וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֲבִימֶ֖לֶךְ אֶל־יִצְחָ֑ק לֵ֚ךְ מֵֽעִמָּ֔נוּ כִּֽי־עָצַֽמְתָּ־מִמֶּ֖נּוּ מְאֹֽד׃
And Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you have become far too big for us."
After Abimelech, the king of the Philistines saw Isaac and Rebecca making out, he wondered why Isaac had lied to him about Rebecca being his sister. Isaac responded that he was afraid of his being killed and Rebecca being taken because she was so beautiful and so the king forbade anyone from hurting Isaac. Isaac thrived in Gerar and, when he had grown too big, Abimelech expelled him from the place feeling that he might have grown too powerful.
This pattern of "come join us" is often followed by Jewish success. In 1492 the Jews of Spain were expelled and Turkey welcomed them in. They thrived there and, until very recently, were welcomed there as important citizens. Now, however, they are being persecuted by the Islamic authorities who, once again, grow jealous of their success. In Israel, the Jews have settled the Land and the Arabs who peer out from Lebanon and Syria and Jordan and Egypt literally see a cesspool turned into a garden. This embarasses them as they had possession of the Land for 700 years and turned it into a literal garbage dump. They, too, want to expel the Jews. In fact, throughout history it seems that wherever the Jews are, they are eventually kicked out and it always seems to be after they have set down roots and flourished. England, Spain, France, Portugal, Germany - pretty much anywhere Jews lived and thrived has become a place of suffering and exile.
Of course, when countries say such things the Jewish response has been to get out and get out quickly. I learned that the difference between the Ashkenazi sefer Torah scroll and the Sephardic sefer Torah scroll was not in the writing, of course, but in the way it is contained. The Sephardic scroll is encased in a beautiful wood case, elaborately decorated and very, very heavy. Not easy to carry. The Ashkenazic scroll on the other hand is highly portable. Very easy to carry. Why? Because the Jews were not often kicked out of the Sephardic countries - ironically Islamic countries who saw Jews as "People of the Book" - as long as they paid the Jew tax and accepted inferior status, they were allowed to stay, that is until they were all expelled after Israel was established. It was easy to carry out the Torah while fleeing Ashkenazic communities in Europe and so the Torah was made easy to carry.
If you think about it, though, we are all carrying just a little bit of stuff on our backs wherever we go. Everything we own will turn to dust. Everything we cherish will rust and disintegrate. The only thing we can really carry with us is our name and the echo of the good we have done. Jews never defined themselves upon the cities or civilizations they built. They defined themselves upon the thoughts they thought and the values they developed. They created a civilization of learning and of tradition, of family and community that saw all other Jews (by and large) as part of the family no matter where they were found. This is not something that needs a building. Jews have flourished because they knew how to work together for a better good and they enriched every society in which they lived with their prosperity. The sickness that causes expulsion is not the success of the Jews - it is the incessant jealousy of those who want to be served but can't stand that someone whom they deem inferior can have that much success. They can't resolve the congnitive dissonance so they expel the Jews and oftentimes fall back into dire circumstance. Talk about self-defeating. It is not a condition that we see remedied any time soon.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Life of Sara
וַיִּהְיוּ חַיֵּי שָׂרָה מֵאָה שָׁנָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וְשֶׁבַע שָׁנִים שְׁנֵי חַיֵּי שָׂרָֽה׃
Sarah's lifetime -- the span of Sarah's life -- came to one hundred and twenty-seven years.
It is very strange for me to write a blog entry on the eve of my daughter Sara's bat mitzvah when the portion she is reading from is "Hayyai Sara: The Life of Sara." Leaving out the obvious problem that the portion deals with Sara's death and not her life, it is still very weird to be looking at this portion - the same portion we read the night she was named. One is, naturally, drawn to a certain amount of reflection on the growth of their child, indeed the same child that crawled up the bima when she was not even a toddler.
All parents have these feelings when their child is about to take the bima and lead the congregation in prayer. There is great joy and, at the same time, great sadness. We adults are passing into the older generation, especially with ascension of our last child to the bima. But there is great joy because we often see glimpses of what that child will be. Like pieces of gold that glint in the bottom of the river or in a pile of stone, we see brief moments of a brilliant future when our children read from the Torah. To have that experience is to have a sublime sense of what the future will hold.
