Here we are.
It’s Shabbat Shuvah, the Shabbat that falls between Rosh HaShanah and Yom
Kippur. It is a time for us to reflect
upon our desires for this new year and
how we will go about achieving those goals.
It is also the time when we reflect on the words, “Hashivenu Adonai
eilecha, v’nashuva, chadeysh yameinu k’kedem.”
Return us to you Adonai and renew our days as in the past. It struck me that if there is to be peace with
non-Jewish groups, we must also pray for peace between all the various groups
of Jews living all over the world.
After Rosh
HaShanah services were completed, there was a conversation that took place in
my home about the divisions found amongst Jews.
One individual involved in the conversation said that the only times
Jews feel united today is when there is a threat from the outside or a national
calamity looming on the horizon. He felt
that without such fears, Jews are divided in the way they approach one another.
(Lately, if I might add….even such threats do not seem to bring total unity).
Sephardim vs Ashkenazim; Orthodox vs Conservative vs Reform vs Secular are
engaged in conflicts about beliefs and actions.
Feelings of love for one another are lacking, as each group is convinced
that the others are expressing Judaism in inauthentic ways.
The idea
that there are conflicts is not new, even the Torah presents us with
interfamilial conflicts….Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his siblings. During the period of Israel’s monarchy, there
were two kingdoms, the Southern Kingdom of Judea and the Northern Kingdom of
Samaria. Forms of worship and places of
worship were the topics fought over by the Second Temple-era Saducees and
Pharisees.
If one looks
at various periods of time in history, it might seem that pluralism is not
actually appreciated within Judaism, but that is not the case. Think about how halachik decisions are
presented. When there are minority and
majority opinions stated, each is recorded. The Mishnah asks the question about what the
value of recording minority opinions of Hillel and Shammai is. It is to “teach future generations that none
should unswervingly persist in his opinion, for even the greatest rabbinic
masters were at times uncertain.” Even
where the House of Hillel’s interpretations overruled the House of Shammai,
Shammai’s opinions were stated first. In
some instances compromises took place.
For example, in the case of the mezuzah, Shammai favored a horizontal
position and Hillel favored a vertical position. The conflict was resolved by saying that a
mezuzah is placed at a 45degree angle.
The idea was
that there was to be civil discourse without trying to ram one’s ideas down
another’s throat. If two halachik
leaders held two different points of view, their followers were still expected
to follow the opinion of their rav but at the same time not resort to imposing
their beliefs on others.
The key is
to have disagreements yet argue ethically. How does one argue ethically? It means to be kind and humble when
presenting one’s position, and to acknowledge truth when it is stated by the
other side. It means reaching a
conclusion only after completing a thorough examination of all sides of an
issue.
The Hartman
Institute phrases some questions about the intention of disputes within the
Jewish community in the following way:
What would
the impact be on a community if everyone thought about their motivations before
arguing with another community member? What would a community look like if
individuals stopped themselves before arguing if they knew it was for selfish
reasons? What would happen to a community if the only arguments that occurred
were for the pure betterment of that community, for the pure search for truth?
Is such a dream possible?
Perhaps
you’ve heard the explanation that is given for the destruction of the Second Temple. It lays the destruction at the hands of the
Jews who lived during that period of time who were described as
“righteous and Godfearing and observant of the Torah, but weren’t
observant of the common norms of humanity. Due to the senseless hatred in their hearts, they
suspected everyone who they thought wasn’t exactly like them in their reverence
towards God as being heretics. And it was because of this that there was so
much bloodshed and evil, and this ultimately led to the destruction of the
Temple. God does not have patience for “righteous people” such as these unless
they also observe the common norms of humanity, even though they might claim
they are acting “l’shem shamayim”, for the sake of God. Because it is exactly
this misguided claim that caused so much destruction of life.” (Telushkin)
The questions
that were raised at my dinner table following Rosh HaShanah services included: What do you think the effect on the world
would be if Jews stopped fighting with one another or hating one another? Wouldn’t the effect trickle down to other
nations? Wouldn’t the light of love
become a signal to all people that hatred and divisions need to be put
aside? Wouldn’t anti-Semitism disappear
because it would no longer be needed to draw us together in a unified whole?
Wouldn’t it usher in an age where all people would suddenly give up trying to
impose their will upon others?
I’d be
interested in hearing your thoughts on this subject. Do you think it is
possible for us to be a united Jewish people yet remain pluralistic? Can we
make the dream of peace for all of Israel (meaning the entire Jewish people) a
reality in our day?
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