But The Darkness Never Goes From Some Men's Eyes (John Barlow & Bob Weir - "Throwing Stones")

Why did he have to do that? Why did Trump invoke Israel and antisemitism when siting four Democratic Congresswoman of color as, Socialist, haters of America and finally telling them to “go back where they came from” if they hate America so much? I am not a fan of three of the four congresswomen. I don’t like Ocasio-Cortez; I don’t Tlaib, and I don’t like Omar. I don’t like their policies regarding Israel, I don’t appreciate their comments regarding Jews and Israel. I also know that I would never have voted for them. They are 4 votes in the Democratic Caucus and if they were smart and so politically astute, they would focus more on keeping quiet,  trusting Nancy Pelosi, and focus on getting rid of Trump, rather making provocative statements on Twitter in order to get more followers.  However, of all people to use  Israel and Anti-semitism as a standard when trying to find a convenient political target to replace Hilary Clinton and “Lock her up”.  Trump was the guy who managed to find moral relativism in Charlottesville. Trump and his anti-immigration, pro-conspiracy international kabal inspired a gunman to kill Jews in Pittsburgh, and inspire another crackpot to manufacture pipe bombs and send them to at least two Jewish liberal billionaires who support left-wing liberal causes.  Trump is the guy that racists love. Trump is the guy that Neo-Nazi and white supremacists love. Trump is the guy that is praised by David Duke. So why did the guy that white supremacists and neo-Nazis love so much, why did he need to cite ‘anti-semitism’ and ‘love for Israel’ as part of his “America, love it or leave it” racial scree? Make no mistake, I can’t tell you how many observant Jews have said, “you know the President is right, they (the four freshman Democratic congresswomen of color) are anti-semitic and anti-Israel.”  I wince as I remind them of Charlottesville, Pittsburgh, and Poway because I understand that Trump has managed to weaponized Israel and Anti- Semitism among Jews, thereby making the Jewish community even more disunified.

                 This Shabbat we read from Parsha Balak. Balak was a Moabite King. After watching what B’nai Yisroel had done to the Ammonites, Balak was distressed. He realized that fighting B’nai Yisroel with a regular army was doomed to fail because he realized that God had blessed them. Being a clever king, Balak surmised that the only way to fight B'nai Yisroel was to fight them on a spiritual level. Since God blessed Bnai Yisroel, Balak wanted to find someone to curse them. There lived a prophet, a “Prophet Consultant,” a “hired gun” if you will, named Bilaam. King Balak hired Bilaam to curse B’nai Yisroel. Bilaam is visited by God and told not to curse B’nai Yisroel. Bilaam ignores the visitation. On his donkey heading towards B’nai Yisroel’s camp, and preparing his curses, the donkey stops. Although Bilaam could not see the angel standing in the middle of the road with a sword drawn, the donkey did. As a result, the donkey refused to continue forward. Finally, Bilaam realizes that there is a divine force in the middle of the road and must confront it. Bilaam listens and heads toward the camp. Looking down upon the encampment, Bilaam blesses B’nai Yisroel with words that we say upon entering into any synagogue, words that we teach our children at the youngest of ages. Ma Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov Mishkenotecha Yisroel – How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places O Israel – Kinchalim Nitayu K’ganot Alei Nahar K’Ahalim Natah Adoshem Ka’Arazim Alei Mayim – stretching out like brooks like gardens by the river, like aloes planted by Hashem, like cedars by the water (Num 24:5-6). Try as he might, Bilaam is unable to curse Bnai Yisroel, rather he blesses them.

