Watched the Golden Globes the other night. Incredibly, I saw only one of the movies that were nominated for best picture. That must indicated something. I am not sure what, well I have an idea. My eldest daughter, the college student, watched with us. She had taken a film class at university so she had not only seen most of the movies and even felt qualified and compelled to offer insight about most of the movies. Among the big movie winners in the Golden Globes was The Social Network. The movie was based upon the founding of the FaceBook, the most popular social networking website of all time. How popular is FaceBook? Well it is now not only a website but because of FaceBook the noun "friend" has become a verb as in: "Some high school classmate of mine 'friended' me even though we couldn't stand each other when we were in High School". The premise of the Face Book and its billionaire founder Mark Zuckerberg was to create an on line community, to reconnect with old acquaintances as well as develop new and perhaps 'virtual' friends. The tag line for the movie was "You don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies". I am not such a FaceBook person. I rarely go on it. My wife finds it to be an incredibly easy way for her to stay in touch with her friends across North America and Israel. What is so interesting about FaceBook is the facility with which web based communities have been established and flourished. The web based community is fascinatingly simple. People with a common interest in something, in anything join. It doesn't matter if its gardening, cookie baking, parenting, intermarriage, farming or being an alumnus of a particular university. If you have a computer and an interest, you can find like minded people and join a community. Its a perfect scenario. Everyone is on the same page, the same interest, the same passion (otherwise they wouldn't have joined the site FaceBook group), and the same desire to connect with other like minded people. Doesn't that sound so perfect? Doesn't that sound so ideal? Actually, it strikes me as rather limiting. The thing that binds these FaceBook groups together is a rather limited thread of interest (whatever that thread of interest maybe). Not only is it a limited thread of interest, but it strikes me that it requires very little personal investment or commitment on the part of the individual member. Perhaps that is the larger problem with the virtual world. It is virtual! If I don't like it, I don't have to enter into the Face Book group, I don't have to log in, I can easily ignore, or even drop out, and just as easily find another group.
This week we will read of the incredibly powerful, confusing, somber moment when Bnai Yisroel stood at the foot of Har Sinai and experienced revelation. We will read of the moment when this former group of slaves, must now find another way of creating commonality and a shared experience that will allow them to build a community. We will read of the moment when each individual that stood at Sinai now had the opportunity to become part of something much bigger and more holy than him/herself. However, unlike the ease with which we can come and go from a FaceBook group, there was an enormous commitment made by both God and the Jewish People at Sinai, a commitment that was neither flimsy or "fair-weathered". Prior to the revelation at Sinai, Moshe's father in-law, Yitro - a Midianite priest offers wonderful advice and an equally powerful argument for his advice. Im Et Ha'Davar HaZeh Ta'Aseh V'Tzivcha Elokim V'Yachalta Amod V'Gam Kol Ha'Am HaZeh Al Mkomo Yavo V'Shalom If you do this thing and God Shall command you then you will be able to endure, and this entire people, as well, shall arrive at its destination in peace. (Ex. 18:23. ) "The Thing" that Yitro mentions was his advice to re-organize the community to listen and judge people's conflicts. Moshe cannot spend the whole day listening to and adjudicating peoples problems and the people cannot stand in line all day waiting to get their conflicts solved. Yitro explains that some people should be educated and trained to adjudicate simpler and basic conflicts and the really difficult issues would come before Moshe. After Moshe heeded his father in-law’s advice, we read the second half of the Parshah, the Revelation at Sinai. Throughout this narrative, the focus is upon the people, and Moshe’s ascending and descending the mountain. G-d’s instructs the Amcha, “the people” to prepare for Revelation. Three times God tells Moshe to inform B’nai Yisroel of everything that transpired between them. Moshe connects “the people” to G-d. Three days, B’nai Yisroel prepared for their “destination”. The “entire people” was in the camp, and they shuddered. Then Moshe brought the people from the camp toward God. (Ex 19:16-17). When presented with God’s covenant, Va Ya'anu chol Ha'Am Yachdav, VaYomru Kol Asher Diber HaShem Na'Aseh - the entire people responded together and said, ‘everything that God has spoken we will do!”(Ex 19:8) The narrative continually emphasizes that Revelation was not solely between God and Moshe. If it were, then Moshe’s role as teacher, prophet and adjudicator of law would be overwhelming. No, Bnai Yisroel must be involved in the process. B’nai Yisroel must experience some aspect of Revelation. B’nai Yisroel must be active participants in Revelation. They were. They willingly and unanimously responded. B’nai Yisroel’s unanimous response obligates them as responsible participants. Also their participation and unanimous response indicates that they share a common vision and purpose. Perhaps each individual experienced something different, but they all realized that in that individual experience was great commonality with everyone else at Sinai.
Yet the experience wasn't a virtual, it wasn't web based. It wasn't with one person and then reported to a bunch of other people. Neither did it come easy. There was work involved in order to prepare for it (three days), there were rules as to how this moment would be experienced (they could not touch the mountain or go up the mountain) and there was a moment where a comittment needed to be made and verbalized. This wasn't something that was a passing interest so they joined a group. This was a demanding experience which in turn demanded a profound commitment, a commitment that was more than an interest in something or even a common past experience. No, this commitment had to be based on the opportunity to continually renew the commitment everyday as well as to pass it on to the next generation. Being part of such a group might not be so perfect, nor agreeable like a FaceBook group. However because it demands us to be the best we can, to constantly learn and to pass this along to the next generation; it seems that these are the ingredients that are necessary to build a community that transcends time and space more so than a FaceBook Group.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
No comments:
Post a Comment