders offered the following argument:

They were addressing Jewish liberals in the US who are upset with how Israeli political leadership is treating non-Orthodox Jews and said, in effect, listen up.  If you want allies in Israel, you need to seek out people like us who are not religious.  

People who are religious in Israel tend not to care about women’s rights and minority rights; people who care about those things tend not to be religious.  

So, goes the argument, in Israel it’s one or the other - if you care about human rights, you’re probably not religious; if you’re religious, you likely don't get so worked up when it comes to other people’s rights.

I hear a version of this about American Jews.  The Jews who are “keeping Judaism alive” are those who may not care so much about preserving democracy and minority rights unless that minority is the Jews.  As for the Jews who value feminism, minority rights, and are worked up over what’s happening to American democracy?  Well, let’s see how many of those kind will be left after a few generations.  

Let’s focus on the United States.  Is there a growing correlation between commitment to Jewish tradition and disregard for "justice for all"?  Is there a growing correlation between concern for justice and lax commitment to Jewish tradition?

No Hiding Behind The Rules

You can follow the rules and still not be doing the right thing.

The Torah describes the following scenario:

Every 7th year, debts were cancelled.  I lend money to you and when the 7th year comes around, you don’t have to pay me back.

Moses, however, tells the people the following:  If someone needs a loan and the 7th year is coming up, don’t say, since the 7th year is coming, I won’t help the person out.  The wording is so insightful:  השמר לך פן יהיה דבר עם לבבך בליעל לאמר hishamer l’kha pen yih’yeh davar im levav’kha b’liay’al lemor - Be careful that your heart doesn’t convince you not to give.  (Deut. 15:9-10)

נתון תתן לו Naton titen lo - you should definitely give.  ואל ירע לבבך מתתן לו V’al yera levav’kha mititen lo - and you shouldn’t let your heart prevent you from giving.

I want to take a few minutes to address a reality that affects people who act in the name of religion and it not a new reality, as the Torah demonstrates.

People follow the rules and are still not ultimately doing the right thing.  We’re all susceptible.  We follow the rules - we say I’m following my religion or the law of the land - but what we do ignores the larger picture of what is decent and just and so we don’t actually end up doing the right thing.

Thoughts From a Recent Trip

De and I had a whirlwind of a month, starting in Israel and followed up by a trip from Lisbon to Rome.  The entire experience informed my thinking about how Jews relate to the world, which I'll get to shortly.

Mind you, not everything we did was of Jewish interest.  We toured sites of general interest - some pagan and Christian sites like the Colosseum in Rome and the Sagrada Familia Church in Barcelona.  We sampled local beers and watched the world cup on TV screens throughout Israel and Europe.

We had a great time and observed and learned a lot of random things. Including details about the dialogue in pictures between the story of Moses and the story of Jesus that plays out in the Sistine Chapel.  

Who Have We Become?

Perhaps you’ve had the kind of experience I’m about to describe.  
When my sons were teenagers they were getting on my nerves the same day that a lot of other frustrating things were happening.  

Jewish children rescued from Vienna in 1939

I said things I shouldn’t have said in a tone I shouldn’t have used.

In a moment of clarity, I asked myself - hey, who is this guy? Who are you?  Who have you become?

There are moments when we ask ourselves who we are and who we have become.

Sometimes it’s true of us as individuals.  Sometimes it’s true of us as a community.  Sometimes it’s true of us as a nation.

We have read, seen and heard about the policy which intensified this past week to use separation of parents and children as a deterrent to people seeking asylum in the United States.  We’ve read descriptions.  We’ve seen and heard the anguish of children who were separated from their parents.

Children Belong With Their Parents

How often do liberal and evangelical Christians, Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Jews all agree about something? Recently, representatives from these groups agreed on the following:  Children should not be forcibly separated from their parents.  

In response to the immoral decision by the Department of Justice, with the full support of the White House. to wrest thousands of children away from their parents in an attempt to deter asylum seekers, religious groups across the ideological spectrum have issued intense opposition.  

The following appeared in a statement signed by the Anti-Defamation League as well as leading Jewish organizations that include the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical Assembly:

“As Jews, we understand the plight of being an immigrant fleeing violence and oppression. We believe that the United States is a nation of immigrants and how we treat the stranger reflects on the moral values and ideals of this nation.

