Dvarim and Tisha B'Av, Telling and Retelling

Rabbi Philip Weintraub
Congregation Agudas Israel
July 28, 2012
Parshat Dvarim/Tisha B’av

Telling and retelling.

This week we begin the book of Devarim/Deuteronomy/Words.  In many ways we hear the story of the Exodus and the journey to the cusp of the Promised Land.  Yet in this telling, we hear the story from Moses’ perspective.  We hear the struggles he had with the people Israel. We hear of rebellion and mitzvot.  

Our Haftorah is from the book of Isaiah.  We hear a vision of destruction and a vision of hope.  We hear Gd angry, and we hear Gd compassionate.

In one of the unique twists of Jewish law, right now, at this moment, it is Tisha B’av, but its observance is moved until tonight. On that note, if you come to tonight, you can read the book of Lamentations and see some of the same people again!  Tisha B’av is the saddest day on the classical Jewish calendar, remembering the destruction of both the 1st and 2nd Temples, the false report of the spies in the Bible, the crushing of the Bar Kochba revolt, and the destruction of the Temple site.  Later on, we added the start of the First Crusade, the expulsion of Jews from England and Spain, the start of WWI and the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto.  Yet with all of that, we still do not fast on Shabbat.  We move the entire commemoration to tonight, to the 10th of Av!

For many modern Jews though, Tisha B’Av is difficult.  Some of you have walked the streets of Jerusalem.  You have seen high rises and kosher restaurants.  You have seen a Jewish government and a Jewish military.  (For those that haven’t, it is not too late to register to join us in Israel next year.)  So how do we mourn for the destruction of Jerusalem when it seems just fine?  How do we cry when we can go to Burger Bar or even a Kosher McDonalds?

To me the answer is quite simple.  We aren’t there yet.  Tisha B’av is still relevant while there is hate in the world.  Tisha B’av is still important when peace is not universal.  Tisha B’av is still essential when Jews cannot speak respectfully to Jews, when not all serve their country or pay their taxes and when there is still no Temple.

Last night was the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.  This year is 40 years since the tragedy of the Munich Olympics when Palestinian terrorists killed 11 Israelis and a German policeman.

There has been a worldwide movement to have a moment of silence in their memory at the Opening Ceremonies.  While I do not know what happened last night, as of yesterday afternoon, there was no indication that in the spectacle of the opening ceremonies that any tribute would be made.  While hundreds of thousands of signatures were collected by the Rockland County JCC and Federation, calls were made by President Obama and Governor Romney, the Israeli government, the German government and numerous others, the IOC did not seem willing to bend.  Outrageously, the chairman of the Palestinian Olympics Committee, Jibril Rajoub, sent a letter to the IOC saying that acknowledging the Israelis killed would be racist!  He wrote,  “Sports are a bridge for love, communication and the spreading of peace between nations and should not be used for divisiveness and the spread of racism.”
http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/107570/palestinian-olympic-rep-sees-racism-in-munich-moment-of-silence

One success was that yesterday morning in London, in gatherings around the city in their memory, more than 20,000 Londoners held a moment of silence to remember the Munich:
More than 20,000 people in various venues in London attended the British Zionist Federation’s “Minute for Munich” program that was promoted via social media.
A short memorial service at the Israeli Embassy that was organized by the Zionist Federation was streamed live online Friday, according to the London Jewish Chronicle.
About 200 people marked the Minute for Munich in Trafalgar Square, reciting memorial prayers and lighting memorial candles. Afterwards, they waved British and Israeli flags in front of media covering the event
http://www.jewishjournal.com/world/article/more_than_20000_londoners_hold_munich_moment_of_silence_20120727/

See also:
http://www.jewishjournal.com/nation/article/jewish_summer_campers_terrorized_20120727/

Destruction of temple continues since people still don't acknowledge

http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/the-jewish-thinker/the-munich-massacre-bulgaria-attack-and-tisha-b-av-1.453012

http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/107240/no-open-zion-deborah-lipstadt-won%E2%80%99t-shut-up


Deborah Lipstadt, the esteemed professor at Emory, a teacher of Holocaust studies and anti-semitism wrote a powerful piece in Tablet Magazine online, entitled, Jewish Blood is Cheap,

In the years since, the families of the victims have repeatedly told the IOC that all they want is a chance to mark the murder of athletes who had traveled to the games to do precisely what athletes do: compete at their very best. These victims deserved to be remembered by the very organization that had brought them to Munich.

