You are My Lifeline

In my early training as a lifeguard, I was taught that you can only do so much to save another.  You swim out to the distressed and offer a life ring, once they grab on to it, you can swim into shore rescuing him/her.  But they had to grab hold of the flotation device otherwise you would risk both of your lives.  You could go most of the way, but you needed the participation of the other.    Later on, I learned a more aggressive approach to lifesaving using grips and evasive maneuvers to assert control over the victim.  Finally, I learned that sometimes to save a life required knocking the other person out with a swift cross to the jaw.  You saved two lives in that precarious moment, yours and the victim’s.

How actively and strongly do we intercede when it comes to saving another?  How do we determine the appropriate course of action?  Sadly, it often devolves into a matter of personal convenience.  Whether it is suicide, drug abuse, or so many of our civic/social problems, we often find it easier to ignore them.  How often do we step over the person sitting in the street begging rather than at least engage their humanity?

People need to be seen and heard. The silent scream of despair of one soul should ring as loudly in our ears as the giant thunderclap from the heavens.  Wringing hands and feeling another’ pain consoles our own ego, but it does nothing to help another in need.  If there is something we all need more of, it is human connection.  Every one of us is nurtured by interactions with others.  It makes us feel cared for, it makes us feel human.  The loss of this most basic need dehumanizes us and only bad things can ensue.

We have reached a tipping point.  It is time for each of us to reenergize human connection.  Social media is a place to share, but it is does not replace the interpersonal one-on-one experiences with another.  Government programs can provide safety nets but cannot create the human warmth and validation each of us so desperately needs.  Communities of caring such as synagogues and churches can bring us together in important ways.  But it all begins with me and my ability to see you, as an individual in your humanity; every one of us realizing that we need each other to truly be complete.  And in that critical precarious moment, I am the person who can rescue you and you are the person who has the power to rescue me.

 

It’s a matter of Trust

Shelach by Yoram Raanan

Parashah Shelach helps me understand a fundamental part of the human condition giving perspective into the fickle nature of the Israelite people’s relationship to their God as the Almighty leads them from bondage to the Promised Land.  Put simply, the people lack trust.  Not just in God, but more fundamentally in themselves.  The text asks if I am unable to trust in myself, how can I be in a relationship with anyone else including even God?

The Almighty has been steadfast as a protector and provider, out of Egypt, across the Red Sea and to Sinai.  Yet, at every turn, the people complain, unable to place their trust in God.  In Parashah Shelach, God asks the people to send a reconnaissance team into the land that God has promised.  The scouts return with more than information about the people and the land; the scouts conclude that they are like giants and we are like grasshoppers. They are of greater Middot[1] than we.    Any attempt to conquer the land is doomed, even though this was the Land that God had promised.  I was perplexed baffled by this lack of trust in God until I realized that in actuality, this was fundamentally a lack of trust in themselves, making it impossible to trust in God.

This insight remains as true today as it was then.  Only when we are able to trust in ourselves can we then trust in another.  Trust is the capacity to open ourselves to a deeper sharing, creating a more profound relationship. But this also requires becoming vulnerable to someone else.  Our lack of trust, or fear of what bad might happen, is overcome by the hope of what good could be by establishing bonds of trust.

We so often build emotional walls around us.  We believe the walls are meant to protect us.  But in fact, these walls shut us off, creating a spiritual and emotional prison that keeps us from others as surely as they shut others out.  But our greatest joy comes when we are in a relationship with others, when we can trust in ourselves enough to entrust others with the most intimate parts of who we are.  Although it is scary to admit our fears, it is also empowering; for it opens us up to the possibilities of the heart.

This trust and openness is not a place of weakness; it takes a strong person who is able to show vulnerability.  To show someone else, a spouse or a child, that you need them and their help requires inner strength and courage.  It reinforces and deepens the relationship bringing you closer than before.  Together you can face what certainly would have been a lonely battle by yourself.  This becomes a message of hope.

The meaning of Shelach is ultimately this message of hope, which might seem counterintuitive.  The older people are consigned to die in the desert so that the next generation is properly prepared to enter the Land.  But it is this older generation who are the teachers of the generation that will enter the Promised Land.  Even though they suffer the consequences of mistrust, the rest of the Torah shows them grapple with this important lesson and strive to teach their children well.

