Advocating Genocide is just Wrong

Speech advocating for Genocide is despicable and unacceptable.  Supporting murder and elimination of an entire group cannot be sanctioned even under the banner of “free speech.” It is the height of exclusion and hate.   And by its very nature, it bullies and intimidates anyone who would be the target of such speech. Watching the presidents of three of the ostensibly most illustrious colleges fumble this issue is sad. Their equivocations and attempts to nuance the question are an embarrassment to everyone who supports higher education and demonstrate the incompetency of these individuals.

Wow- you got spanked and are now on an apology tour.  Shame on you again.   Perhaps it would be best if you made this your goodbye tour.  Our best institutions need more than you can give, or they will cease to be the best.

It is time for these people to resign, and the colleges find people willing and capable of leading institutions where the free marketplace of ideas is promoted yet will not tolerate anything, no matter how heinous.

#Veritas

#Leges Sine Moribus Vanae

#Mens et manus

 

 

 

Pushing back on the Torah

As a rabbi in the community, I spend substantial time with interfaith couples. There is an undeniable trend with many Jews finding life partners with people of other faith traditions. It is a challenge that Judaism can successfully navigate. And hopefully, we can see the beauty and opportunity arising from such unions.

The story of Pinchas in Balak relates to a fear of intermarriage. It demonstrates how the Israelites were concerned about maintaining their community’s purity and adherence to God’s laws. In the story, the Israelites were seduced by the Moabite women. As a result, they began to engage in sexual immorality and idol worship, which threatened their relationship with God and their identity as separate people.

As a zealous and devout member of the Israelite community, Pinchas took matters into his own hands. He killed an Israelite man and a Midianite woman who were openly engaging in such behavior. His actions were seen as a necessary and just response to the threat of intermarriage and the resulting erosion of the Israelite community’s values and identity. This story speaks against intermarriage, then or now.

However, times have changed since the era depicted in the story of Pinchas. And indeed, this idea is not the first time Jews have seen borders and boundaries as porous, opportunities to engage new ideas and be enriched by them.

Judaism has a rich history of connecting with other cultures and incorporating new ideas, practices, and beliefs. Here are some specific examples of how Judaism has been enriched through its interactions with different cultures:

During the Babylonian Exile in the 6th century BCE, Jews were exposed to new ideas and practices from the Babylonian culture. This led to the development of new forms of Jewish scholarship and the compilation of the Babylonian Talmud, one of the central texts of Judaism.

In the Hellenistic Period in the 4th century BCE, Jews came into contact with Greek culture and philosophy. This led to the development of Hellenistic Judaism, which incorporated Greek ideas into Jewish thought. For example, Philo of Alexandria, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, used Greek philosophy to interpret the Hebrew Bible.

During the Islamic Golden Age in the 8th to 13th centuries CE, Jews lived in Muslim-majority societies and were exposed to Islamic culture and philosophy. This led to the development of Jewish philosophy, such as the works of Maimonides, who used Islamic philosophy to interpret Jewish theology.

Sephardic Jews originated in the Iberian Peninsula and had a rich cultural exchange with the Christian and Muslim cultures around them. This led to the development of Sephardic music, art, and cuisine, which have become integral and celebrated parts of Jewish culture.

The Hasidic movement emerged in Eastern Europe in the 18th century, incorporating mystical and ecstatic practices arguably adopted from the surrounding Slavic and Turkic cultures. This led to the development of Hasidic music, dance, and storytelling, which have become central to Hasidic culture and across many Jewish denominations.

In modern times, intermarriage is more widely accepted and celebrated, and many people see it as a positive way to build bridges between different cultures and communities. In many cases, intermarriage can help to promote understanding and reduce prejudice between groups. We are blessed to live in a place and time where we can marry the person we love because of whom they are rather than feel threatened or risk being ostracized.

When welcomed into Judaism’s embrace, these people also hold special esteemed status, known as a Ger Toshav. They have supported the Jewish community in which they live and enriched us. Although considered our “first convert,” Ruth may have been a Ger Toshav.

While some still hold on to the fear of intermarriage and seek to maintain the purity of their community, many people now recognize that diversity and intermarriage can be positive forces for social and cultural change.