Why the IOC refusal? The Olympic Committee’s official explanation is that the games are apolitical. The families were repeatedly told by long-time IOC President Juan Samaranch that the Olympic movement avoided political issues. He seemed to have forgotten that at the 1996 opening ceremony he spoke about the Bosnian war. Politics were also present at the 2002 games, which opened with a minute of silence for the victims of 9/11.

The families have also been told that a commemoration of this sort was inappropriate at the opening of such a celebratory event. However, the IOC has memorialized other athletes who died “in the line of duty.” At the 2010 winter games, for example, there was a moment of silence to commemorate an athlete who died in a training accident.

The IOC’s explanation is nothing more than a pathetic excuse. The athletes who were murdered were from Israel and were Jews—that is why they aren’t being remembered. The only conclusion one can draw is that Jewish blood is cheap, too cheap to risk upsetting a bloc of Arab nations and other countries that oppose Israel and its policies.

I have long inveighed against the tendency of some Jews to see anti-Semitism behind every action that is critical of Israel or of Jews. In recent years some Jews have been inclined to hurl accusations of anti-Semitism even when they are entirely inappropriate. By repeatedly crying out, they risk making others stop listening—especially when the cry is true.

Here the charge is absolutely accurate. This was the greatest tragedy to ever occur during the Olympic Games. Yet the IOC has made it quite clear that these victims are not worth 60 seconds. Imagine for a moment that these athletes had been from the United States, Canada, Australia, or even Germany. No one would think twice about commemorating them. But these athletes came from a country and a people who somehow deserve to be victims. Their lost lives are apparently not worth a minute. http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/106409/jewish-blood-is-cheap

This week also included a disturbed young man massacring people in a movie theater.  It included Israelis killed in Bulgaria, while on their way to a beach vacation.  While the former has no anti-Semitic ties, the latter surely does.  Regardless, of their connection to Judaism, there is far too much needless loss of life in this world.

We pray for the time when the Talmud says that our fast days will become feast days.  In that time, we will live in peace.  In that time, people will not be killed simply because they are Jewish or simply because they went to the wrong movie.  

We live in an imperfect world.  We pray that our actions make it better.  We mourn on Tisha B'av for the Destruction, but we also pray for redemption, as we learn in a midrash: the Messiah will be born on Tisha B’av.  May we see a day when war and bloodshed cease, when a great peace will embrace the whole world.  That is what I will be thinking about as I fast tonight/tomorrow.

I now ask you to stand as we remember those lost in Munich.

From the Chief Rabbi of the UK, Lord Jonathan Sacks
http://www.chiefrabbi.org/2012/07/17/prayer-to-commemorate-the-40th-anniversary-of-the-massacre-at-the-1972-olympic-games-in-munich/#.UBLdtGGe6So

“The massacre of eleven Israeli athletes and coaches at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich was a tragic event in the history of the Olympic Games. But for the Jewish people, Munich 1972 is more than history. It is an event forever etched into the hearts and minds of our collective Jewish memory. History is his story – an event that happened sometime else to someone else. Memory is my story – something that happened to me and is part of who I am. History is information. Memory, by contrast, is part of identity. The eleven Israeli athletes and coaches were targeted not just because of their nationality, but because they were Jews. The attack was carried out on a world stage because it had a global target: the Jewish people. We are a people whose faith is central to our identity. It is therefore not sufficient for the Munich 11 to be remembered simply in the secular setting. It requires an expression of religious remembrance as well. That is why I have composed a special prayer of remembrance to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the massacre and to ensure it has a place on the map of Jewish memory. Coming at a time in the Jewish calendar when we recall the many tragedies that have befallen our people throughout history, the fortieth anniversary of the Munich massacre is also a moment when we can recall how, despite the many attempts to destroy our people, our faith has remained intact and the Jewish people, together with the memory of those lost, lives on.”

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks

The eleven Israeli athletes murdered at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich

The Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks has composed the following prayer in memory of the 40th anniversary of the massacre of eleven Israeli athletes who were participating in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Please click here to download a PDF copy of the prayer, together with Hebrew memorial prayer including the names of the eleven Israeli athletes.

Almighty God:
We, the members of this holy congregation,
Together with members of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth,
Join our prayers to the prayers of others throughout the world,
In remembrance of the eleven Israeli athletes
Brutally murdered in an act of terrorism,
At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich,
Because they were Israelis,
Because they were Jews.

At this time in the Jewish year,
When we remember the destructions of our holy Temples,
And the many tragedies that have befallen our people throughout history,
We mourn their loss
And continue to protest against those who hate our people.

