Congregation Agudas Israel
July 7, 2012
Parshat Balak
PLEASE NOTE, I INCLUDE THE FULL QUOTES HERE, BUT WILL NOT READ THE ENTIRE QUOTES DURING MY SERMON.
In this week’s parsha, we read the fantastic story of Balak and Balaam. While the parsha is named after Balak, King of the Moabites, the parsha’s main protagonist/antagonist is Balaam. Balak hires Balaam, a prophet and magician for hire, to curse the Jews. We even get a talking donkey! Where do you think Shrek, got the idea!?
In three separate occasions, Balaam tries to curse the Jews and has no success. Each time his words turn into words of blessing. Gd forces him to tell the truth! If only the same were true of advertising today. Can you imagine if when someone tried to sell a product or candidate on TV they could only tell the absolute truth? Commercials for miraculous pills would tell you that they only work for some people and that the generic works identically! Commercials for politicians would stop lambasting opponents with false charges and speak only of their own REAL achievements.
This week I saw a new show called Newsroom. Just in case you think I have HBO, the episode was online for free, to get you to try to buy HBO! It was created/written by Aaron Sorkin, who while entertaining, has a clear perspective that is demonstrated in almost every show he writes. The basic premise for the show is that a news anchor decides (with the help of a brilliant producer and ex-girlfriend) that America needs an old-fashioned unbiased, accurate news show. The show opens with the anchor first trying to avoid answering questions at a college forum, between two blowhards, one right-wing and one left-wing. A college student asks them all, what makes America the Greatest Country of All? After sidestepping the question, the moderator asks the anchor to truly answer, to which he responds:
[Read EXCERPT!]
Moderator: I'm not letting you go back to the airport without answering the question.
Will: Well, our constitution is a masterpiece, James Madison was a genius. The Declaration of Independence is for me the single greatest piece of American Writing.
(Pause)
Will: You don't look satisfied.
Moderator: One's a set of laws, and the other is a Declaration of War. I want a human moment from you. (Pause) What about the people? Why's America...
Will: ... not the greatest country in the World, Professor, that's my answer!
Moderator: You're saying...?
Will: Yes!
(Pause)
Moderator: Let's talk about finance–
Will: Sharon, the NEA is a loser. Yeah, it accounts for a penny out of our paycheck, but he gets to hit you with it any time he wants. It doesn't cost money, it costs votes; it costs airtime, column inches. You know why people don't like liberals? Because they lose. If liberals are so fucking smart, how come they lose so goddamn always?
Sharon: Hey!
Will: [to Lewis] And with a straight face, you're gonna tell students, that America's so star-spangled awesome, that we're the only ones in the world who have freedom? Canada has freedom, Japan has freedom, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Australia, Belgium has freedom (laughs). So 207 sovereign states in the world, like a hundred and eighty of them have freedom.
Moderator: Alright–
Will: And yes, you, sorority girl. Just in case you accidentally wander into a voting booth, there's some things you should know, and one of them is, there's absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we're the greatest country in the world. We're 7th in literacy, 27th in math, 22nd in science, 49th in life expectancy, 178th in infant mortality, 3rd in median household income, number 4 in labor force, and number 4 in exports. We lead the world in only 3 categories: number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real, and defense spending, where we spend more than the next 26 countries combined. 25 of whom are allies. Now, none of this is the fault of a 20 year old College student. But you, nonetheless, are without a doubt a member of the worst period generation period ever period. So when you ask, "what makes us the greatest country in the world?" I don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Yosemite?
(Pause)
Will: We sure used to be. We stood up for what was right. We fought for moral reasons. We passed laws, struck down laws for moral reasons. We waged wars on poverty, not poor people. We sacrificed, we cared about our neighbors. We put our money where our mouths were. And we never beat our chest. We built great big things, made ungodly technological advances, explored the universe, cured diseases, and we cultivated the world's greatest artists and the world's greatest economy. We reached for the stars, acted like men. We aspired to intelligence, we didn't belittle it, it didn't make us feel inferior. We didn't identify by who we voted for in our last election. And we didn't... we didn't scare so easily. We were able to be all these things, and to do all these things, because we were informed. Like great men, men who were revered. First step in solving any problem, is recognizing there is one. America is not the greatest country in the world anymore.
