I had a chance to speak to a friend
of mine who lives in Jerusalem. The attacks have become personal for him as there
had been an attack at the bus stop that his son’s use for school. On the day
that he and his wife decided not to use the bus but rather begin driving their
son’s to school, there was an attack that afternoon at the time they would have
been arrived home from school. Needless to say, he and his wife were a little
bit shaken up. Make no mistake, my friend has no love for the Palestinian
leadership that incites this behavior. He is hardly a Peace-Now kind of guy. He
readily acknowledges that there is no-one from the Palestinian leadership with
whom to talk much less negotiate. However, he also feels the same way about
Israel’s Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu. He points out that he along with 70% of Israelis are dissatisfied with
how he is handling the crisis. He explained that whatever the Prime Minister is
doing is not working. He points out Bibi is no longer believable. My friend
points to the example that when Bibi exclaims that there is no change in the
status quo regarding the Temple Mount; neither Israelis nor Palestinian believe
him. Why? Because Bibi is still looking backwards
and invoking the Holocaust and the role that the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem
played in the Holocaust. For my friend,
whose grandparents were survivors, and whose parents were born in DP camps,
invoking the Holocaust is a code for no answers, no solutions for the future
but rather comfort in looking back.
This Shabbat we read from Parsha
VaYeira. The narrative and adventures of Avraham the Patriarch continue. While
healing from his ritual circumcision, he fulfills the mitzvah of Hachnasat Orchim, hospitality. He
negotiates with God and reduces the number of righteous people that must be
found in Sodom and Gomorrah in order to prevent its destruction. The narrative
of Avraham is interrupted as we read the narrative of Lot,
the two Angels (the same two that had visited Avraham at the beginning of the
parsha), the destruction of the city, and the impure relationship that results
when the survivors think that world has been destroyed. The narrative returns
to Avraham as its focus and he and his wife Sarah give birth to a son
(Yitzchak), the banishment of Hagar and Ishmael (Avraham’s first born son and
his concubine) and the final test of his belief, the Akeidat Yitzchak – the Offering of Isaac.
During
these adventures, during these tests, it is fascinating to watch Avraham deal
with each new issue, each new tension and arrive at solutions. Avraham always
looks forward. Avraham looked forward towards Sodom and Gomorrah while God
talked to Avraham about his intention to destroy those cities. When he is
commanded to banish Hagar and Ishmael, Avraham looks forward toward where they
will be going and gives them food and water in order to survive the journey.
When asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac, Avraham doesn’t look back, he looks
forward, towards the mountain where the sacrifice will supposedly occur. Compare
this with Lot and his family (Gen 19:12-26). When it became imminent that they
needed to leave. Three times the angels tell Lot it’s time to leave. First Lot
tells his children to leave, although there is no indication that Lot and his
wife intent to go. The second time, the two angels lead Lot, his wife and
children out; but Lot still can’t just leave! VaYitmama – still he lingered
(Gen 19:16). Even when God’s messengers grab Lot, his wife, and his
daughters by the hands and led them out of the city VaYomer Himaleit Al Nafshecha Al Tabit Acharecha v’Al Taamod B’Chol
HaKikar Hahara Himaleit pen Tisafeh- Flee
for your life! Do not look behind you nor stop anywhere in all the plain; flee
to the mount lest you be swept away (Gen 19:17). Lot can’t just move on. He
stays to stay and negotiate, figuring he can flee to a nearby city. Finally, they begin making their way towards the
alternative destination VeTabeit Ishto M’Acharav
Vathi Ntziv Melach But His
wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt (Gen. 19:26) Ramban
explains that she looked back to make sure her daughters were following. What
parent would flee and have the children (little or young adult) behind them? A
parent would either have the children in front of them or be holding their hand
while fleeing. So what other reason was there to turn around. Like her husband,
who had such a difficult time to move forward, Lot’s wife want to turn around
one last time in order to see the life and the world she was leaving. She was
merely emulating Lot. However she did it “one more time”. From the Angels perspective
enough was enough.
Sometimes
moving forward can be very difficult. It can be especially difficult if there
is a lack of commitment to move forward. Sometimes even with a strong commitment
to move forward, the obstacles are too overwhelming. Sometimes it can be scary
to go forward by oneself even if they know that it is the correct path.
Sometimes moving forward means sacrificing a job, or power, or popularity.
Sometimes moving forward is so emotionally paralyzing because it opens a whole
new series of unanticipated consequences or even anticipated consequences with unacceptable
solutions. Certainly it is important to understand the past since it helps to
deal with the future. However, one must avoid being enslaved by the past. For Lot, as well as his wife, their sense of
purpose was linked to life in the city… Sodom, or any city, it didn’t matter.
Clearly their reason for being was not demonstrating faith in God. As my friend
points out, Bibi’s reason for being is that he is tough when it comes to
dealing with the Palestinians and passionately defends Israeli lives. But if
the Palestinian issue is solved, and Israeli feel safe, and the problems appear
to have been diminished, then what is Bibi’s reason for being? So Bibi looks
back and makes sure that the lake of safety and the state of tension is linked
to the Holocaust in order to make people feel more unsafe and more anxious so that
he is needed even more. “How’s that working out?’ my friend asks. Surprised by
his cynicism, my friend reminds that the cynicism belongs to the leadership on
both sides.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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