We pray to You, O God:
Comfort the families and friends of the Israeli athletes who continue to grieve
And grant eternal life to those so cruelly robbed of life on earth.
Just as we are united in grief,
Help us stay united in hope.
As we comfort one another under the shadow of death,
Help us strengthen one another in honouring life.

The Olympic message is one of peace, of harmony and of unity,
Teach us, Almighty God, to bring reconciliation and respect between faiths,
As we pray for the peace of Israel,
And for the peace of the world.
May this be Your will and let us say: Amen


אֲ דוֹן הָ עוֹלָמִ ים זְ כוֹר אֶ ת נִשְ מוֹת
(David Berger) דוד ברגר
(Yossef Gutfreund) יוסף גוטפרוינד
(Moshe Weinberg) משה ויינברג
(Eliezer Halfin) אליעזר חלפין
(Mark Slavin) מרק סלבין
(Yossef Romano) יוסף רומנו
(Kehat Shorr) קהת שור
(Andre Spitzer) אנדרי שפיצר
(Amitzur Shapira) עמיצור שפירא
(Yakov Springer) יעקב שּפרינגר
פרידמן זאב (Ze’ev Friedman)

Point/Counterpoint on Kamtza and Bar Kamtza

Rabbi Philip Weintraub
Congregation Agudas Israel
July 27, 2012
Parshat Dvarim/Tisha B’av
NOTE TO HEAR RABBI FREEDMAN"S VIEW, check with him!
Tonight we are offering a brief point/counterpoint, but since we are rabbis, we won’t call each other ignorant or pompous.

The Kamtza/Bar Kamtza story is one of my favorite stories in rabbinic literature.  We take a huge social, political, overwhelming tragedy and turn it into a story of two people who cannot get along.  When you look at the world, how much conflict comes down to the fact that one person did not treat another with respect.

This story reminds us that every encounter is an opportunity to be a better person, not with hubris, but with humility.  If we see the Divine light that is in another human being, hopefully we can treat them better and prevent larger conflicts.

The genius of this story (and the rabbis) was in recognizing the individual nature of conflict.  Ideology, warfare, rebellion all start somewhere and frequently that start is from a single chaotic and personal act.  While your middle school history teacher taught you up how the Balkans were a powderkeg, and the entangling alliances were a setup for war, it wasn’t until the assassination of an archduke that the war began.

The rabbis use this story to teach that while Solomon’s Temple was destroyed because of “serious” sins like murder, idolatry and incest; the Second Temple was destroyed because of “baseless hatred”, sinat chinam.  Rabbi Daniel Gordis, quoting Rabbi Joseph Telushkin wonders why, if the sins of the First Temple were seemingly so much greater than the sins of the Second, was the First Temple rebuilt after only 70 years, while the Second Temple has yet to be rebuilt.
(Source:http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/107449/sinning-against-each-other)
Rabbi Telushkin uses the answer from his own teacher, Rabbi Aharon Kreiser, said

“that baseless hatred, dismissive attitudes, and communal rancor are different. They are the sorts of actions for which we can always find explanations and justifications, and so, we never really confront the fact that we’ve sinned. This is why, Rabbi Kreiser said, the Temple that was destroyed because of baseless hatred has never been rebuilt.”

So to make a short story long, the reason I love this story is its humanity.  It teaches a difficult lesson, makes it clearer, but it also makes us think.  Was the sin the hatred between Kamtza and Bar Kamtza and their host?  Was the sin the rabbis keeping their mouths shut when they should have prevented the undue embarrassment?  Was the sin the destruction of the sacrifice? Or the refusal to offer it?

The sin was all of the above.  It was compound interest on poor choices.  Our tradition teaches that mitzvah goreret mitzvah, averah goreret averah (מצווה גוררת מצווה; עברה גוררת עברה.) "one good deed will bring another good deed, one transgression will bring another transgression."

May we always choose the path of mitzvot and find the holiness of community.

A Feminist perspective on Matot/Masei?

In this week’s Parsha, Matot/Masei we finish reading the book of Bamidbar/Numbers.  We finish reading our wanderings in the wilderness and next week, we begin Moshe’s retelling, the book of Words/Things, Devarim.  From a feminist perspective, this parsha is both very challenging and very exciting.

Women are key to this week’s parsha.  You might think that in Gd’s last major discourses via Moses to the Jewish people, the major foci would be on what happens next, ie how the land of Israel will be conquered and divided, and the laws for the land of Israel.  While that is mostly true, the parsha opens and closes with laws about women.

