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Compassion
Put a Little Love in Your Heart (Jackie DeShannon) Think of your fellow man Lend him a helping hand Put a little love in your heart You see it's getting late Oh, please don't hesitate Put a little love in your heart [Chorus] And the world will be a better place And the world will be a better place For you and me You just wait and see Something to ponder: The community of Brisk in Belarus on the western end of Russia, supplied their rabbi Chaim, with basic necessities, including wood to heat his home in the winter. One day, the community leaders discovered that the cost of the rabbi’s firewood was 500 rubles per year. Even the richest person in the town never used more than fifty rubles of firewood in any year. When the community leaders looked into it, they found that the rabbi kept the firewood in an unlocked shed behind his house-- and that the poor had been coming in and taking firewood whenever they needed it. As a result, the leaders of the community put a lock on the shed and gave the key to the Shamash, to the caretaker. But, R. Chaim removed the lock, allowing the poor of the town to come and take more firewood. The community leaders came to R. Chaim to complain “Rebbe,” they said, “the community cannot afford to supply firewood to all the poor in town.” “Then I want you to stop heating my house as well,” said R. Chaim. “How can I sit in a warm house when all the poor are sitting in the cold?’”[1] Compassion can be defined as an emotional response to someone else’s struggles, along with an authentic desire to help.[2] While closely related to empathy which has to do with putting yourself in someone else’s position so that you can feel what they might feel in a situation, compassion is about recognizing someone's emotions and taking some action to help them [3] The Hebrew word "mussar" means moral conduct, instruction, or discipline. The Mussar Movement arose in the 1800's in Lithuania and encourages participants to delve deeper into a reflective practice of one’s own character traits, which in Hebrew are called middot. Alan Morais writes in his classic work, Everyday Holiness: The Jewish Spiritual Path of Mussar, that compassion involves feeling and breeds action. Even more, compassion may be more accurately defined as the inner experience of touching another being so closely that you no longer perceive the other one as separate from you. A July 2022 article in the US News and World Report, cites growing anxiety brought on by a variety of problems including-- inflation, mass shootings, war, the pandemic, increased polarization, and an insurrection.[4] Last week in my sermon about anger, I noted how the news is filled with folks directing their anger at people they don’t know. I mentioned how people they don’t know are easy to demonize because they have no connection to them and so have less incentive to resolve whatever differences he or she might have with them. It’s a given that not everyone will agree to our same understanding of how the world should work and how people should interact. We all encounter people who behave badly and are judgmental, hurtful, and angry. We may even be one of them. We see on the news more and more stories of people having encounters with total strangers in places like parking lots, stores, parks, airports, etc. People in pain are spreading their pain. When we respond in kind, we also spread negativity. It isn’t hard to be kind to people who treat us kindly—but a bit harder when they don’t.[5] But, that is what we have to do. We have to bring compassion to what each of us can control—our thoughts, our actions, our reactions—which all ripple outward and make the world a better place. Research shows that being a compassionate and giving person is linked to a longer life. Kindness can reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease; as well as help us maintain vitality and cognitive function as we age [6] Research also shows that motives do matter. Authenticity matters. If you display compassion or kindness to someone for strategic or selfish reasons, it won’t help you.[7] I don’t think you will be surprised to hear that compassion is a topic covered pretty thoroughly in Jewish writings and sacred texts. If you are surprised by that bit of news, maybe you won’t be surprised to hear that compassion is one of Judaism’s highest values. Just how high a value is it? Well, it is such a high value that the word compassion itself is built into one of God’s many names -- Harachaman, the Compassionate One. The biblical noun raḥamim comes from the root rehem, or ‘womb.’ Some scholars have suggested that the original meaning of this word had to do with “brotherhood," or a "brotherly feeling" between those born from the same womb. Just as a mother has compassion for the lives of all the children of her womb, we should have compassion for all of God’s creations. Here are a few examples of how thoroughly compassion is used in Tanakh and Jewish writings. From the Book of Psalms comes a verse that also begins the weekday evening service: וְה֤וּא רַח֨וּם ׀ יְכַפֵּ֥ר עָוֹ֘ן וְֽלֹ֢א יַ֫שְׁחִ֥ית וְהִרְבָּ֣ה לְהָשִׁ֣יב אַפּ֑וֹ וְלֹֽא־יָ֝עִיר כָּל־חֲמָתֽוֹ God being full of compassion, forgives iniquity and does not destroy[8] The rabbis of the Talmud believed in the practice of compassion as a way of imitating God. As beings created in God’s image, we should do as God does. The source of that sentiment comes from the Book of Deuteronomy: וְשָׁ֣מַרְתָּ֔ אֶת־מִצְוֹ֖ת יְיָ֣ אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ לָלֶ֥כֶת בִּדְרָכָ֖יו וּלְיִרְאָ֥ה אֹתֽוֹ: Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in God’s ways, and to fear God[9] The rabbis interpreted “to walk in God’s ways” as --do as God does. Where do we find what God does, or how God behaves? Well in a few places, but the most well-known verse is one that comes from the Book of Exodus – a verse we will chant tomorrow morning during the Torah service. It begins: יְיָ֣ ׀ יְיָ֔ אֵ֥ל רַח֖וּם וְחַנּ֑וּן אֶ֥רֶךְ אַפַּ֖יִם וְרַב־חֶ֥סֶד וֶֽאֱמֶֽת: נֹצֵ֥ר חֶ֨סֶד֙ לָֽאֲלָפִ֔ים נֹשֵׂ֥א עָוֹ֛ן וָפֶ֖שַׁע וְחַטָּאָ֑ה וְנַקֵּה֙ לֹ֣א יְנַקֶּ֔ה פֹּקֵ֣ד ׀ עֲוֹ֣ן אָב֗וֹת עַל־בָּנִים֙ וְעַל־בְּנֵ֣י בָנִ֔ים עַל־שִׁלֵּשִׁ֖ים וְעַל־רִבֵּעִֽים: The Lord! The Lord! a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, rich in steadfast kindness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.