*Be the Change You Want to See In the World

Vayetze 5772

The story of Leah’s relationship with Jacob as told in this week’s Torah portion, Vayetze, is heartbreaking. Leah must live with the fact that her own father found it necessary to deceive Jacob into marrying her for lack of other suitors. Additionally, Jacob does not hide his stronger affections of love toward Rachel, and Leah knows that her sister is the true love in Jacob’s life. Naturally, Leah hopes that bearing Jacob’s children will draw her husband closer. Her first three children (Reuven, Shimon, and Levi) are given names that express her painful relations with Jacob and the hope that relations will improve. After her hopes go unfulfilled, she bears a fourth son and says, “This time I will thank Hashem” and she names the son Judah/Yehudah. This name shares the same Hebrew root as Todah – meaning ‘thanks.’ We, the modern offspring of Jacob, are called ‘Jews’ – as we are descended from the tribe of Judah. Perhaps now we can better understand the origin of Jewish character of being a people focused on giving appreciation, giving thanks, to Gd.

A Couple Minutes of Torah -- Toledot 5772

 

Toldot 5772

וַיַּחְפְּרוּ עַבְדֵי-יִצְחָק, בַּנָּחַל; וַיִּמְצְאוּ-שָׁם--בְּאֵר, מַיִם חַיִּים...וַיָּרִיבוּ רֹעֵי גְרָר, עִם-רֹעֵי יִצְחָק...וַיַּחְפְּרוּ בְּאֵר אַחֶרֶת, וַיָּרִיבוּ גַּם-עָלֶיהָ...וַיַּעְתֵּק מִשָּׁם, וַיַּחְפֹּר בְּאֵר אַחֶרֶת, וְלֹא רָבוּ, עָלֶיהָ; -- And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of living water. And the herdmen of Gerar strove with Isaac's herdmen...And they [Isaac] digged another well, and they strove for that also... And he [Isaac] removed from there, and digged another well; and for that they strove not. (Genesis 24:19-22)

There is a story told of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditzev who went out from city to city to collect tzedakah in order to redeem Jews held captive by foreign governments. He went from village to village, town to town and yet he did not receive the funds that were needed. He thought to himself, “perhaps I've made a terrible mistake and wasted time away from study and prayer – I should have stayed in my comfortable house instead of taking on this mission.” In the same city where Reb Levi Yitzchak contemplated such thoughts, a Jew was caught stealing, beaten badly and taken to jail. Said the rabbi to the thief, “look what you've done to yourself and learn from it and do not return to it.” The criminal replied, “So I did not get the loot today – I'll get it tomorrow.” At that same moment Rabbi Levi Yitzchak realized from this thief who would not be dissuaded even after being punished for his transgression – that a person who busies himself in the honorable pursuit of a mitzvah should surely not lose hope and continue on mission with great fortitude.

A Couple Minutes of Torah -- Chayei Sarah 5772

 

Chayei Sarah 5772

In this week's portion, Avraham's servant asks Rebecca's family if they will approve her betrothal to Isaac saying, And now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.' Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said: 'This matter comes from Gd; we cannot speak to you bad or good [about Rebecca]. (Genesis 24:49, 50) Why will Rebecca's family not speak of her good qualities? The Chatam Sofer explains that a spouse, עזר כנגדו, is supposed to be someone who balances the other. If a man is generous and a spendthrift, the woman should be frugal in managing household expenses. Similarly, if the man is frugal and miserly the woman should be of generous spirit toward others and in purchases. In this way, says the Chatam Sofer, a couple will be the necessary partner in order to complete the other. Rebecca's family did not speak of her good qualities for fear of tainting the shidduch as they did not know the character of Isaac and whether Rebecca's qualities would be seen as a compliment to those of the future Patriarch.

 

A Couple Minutes of Torah -- Vayera 5772

 

Vayera 5772

For I [Gd] have known him [Avraham], to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Gd, to do what is just (צדקה) and right (משפט) so that Gd will give to Avraham that which [Gd] promised. (Genesis 18:19).