The beginning is a discussion of vows, oaths and pledges.  Nowadays, rabbis highly discourage people from making vows and oaths, because of the difficulty of truly cancelling them.  Kol Nidrei originates partly from this challenge.  While various machzorim use different formulations, the prefered one says

מיום כפורים זה עד יום כפורים הבה

all vows from this year to next year, meaning we cancel our oaths before we even utter them!  This is to prevent us from failing to fulfill an oath, which according to tradition, has severe consequences.

Interestingly in this parsha, women get an out.  While the original reason we might call sexist, since it is her husband who gets to cancel it, the idea that she gets a second chance on her vows might  be rather useful!

Wouldn’t you like a second chance to rethink rash promises?

The most severe and bizarre case of a fulfilled vow in the Torah is the story of Yiftach/Jepteth, in the book of Judges.  Originally somewhat of a criminal, he becomes a military leader.  Before leading the other Israelites in a big battle against Ammon, he vows that he will sacrifice whatever comes out of his house when he returns, if he wins.  Since he lived with his only daughter, no spouse mentioned, what else could he possibly have meant?  When he returns, his daughter comes to greet him and he is stricken, upset, fearful, but she encourages him to fulfill his vow, as long as she is given time to frolic with her friends first.  (It’s a strange story!)  http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0711.htm  While some modern Christian commentators try to argue that he simply forced her to remain chaste, ie sacrificed her sexuality, that seems like a creative reading to me!

I was recently in the ICU with a Catholic family, but their religion is not essential to the story.  The parents were praying for second chances.  Their college-age son had overdosed on some undetermined substance and all the wanted was for him to have a second chance.  The room was filled with “if onlys”.  If only we had done this.  . .  If only we had given him more independence.  If only we hadn’t given him so much independence.  .
It was also filled with bargaining.  “Gd if you fix him, I’ll do x,y, z. ..  I’ll be a better parent.  I’ll be more watchful.  I’ll hover more or less.

While I was present with them, encouraging them to find hope and solace in a difficult situation, I wondered about this week’s parsha.  What kind of oaths do we make when we are in a tight spot?  Are they things we truly intend to follow through on?

From a feminist perspective, this parsha is somewhat neutral.  It is inspiring to see such a focus on women.  It is challenging the way they are portrayed.  Yet, there are some hopeful moments.

I think about what I read recently.  Rabbi Jacqueline Koch Ellenson, in the Torah: a Women’s Commentary, writes about how in our world today, women frequently make choices or are pressured to make choices based on the needs of others rather than for themselves.  Their dreams are frequently lived for aging parents, supporting spouses, or parental responsibilities.  In the rabbinic world, many women are chaplains or non-pulpit rabbis, because of the great difficulty of caring for their families and caring for a congregation.  I am grateful to be here, where you have respected my time with my wife, and will Gd-willing, allow me to have time with my own children, in due time.   While modern husband’s rarely check and approve or disapprove of their wife’s vows, women frequently check them themselves, and put the needs of others ahead of their own.

So to me, this week’s parsha is about balance.  It is about trying to find the space for ourselves in a busy world.  It is about recognizing the needs of others.  Another year, we could discuss how the daughters of Zelophehad compromise their newly earned right of inheritance for the good of their tribe. Matot/Masai  is both reflective and forward thinking.  As I mentioned at the beginning of this drash, this parsha is about preparing for the land of Israel, yet it is the end of the book of Bemidbar.  As such it is an end and a beginning.  In Torah: A Woman’s Commentary, Professor Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, and Rabbi/Professor Elizabeth Goldstein, note that the story of slavery opened with five women at the beginning of Exodus, (Shiphrah, Puah, Jocheved (moses’ mother), Miriam, and Pharoah’s daughter) and the story of slavery ends with the preparations for Israel mentioned here, with the five daughters of Zelophehad.  For anyone in my Hebrew class, this week’s parsha continues the discuss of מעין את and continues into איפה את? It asks us where we came from, but makes us think about where we are going.  To me, those are two of the most important questions we can ask, and they are the essential questions that allow us to begin our second, third and fourth chances.

SHABBAT SHALOM!