Moments like that don't happen all the time. But when they do, they are a gift. I am hoping that I see that gift this weekend. and that as my Sara is reading about her matriarch Sara and thinking about her namesake Sara she connects with the Saras past, present and future and senses herself as something much bigger than herself but also something of which she is an integral part. When she senses that, we will all sense that moment of magic when we glimpse her future and smile for what we all know that future will be.
Sarah's lifetime -- the span of Sarah's life -- came to one hundred and twenty-seven years.
It is very strange for me to write a blog entry on the eve of my daughter Sara's bat mitzvah when the portion she is reading from is "Hayyai Sara: The Life of Sara." Leaving out the obvious problem that the portion deals with Sara's death and not her life, it is still very weird to be looking at this portion - the same portion we read the night she was named. One is, naturally, drawn to a certain amount of reflection on the growth of their child, indeed the same child that crawled up the bima when she was not even a toddler.
All parents have these feelings when their child is about to take the bima and lead the congregation in prayer. There is great joy and, at the same time, great sadness. We adults are passing into the older generation, especially with ascension of our last child to the bima. But there is great joy because we often see glimpses of what that child will be. Like pieces of gold that glint in the bottom of the river or in a pile of stone, we see brief moments of a brilliant future when our children read from the Torah. To have that experience is to have a sublime sense of what the future will hold.
Moments like that don't happen all the time. But when they do, they are a gift. I am hoping that I see that gift this weekend. and that as my Sara is reading about her matriarch Sara and thinking about her namesake Sara she connects with the Saras past, present and future and senses herself as something much bigger than herself but also something of which she is an integral part. When she senses that, we will all sense that moment of magic when we glimpse her future and smile for what we all know that future will be.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Parashat Vayere - Emmisaries, Not Angels
Looking up, he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and, bowing to the ground,
וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה שְׁלֹשָׁה אֲנָשִׁים נִצָּבִים עָלָיו וַיַּרְא וַיָּרָץ לִקְרָאתָם מִפֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ אָֽרְצָה׃
וַיָּבֹאוּ שְׁנֵי הַמַּלְאָכִים סְדֹמָה בָּעֶרֶב וְלוֹט יֹשֵׁב בְּשַֽׁעַר־סְדֹם וַיַּרְא־לוֹט וַיָּקָם לִקְרָאתָם וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ אַפַּיִם אָֽרְצָה׃
What happened to the third angel?
When the three angels come to visit Abraham right after his circumcision at 99 years old (ouch!) to announce that Sara will have a baby even though she is "withered" they go to Sodom - of Sodom and Gommorah infamy - and, when they get there, the text says there are only two angels. The question arises, what happened to the third angel. Rashi answers the question in the following manner, keeping in mind that, according to tradition, each angel has but one purpose. This is what he says, "One to destroy Sedom and one to save Lot. The third one who came to foretell to Sarah [of her giving birth]--- once he fulfilled his mission---departed." This answers the question very well, actually, and it made me think of something else.
Angels are basically robots going through the motions doing what they are supposed to do. After they have done their deed, they go wherever angels go and are either held in reserve until they are needed again or sent to the angel happy hunting grounds and retired. They do their duty and are never heard from again, except in very rare circumstances.
This is the way a lot of people see their connection to the Jewish world. We all know of people who send their kids to religious school until the bar mitzvah and then they disappear, believing that they have fulfilled their angelic duty never to be seen again. Sometimes families have no connection at all to Jewish life and understand Judaism to be the Judaism of their parents or grandparents with its sexism or rigid authoritarianism. Whatever the reason, there are lots of people who have tuned out or never tuned in.
There are lots of Jewish organizations that have taken the initiative to reach out. Chabad are experts at it. Unfortunately, what they offer is neither progressive nor particularly accepting. True, they accept all Jews but only to embrace them to change them into what they believe is acceptable Jewish practice. But it still works.
As well, Birthright-Taglit Israel has outreached to Jews through Israel and travel to Israel which has opened up the minds and hearts of hundreds of thousands of young Jews whose connection to Israel and Judaism was often tenous. In fact, I just got this the other day:
"According to a new study about the long-term effects of the Taglit-Birthright Israel program, 72% of married alumni are wedded to other Jews, compared to a rate of 46% among a control group of young Jews who never went on one of the fully subsidized, 10-day trips to Israel. In this finding, the researchers from Brandeis University’s Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies even factored out individuals raised in Orthodox homes." (http://www.forward.com/articles/117817/)
The fact is, outreach works. It worked in motivating Abraham. It works with Birthright and it works with Chabad. It works because outreach effectively done can touch someone where they are and can fill an need that needs filling. The Reform movement has its own outreach and has welcomed people into the tent respectful of their backgrounds and their experiences. But so much more needs to be done. We all need to stop being angels and start being true emmisaries.
