Belief in HaShem is Behavioral not Intellectual

Last summer when I was in Jerusalem studying at the Pardes Institute, one of my teachers made the following statement, "Belief in G-d is behavioral not intellectual." The purpose of Judaism is to bring the concept of kedusha, the concept of holiness, to all people. The stories in Genesis begin with families who transmit their values from one generation to another by setting a model for behavior. The rituals found in Torah as well as those expressed by our own families, help us transmit those values. Holiness is not what we are, but what we realize we need to be. The goal is to be able to act as we believe G-d requires us to act, to be able to talk about G-d through prayer and learning.

The stories in Genesis, especially in this week's parasha, understand G-d as a force in the Universe that demands justice and righteousness. When human beings mistreat one another, the Torah leads us to believe that we are also mistreating G-d. The goal is for all human beings to treat each other with dignity and respect, which in turn shows respect to G-d who created us all.

Wednesday night, was the 73rd anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night of glass in Germany, when the government of Nazi Germany began burning down synagogues and smashing the glass fronts of Jewish shops in Berlin and other large cities in Germany and Austria. It was a night that brought fear to Jews and signalled the downward spiral of events that eventually to the systematic extermination of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust.

The Nazis used Kristallnacht as a test to see the world's reactions.They wanted to see whether the world or the German people would try to stop Hitler. People complained about his action, but very few did anything to actually fight back against the policies that were then set in motion on Kristallnacht. This gave Hitler the green light to begin.

As a result of Kristallnacht the confiscation of Jewish property, the isolation of the Jews, the disarmament of the Jews, and the transition from social policies of discrimination to social policies promoting physical damage, began.

Why mention Kristallnacht on the night of a community celebration? I believe the lesson learned from recent history coincides with the lessons in this week's Torah portion. We must come to understand that actions really can make a difference. When we see or hear about injustice, we must speak up or act to prevent it from continuing, j When we think about "righteous individuals who strive for the humane treatment of all human beings, then we need to be able to count ourselves among those individuals. Demanding justice and righteousness is really not for "heroic" individuals. It was modeled for us by the first Jew, Abraham, and it is the legacy which we are expected to follow.

Perhaps it is not an accident that this Shabbat follows right on the footsteps of the anniversary of Kristallnacht. They both carry a message about setting a model for behavior.

May we all be committed enough to continue the pursuit of working collectively to build a world where G-d's name will be heard through our actions that show respect for one another.

Shabbat Shalom.