Broken Vavs and Broken Peace

Rabbi Philip Weintraub
Congregation Agudas Israel
Parshat Pinchas July 14, 2012
We can have this conversation again with certain parshiot, but as a rabbi, I believe that every single parsha in the Torah has words that can inspire and uplift.  This week’s parsha is no exception.  In trying to decide what to discuss today, I spent a lot of time looking at commentaries.  Some I have translations of, but others, like the Ba’al Shem Tov, Z’L, the first Hasidic Rebbe, and the Netivot Shalom, Z’L, the recently departed Slonimer Rebbe, I was looking at the Hebrew.  In the end all these commentaries, including our own Etz Chaim, the URJ’s Women’s Torah Commentary, got me thinking and I cannot tell you from which sources my thoughts arrive from.
Within this parsha, my favorite vignette is of the daughters of Zelophed, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.  When their father dies, they are concerned that they will have no place in the land of Israel, since traditionally only sons inherited.  What should they do?  How do they gain their father’s portion in the Land of Israel, they ask Moses.  Moses does not know the answer and goes to Gd, who says, “Hmm, they are right!”  If there are no sons, the daughters must inherit.  Although this right is amended in parshat Ma’sei, the fact that these women are named and encouraged Gd to change Torah law is a beautiful instance of the relationship between humanity and the Divine.  It is an important lesson on how women did shape the biblical tradition in incredibly powerful and long-lasting ways.

While not my favorite part of the parsha, I am moved greatly by the opening scene.  It follows directly from last week when Pinchas impaled with a spear a couple falsely worshiping at the entrance to the Mishkan in the desert.  One might even say it was middah kneged middah, that the method of killing was perhaps parallel to the crime, but in a shul setting, we shall leave the sexual analogies unexplored.  After this incredibly violent act, Pinchas is praised  by Gd.  Pinchas’ actions appease Gd’s wrath, ending a plague that killed 24,000.  Pinchas is given a Briti Shalom, a pact of peace or friendship, and is allowed to remain serving as a priest, even though killing someone, in all other cases, forces a priest to step down, permanently, from his duties.  

In the RA/USCJ Chumash, Etz Hayim, on p. 918, they discuss the rabbinic ambiguity and discomfort with Pinchas’ actions.  Some mystical and Hasidic commentaries see Pinchas’ action as a sign that he is actually Elijah, and that he will herald the coming of the Messiah.  Etz Hayim mentions that in the Talmud, Sanhedrin 82a, that if Pinchas had entered a rabbinic court to ask if he was permitted to execute Zimri and Cozbi, the court would have said “The law may permit it, but we forbid it!.”  Moses of Coucy, a French Tosafist of the 13th century, said that we ended last week’s parsha on the horrible note of the death of the 24,000, just so Pinchas’ reward would be separated from his actions.  The division of the parsha was altered from its normal formula, for the pedagogical and spiritual reason that we, as Jews, are uncomfortable with causing death, EVEN when it is necessary.  War may be necessary, but we do not revel in it.  We understand that there is always collateral damage and even if by some miracle, only combatants are killed, before they were soldiers, they were human beings, too.

The Etz Hayim, as written by Rabbi Harold Kushner, notes two particular unique Masoretic comments in these first verses of the parsha.  The Masorites, who added all the dots and vowels, punctuation and eventually troph into Torah manuscripts, decided that the Yod in Pinchas’ name would be reduced in the second verse of this parsha (25:11) and that the Vav in Shalom (25:12) would be broken in every Torah scroll from then until eternity.  In those two changes, we learn much.

From the smaller Yod, we learn that when we do violence, no matter how justified, Gd’s presence is reduced within us.  The Yod in any name with a Yod is representative of both Gd and Judaism, two words that begin with the letter Yod.  To any Harry Potter fans out there, JK Rowling’s Horcruxes, seem based in this week’s parsha.  Voldemort split his soul through acts of murder/violence, and with each act was diminished.  In the same way, Pinchas’ was diminished by these acts--EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE NECESSARY and APPEASED GD!

From the broken Vav, we learn that peace that requires the complete destruction of the opponent will be a flawed peace.  Yes, at times the Torah demands this, saying that evil must be wiped out completely, but even with evil incarnate, there are challenges to its destruction.

A prayer for Pinchas and for us:
You spear saved us,
But what did it do to your soul?
What kind of covenant was it?
You created Shalom, but were you Shalem?
Can you ever be whole again?
I pray that your Covenant brought you peace.
I pray that our covenants and treaties will create peace.
May we see a day when war and bloodshed cease.
May we see a day when guns become plows.
May we see a day when respect and love are more important than winning.
May we create a Brit of true Shalom, without broken letters or broken people.

Shabbat Shalom.
Graphic of Broken Vav from: http://rabbibrant.com/2007/07/06/broken-peace/

America, Aaron Sorkin, Balaam and Haym Solomon

Rabbi Philip Weintraub
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!