For the past week, our children
have suddenly taken great interest in the world outside of their friends and
those social dramas. Rather their focus of their attention has shifted
overseas: to Paris and to Israel. The
questions have been thoughtful and we have been brutally honest with them while
simultaneously re-assuring them of their safety. Their questions have focused
upon questions regarding terrorism, Jihad, Paris, radical Islam, freedom of
speech, satire, Charlie Hebdo and what all this has to do with Anti-Semitism
and a kosher grocery store. One of our children then asked the million dollar
question. What possible connection is there between a magazine that draws
political cartoons of Mohammed (in what some consider to be an insulting
manner) and Jews shopping in their preparation for Shabbat dinner? For some
reason after our daughter asked the question, everyone turned to me. It was a
very good question and very insightful. I explained that the Anti-Semitism
these terrorist displayed had everything to do with their hatred of Israel and
all Jews and Jewish symbols are always connected to Israel. However Anti–Semitism
goes hand in hand with the terrorist targeting a political satire magazine
because Judaism is predicated upon free speech. The two most significant books
for the Jewish people is the Written Law, Torah, and the Oral Law, The
Talmud. Jewish learning, which some
might say has been the secret to the Jewish people’s 3000 year survival, is
predicated upon the asking questions, looking for answers, asking more
difficult, provocative and challenging questions, and exploring all types of possibilities,
in order to arrive at an answer. Sometimes, even the Sages of the Talmud, reply
“Teiku” – there is no answer and the question stands for another generation to
explore and determine a possible answer.
This is a big deal because it admits that we might not have all the
answers or that we might not even be entitle to the answers. Terrorist, and
fundamentalists, Jews, Christians and Muslim fundamentalists hate that,
Jihadists hate that. They need answers to their questions. More importantly the
only answers that they are willing to accept are those answers that fit into
their little box. Our children
understood what I was implying. Sometimes answers don’t fit into a nice neat
little package. If you have to resort to terrorism and violence then the box is
broken, the philosophy is rotten.
This week we read from Parsha Va’Eira.
This Shabbat we read Parsha Va’Eira. In this Parshah, God reassures Moshe after
Pharaoh and mocked and dismissed both he and Aharon. God explains the plan to
Moshe that Pharaoh’s heart will be hardened after each plague but eventually
Pharaoh will capitulate. God explains the various stages of redemption. The
plagues begin. We are supposed to understand that each of these first seven
plagues is more severe than the previous plague: Blood, Frogs, Lice, Wild
Beasts, Animal plague, Boils, Hail. Moshe requests that Pharaoh allows B’nai
Yisroel to worship God for three days, Pharaoh sometimes acquiesces sometimes
he doesn’t. Sometimes he asks Moshe to pray on his behalf and sometimes he
doesn’t. One thing is clear, that whenever Pharaoh gets his way (a plague
ceases), something that would clearly indicate the power of God, Pharaoh acts
almost like a child. He returns to his arrogant self-centered nature. Finally
at the very end of the Parsha, after the plague of Hail has devastated the land
and killed anything that was outside, Pharaoh expresses the evolution of his
belief system.
Two men, Moshe and Pharaoh
experience a type of revelation. Moshe is told by God, “Ani Adoshem VaEira el Avraham El Yitzchak v’ El Yaakov B’Eil Shaddai U’Shmi
Adoshem Lo Nodati LaHem – I am
Hashem, I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shaddai, but with
My Name Hashem, I did not make Myself known to them (Ex. 6:2) With Sign and
Wonder, with each plague, God wanted Egypt to know exactly who God is. V’Yadu
Mitzrayim Ki Ani Adoshem, BinToti et
Yadi Al Mitzrayim V’Hotzeiti et Bnai Yisroel MiTocham – And Egypt Shall know that I am Hashem, when
I stretch out My hand over Egypt; and I shall take the Children of Israel out
from among them (Ex. 7:5). With each ensuing plague, Pharaoh and Egypt will
experience God, They will experience something very different than what fits
their current theological system. In both cases, a revelation occurs. For
Moshe, his revelation assumes questions.
Why did you, Hashem, reveal yourself one way to Abraham Isaac and Jacob,
and another way to me? For Pharaoh, the embodiment of a system that did not
permit questions, the revelation was much more absolute, and stark. Pharaoh’s
revelation, his experience with God is on very stark and black and white. This
is the God of a particular people that is not to be enslaved. Future enslavement
will mean future plagues and suffering.
Make no mistake the terrorists, the Jihadist bring pain and suffering to the innocent. No words of comfort or
consolation mitigate the terror of what happened in Paris and what will happen
the next time in some other location. The only consolation I offer my children is
the absolute certainty that I have that the Jihadist system, the radical
fundamentalist Muslim belief system is utterly broken and beyond repair. Each imam, each cleric that calls for his
followers to wipe out symbols of Judaism, and symbols of western liberal
democratic ideals has a flawed system that will eventually destroy itself. No
we don’t need to feel badly for them. Maybe we just need to need to give them a
push to get to the end game a bit quicker. Watching more than 3 million Charlie
Hebdo Magazines be printed and sold in response to last week’s shootings is
a step in the right direction. Seeing people return to the Parisian kosher
supermarket and living life is a step in the right direction.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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