Category Archives: Judaism
Can a Man Make Gods for Himself?
O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, My refuge in a day of trouble, To You nations shall come From the ends of the earth and say: Our fathers inherited utter delusions, Things that are futile and worthless. Can a man make gods for himself? No-gods are they! Assuredly, I will teach them, Once and for all I will teach them My power and My might. And they shall learn that My name is LORD. (Jeremiah 16:19–21 JPS)
This is from the Haftarah of Parshat Behar-B’Hukotai. Rabbi Mordechai Silverstein, from the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem writes a commentary on this passage which is found here. I particularly enjoy the question he asks, “What will be the impetus for this acknowledgment of God?” Rabbi Silverstein states this is a process, but also talks about the role military victory played as a sign of religious strength in ancient times. It’s a nice commentary and you should take a moment to read it.
Back to the question, and I ask it myself reading Jeremiah’s words again, what will be the impetus for this acknowledgment of G~d? Take a look around you at the world today. Not in the sense that it’s any worse today than it was then as far as religions go, but in the sense how relativism and apathy pervades society. On one hand this allows humanity to live in harmony with one another, but on the other hand, in an age where no one religion is better than another, how will people of idolatrous faiths come to this acknowledgement of G~d? Not just the knowledge of any god mind you, but the knowledge of the One G~d? What will be the mechanics of this transformation of thought?
Rabbi Silverstein references a midrash in his commentary about the Song at the Sea. He states that not only the Israelites sang the song, but also the nations who had seen the overthrow of Egypt. This reflects two methods of proselytizing; one being the use force which is only effective in scale to the trail of destruction and insincere conversions it leaves in its wake. Then there’s the method of kindness and example. While the Jews were certainly the people most affected and benefited by the defeat of the Egyptians, considering that they were the world power of the day, probably not a kind one at that, I imagine the nations saw not only what the G~d of the Hebrews had done for them, but what He had done for the world through defeating Egypt. Maybe G~d wasn’t just letting His people go, but was participating in Tikun Olam Himself. When we couldn’t do it, He stepped in.
Back to modern-day… the prophets tell us in several places that the entire world will once again rise against Israel. Once that happens the ball will be in G~d’s court to once again free His people from some tyrannical world power, which will not only save Israel, but be a benefit to the entire world.
At some point in a lifetime everyone sees something so incredible, so mind-bending, so disruptive (good or bad) to the way things are perceived that the current perception of reality must change to adapt to the new perception. I can only imagine that this is what the plagues did to all who saw them and to all who heard the stories from witnesses. In that same vein, I can only imagine that when the day Jeremiah speaks of comes, G~d would have to intervene in such an obvious way that a person’s mind would have to make a choice to interpret what has happened, much in the same way Pharaoh was forced to make a decision with the passing of each plague.
While the biblical idols that we often imagine are mostly a thing of the past, regardless of its composition; wood, stone, ideology, theology… once that idol is smashed the person’s mind will recognize a stark difference between their lifeless beliefs and the action of the Living G~d. Greater than whatever miracles and victories G~d does for the Jewish people will be the miracle of changing the hearts and minds of the world’s population so that it is no longer indifferent or hostile towards Israel and her G~d, but in fact declares, “Our fathers inherited utter delusions, things that are futile and worthless.”
Pesach 5770
It is the morning before Pesach, and I’m sitting at Starbucks enjoying an Americano with a whole-grain bagel. The cleaning is all but finished at home and we’re mostly ready for the seder this evening. We may have a couple of friends joining us, but it will most likely just be my family of five.
I’ve thought about the theme of Pesach a lot this year: the redemption from Egypt; collectively as a people and individually from our own personal Pharaohs. There’s a couple of things I’d like to change this year in my struggle to return to the me I was before cancer struck our home, but that is not the forefront thought I have. Mostly I am thinking about an aspect of the communal nature of the chag.
The first seder was a hurried dinner in preparation for a flight from slavery. Since then it is a relaxed meal with friends and family that is filled with conversation, good food, and wine. As a convert I’ve only experienced a handful of them, but not one of them has ever been bad. Once the seder starts the worry and panic of getting ready for everything falls away and we begin the experience of our liberation.
