Going to bat for every Jew

Last week, I traveled to Washington DC to join with a couple thousand pro-Israel activists to voice our deep concerns about the nuclear agreement with Iran. A few dozen of us met with our local Congressman Ted Lieu and were excited to hear that our calls and letters made a difference as he announced that he would “vote his conscience” and oppose the deal. After the meeting, I ran over to the big lawn in front of the Russell building for a rabbi’s rally during which we voiced our protest and prayed to Gd to protect the US and Israel. As our rally was concluding, a group of Jews suddenly appeared, holding big signs and chanting anti Israel slogans. These were the extreme Jews of the neturei Karta who are opposed to the creation of the State of Israel and see it as an obstacle to the Divine redemption. When we saw them coming towards us—we were taken aback but our response was that we spontaneously burst out into the singing of Hatikvah, and then Am Yisrael chai, Am Yisrael Chai!

This personal experience reminded me of the account in the book “Prime Ministers” of PM Menachem Begin’s meeting with his good friend Rabbi Alexander Schindler, the head of the conference of American rabbis. It was 1980, in NYC, soon after Israel's peace treaty with Egypt, and Schindler was interviewing Begin for a documentary about Begin's life and times.

As they were about to begin, noise outside caught their attention. Down below on Park Avenue, guess who it was, it was the Jews of the neturei karta who had gathered for a demonstration against Begin and the Israeli govt. Some of them may have been the parents or even the same people who were protesting last week in DC. There in NY 1980, they were protesting the fact that the government had allowed an archeological dig in Jerusalem. Human bones has allegedly been uncovered at the site which rendered the ground hallow. When Begin was told what the commotion was about, his response was “nu nu, thank Gd America is a free country where Jews can demonstrate without fear.”

Schindler then began the interview by asking him about his early trials as a commander of the Irgun underground, his frustrations and aspirations as a politician, and then asked him the most personal, difficult question about the effect the shoah had on Begin as a man and as a Jew. As Begin began to explain the meaning of kiddush Hashem, the sanctification of the Almighty even in the horror of the H-caust, the sound system from the demonstration was suddenly turned up full blast. A speaker was heard cursing Begin and calling upon the UN to dismantle the Jewish state. Begin was unfazed and continued talking about his credo of ani maamim and why he remained a believing Jew. But then the noise below became even louder. The one voice became a chorus. The Jews below were yelling in unison, in chilling terms, Begin, you’re a Nazi. Begin, yimach shimcha, Begin yemach shimcha, Begin, may your name be wiped out which is the jarring expression reserved for our worst enemies.

Begin paused and then he said in a whisper staring straight into the camera, “after the Holocaust, there is no command more supreme than that a jew should never abuse another Jew, should never lift a finger against another Jew, should never delegitimize another Jew, rather should care for every other jew in the spirit of veahavta lreaccha kamocha–to love his neighbor as himself.”

Hayom Harat Olam- Today RH is the conception of the world. Today, we're at a juncture where we need to hear that lesson of Menachem Begin and reconceive our relationship with the greater Jewish world.  The question we have to ask ourselves is How much do we care about other Jews? Do we sufficiently respect and love and include other Jews OR do we delegitimize, look down upon or ignore our fellow Jew?

My friends, we're living at a time when there are more Jews outside our walls then inside our walls. We're excited to see one another today and the seats are full but how many Jews, perhaps even members of our family, are not in shul even today on RH.

There has been much discussion recently about the Nones. I’m not referring to Christian nuns, but rather (spell out) NONEs who have no religious affiliation. In the late 50's–only 3% of Jews described themselves as Jewish but having no religious affiliation at all. In 2009–we shot up to 17% without any religious affiliation. For the ages of 20's and 30's–30-40% describe themselves as none of the above. Since 2000 through 2014, there is an intermarriage rate of 60%. In 2014, only 26% of American Jews say that religion is very important in their lives.

