In the Wall Street Journal article “Right Wing Populism May Rise in the United States” (Sept. 27, 2022), William Galston points out that Right Wing populism is ascendant. Right Wing populism led to Brexit. Right-wing populism led a fringe Swedish anti-immigrant party to acquire more than 20% of the Swedish vote. Right-wing populism led to the Brothers of Italy political party, with its roots in Fascist followers of Mussolini winning the Prime Minister's office. In France, Marie Le Pen managed a run-off in the eventual winner of that election. Earlier this week, in Brazil, the incumbent, the right-wing populist leader Bolsinaro, was defeated, however, he has not yet conceded. It seems that he is following the playbook of a twice-impeached ex-president. This upcoming week, Americans will go to the polls and choose between a political party that supports the “Big Lie” and uses political rhetoric to foment political violence from the domestic terrorist attack on January 6th to the attack upon Speak Nancy Pelosi’s husband in San Francisco. Earlier this week, a former Republican Florida Congressman who has his own news show referred to this Right Wing populist fringe aspect of the Republican Party as Fascists. The world has taken a very odd and troubling path to arrive at this troubled and frightening moment. It was 100 hundred years ago, that Mussolini’s Fascist party came into power in Italy. Soon after, in Germany, a fringe minority of fascists were invited to join the German government, and eventually, that minority fringe group of fascists took over the government and took over the country. After all these years, the world has started down an all too familiar path.
This week's Parsha is Lecha Lecha. In it, God commands Abram to leave his father, his homeland, and everything he has ever known and go to a place that God will show him later. Abram does. He heads down toward Egypt because of a famine. Leaves Egypt with money, flocks, servants, and wealth. He and his nephew decide to part ways since each of their respective flocks not only become intermingled but their hired hands fight among each other. Abram then fights against several kings in an attempt to protect Lot. Then his wife Sarai, who is barren, tells Abram to make Hagar (the maidservant) the surrogate mother. Abram listens and Hagar has a son named Ishmael. She runs away and then returns. God tells Abram a prophecy. Abram will become the father of a great nation, and that nation will become enslaved for several centuries and then will return to the land that God promised Abram. Then God instructs Abram to circumcise himself, his son Ishmael and all the males of his household. All these events are linked together by the theme of "Lech Lecha" of going, of traveling.
The Zohar, the rabbinic book of mysticism, comments upon the first verse: "Lech Lecha Mei'Artzecha uMimoladtcha, U'mibeit Avicha El Ha'Aretz Acher Areka- Go for yourself from your land, from your relatives, and from your father's house to the land that I will show you (Gen 12:1). Instead of a physical journey, the Zohar explains that Abram was commanded to embark upon a spiritual journey. The soul, while residing in the World to Come, exists in close proximity to God. Because of the spiritual clarity and intensity revealed there, no free will and no chance for spiritual growth and advancement can occur. Like the angels, the soul in the World to Come is called an Omaid, a standee. In this World, however, we know that a person has Free Will. This means that we all have the opportunity to advance spiritually as long as we remain in this World. The soul in this world is called a Holiach, a walker, someone who goes, much like Abram went.
Just like people must learn to follow a respective path requiring faith and the best possible version of one’s self; the same holds true for nations. Each nation struggles between the best possible version of itself and the worst possible version of itself. The best possible version of a nation improving the lives of its people lives peacefully among the nations and making a positive difference in the world. The worst possible version of a nation doesn’t care to improve the lives of its citizens, threatens its neighbors, and has corrupt leadership focused upon power for the sake of power itself. Every nation embarks on a journey. Sometimes that path is difficult, and painful, and takes a nation to the brink. That path is not only determined by leadership, that path is determined by the citizenry, by those who vote, by those who count the vote, and perhaps most important, those who concede defeat in a free and fair election.
Rav Yitz
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