[10] Although it doesn’t include the word rachamim, this verse from the Book of Isaiah teaches us how to be compassionate: לִמְד֥וּ הֵיטֵ֛ב דִּרְשׁ֥וּ מִשְׁפָּ֖ט אַשְּׁר֣וּ חָמ֑וֹץ שִׁפְט֣וּ יָת֔וֹם רִ֖יבוּ אַלְמָנָֽה: Learn to do good; devote yourselves to justice, aid the wronged, “uphold the rights of the orphan, and defend the cause of the widow.[11] The message of rachamim, of compassion also appears often in the Siddur, in our daily prayers. Each morning we recite Baruch She’amar: which includes the words: בָּרוּךְ מְרַחֵם עַל הָאָֽרֶץ, בָּרוּךְ מְרַחֵם עַל הַבְּרִיּוֹת Blessed is the One who has compassion on the earth; blessed is the One Who has compassion for all creatures In the Torah service, we will also chant these words: Av harachamim (Father of compassion). During Yizkor and funerals, we recite the prayer El Malei Rachamim – God, full of compassion. -- The Birkat ha-mazon -- the blessing recited after a meal in which bread is eaten, speaks about God compassionately feeding the entire world: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם הַזָּן אֶת הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ בְּטוּבוֹ בְּחֵן בְּחֶסֶד וּבְרַחֲמִים Sovereign of time and space, who with goodness and graciousness, love and compassion, nourishes the entire world. When the Birkat Hamazon focuses on nourishing the entire world it means the entire world – beyond the Jewish world. The Talmud is very clear on this point: One sustains poor Gentiles along with poor Jews, and one visits sick Gentiles along with sick Jews, and one buries dead Gentiles along with dead Jews. All this is done on account of the ways of peace, to foster peaceful relations between Jews and gentiles.[12] Even more, it isn’t just human beings who deserve our compassion, animals do as well. In the Book of Exodus we read: כִּֽי־תִרְאֶ֞ה חֲמ֣וֹר שֹׂנַֽאֲךָ֗ רֹבֵץ֙ תַּ֣חַת מַשָּׂא֔וֹ וְחָֽדַלְתָּ֖ מֵֽעֲזֹ֣ב ל֑וֹ עָזֹ֥ב תַּֽעֲזֹ֖ב עִמּֽוֹ: When you see the donkey of your enemy prostrate under its load and would refrain from raising it, you must nevertheless raise it with him" (Ex. 23:5) In case that isn’t clear, when you see your enemy’s donkey suffering under a heavy load, you are obligated to help the donkey lift its load. There is even a Talmudic rule that before sitting down to a meal one must first see that the domestic animals are fed.[13] According to a midrash Moses and David were both chosen to lead Israel because of their kindness to animals. One day when Moses was tending his father in law’s flock a little kid escaped. He ran after it until it reached a shady place where there was a pool of water. The kid stopped to take a drink. Moses said: I didn’t know you ran away of because of thirst; you must be weary.: So he placed the kid on his shoulder and walked away.[14] David led his sheep through the wilderness in order to keep them from robbing private fields. As a result, God declared David trustworthy with sheep and told him: Come therefore and tend My sheep. Elsewhere in the Torah, we read that a farmer is commanded not to muzzle his ox when he threshes[15] and not to plow with an ox and a donkey together[16], since the weaker animal would not be able to keep up with the stronger one. Animals must be allowed to rest on Shabbat.[17] In my house, it’s a day off for Bali-- off duty from guarding the house except in an emergency. These concepts are summarized in the Talmud through the Hebrew phrase tsa’ar ba’alei chayim— the mandate not to cause suffering to animals.[18] Perhaps the Jewish attitude toward animals is epitomized by the statement in Proverbs:[19] יוֹדֵ֣עַ צַ֭דִּיק נֶ֣פֶשׁ בְּהֶמְתּ֑וֹ “A righteous person knows the needs of his beast” Why so much emphasis on compassion for animals? Well, perhaps words from another tradition, from the 12th century founder of the Franciscans, St. Francis of Assisi will help: If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men. The Jewish Bible the Tanakh, is unique in that it focuses on protecting the vulnerable and the powerless—the poor, the widow, the orphan, the fugitive slave, the migrant, the alien, the stranger in your midst. This is a concept unheard of.in ancient times. The Torah’s decree in Deuteronomy that returning a refugee slave to his master is forbidden,[20] stands in contrast to other ancient Near Eastern legal collections. It is more common to find in these ancient texts prohibitions against harboring fugitive slaves. For example, the Laws of Hammurabi, from the 18th century BCE declare: If a man should harbor a fugitive slave or slave woman of either the palace or of a commoner in his house and not bring him out at the herald’s public proclamation, that householder shall be killed. In the United States, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required that slaves be returned to their owners even if they were in a free state. In the Torah however, to return a human being to his master is inhumane. [21] Last week I talked about anger and this morning I want to talk about moving from anger to compassion. It starts by being aware of the anger you are feeling as it begins to rise up within you. To move past that anger, try to think of everyone around you as another form of you—another vulnerable human being, whose feelings and personalities are like ripples. Whatever another person might do, you need to understand that you are capable of doing the very same thing.[22] We can also become compassionate by practicing patience and trying to see things from another person’s perspective. On Rosh Hashanah evening I mentioned having compassion for and seeing things from the perspective of the mosquito who needs to bite me. If you weren’t there on Rosh Hashanah evening, take my word, it’s a long story. In any case, seeing things from the perspective of another person may help turn your anger into compassion. The highest peace, said Reb Nachman of Bratslav, is peace between opposites. Don’t respond until you are able to do so without causing harm. Patience prevents things from escalating by allowing a lot of space for the other person to speak and express themselves. In the Talmud, Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai, argued about almost everything. Yet Jewish law follows Beit Hillel. If you ask why it’s because Beit Hillel would always begin by summarizing the opinion of Beit Shammai and only then state his own position. This way, Beit Hillel demonstrated a concern not just with being right, but seeking the truth that lied somewhere in between. More practically, Rabbi Shraga Simmons offers a few ways to practice compassion in our everyday lives:
Another day goes by and still, the children cry Put a little love in your heart You want the world to know we won't let hatred grow Put a little love in your heart [Chorus] And the world (And the world) will be a better place And the world (And the world) will be a better place For you (For you) and me (and me) You just wait (Just wait) and see [1] Shmuel Himelstein. A touch of wisdom a touch of wit (Brooklyn, NY : MwaoeH, 1999) 89-90 [2] https://hbr.org/2023/02/leading-with-compassion-has-research-backed-benefits [3] .1https://www.verywellmind.com/compassion-vs-empathy-what-s-the-difference-7494906 [4] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/deeper-wellness/202208/the-importance-compassion-and-kindness-in-today-s-world [5][5] Ibid. [6] https://hbr.org/2023/02/leading-with-compassion-has-research-backed-benefits [7] https://hbr.org/2023/02/leading-with-compassion-has-research-backed-benefits [8] Ps. 78:38 [9] Deut.8:6 [10] Ex. 34:6-7 [11] Isaiah 1:17 [12] Gittin 61a [13][13] Gittin 62a [14] Ex. Rabbah 2:3 [15] Deut. 25:4 [16] Deut. 22:10 [17] Ex. 20:10 [18] Bava Metzia 32b [19] Proverbs 12:10 [20] Deut. 23:16 [21] https://www.vbs.org/worship/meet-our-clergy/rabbi-harold-schulweis/sermons/compassion-yom-kippur-2011-5772 [22] Shane Lobo. Turning anger to compassion (2017) location 41 [23] https://aish.com/middot-series-10-compassion/  Billy Joel –Angry Young Man
There's a place in the world for the angry young man With his working-class ties and his radical plans He refuses to bend he refuses to crawl He's always at home with his back to the wall And he's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost And he struggles and bleeds as he hangs on the cross And he likes to be known as the angry young man Something to Ponder: A father told his son: “You honor me now, during my lifetime, but please also honor me after I am dead. You can honor me after I’m dead by putting aside your anger for one night, checking your temper, and saying nothing.” After his father died, the son traveled far away and left his pregnant wife, although he did not know she was pregnant. The man stayed away for a considerable amount of time, and it was night when he returned home. Walking up to the room where his wife usually slept, the man heard the sound of someone kissing her. At once, he drew out his sword and wanted to kill both of them. But then he remembered his father’s command and he returned the sword to its sheath. He then heard his wife say: “It has been many years since your father left me. If he only knew a son had been born to him, he would return to arrange your marriage.” When the father heard this, he spoke: “Blessed is the Lord who curbed my anger. And blessed is my father, who commanded me to curb my anger for one night so that I did not kill you and my son.” I guess many of you have recently noticed that America has become a much angrier country. Now, some would say that America has always been angry. Not only is it a country born out of a revolution, but our history is peppered with episodes in which aggrieved parties have settled their differences not through conversation but with guns. [1] Our government was also designed to maximize the beneficial effects of anger. For instance, the Bill of Rights guarantees we can argue with one another in the public square, through a free press, and in open court. The separation of powers forces our representatives in government to arrive at policy through disagreement, negotiation, and accommodation. Even our mythology, the American dream, is driven by the discontent felt by people unwilling to accept the circumstances life has handed them.[2] But, in the last few years, the tone of our anger has become a constant drumbeat in our lives. While we may still direct some of our anger at people we know, the news is filled with anger being directed at people we don’t know – people easy to demonize because we don’t know them and with whom one might feel because we don’t know them --- less incentive to resolve whatever differences we might have with those folks.[3] One reason America is so angry is that anger can work to make our lives better. When channeled by organizations such as MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving or civil rights movements, it can save lives, lift up the disadvantaged and reshape a nation. [4] MADD came in to being because moms and others got tired of watching their sons and daughters being killed in the streets by drunken drivers who more often than not, received slaps on the wrist or small fines, and then got back into their cars the next day. [5] When the founder of MADD, Candy Lightner’s 13-year-old daughter was killed by a drunk driver, her shock and grief turned to anger when a California judge gave the repeat offender a light sentence.[6] That anger provoked by injustice, created MADD which now has over 600 state organizations, chapters and community action teams all over the US and Canada. But anger’s power isn’t reserved just for the righteous. When less scrupulous leaders tap into our rage and use it for their own ends, it can be turned against us. Something to ponder: A grandfather imparting a life lesson to his grandson tells him, “I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is vengeful, fearful, envious, resentful, and deceitful. The other wolf is loving, compassionate, generous, truthful, and serene.” The grandson asked his grandfather: “Which wolf will win the fight?” The grandfather answered, “The one I feed.” We become angry when something doesn’t happen the way we want it to happen.[7] But, the last time you got angry chances are it was because of a perceived or real injustice. [8] It could also have been because of a misunderstanding or a communication gap; because of frustration, or because we were distracted and didn’t realize the expectations and needs of others. Let’s face it, we all have a lot of noise in our heads.