The Jewish people always have one or two questions when assessing people and governments. “Is it good for the Jews? Is it good for Israel?” Obviously, depending on the definition of “good”, the answer will vary. Also depending on which version of Israel matters, democracy or Jewish,  the answer may vary. Even how one understands “Jew” will cause the answer to the question, “is it good for the Jews” to vary. Certainly, Bilaam must be good for the Jews. Yes, he may have started off as wanting to curse the Jews, but that was because Balak hired him to do it. In the end, he not only offered a blessing, but we invoke that blessing every morning. Mah Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov – How Goodly are your tents O Israel. Those words of praise must be good for the Jews and good for Israel, right? Bilaam can’t be such a bad guy. No, the real bad guy must be Balak, the king of Moab, he is the guy that wants to curse Israel.  In the Talmud, Tractate Taanit 20a, R’ Samuel Bar Nachmani, suggests that the blessing isn’t really such a blessing. Bilaam invoked the mighty Cedar by the river when he blessed the Jews. Cedars do not grow in well-watered areas, its stock does not drive up new shoots and it has few roots. A wind from the South will uproot the Cedar and lay it flat on its face. Soon after this episode of Bilaam blessing B’nai Yisroel, he will devise the plan for Balak’s attempt to destroy B’nai Yisroel. It is Bilaam who brings the daughters of Moab in order to entice the men of B’nai Yisroel so that they begin acting like Moabites and the other idol-worshipping nations and dividing a nation.  So maybe Bilaam is not such a friend to the Jews after all.

                How bad is Trump for the Jews and Israel? He is awful. I don’t want Israel to be political fodder for the Republicans or Democrats. Support for Israel is in America’s best interests. When Israel gets weaponized by one political party against another, it is bad for Israel and it’s bad for the Jews. That’s how a right-wing, anti-immigration anti semite walked into a synagogue in Pittsburgh and started shooting. That is how and anti-semite, who believes that there is an international conspiracy taking over the world, walked into a synagogue in Poway and began shooting. Yes, it’s bad for the Jews because Trump and his weaponization of Israel and Jews create additional rifts within a Jewish community that will always be divided because of observance. It’s bad for Israel because it creates increased alienation between it and the less observant diaspora Jews. This phenomenon is played it in terms of generations and observance and contributes to the concern why Israel receives tepid support if any from the young, non-observant Jews. So regarding four woman of color, one of whom represents a district that historically was a Jewish neighborhood in Minneapolis, they are four women with four votes in Congress. They can have a twitter following of millions and millions but, only the people in their district can vote for them. So if the people in their district don’t vote for them, they are no longer in congress. If they decide to run for the Senate, even with all their millions of twitter followers, only those in corresponding states could vote for those women if they decide to run for Senate.  However, the President can affect foreign policy. The President can create an atmosphere that legitimizes racism, that looks at all brown skin people trying to immigrate to the United States as “illegal”, can appoint Supreme Court Justices, can sell the virtues of American and pervert is Democratic ideals in order to enrich himself. And that is bad for the Jews. Anything or anyone that threatens liberal democracy is ultimately bad for the Jews. History teaches us that we don’t do well in totalitarian governments. We didn’t do well in Communist Imperial Russia nor did we do well in Fascist Nazi Germany.  So maybe being loved and praised by Trump isn’t such a good thing especially when all the racists and white supremacist agree with him.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

And At Last It's The Real Thing Or Close Enough To Pretend (John Barlow & Bob Weir - "Saint of Circumstance")

As we have watched the James Comey, the former Director of the FBI, testify before a Senate hearing, and then watched Attorney General Jeff Sessions testify before the same Senate hearing, we have been hearing more and more about Fake News. Yes, Fake News, it is just another thing to make me roll my eyes and teach my children critical reading and reasoning skills to recognize fake news, ignore fake news and prevent it from skewing attitudes. Now I have to remind my children that it’s not enough to listen, they must always be mindful of the source, who broadcast it, where did they get the information? When their friends repeat something far-fetched or ridiculous because they heard it or their parents heard it on some right wing or left wing news show; my kids have to learn to ignore their friends.  My kids will now have learn how to determine if a story true or is a very small percentage of it true and the rest merely an extrapolation based upon assumption and conjecture? Whose bias is satisfied, whose agenda is expressed by such a story? Fake news only works if people listen to it and think of as news as opposed to the trash that it really is.