On the use and order of the wordsצדקה followed byמשפט, Rabbi Yehuda taught: that which starts with justice will end in ethical appropriateness as exemplified by how Avraham would receive wayfarers. After they had eaten and drunk, he would say to them “Bentsch 'Blessed are you Gd of the world of whose food we have eaten.'” If the traveler would bentsch he could eat and then leave; if he refused, Avraham would reply “Pay what you owe me.” “How much do I owe you?” the traveler would ask. Avraham would reply, “A flask of wine X, a pound of meat Y, a loaf of bread Z – who do you suppose is giving you wine, meat and bread in the wilderness?” The wayfarer, now aware that he must either pay or thank Gd would then say, “Blessed are you Gd of the world of whose food we have eaten.” Thus, Avraham exemplified that when one acts justly the morally right outcome will prevail.

Conversion Reboot: "Who is a Jew?"

[At the end of this post, I propose a significant departure from normative halakhic thinking regarding conversion to Judaism] _____________________________________________________________________________

Historically, radical changes have been an essential element in the survival of Jews and Judaism.  This change does not refer to offshoots or 'reformers' from the Jewish establishment but of the mainstream establishment itself in its own recognition for necessary change. 

 

Examples:

- After the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple the sages changed the focus of Jewish worship from sacrifices to prayer and study.

- Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi broke with normative Jewish law and compiled a written record of the Oral Law – a previously forbidden composition in written form.

- The loopholed permission to conduct business with Gentiles beginning in the Middle Ages heretofore prohibited (see paragraph “Laws to Separate Jews from Idolatry”)

- Rambam's creation of a summary of Jewish Practice to simplify the ‘how to’ of observance of mitzvot without concomitant study (Opposition to Mishneh Torah)

- Codification by Shulchan Arukh to reduce variations of Jewish practice (Opposition to Shulchan Arukh)

- Ba'al Shem Tov's creation of Chassidic Movement to break monopoly/elitism over Judaism by strict Torah scholars who rejected Kabbalah.

 

Applicaton of Radical Change to “Who is a Jew?”

The definition of Jewish identity has also experienced radical change.  During the times of our forefathers/foremothers, patrilineal descent was the birthright to being Jewish.  Thus, Jacob's 12 sons were the heads of the Twelve Tribes of Israel despite two of the biological mothers (Bilhah and Zilpah) not acquiring foremother status.  (For the skeptic and/or scripturally inclined – see Leviticus 24:10 and Rashi on that verse's words “Among Bnei Yisroel”)

In antiquity, the members of a household were defined by the household's patriarch.  Women were defined by the dominant male in whose house she lived – a father, husband, brother or uncle.  Culturally, patrilineal descent made sense in the ancient world as it was the greatest way to insure continuation of the Jewish people for whomever a man married came to live with his household and became part of his clan/people.  Sons brought brides into their own clan and fathers married their daughters into other Israelite clans.  

The earliest legal mention of the move to matrilineal descent is found in the Mishnah codified in 200 CE (see last line of Kiddushin 3:12/13).  Most believe the move from patrilineal to matrilineal descent occurred during a time when war waged against the Jews threw into question the paternity of babies born to Jewish women. 

Critical to this conversation is the fact that prior to the destruction of the Second Temple, a person's conversion to Judaism was defined by living amongst the society of Jewish people (as Ruth says to Naomi – “your People shall be my People, your Gd shall be my Gd” Book of Ruth 1:16), accompanied by the rituals of circumcision for males and ritual immersion for both males and females.

One result of the Destruction of the Temple and the dispersion of Jews throughout the world (70 CE) was that conversion requirements evolved to include a commitment to observance of Jewish law since no Jewish societal milieu existed.  When Jews were thrown out of the Land of Israel, lost was the sovereignty of Jewish society.  For the next 2,000 years, Jews were hosted by, and lived among, strictly gentile societies.

Fast forward to modern day:  though the proportional number of Jews in the world decreases yearly and the number of people opting out of Jewish identification is rapidly growing,  I believe the halakhic requirements for conversion to Judaism that have developed over these 2 millennia should remain unchanged in the Diaspora. 