This pulling together as a community isn’t the communal aspect I’ve been thinking of, rather it’s the other side of the coin that interests me. I’ve been thinking about how we Jews, in pulling together with each other, pull away from the Gentile world. We leave our jobs, our classes, and our recreational activities for a day or two and it is like a Jewish version of A Day Without a Mexican. I think about the silence of Jewishness in the greater parts of the world. I think about Egypt alone in its darkness while Judaism rests in the warm glow of her G~d.
Pesach is the most important holiday we have. Certainly, we celebrate the creation of the world on Rosh Hashanah and we receive forgiveness and hope for a better year on Yom Kippur, but Pesach is different. On Pesach we establish ourselves as G~d’s people and justify the year ahead of us. On Pesach we proclaim our commitment to G~d and reaffirm our identity as His children. On Pesach we don’t worry about what the world thinks of each of us, our people, and our Nation. On Pesach we spend a couple of days with our Creator and rest in His warmth and in our identity.
Each year we recite, “Next year in Jerusalem” as we express our hope in the coming of the mashiach, the ultimate redemption from Egypt he brings, and a world of peace. Who knows what the world has in store for us this year, but it doesn’t really matter as long as we sit at the seder. It doesn’t matter as long as we are eating and remembering what G~d has done for us throughout our generations. It doesn’t really matter what happens the year ahead of us as long as we remember, and therefore hope, for the completion of the work He began 3,000 years ago in Goshen, Egypt.
Chag Pesach Sameach
Hey, Jew!
Before I start, I want to be clear that this post is not about an anti-semitic incident that happened to me. Rather it’s a tale expressing my amazement at the level of ignorance and insensitivity people still display towards Jews, and the manner in which I intend to deal with it when I cross its path.
If you know me you know where I work, and if you don’t know me you can figure it out pretty easily, but for the sake of protecting the innocent I’m not going to say it outright here. At my current job I have had two separate incidents with someone speaking ignorantly towards me. Today was my second incident. The really great thing about this one is my cube-mate is also Jewish (it’s really great—this has never happened before), so I had a little support.
A fellow co-worker poked me with a stick from my side and said, “Hey, Jew.” When confronted with a semi-aggressive “What?!” he plead ignorance and pleaded, “I said ‘you.’”. Not buying it I proceeded to tell him how inappropriate, rude, and disrespectful it was. When I mentioned there was a history to the context of being called “Jew” he said he didn’t know it. So, I explained briefly a little thing called the Holocaust, yellow stars, and Juden.
While he still tried to play it off as a goofy bastard, I challenged him to approach a black co-worker and address him in a similar, relevant manner, at which he promptly declined.
I was mildly pissed off by this and after the offender left my fellow Jew turned and told me that if I had not said anything he would have. At which point we discussed it for a couple of minutes.
As I think about this in hindsight I am a bit more pissed off about it than initially. There will be ignoramuses, schmucks, and people who make honest mistakes, but in spite of this, I do not know why people will speak to a Jewish person in a racial manner that they would not address a black person. Therefore, it is my new agenda when confronting this issue I will issue the challenge. If given the opportunity, I will enlist the help of black people around me to cooperate with my challenge to the offender, making himself available at a moment’s notice, so that a point may be strongly impressed upon the person to never repeat the mistake again.
This is something that I will no longer deal with wearing a smile and believing in the innate goodness of people. I will address the issue aggressively with a determined goal of preventing it from happening to another from this person, or from another who witnesses the event.
Hungarian political party promises ‘cleansing’ of country
At a dinner Sunday night I spoke with a Jewish couple who had visited Vienna and were nearly not allowed into a local synagogue. The anti-Semitism is so bad in Vienna that Jews are scared and won’t let anyone into the community they don’t know. I Googled anti-Semitism in Austria and found next to nothing.
This article is not about Austria; it is about Hungary. A representative of the Jobbik political party “promised a new extermination of ‘vermin’ in a forthcoming ‘cleansing’ of the Hungarian nation.” Take a moment to read the full article here. Read more about the Jobbik party here.