Rather than fearing intermarriage, we can welcome those who choose it, seeing it as an opportunity for growth, connection, and understanding. Judaism rises to the occasion with its rich knowledge of its universal core values that are a foundation for creating a meaningful life. It also helps the 21st-century Jew see identity in an inclusive and embracing way.

Judaism has been enriched by its interactions with other cultures throughout history. These interactions have led to the developing of new ideas, practices, and beliefs, which have become integral parts of Jewish culture. Using the past as a prologue, we should welcome these couples with open arms.

 

Gun violence is a deadly issue, but a symptom. 

We often forget or become numb to how commonplace the daily carnage has become.

And because of our numbness, we require a mass casualty event to jolt our senses and awareness.

Sadly, this means that the lives of all the individuals murdered go unnoticed. The tragic loss of children becomes part of the daily process, cold statistics not unlike the cold bodies left in the wake of this national nightmare.

We must accept that although many consider shooting a sport (hunting, target practice, etc.), the purpose of a gun is to serve as a deadly weapon. A gun is used to kill. And outside the hunter’s blind or shooting range, most guns ultimately aim at people, and people die.

There are many reasons for the prevalence of guns and the ensuing gun violence. But at its core is a fundamental rejection of a basic premise of our society, namely, we are a nation of laws. If those laws are not applied rigorously and uniformly, then grievance arises, and the need to take the law into our own hands ensues.

The mass shooters and street thugs flout the law, and the victims ultimately pay the price of a society unable or unwilling to abide by its own standards of civility.

Taking the guns off the streets is a fantasy or perhaps just a fool’s errand. Only when we fully commit to a holistic approach that requires defending the weak and addressing the issues underlying the reasons people turn to guns, including mental health, lax enforcement of the law, political expediency, and twisting the Second Amendment to paralyze serious conversations, might we as a society begin the process of confronting and vanquishing this scourge.

As the co-chair of the Domestic Affairs Committee of the JCRC of Greater Philadelphia, we are committing ourselves to the issue of Gun Responsibility within the greater context of a Safe Cities Initiative. Our safe city approach is complex and challenging and without a quick fix. But the longer-term payoffs are significant. So I hope we can galvanize our community to engage in this hard work on behalf of all of us.

 

 

Apologize?

Many have called upon Donald Trump to apologize for embracing two avowed Jew Haters.

Trump has not distanced himself from these bigots or their bile.

Trump is a clever checkers player who has acted according to what he believes is best for him.  For us now to receive an explanation or apology after so much time has elapsed would be suspicious at best.  It is impossible to believe any apology would be sincere and instead a cynical calculation for personal benefit.

One of the best ways to put out a fire is to eliminate the oxygen from which it is nurtured.  Let us deprive this dumpster fire of any further oxygen/publicity so we might focus on issues of importance, including repairing the damage he has incited, stoking hatred, violence, and contempt for the institutions that undergird our nation.

And Justice For All

There is nothing like the threat of economic consequences to elicit a heartfelt apology.

Yes, that is as cynical as it sounds.  The recent antisemitic bile spewed from Kanye West and Kyrie Irving has met with pushback and outrage from the Jewish Community and severe fallout in the business community. And voila, apologies have started to cascade out.  But writer/activist George M. Johnson pointedly shared in a recent interview that West had been spewing hatred against the Black community for a while before turning his sights on the Jews.  That, however, did not provoke the same level of outrage from either Jews or businesses.  This is for reasons ranging from racism to the idea that such vile thoughts didn’t hurt anyone’s bottom line enough.

We all need to do better.

We all must enjoy the same rights and responsibilities in our society; that hatred against one group threatens everyone.  Businesses are rarely the bastions of moral virtue. But businesses will respond when we inflict economic consequences on bad behavior, such as not going to Nets games or buying West’s sneakers or clothing, because hatred directed at any group is unacceptable to all of us.  This is a call to all who find themselves in a group that has been “othered” in our society and those who enjoy the privilege of not being so ostracized.  Jews need to speak for the civil rights of all people, not just Jews.  Blacks likewise need to talk about injustice whenever it happens in our society, not just when Black people are affected. And so too with everyone.  To echo Langston Hughes, Let America be America for all Americans.