“Many of these migrant families are seeking asylum in the United States to escape violence in Central America. Taking children away from their families is unconscionable. Such practices inflict unnecessary trauma on parents and children, many of whom have already suffered traumatic experiences. This added trauma negatively impacts physical and mental health, including increasing the risk of early death.”

Perhaps you have heard the recorded sounds of small children crying for their parents or perhaps you have seen pictures.  This is not a time for silence, not a time for careful contemplation, not a time to weigh pros and cons.

There may be room for reasonable debate about a variety of issues pertaining to immigration, but not about the forced separation of parents and children as a deterrence tactic.  It is immoral and un-American.  And Jews, who know the perils of such actions first-hand, should be at the forefront of protest and condemnation.

If you would like to make your opinion known, I encourage you to sign this petition circulated by the ADL. 

We who have historic and personal memories of the separation of children and parents.  We who are forever grateful to the brave souls of our faith and other faiths who took steps throughout our history to rescue children and restore them to their parents.  We who annually recite the words anticipating the time when Elijah will turn the hearts of the parents to the children and the hearts of the children to the parents.  

We can’t sit this one out.  We must step up and speak out. Children are crying out to us and we must answer.  As Jews, as Americans, as human beings, we must answer their cry. 

Shared with the Temple Israel of Great Neck Community on June 20, 2018

Fear Can Be a Good Thing

A classic Bob Newhart episode features a woman speaking to her therapist (played with expert comic timing by the incomparable Bob Newhart) about her fears.  When she finishes, the therapist tells her he has two words that he believes will help her.  She asks him to share the two words and he looks her right in the eye and yells, “Stop it!”  

Moses sends 12 men to scout out the land.  10 see the beauty, but all of the beauty doesn’t matter the moment they lay eyes on the enormous people there.  It is, they tell Moses and the people, ארץ אוכלת יושביה eretz okhelet yoshveha, "a land that eats up its inhabitants."  

They say, אם חפץ בנו ה׳ im hafetz banu Adonai - if God wants us to, we will be able to enter the land.

Fear is natural, but it can paralyze.  When we feel afraid, we usually can’t just “stop it.”
  
Yet fear can also energize.  A group of ballet dancers who direct and perform with the illustrious Alvin Ailey dance troop were interviewed recently on the radio.  They all spoke about how their fear - about performing well, about following in the footsteps (literally) of such great dancers in a company with such a storied reputation - energizes them to work harder, and to dance better.

I want to ask us to reflect on something that makes us afraid and how we handle it. Do we avoid such things altogether?  Or have we learned, can we learn, to lean into the fear, to harness it in fact, and to do what we need to do with energy and resolve?

The Power of the People

Sometimes people ask me how I come up with sermon ideas. I’m not always sure if the question is meant as a compliment…

But I figured, why not share the backstory of how I came up with today’s topic which is about “the power of the people." Specifically, our power and responsibility, from a Jewish perspective and a civics perspective, to create positive change.

So here goes.  Part one of the backstory. 

I was reading about the Irish referendum on abortion and thinking - how interesting that by majority vote, a nation decided to overturn centuries of anti-abortion sentiment and policy.  I read more about that and discovered that for many people, this was part of an effort to increase women’s rights and to bring Ireland in line with the policies of more progressive European countries.  Of course it involved pushing back against Church teachings, which many found repressive in this area and others.

Part two.  The Torah reading describes a moment when Moses acknowledges how great it would be if the entire people would be prophets, filled with God’s spirit.  

In thinking about this part of the Torah reading, I imagined it would be worthwhile to explore what it means for the people - not just the appointed leaders - to participate in charting a course for the community.  

Part three. This was the cosmic clincher, a sign from above.  De and I were watching the final episode of Madam Secretary (a TV show which presents an optimistic view of what government can look like) and the climax of the final episode hinges upon the Secretary convincing the president to bring a tricky international policy to the people and to let them have their say.  The people, in turns out, support a policy that is measured and reasonable.  

I saw that and said, Fate.  Bashert.  Resmat.  This is my topic. The positive impact that "the people" can have in multiple realms, if only we are decent, well-informed and courageous.