When you come across an article about anti-Semitic activities tell your friends and family about it. Tweet about it. Facebook it. Whatever. Get the word out. Anti-Semitic activities are increasing and we must make people aware and act against it in whatever way we can.
A funny thing about Judaism
I subscribe to this newsletter from www.torah.org about tefilah. This morning’s email is about the way a Jew should position his hands during the Shemoneh Esrei. I won’t get into the details of it, but if you’re interested you can check it out here.
I bring it up because one of the very practical things, yet also amusing aspects, of Judaism is the volume of opinions there are on any given subject. This variety of opinions serves the practical purpose of helping different Jewish communities to observe the Commandments in ways that work for them, and also for different people and their various states of health and ability. The humor comes in when reading the differing opinions, oftentimes in the same article or whatnot.
On to my point… I ran across this again in the aforementioned email. Rabbi Daniel Travis emphasizes the importance of proper hand placement during prayers to communicate a specific message to Hashem. He then goes on to say that these forms of non-verbal communication,
“are all meant to enhance one’s prayers. If such gestures are interfering with concentration, a person is better off taking a different position, such as putting his hands on the table in front of him or letting them hang by his sides. Everyone should recite Shemoneh Esrei in a way that is comfortable for conversing with Hashem, avoiding positions that feel awkward or disrespectful (Shulchan Aruch 95,3; Aruch Hashulchan 91,7).”
I can’t help but to get a chuckle out of this because it’s so Jewish and reminds me of a couple of jokes. The first being where there are two rabbis there are at least three opinions. The other one is: a man asks his Jewish friend, “Why do Jews ask so many questions?” His friend replies, “Why shouldn’t we?”
Judaism has a real knack for encouraging Jews to do thing a specific way without limiting the way a person or community should express himself/itself in the observance of the mitzvoth. It’s one of those quirky little things that I really love about being Jewish; it’s so adaptive.
Tefilah: Waking up Jewish—Swaying
This is the mystical explanation for a Jew’s swaying during prayer.
A Jew’s soul is like a flickering candle. When his soul is ignited by the Torah he learns, it cannot stay still for even a moment, and this causes one’s body to sway back and forth” (Pinchas 218b).
Jewish Physical Matter is Spiritual
The Alter Rebbe said: Jewish physical matter is spiritual. G-d gives us material bounty for us to transform into something spiritual.1 When occasionally it is not so at the moment G-d has not provided the material wealth, then we must give G-d whatever we can, even a “paupers offering,” and then He gives generously.
Physical meets Spiritual
The physical life of a Jew is a spiritual thing – Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov founder of chassidism, 1698-1760
via Daily Torah Study.
This quote from Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov expresses one of the main components of Judaism that drew me to it. When a Jew lives out the Torah his physical actions are a spiritual thing.
The world’s religions try to separate the physical and spiritual, but G~d made all things and saw that they were good. Physical things are not bad, they are neutral. It is what is done with them that give them their meaning. When a Jew eats a kosher meal the act of eating is transformed from a mundane part of survival to a spiritual act which focuses one’s entire life (for without food we die) on G~d!
It is said in Deuteronomy 30:11–14,
Surely, this Instruction [Torah] which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach. It is not in the heavens, that you should say, Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it? No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it. (JPS)
The Torah is an intrinsic part of a Jew’s life. It infuses the Jewish life with spirituality in every nook and cranny of existence. It is, in a sense, that the Jew already dwells with G~d, and visa/versa. When the Torah is embraced and taken in, even in the briefest of moments in time when a mitzvah is performed, that moment is transformed into an act of godliness.
It is amazing to me, and hard to express, that life, simply living, can be dedicated to G~d’s service. Perhaps this is why so many Jews take it for granted and don’t do what we ought… because it’s what our life is. Because a life dedicated to G~d is what we’re supposed to do, and sense it is who we are, we pick it up and put it down as we please.
Fascinating thoughts to me that would be fun to spend more time exploring…