You see, angels do only one thing and are retired forever. Frankly, there are far too many angels around. Emmisaries, on the other hand, can take a message of inclusion and warmth and bring it to families and people who are looking for something that meets them where they are. And the message does not wear out.
Jews have been emmisaries of the message for thousands of years. It is time to share the message of what Judaism has to offer once again. You will be amazed at how many people are willing to listen.
וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה שְׁלֹשָׁה אֲנָשִׁים נִצָּבִים עָלָיו וַיַּרְא וַיָּרָץ לִקְרָאתָם מִפֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ אָֽרְצָה׃
The two angels arrived in Sodom in the evening, as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to greet them and, bowing low with his face to the ground,
וַיָּבֹאוּ שְׁנֵי הַמַּלְאָכִים סְדֹמָה בָּעֶרֶב וְלוֹט יֹשֵׁב בְּשַֽׁעַר־סְדֹם וַיַּרְא־לוֹט וַיָּקָם לִקְרָאתָם וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ אַפַּיִם אָֽרְצָה׃
What happened to the third angel?
When the three angels come to visit Abraham right after his circumcision at 99 years old (ouch!) to announce that Sara will have a baby even though she is "withered" they go to Sodom - of Sodom and Gommorah infamy - and, when they get there, the text says there are only two angels. The question arises, what happened to the third angel. Rashi answers the question in the following manner, keeping in mind that, according to tradition, each angel has but one purpose. This is what he says, "One to destroy Sedom and one to save Lot. The third one who came to foretell to Sarah [of her giving birth]--- once he fulfilled his mission---departed." This answers the question very well, actually, and it made me think of something else.
Angels are basically robots going through the motions doing what they are supposed to do. After they have done their deed, they go wherever angels go and are either held in reserve until they are needed again or sent to the angel happy hunting grounds and retired. They do their duty and are never heard from again, except in very rare circumstances.
This is the way a lot of people see their connection to the Jewish world. We all know of people who send their kids to religious school until the bar mitzvah and then they disappear, believing that they have fulfilled their angelic duty never to be seen again. Sometimes families have no connection at all to Jewish life and understand Judaism to be the Judaism of their parents or grandparents with its sexism or rigid authoritarianism. Whatever the reason, there are lots of people who have tuned out or never tuned in.
There are lots of Jewish organizations that have taken the initiative to reach out. Chabad are experts at it. Unfortunately, what they offer is neither progressive nor particularly accepting. True, they accept all Jews but only to embrace them to change them into what they believe is acceptable Jewish practice. But it still works.
As well, Birthright-Taglit Israel has outreached to Jews through Israel and travel to Israel which has opened up the minds and hearts of hundreds of thousands of young Jews whose connection to Israel and Judaism was often tenous. In fact, I just got this the other day:
"According to a new study about the long-term effects of the Taglit-Birthright Israel program, 72% of married alumni are wedded to other Jews, compared to a rate of 46% among a control group of young Jews who never went on one of the fully subsidized, 10-day trips to Israel. In this finding, the researchers from Brandeis University’s Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies even factored out individuals raised in Orthodox homes." (http://www.forward.com/articles/117817/)
The fact is, outreach works. It worked in motivating Abraham. It works with Birthright and it works with Chabad. It works because outreach effectively done can touch someone where they are and can fill an need that needs filling. The Reform movement has its own outreach and has welcomed people into the tent respectful of their backgrounds and their experiences. But so much more needs to be done. We all need to stop being angels and start being true emmisaries.
You see, angels do only one thing and are retired forever. Frankly, there are far too many angels around. Emmisaries, on the other hand, can take a message of inclusion and warmth and bring it to families and people who are looking for something that meets them where they are. And the message does not wear out.
Jews have been emmisaries of the message for thousands of years. It is time to share the message of what Judaism has to offer once again. You will be amazed at how many people are willing to listen.
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