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[1] The term Middot, in Numbers 13:32,  has been translated to mean size or stature.  However, in the context of Mussar, Middot also means measure, character, or values.  The Torah might have this broader understanding of this word, strengthening the argument posited in this essay.

Shabbat Shalom

Idan Raichel brings us Beresheet –  a new song which he wrote during his travels, inspired by several unexpected encounters with people from Africa and India.

The song is accompanied by a beautiful video created by the sand artist Ilana Yahav, who brings her visual interpretation of the song in a sensitive and heartwarming way.

My thanks to Adam Wishkovsky for sharing this piece with me.

Shabbat Shalom!

 

The Priestly Blessing

The Priestly Blessing,  Birkat HaKohanim, or Dukhanen, Found in this week’s Parsha Naso it is the benediction bestowed by the Priests and still offered today.

‘May God bless you and keep you.
‘May God shine His countenance upon you and be gracious to you.
‘May God bestow His favor upon you and grant you peace.'” (Numbers 6:24-26)

יְבָרֶכְךָ֥ יְהוָ֖ה וְיִשְׁמְרֶֽךָ׃

יָאֵ֨ר יְהוָ֧ה ׀ פָּנָ֛יו אֵלֶ֖יךָ וִֽיחֻנֶּֽךָּ׃

יִשָּׂ֨א יְהוָ֤ה ׀ פָּנָיו֙ אֵלֶ֔יךָ וְיָשֵׂ֥ם לְךָ֖ שָׁלֽוֹם

Shabbat Shalom!

Yoram Raanan

 

 

 

Shabbat Shalom

An extraordinary week.  Welcome Shabbat with this lovely medley of Hatikvah and Avinu Shebashamayim performed by Rabbotai on the occasion of Israel’s 70th anniversary.

Hatikvah Lyrics in English:

As long as within our hearts

The Jewish soul sings,

As long as forward to the East

To Zion, looks the eye –

Our hope is not yet lost,

It is two thousand years old,

To be a free people in our land

The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

Death to Natalie Portman?!?

In reaction to Ms. Portman’s decision to reject the Genesis Prize the Jewish world has been a blaze. She has been vilified and pilloried. It seems just a matter of time before someone calls for her head. Ms. Portman was initially vague in her reasons for her action except to say that she did not want to appear to support Netanyahu or policies with which she has serious objections. As a citizen of Israel, a democratic country, she has the right to express her opinions regardless of who may agree.

Israel is ostensibly a Democracy and Ms. Portman is an Israeli citizen. So she is arguably demonstrating a loyalty to her country by exercising her right to an opinion and speaking out. Whether you agree or disagree with her position, her rights as a citizen should be respected and so should she. Ms. Portman is an accomplished, intelligent person.

As such, her opinions are likely thoughtful and deliberate, all the more so given the ramifications of this public stand.

The personal attacks on her and calls for charges of treason and revocation of her Israeli Citizenship are at best extreme and unwarranted. Whether you agree with her position, one can respectfully and even vehemently disagree without resorting to the calumny bandied about. The fact that she is an Israeli citizen and an active supporter of her homeland gives her voice a particular gravitas, something she undoubtedly considered in her decision and public statements. It is inappropriate and shameful that so many rush to judgement, seeking her head.

Our community needs to do better. We argue and disagree all the time. That is part of Jewish and Israeli cultural DNA. But if we forget that we are Am Yisrael we do so at our own peril. Anti-Semitism is alive and well. Those seeking a world without Jews or Israel are plentiful. It would be tragic if we did their work for them through the baseless hatred or Sinat Chinam, our tradition warns us against.

Natalie Portman was awarded the Genesis Prize, the highest achievement of her country Israel. She has decided to take a stand and reject this award. To spurn this national recognition is not done cavalierly, but with forethought. This was not some grade-school essay competition. The Prize signals a deep respect for her and her extraordinary achievements. We might do well to remember that before labeling her with disdain and contempt. Perhaps we might learn from the stand that she has taken and learn something about her, our people, and ourselves.