Some hate for hate’s sake and believe we live in a zero-sum game where a gain by me is at your expense. This is patently false.  A gain by me in the areas of justice and civil rights is a gain for all of us.  We measure the strength of our society not by the will of the stronger but by our ability to protect the vulnerable and give voice to the otherwise unheard and exploited.

I did not have much use for Kanye West before these recent rantings, and I have none now.  Irving’s comments are likewise repugnant.  And I do not need to patronize brands that undermine the “arc of justice” to which we as Americans should aspire.  I support the right to free speech even when it contradicts my values.  But words have consequences; Hate speech leads to violence and injustice. That is un-American, where all of us are called to draw the line.

Torah for Jews Today – Parshat Matot

Matot offers a climax to one of the troubling stories in the formation of our people.

 

On the verge of entering the Promised Land, the children of Israel must fight the Midianite people first. Although Moses instructs his warriors, according to God’s directive, to slay all the Midianites, Moses is angered when the army spares the women and children and reiterates the command to kill.

Were the Israelite people freed so they would unquestioningly carry out God’s dirty work? Or was this a test to see if we were worthy of freedom and the responsibilities such freedom carries? Were we ready to serve God as a righteous light to the nations? The army commanders understood the implications of this barbaric act and refused to follow the order. Moses overruled them, demanding harsh vengeance.

This kind of retaliation is appalling by our standards, and it was unacceptable for the Israelites, too. The phrase “Just following orders” sends shudders down the spine. But, even where legitimate grievance exists, morality trumps brutal vengeance. Matot is a warning for us and our interaction in an often inhospitable, antisemitic world.

However, the past cannot be the only lens we use to see the future. There was legitimate grievance against the Midianites. They attempted to undermine the nascent Israelite nation, and war appeared to be the way forward. But following orders is insufficient reason to commit atrocities. God’s vengeance is best left for God to transact (the flood, Sodom and the Korach Rebellion, to name three).

When individuals assume that responsibility and act on behalf of God, it is dangerous. A humane approach offers compassion instead of annihilation and a path toward peace. This alternative does not dismiss the history but does not make us slaves to the past, repeating and perpetuating tribalistic hate. Our tradition repeatedly admonishes us to act with benevolence and, in the words of Pirkei Avot, “Even in a place where there are no menschen, strive to be a mensch.”

Against this backdrop, we might look again at the lessons of this part of the parsha and see how we can apply them in many current world affairs and, in particular, to the situation with the Russian war’s effects on Ukrainians and Poles. We cannot be indifferent to human suffering; it goes against everything our tradition demands.

Jewish history in Ukraine and Poland is fraught. Persecution and antisemitism characterize much of the Jewish experience. Periods of welcome, such as King Casimir III inviting Jews to Poland as other countries expelled them, are countered by the infamous Khmelnytskyi and pogroms, which accounted for the slaughter and terror of the Jewish population of the region. It is little wonder that approximately 2 million-plus Jews emigrated to America at the turn of the 20th century when the opportunity to leave that place presented itself.

Furthermore, we understand that deeply rooted antisemitism enabled the Holocaust. These are substantial reasons for the Jewish psyche to be wary. But if we are limited to only that, practicing hatred in response to hate, we deprive ourselves of the very humanity our tradition teaches.

We Jews are duty-bound to see and respond to the Ukrainian people’s human suffering and the Poles’ heroic efforts. We know that the support by the Poles is something no one offered us as the Shoah unfolded. And knowing this, we can nonetheless be instruments in alleviating anguish and perhaps elevating ourselves in the process.

We can serve as Or l’goyim, a light to the nations, deeply rooted in our belief that we can be agents of change; partners in the ongoing act of creation; that we hear of the suffering and do not stand idly by as another’s blood is shed. Our values compel us to be part of the solution to the problem rather than remain mired in a history where we were seen as the problem needing to be solved.

Of course, we do not deny the past or naively presume the days of Jew-hatred are over. But we can take steps to help the world become a better place. This is a lesson I learned from Parsha Matot.

Show your support for the victims of war with your donation.  For each donation of $54, we will send you the Ukrainian Sunflower to wear proudly and keep us aware you stand against the suffering.  Proceeds are going to the JCC Krakow, a leader in helping Ukrainian refugees.