[9] In general, arguments can help us become aware of other views. It doesn’t have to turn into anger. Arguments can help us learn more about each other. We shouldn’t be wondering who is right or wrong, but rather why we think like we do.[10] The Dalai Lama once said: If your neighbor hates you and is always creating problems for you if you lose your temper and develop hatred toward him, your digestion is harmed, your sound sleep goes, and you have to start to use tranquilizers and sleeping pills. Your mood is affected. Then your neighbor is really happy. Without having inflicted any physical harm, he has fulfilled his wish. [11] The early 20th century Chasidic Rabbi Imrei Chaim once said: A father who becomes angry in front of his son, or a teacher who gets upset in front of his student, causes his son or his student to likewise become an angry person. Children and students emulate their parents’ and teachers’ behavior.[12] I know this to be true from my own personal experience growing up with a mother who was very angry and whose anger masked her own mental illness. This may very well be my own perception but it seemed a lot of her anger was directed at me and I often fought back. As Rabbi Chaim noted and as is a common understanding in modern psychology, I too became an angry person. This anger manifested itself well into my adulthood but exactly how and when I was able to rid myself of that rage is a sermon topic for another day. Anger on the outside as with my mother, often masks pain on the inside – the death of a close friend, the end of a marriage, dealing with a high-stress job, or just general mental illness. If you haven’t seen one of the latest critically acclaimed TV shows The Bear, I highly recommend it – especially if you love shows about cooking. The Bear follows the struggles of Carmen – or Carmy—Berzatto, a top chef who returns home to Chicago to run his family's Italian beef sandwich shop, after the suicide of his drug-addicted older brother Mikey. Filled with angry people and exposing the mental health and addiction problems so prevalent in the restaurant business, I think I can safely say after two seasons of The Bear that every episode has at least one scene where anger explodes and that scene often involves Richie, Mikey’s best friend. Richie, challenged by events in his personal life while grieving for Mikey, is forever picking fights with anyone and everyone. Author, Ambrose Bierce said, “Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” Most of us have had the experience of saying or doing things in the immediate flush of anger that we later regretted but unfortunately were unable to erase. Or perhaps we sent a scathing text or email to someone in the heat of the moment. Far better to restrain our immediate response.[13] Not surprisingly, the Tanakh, the Jewish Bible contains a few stories involving anger. Whether it’s Cain murdering his brother Abel or Moses striking the rock when God tells him to speak to it, or King Saul trying to kill David, or Jacob’s sons Levi and Simeon murdering the Shechemites after their sister is raped, human behavior hasn’t changed in several thousand years. The Book of Kings contains the story of Naaman,[14] an Aramean military commander stricken with leprosy. Hearing about the prophet Elisha’s ability to heal leprosy, Naaman journeys to Israel to ask Elisha for help. When Naaman comes to the prophet’s house, rather than greet him at the door, Elisha sends a messenger, who tells Naaman that washing himself seven times in the Jordan River will restore his flesh. Wondering why Elisha did not personally greet him, Naaman becomes angry and calls on God to cure him.[15] Thinking Elisha had done him wrong, Naaman’s thinking was as Gary Chapman describes in his book Anger, taming a powerful emotion--distorted as opposed to definitive anger. Definitive anger comes about when someone does us wrong --treats us unfairly, steals our property, lies about our character, or in some other way does us wrong. Distorted anger is initiated by a situation that has really just made life inconvenient for us. It’s distorted because we are responding to a perceived and not a real wrongdoing.[16] Naaman’s perception was not based on fact but rather based on how Elisha’s actions made him feel. Fortunately, Naaman, had good advisors who encouraged him do what Elisha told him to do. After washing himself seven times in the Jordan River, Naaman was cured of leprosy. In his book Chapman also describes explosive and implosive anger. While explosive anger begins with rage and may quickly turn to violence, implosive anger begins with silence and withdrawal but in time leads to resentment, bitterness, and eventually hatred.[17] Explosive anger is readily observed by the person’s screaming, swearing, condemning, criticizing, and other words or acts of rage, while implosive anger is not as easily recognized because it is by definition, held inside.[18] In Pirkei Avot, Ethics of the Fathers, a tractate in the Mishnah, we read: There are four types of people: a person who is easily angered and easily calmed down – his losses outweigh his gains. A person who is slow to anger and slow to calm down – his gains outweigh his losses. A person who is slow to anger and easy to calm down – he is pious. A person who is easy to anger and hard to calm down –is a rasha (an evil person)[19] Rabbi Abraham Twerski of blessed memory asks: Why does the Mishnah not describe the most virtuous person as one who cannot be provoked to anger at all? Rabbi Twerski answers his own question—because the Rabbis understood human nature. A total absence of anger is rare. In fact, Rabbi Twerski, who was also a psychiatrist, notes that with the exception of a select few, total absence of anger when severely provoked is more apt to be a pathological repression rather than a noble virtue. The most that can be asked of the average person is that he not be so sensitive that he is easily aroused to anger, and that when he does become angry, to quickly rid himself of his resentment and allow himself to be appeased.[20] We are far more likely to make a positive response to our anger if we first acknowledge to ourselves that we are angry. How can we deal with valid anger?