HOWEVER, for those people who move to Israel under the law-of-return but do not have halakhic status as Jews; who choose to leave the land of their birth and to come the world’s only Hebrew speaking society; to live by the Jewish (not Gregorian) calendar; who are prepared to serve or have their children serve in the Israeli Defense Forces in order to protect the Jewish State; who take upon themselves the challenges of living in an Israel that is under constant threat because it is a Jewish State...Perhaps a return to the Jewish societal milieu model for those who are prepared to undergo circumcision and ritual immersion should be sufficient for halakhic conversion status. 

The interest, desire, and motivation to convert to Judaism for those immigrants who are non-halakhic beneficiaries of Israel’s law-of-return are waning.  Though most new immigrants to Israel have the wish to be recognized as Jewish and are willing to participate in a formal conversion process, the requirements of the ultra-conservative Israeli Rabbinate imposes such strictures on applicants that just a decimal-percentage of those wanting to convert are allowed to do so. 

The radical difference in Jewish life provided by the State of Israel – a phenomenon unknown in the world for 2,000 years – certainly qualifies for a re-imagining of “Who is a Jew?” 

For the health of Jewish identity in Israel and for the untapped potential of Jewish possibilities in the Jewish State…Amen. Selah.

"The Israeli Government Can Stop the Terrorist Threat Immediately"

In a Jerusalem park one morning in 2004, I had a conversation with a sweet, elderly Yemenite Jewish man in his late eighties. His handbag sported a white ribbon and an orange ribbon – at the time, the State of Israel was debating the withdrawal of its citizens from the Gaza Strip: White favored pullout and Orange favored staying. We spoke for a long while and his kind and loving manner toward me and my year-old son coupled with his support for both sides of the painful debate to leave/stay in Gaza showed him to be a sensitive, thoughtful person.

As over 100 suicide bombings inside Israel's borders had taken place in the previous 3 years, at some point I said, “Our poor country finds itself in such danger these days.” His response was immediate and swift, “The Israeli Government can stop the terrorist threat immediately but it doesn't want to. We could stop the terrorism tomorrow, but the leadership is afraid to do it.”

Speechless, I asked him to explain.

He told me the story of his early 20^th century childhood in the Silwan area of Jerusalem. Silwan was a tense village of Yemenite Jews on one side and Arabs on the other. One evening, shots were fired from the Arab village and Jewish children were killed. The Arab villagers denied any knowledge, participation, or responsibility for the shootings. Two days later in broad daylight his older brother and a group of others went to the two Arab houses from where the shots were fired, took out all the inhabitants of the houses and killed them. There was never another incident or threat of danger from their Arab neighbors.

Speechless.

[POSTIFICATION: I DO NOT CONDONE, ENCOURAGE, OR DESIRE FOR ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE TO UTIILZE THE TACTIC DESCRIBED ABOVE.  MY DESIRE IS FOR ALL PARTIES CONCERNED ABOUT ISRAEL TO EITHER: A) BE REVOLTED BY THE VULGARITY OF THE ACT, AND/OR, B) FACTOR INTO THE EQUATION THE REALITY OF MIDDLE EASTERN CULTURE EXPRESSED IN THE STORY WHEN CRITIQUING ISRAEL’S SECURITY DECISIONS – AND PROPOSING ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS]

 

Lech Lecha 5772

וַיִּקְחוּ אֶת לוֹט וְאֶת רְכֻשׁוֹ בֶּן אֲחִי אַבְרָם וַיֵּלֵכוּ... וַיָּבֹא הַפָּלִיט וַיַּגֵּד לְאַבְרָם הָעִבְרִי -- And they took Lot, the nephew of Avram, and his possessions and left...And the runaway brought the news to Avram the Ivri. (Genesis 14:12, 13)

Modern translations define 'the Ivri/הָעִבְרִי' as “the Hebrew,” and, in fact, this use of the word is the origin of name for the language of the Bible – Hebrew. But, what does the word mean? The root letters ע.ב.ר have the meaning of 'to cross,' 'to pass,' 'to traverse' – each meaning can be seen as applicable to Avraham who crosses the River Euphrates on his journey to the Land of Canaan. And yet, Avraham is only referred to as Ivri when described in the perspective of a non-Israelite....the runaway. Either by his appearance or by his reputation of practice is Avraham identified as different. There is one more possibility of explanation as to why the runaway labels Avraham the Ivri: one who transgresses the law is an עברין – an offender of social norms.