(Pause)
Will: (to Moderator) Enough? (Copyright Aaron Sorkin and HBO, from:http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Newsroom_(TV_series) )
You might ask? What the heck does this have to do with Balaam? Well, it is about the challenges of speaking truth in the present climate.
Can you imagine if President Obama or Governor Romney said “American is not the greatest country in the world anymore, but it could be?” What would be the reaction on CNN or FoxNews? On blogs? Heck, this was a fake news anchor on a comedic drama and the blogosphere and papers were ready to string up Aaron Sorkin.
Aaron Sorkin’s character, Will, is booed and he is forced to take time off, and loses much of his staff in the interim. Now, clearly a good bit of his speech is ridiculous! America in earlier generations was no more perfect than it is now. We need only look at slavery, racism, anti-Semitism, McCarthyism, Cold War Paranoia, and propaganda to see the challenges of the past. Will forgets that every generation of young adults appear to be slackers to their parents and older generations. In the 5th century BCE, Socrates wrote:
"Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders, and love chatter in places of exercise. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble food and tyrannize their teachers." (http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/?uc_full_date=20070106)
We look into the past as if it were ideal, but forget that the future has far more potential!
I think of the song that is NOT our national anthem, America the Beautiful:
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassion'd stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness
America! America!
God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.
O beautiful for heroes prov'd
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country lov'd,
And mercy more than life.
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev'ry gain divine.
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears. (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_the_Beautiful by Katherine Bates)
That song is a testament to our nation’s natural beauty, our natural resources, and our national potential. It is a dream of the present and a dream of the future. It makes me think of the “curse” of Balaam.
Number Chapter 24:
4 Word of him who hears God's speech,
Who beholds visions from the Almighty,
Prostrate, but with eyes unveiled:
5 How fair are your tents, O Jacob,
Your dwellings, O Israel!
6 Like palm-groves that stretch out,
Like gardens beside a river,
Like aloes planted by the Lord,
Like cedars beside the water;
7 Their boughs drip with moisture,
Their roots have abundant water.
Their king shall rise above Agag,
Their kingdom shall be exalted.
8 God who freed them from Egypt
Is for them like the horns of the wild ox.
They shall devour enemy nations,
Crush their bones,
And smash their arrows.
9 They crouch, they lie down like a lion,
Like the king of beasts; who dare rouse them?
Blessed are they who bless you,
Accursed they who curse you! ( NJPS translation copied from: http://www.jtsa.edu/Conservative_Judaism/JTS_Torah_Commentary/Balak_Translation.xml )
In this “curse” Balaam looks at the facts on the ground and dreams of the future. He uses what is in front of him to build a better future.
Celebrating the 4th of July this week, I think about the fact that there have been Jews in this country since 1654, for almost 360 years! There was even a Jew in Roanoke, VA almost 100 years before that! America has been a land of opportunity for Jews, a place where anti-Semitism rarely became violent, and where other than brief moments, we have been always welcome. While we could discuss many different reasons for this blessing, I think the foundation of the country is one of them. The Bill of Rights of our Constitution bans state-sponsored religion and supports religious freedom; the Declaration of Independence calls for individual liberty. We have George Washington’s letter to the Jews of Providence. Is America perfect? No, NOTHING in this world is perfect. General Grant tried to expel the Jews, but he was later the first sitting president to attend a Jewish service. The only way we will have perfection is when Messiah comes. In the interim, we have much work to do to make the world fit for the Messiah. We have hungry people to feed, the naked to clothe, those without shelter who need homes. We have to say our prayers, eat as Jews, live as Jews, so that we may be aware of the potential for holiness in ourselves and in others.
On this week of Independence, I think of Haym Solomon. He died penniless, was imprisoned by the British for treason twice (since he supported the Revolutionary War and in his first imprisonment helped others escape), yet after his own escape, he campaigned around Europe for financial support for Gen. Washington and the Continental Congress. He personally financed and hosted many key revolutionary leaders and events. Through his hard work, the American Revolution did not go completely broke and have to stop fighting! Haym saw the blessing in America. He traveled and taught that blessing. He convinced world leaders of the potential of America.
While I conclude with a comparison to Balaam, Haym was far better than Balaam. Whereas Balaam tried to curse and was forced by Gd into blessing, Haym always saw the blessing of America. He saw the good and fought for it. I pray that in every generation we will continue to see the good, and fight for it. Shabbat Shalom!
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