And if that doesn’t work, heed the words of Jacob the Baker, who scribbled his thoughts on bits of paper as he waited for the bread to rise. One day, by accident a small paper was baked into a loaf and the woman who bought that loaf was so moved by the words of wisdom she found inside it that she returned to the bakery the next day for more. In that way, Jacob’s simple sayings became known. Here is what he scribbled about anger: When our hand is made into a fist we cannot receive the gifts of life from ourselves, our friends, or our God. When our hand is closed in a fist, we cannot hold anything but our bitterness. When we do this we starve our stomachs and our souls. Our anger brings a famine on us.[22] And there's always a place for the angry young man With his fist in the air and his head in the sand And he's never been able to learn from mistakes So he can't understand why his heart always breaks But his honor is pure and his courage as well And he's fair and he's true and he's boring as hell And he'll go to the grave as an angry old man [1] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/01/charles-duhigg-american-anger/576424/ [2] Ibid. [3] Ibid. [4] Ibid. [5] Gary Chapman. Anger : taming a powerful emotion. (Chicago : Moody, c2015) 29 [6] Ibid. [7] Shane Lobo. Turning anger to compassion (2017) 22. [8] Gary Chapman. Anger : taming a powerful emotion. (Chicago : Moody, c2015) 22 [9] Shane Lobo. Turning anger to compassion (2017) 22. [10] Ibid. 27 [11] Dalai Lama. An open heart: practicing compassion in everyday life. (New York : Little, Brown, 2008) 20 [12] Tubolsky, Avraham. Remove anger from your heart (Brookyn, NY : Judaica Press, c2010) location 1614 [13] Gary Chapman. Anger : taming a powerful emotion. (Chicago : Moody, c2015) 38 [14] 2Kings 5 [15] 2Kings 5:13-15 [16] Gary Chapman. Anger : taming a powerful emotion. (Chicago : Moody, c2015) 58 [17] Ibid. 86 [18] Ibid. [19] Avot 5:14 [20] Abraham Twerski. Living each day (Brooklyn, NY : Mesorah, 1990) 344 [21] Gary Chapman. Anger : taming a powerful emotion. (Chicago : Moody, c2015) 37 [22] Noah benShea. Jacob the baker : gentle wisdom for a complicated world. (New York : Ballantine, c1989) 27-8  Faith is spelled a-c-t-i-o-n
One way to define faith is as an expression of hope for something greater or better to come. Another definition is having a lot of trust or confidence in something or someone. The popular phrase, “take a leap of faith,” means that you believe in something even though you don’t have enough irrefutable evidence to back up this belief. In this week’s Torah portion, Sh’lach’lecha from the Book of Numbers, the Israelites are poised to enter the Promised Land. But first, God tells Moses to send out one scout from each of the twelve tribes to explore the land. As part of his instructions Moses tells the scouts to pay attention to their surroundings. For example: וּרְאִיתֶ֥ם אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ מַה־הִ֑וא וְאֶת־הָעָם֙ הַיֹּשֵׁ֣ב עָלֶ֔יהָ הֶֽחָזָ֥ק הוּא֙ הֲרָפֶ֔ה הַֽמְעַ֥ט ה֖וּא אִם־רָֽב: יט וּמָ֣ה הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־הוּא֙ יֹשֵׁ֣ב בָּ֔הּ הֲטוֹבָ֥ה הִ֖וא אִם־רָעָ֑ה וּמָ֣ה הֶֽעָרִ֗ים אֲשֶׁר־הוּא֙ יוֹשֵׁ֣ב בָּהֵ֔נָּה הַֽבְּמַֽחֲנִ֖ים אִ֥ם בְּמִבְצָרִֽים:. See what kind of country it is. Are the people who dwell in it strong or weak, few or many? Is the country in which they dwell good or bad? Are the towns they live in open or fortified? (Num. 13:18-19) The twelve spies return after forty days of exploring. Ten of them report that although the land itself is all we could ever hope for, the people living there are powerful giants and the cities much too fortified for us to overcome. Only two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua, believe the Israelites could overcome whatever obstacles they might face by simply having faith that God will deliver them into the land. But, the people refuse to listen to Caleb and Joshua and even talk about stoning them. In the end, God punishes the people for their lack of faith and the Israelites are left to wander the wilderness for the next forty years. Of all the Israelites who left Egypt, including Moses and Aaron, only Caleb and Joshua would be allowed to enter the Promised Land. The basis of Caleb and Joshua’s faith was God’s promise to rescue the Israelites from their enemies. While both understood that faith requires taking a risk, they also knew that with God’s help it was possible. Joshua and Caleb just needed to take that first step. They just needed to recognize that faith is spelled A-C-T-I-O-N. Shabbat Shalom, Ellie
Losing My Religion (REM) / lyrics by Michael Stipe Oh, life is bigger it's bigger than you and you are not me The lengths that I will go to The distance in your eyes Oh no, I've said too much I set it up That's me in the corner, that's me in the spotlight Losing my religion trying to keep up with you and I don't know if I can do it Oh no, I've said too much I haven't said enough [Chorus] I thought that I heard you laughing I thought that I heard you sing I think I thought I saw you try As many of you know, before I became a rabbi I was a film librarian/archivist working at a variety of institutions around the Washington DC area. The last few years I lived in DC I worked as Head of Film Cataloging at the Library of Congress near my home on Capitol Hill. Before that, I commuted out to College Park, Maryland where I worked with the film and video collections first at the University of Maryland Libraries and then at the National Archives. The commute out to College Park from Capitol Hill took twenty-five minutes. It was of course a reverse commute, that went against rush hour traffic coming in to the city. The route was mainly local roads and not exactly the most scenic commute I’ve ever had. However, on that commute, there was one interesting site that often caught my attention, in part because it was placed smack in the middle of a traffic circle at the crossroads of Route 450 and Route 1 in Bladensburg, Maryland. I drove around that traffic circle every day of my commute and frankly it was hard to miss the 40-foot tall concrete cross erected in the middle of that traffic circle and known as the Bladensburg Cross, or simply the Peace Cross. Since 1925, this cross has stood as a tribute to 49 local soldiers who gave their lives in the 1st World War. 89 years after the dedication of the Cross, a lawsuit was filed, claiming that the memorial, which sits on public land—was offensive. The lawsuit asserted that the expenditure of public funds to maintain the memorial violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment-- a clause that prevents government endorsement of a religion.