This Shabbat we read from Parsha Shlach Lecha. Parsha Shlach Lecha includes the troubling narrative of the 12 spies and the ensuing report of Eretz Canaan made to Moshe and B’nai Yisroel. Until this point, the plan was that B’nai Yisroel was to head towards Eretz Canaan. Certainly, God and even Moshe had grown steadily angry at B’nai Yisroel as their complaints from the previous parsha, B’haalotcha, began to sound like a lack of faith. Despite the complaints, God had not yet prohibited this generation from entering into the Land. However following the negative report from ten of the twelve spies, the people follow the majority opinion, and God and Moshe realize that this generation is not yet ready to enter the land. This was the reason why B’nai Yisroel would now have to wait nearly 4 decades prior to entering Eretz Canaan. Yet towards the end of the Parsha, Torah makes it very clear, that despite this generation’s lack of faith, returning to the land is inevitable and a covenant that will be fulfilled. KI Tavo’u El Eretz Moshvoteichem Asher Ani Notein Lachem –God spoke to Moshe saying: Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: When you will come to the Land of your dwelling places that I give you…. (Num. 15:2). Even at that point while punishment was meted out, the punishment did not remove hope, it did not remove inevitability, nor did it mitigate the covenant that God had made with Avraham, Yitzchak Yaakov or Moshe Rabeinu at Sinai. Rather this punishment delayed the inevitable and waited for another generation that was worthy enough to inherit the covenant.

After the ten gave their report, Caleb one of the two with a positive report (Joshua being the other) simply stated his opinion. Caleb did not disagree with the majority report that it is a land flowing with Milk and Honey, and the cities are fortified etc. Rather Caleb first silenced the other spies: VayHas Caliev et Ha’Am El Moshe Vayomer – Caleb hushed the people toward Moshe and said Aloh Na’Aleh V’Yarashnu Otah Ki Yachol Nuchal Lah – We shall surely ascend and conquer it, for we can surely do it (Num. 13:30). How did Caleb silence them? What does it mean that he silenced them towards Moshe? What possessed Caleb to be so optimistic and not the other ten spies? Beginning with Caleb’s faith in God while the others’ faith wavered; Caleb also had a deep respect for the current institutions of leadership and a profound faith in Moshe’s leadership. Rashi, the 11^th century French vintner, Rabbi, and commentator, offers his insight:  His belief in the inevitable was a result of his experience at Sinai. The spies were already biased against Moses Lishmoah Ma ShYidabeir B’Moshe Tzavach v’Amar, V’chi Zo Vilvad Asa Lanu Ben Amram –To listen to what he (Caleb) would say against Moses, and Caleb cried out and said, Is it this alone that the son of Amram has done to us. HaShomeiyah Haya Savur Sh’ba L’Sapeir Bignuto The one who heard this was under the impression that Caleb was about to speak in disparagement of Moses. For Rashi, the issue is not the ten spies’ negative report per se. Rather it is the fact that people listened to it rather than dismissed it. The people wanted to believe the spies, they were ripe for a negative report because their faith was already wavering. The report merely justified their perception and lack of faith. For Rashi, the people the people already had were predisposed to the spies’ negative report. So the spies pandered to the people.

We all struggle with our faith.  And while we intellectually understand the importance of maintaining an optimistic attitude in life, sometimes we can only see hardship difficulty and impossibility. Because of our own bias, and perhaps our desire for simplicity and simple answers, we can easily become susceptible to fake news, to misinformation, to a bad report that, on the surface is completely logical. However upon further examination, upon further thought we might learn something else. Fake news, or a negative report such as what the ten spies offered, teaches us that, ultimately, the choice to listen and accept fake news or the spies’ negative report is up to the listener. If the listener’s faith in social institutions, authority, society, is already diminished then that listener is vulnerable and the prime target of and consumer of fake news. For Caleb, for Joshua and ultimately for the generation that was born in the wilderness, the Generation that didn’t know slavery, they were immune to this fake news.

Peace,

Rav Yitz