[1] In other words, placing this cross on public land, could easily give the impression that the government endorsed Christianity – since a cross is a known symbol of Christianity. The respondents of the lawsuit asked the Court to relocate or demolish the Cross or at least remove its arms so it wouldn’t look like a cross. The 4th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with that assessment. One of the Constitution’s most important declarations of freedom is stated in the 1st Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Other freedoms covered in the 1st Amendment include freedom of speech, the press, and peaceful assembly.[2] The 1st Amendment also includes two clauses. As I mentioned above, the Establishment Clause prevents government endorsement of a religion and the Free Exercise Clause gives citizens the freedom to practice their religion. Although today these two clauses are widely embraced, they were radically new at the time of our nation’s founding. The Puritans may have left England for the new world to escape the restrictions of the Church of England, but once they arrived here, they tended to persecute others as a way to advance their religion. When they threw Roger Williams out of Massachusetts because of his liberal ideas on religion, Williams headed to Rhode Island where he established a new community that did not require individuals to follow a particular religion and the government had no control over religious beliefs. William Penn, George Mason, and James Madison also wrote basic concepts of religious liberty into Pennsylvania and Virginia laws. [3] However, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Vermont mandated all public officials to be Protestant Christians. Several states went further and required a sworn adherence to Christianity. Even in religiously liberal Rhode Island, Jews were not allowed to vote, but their status as merchants and economic contributors protected them from overt discrimination.[4] In any case, the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses represented an implicit promise to Jews and other minority faiths, that the New World would give them the opportunity to exercise their faith freely. In a letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, President George Washington wrote: “For happily the Government of the United States gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.”[5] But, even with the adoption of the First Amendment, some leaders continued to insist the United States was a Christian nation. Daniel Webster argued before the Supreme Court that “the preservation of Christianity is one of the main ends of government” and called schools quote “for the propagation of Judaism” unquote, illegitimate. In the 1892 case involving the application of a federal law forbidding the importation of foreign contract laborers, Justice David J. Brewer opined “We find everywhere a clear recognition of the same truth: This is a Christian nation.” [6] Religious tolerance was enshrined in the Constitution thanks in large part to the influence of British philosopher John Locke and our 4th president James Madison. Locke believed that government–imposed religious beliefs stifled the freedom of those in the minority. Back in America, it was James Madison who drafted the 1st Amendment.[7] With the implementation of both the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses, it would seem the First Amendment’s goal of protecting freedom of religion would not be controversial. But, when we look more closely, for example at the Bladensburg Cross example, it becomes a bit clearer that freedom of religion remains one of the most contentious parts of the Constitution in both the political and judicial spheres of the United States government.[8] The Peace Cross law suit ended up in the Supreme Court where seven justices voted to reverse the 4th Circuit’s decision. Among those seven were liberal justices Elana Kagan and Steven Breyer. Despite the fact that the cross has long been an important Christian symbol, the Supreme Court argued that the Bladensburg cross had become a prominent community landmark and there had been no evidence of discriminatory intent in the selection of the design. The two dissenting justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor insisted that the display of a cross as a war memorial cannot be re-rationalized as a secular, generic or universal symbol of sacrifice in wartime. The cross belongs to Christians as a symbol, and excludes others. The belief behind the Establishment Clause is the notion of the separation of church and state. But, in truth, there is no clear dividing line between these two categories. For instance, as in the case of the Peace Cross, the Supreme Court has held that some public prayers and some religious displays on public property are constitutional.[9] At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia James Madison opposed the explicit protection of religious freedom, arguing that if rights were enumerated in the Constitution it would reduce the vast protection of religious freedom he thought Americans were owed, because future governments might read those specifically defined protections narrowly rather than broadly.[10] If you have been paying attention to some of the religious freedom cases that have gone before the Supreme Court recently, you might say that James Madison has proven to be an excellent predictor of the future. This past spring, the Supreme Court decided two major First Amendment cases dealing with religious liberty. One was on the topic of whether the state of Maine could refuse to fund religious schools, and the second was about whether a football coach could pray on the field after games. In both cases, the court decided in favor of the religious claim. While these decisions expand religious liberty and free speech protections, they weaken the establishment clause limitations which separate church and state.[11] In the case of the football coach, he genuinely felt the need to pray publicly on school time and on school property and apparently this was more urgently important than the interests of students and their parents seeking to be free from religious coercion by the government. The school was willing to let him pray anywhere he wanted in the school but the coach chose the 50-yard line. As Justice Sotomayor remarked: I don’t know any other religion that requires you to get at the 50-yard line, the place where post-game victory speeches are given. What religion requires you to do it at that spot?[12] Back in 2020 Justice Neil Gorsuch led the way on what is without a doubt the single most important guarantee of employment protections for LGBTQ workers. Even so, there is a pretty good chance that down the road the religious and ministerial exemptions will be used when schools fire gay workers for religious reasons and then say that’s our ministerial exemption—meaning religious institutions have discretion over whom they employ as “ministers,” unconstrained by anti-discrimination laws.[13] Dahlia Lithwick, who writes about the Courts and the law for Slate Magazine, hosts the podcast Amicus, and has the great distinction of being referred to by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as spicy, responded to this phenomenon with a take on a verse from the Book of Job -- The court giveth and the court taketh away.[14] This is already happening in cases like the Colorado baker who refused to bake a cake to celebrate the marriage of a same sex couple because of a religious objection. As Lithwick notes, this is the hollowing out of the Obergefell case, which legalized same sex marriage. The Court giveth and the Court taketh away.[15] Katherine Franke, a professor of law at Columbia University has suggested that in any conflict the current Court would honor religious liberty over every other right or interest, whether it was public health, or LGBTQ interests, or reproductive freedom. Because religion is explicitly named in the Constitution and those other freedoms or values are not, religion will win every time. [16] All religious minorities in this country rely on American religious liberty. For Jews, rulings like overturning Roe and the football coach praying on the 50-yard line that allows for public Christian prayer as part of school athletics, are raising real fears that religious liberty for any faith other than Conservative Christianity is slipping away.[17] Or to quote Barack Obama in a statement he made about reproductive rights: No, you can’t deny women their basic rights and pretend it’s about your ‘religious freedom’, If you don’t like birth control, don’t use it. Religious freedom doesn’t mean you can force others to live by your own beliefs. That's me in the corner, that's me in the spotlight Losing my relgion trying to keep up with you and I don't know if I can do it Oh no I've said too much I haven't said enough [1] Corey Brettschneider. Religious Freedom (New York : Penguin Books, c2021) 98. [2] Ibid. xiv [3] “Religious Liberty in the United States,” https://tourosynagogue.org/history/religious-liberty-in-the-usa/#limits-of-tolerance [4] Ibid [5] Ronald Kahn, “Judaism,” https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1368/judaism [6] Ibid. [7] Corey Brettschneider. Religious Freedom (New York : Penguin Books, c2021) xvi. [8] Ibid. xxv. [9] Ibid. [10] Ibid. xxvii. [11] Andrew R. Lewis. “The New Supreme Court Doctrine Against Religious Discrimination,” July 7th, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/07/07/scotus-carson-makin-maine-schools-bremerton-football-coach/ [12] Dahlia Lithwick, “The Holy Morality of the Supreme Court’s Most Sympathetic Plaintiffs,” Apr. 27th, 2022, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/04/how-religious-adherents-became-scotus-most-sympathetic-plaintiffs.html [13] “Closing Conversation : Dahlia Lithwick and Micah Schwartzman,” 9:26, https://vimeo.com/457983916 [14] Ibid. [15] Ibid. [16] Dahlia Lithwick, “The Holy Morality of the Supreme Court’s Most Sympathetic Plaintiffs,” Apr. 27th, 2022, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/04/how-religious-adherents-became-scotus-most-sympathetic-plaintiffs.html [17] Daniel Bogard. “The Jewish Case for Abortion : How Overturning Roe v. Wade Threatens Religious Liberty,” June 30th, 2022, https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2022/06/30/the-jewish-case-for-abortion-how-overturning-roe-v-wade-threatens-religious-liberty/  I Won’t Back Down (Tom Petty) Well I won't back down No I won't back down You can stand me up at the gates of hell But I won't back down No, I'll stand my ground Won't be turned around And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down Gonna stand my ground And I won't back down Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out Hey I will stand my ground And I won't back down And I won’t back down We buried my father on the afternoon leading up to Rosh Hashanah in 2003. Now, some rabbis say the High Holy Day season begins with Tisha B’Av – in the middle of the summer. Some say it begins with the Selichot service, a week before Rosh Hashanah. I have always believed the former but about a week ago, it occurred to me that whatever I might think I believe, since 2003, the High Holy Day season smacks me up the side of my head, on the day of my father’s yahrtzeit. Avshalom Saul Smith (yeah you heard me right), Avshalom Saul Smith alav hashalom, may peace be upon him, was a civil engineer. Now, when I say alav hashalom, may peace be upon him, I am wishing peace upon a man whose name Avshalom means father of peace. Suffice to say no name ever fit a man quite so well. Avisholum as some of his relatives called him, began his civil engineering career helping to build the New York Thruway and then went to work for a company named Porter & Ripa in Newark, NJ, where he was involved in the building of the Garden State Parkway. Porter & Ripa did a lot of work for the state of NJ and in the late 70’s it was discovered that the company had been taking the state of New Jersey to the cleaners—embezzling a million dollars by altering timesheets. Unfortunately, my father’s signature was at the bottom of a lot of these timesheets and he was asked to appear before a grand jury. Just to be clear, my father signed these timesheets before they were altered. He did nothing wrong, and perhaps to ensure his “loyalty,” someone very high up in the company asked my father to lie to the grand jury. I don’t think I need to say anything more than point you to any episode of the Sopranos to help you understand exactly what was going on. In the end my father did the right thing – really the only thing he knew how to do. He told the truth. Now, it’s easy to say that my father did the right thing, but as I got older I came to understand exactly what it took to do this right thing. Clearly, it was dangerous to lie to a grand jury. But it was just as dangerous, if not more so in this case, to defy this person so high up in the company and possibly put yourself and your family at risk. But again, my father had no idea how to lie. Telling the truth was all he knew how to do. As Tom Petty wrote in the song I began with, my father would not; could not back down from his ethical beliefs. Soon after, the company was taken over by forces that probably weren’t much better and many in the company, including my father, who at the time was 57 years old, were fired. But, Avshalom Saul Smith was an excellent engineer and it didn’t take him long to find a job, despite his age. He went to work for the Louis Berger Company in E. Orange, NJ. Now, East Orange wasn’t exactly an upgrade neighborhood-wise from Newark but it was definitely an upgrade in job opportunity. The Louis Berger Company was an international engineering firm and not long after he joined the company my father was sent to Portugal for a month. Soon after that, Louis Berger bid on a job in Israel to build an air base in the Negev. The air base needed to be built to replace an existing one in the Sinai, which would soon be given back to Egypt as part of the Middle East Peace Accords. The Louis Berger Company won the bid and when my father was named project engineer for this job, my parents moved back to Israel for two years. For me, this has always been a story about doing the right thing no matter the cost and I’ve always held this story up as a model for how I needed to live my life. My father was generally a quiet man but his actions spoke way louder than his words. This is also a story about enduring difficult times on the path to finding your destiny and I don’t think my father could have found a more perfect destiny if he had chosen it himself. His destiny meant returning to the land of his childhood, to the land his grandparents made their home in the 1890’s and perhaps most importantly, his destiny was to help make Israel a more secure state. That destiny would not have happened had Porter & Ripa been an honest company. In a well-known Talmudic story (BT Shabbat 31a), a non-Jew asks Rabbi Shammai to convert him saying: convert me on condition that you teach me the entire Torah while I am standing on one foot. Shammai pushed him away….. The same gentile came before Rabbi Hillel and Hillel converted him. He said to the man: That which is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah, the rest is commentary. Go study.[1] If we are looking for a single Jewish principle defining how we should behave, this isn’t a bad choice. That which is hateful to you don’t do to others? If you hate it when others gossip about you, then don’t gossip about others. This is the whole Torah? Well, while monotheism is at the heart of Judaism, if one believes in God but doesn’t practice what Hillel preaches, how can that person be considered a religious Jew? The rest is commentary? Well, all Jewish laws should in some way reinforce and at the very least, not negate, ethical behavior. Go study? Understanding how to act appropriately is not necessarily a simple matter. One of the more famous verses in the Torah says: Justice, justice you shall pursue. Reading this verse is not enough. We need to study and figure out what exactly constitutes acting justly.[2] Hillel wasn’t the only rabbinic sage to define Judaism in ethical terms. A century after Hillel Rabbi Akiva, the leading rabbi of his age, taught that the verse Love your neighbor as yourself is the major principle of the Torah.[3] Like Hillel, Akiva believed that treating others fairly cannot be seen as one worthy act among many, but as the most important act.[4] Certainly, a significant ethical essence or contribution made by the Torah is the Ten Commandments. In addition to obligating Jews to affirm God, observe Shabbat, ban idolatry, and not take God’s name in vain, the Ten Commandments prohibits murder, adultery, stealing, bearing false witness, and coveting. The Torah may talk about sacrifices, holidays, circumcision, etc. but the Ten Commandments are overwhelmingly moral rules regulating relations between human beings. Morality is the essence of Judaism.[5] Even before the Ten Commandments the Torah emphasized ethical behavior. In explaining Abraham’s mission in the book of Genesis, God says: כִּ֣י יְדַעְתִּ֗יו לְמַ֩עַן֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְצַוֶּ֜ה אֶת־בָּנָ֤יו וְאֶת־בֵּיתוֹ֙ אַֽחֲרָ֔יו וְשָֽׁמְרוּ֙ דֶּ֣רֶךְ יְיָ֔ לַֽעֲשׂ֥וֹת צְדָקָ֖ה וּמִשְׁפָּ֑ט : For I have singled him out in order that he may instruct his children and his posterity to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. (Gen. 18:19) Abraham in turn, holds God to the same principle. When he fears God is acting unfairly in planning to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham challenges God: Shall not the judge of all the earth act with justice? (Gen. 18:35)[6] Later on in the Tanakh, the Prophet Micah asks: What does the Lord require of you? To do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God (6:8) Micah doesn’t focus on faith, sacrifices, or other rituals but rather on justice, compassion, and humility. He doesn’t say walk arrogantly with God, but walk humbly with God.[7] How timeless are the words of the prophet Jeremiah: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom; Let not the mighty man glory in his might; let not the rich man glory in his riches. But one should only glory in this: that he understands and knows righteousness on the earth. For in these I delight, says the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:22-23)[8] There are certainly examples in the Tanakh of people who refused to follow immoral orders. Perhaps one of the more well-known stories is that of the midwives Shifra and Puah, who refused to follow Pharaoh’s order to kill the baby boys born to the Israelite women (Ex. 1:15-21). When Pharaoh confronts them they tell him a tale -- by the time we got to the women they had already given birth and we weren’t able to out carry your orders. It’s unclear whether Shifra and Puah are Israelite or Egyptian midwives. But either way, it took great courage to stand up to Pharaoh.[9] On the flip side is the story of David and Bathsheba. After David impregnates Bathsheba wife of Uriah, one of David’s soldiers, he plots to cover up what he has done by bringing Uriah home from battle to sleep with his wife. But Uriah swearing loyalty to the troops, doesn’t comply. So David sends him back to the front and orders his military commander Yoav, who also happens to be David’s nephew, to make sure Uriah is killed in battle. Yoav, unlike Shifra and Puah, is not defiant. He follows David’s order and eventually Uriah is killed on the battlefield. David then marries Bathsheba. As the Bible goes so goes current events. Each and every day, the news is filled with stories of people who like my father, do the right thing fully aware of the possible cost to their lives. Even if they aren’t putting their lives on the line, they know the life of this country is on the line. They do it knowing that while the cost for them could be great, the cost to our country could be even greater. On the other hand, there are certainly other public servants for whom that kind of courage has been sorely lacking. Holocaust survivor and psychotherapist Victor Frankl wrote: We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.[10] These days, perhaps more than any other in our lifetime, we need to choose wisely. Well, I know what’s right I got just one life In a world that keeps on pushin’ me around But I’ll stand my ground And I won’t back down Hey baby There ain’t no easy way out Hey I will stand my ground And I won’t back down. L’shana Tova u’metukah Wishing all of you the happiest, healthiest and sweetest of New Years. [1] Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 31a [2] Joseph Telushkin. A Code of Jewish Ethics, vol. 1. (New York: Random House, c2006) 10-11. [3] Jerusalem Talmud Nedarim 9:4 [4] Joseph Telushkin. A Code of Jewish Ethics, vol. 1. (New York: Random House, c2006) 12. [5] Ibid. 13 [6] Ibid [7] Ibid. 211 [8] Ibid. 14-15 [9] Ibid. 30-31 [10] Ibid. 30 |
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