Now I understand that I’m speaking to a diverse audience here but each of you knows Jews more connected and knows Jews less connected, less observant or completely unaffiliated. Actually, I would prefer not to call them unaffiliated but uninspired. Because the word unaffiliated–means it's their problem. Uninspired–that means it’s our problem. If they're uninspired, it means that the Torah Jew has failed to meaningfully engage the broad spectrum of American Jewry. It means that we in our shuls have not worked hard enough or thought creatively enough to make our sanctuaries welcoming and inviting. It means that we too often shrug with disinterest. But we have to care, because what happens to Jews across America matters to us because we are connected to them. We are part of one global body. We are one people.

The Talmud Shabbat (89b) relates that latid lavo, in the future, Gd is going to come to Avraham and charge that your children, your fellow Jews have sinned. Avraham responds “yimachu al kedushat shimcha” wipe them out and punish them. Gd then goes to Yaakov and says “Yaakov, your children, the Jews have sinned.” Yaakov responds the same way—“wipe them out, rub them out, they deserve to be punished.” Gd says “ok, I’m 0 for 2, let me go to Yitzchak.” Gd says Yitzchak, your children have sinned. Yitzchak responds—“they’re only my children and not your children?!?! Gd you’ve described them in the Torah as your children (banim atem lashem elokechem). Moreover, how much have they really sinned? The average lifespan is 70 years. The first 20 years, any sins committed are not punishable. That brings us down to 50. Half of that time is during the night when people go to sleep (and can’t sin)—which means we’re down to 25 years. Half of the daytime hours are spent eating, drinking and bathing, which means people are not sinning then (assuming they’re eating kosher!) so we’re down to 12 and a half years. Gd, let’s go 50/50 on those 12.5 years. And if you’re not willing to cover that half, I was willing to give my life (during the akeidah, as we read today) and I’m willing to give my life and legacy to save the Jews.” Amazing passage. Yitzchak is going toe-to-toe with Gd! Yitzchak says I'm going to fight for my fellow Jews. I'm not going to let them slip away from Jewish destiny. Jewish Lives Matter. I'm not going to let this happen!

How did Yitzchak learn that you can negotiate with Gd? He learned it from his father Avraham who fought for the people of Sedom, if there are 50 righteous, 40 righteous, 10 righteous. But Avraham was fighting for the people as a group. He was playing a numbers game in Sedom. Yitzchak learns from his father but has a very different approach. Yitzhak is not interested in statistics. He's not interested in a numbers game. Y is interested in the life of the yachid–each individual Jew. Once he’s talking about individuals, then he negotiates the numbers down from 70 to 50 to 12.5. But for Yitzchak, the person, the jew, each and every Jew is irreducibly important.

What’s going on in Yitzchak’s mind? Yitzchak is perhaps thinking about the trauma of the akeidah, wondering in his mind–Abba, why didn't you do for me what you did for the strangers? Why didn't you protest when Gd asked you to put me on the mizbeach–on the altar? Yitzchak says I have a responsibility to fight for every one of my children. None of my children will be put on the mizbeach! Perhaps the numbers game works for Sedom, but for the Jewish people every single person counts. Never give up on any single jew. Never give up on your child. Never give up on your brothers and sisters and we’re all brothers and sisters. None of our children should be allowed to go on the mizbeach.

Hayom Harat olam. Today is the conception of the world and the time to reconceive our responsibility to the Jewish world. We need to reconceptualize, reimagine, reboot our sense of responsibility towards fellow Jews. To be inspired by Yitzchak—who is our central figure today– to respect others even if they may think differently, to be inclusive of others even if they may live differently, to take that chibah and reut—loving kindness that I spoke about yesterday for loved ones and spread it to those beyond our circle, and to fight for the welfare of every Jew. To even be willing to go toe to toe with Gd to not abandon a single Jew.  

The time is now. The need is urgent. We are one people. We shouldn't wait for war or crisis to band together. So what can we do to reach out to those less connected, to include the completely uninspired Jew and make sure he or she feels comfortable in our Shul? Three suggestions: One good idea is to resolve for this year to make it your practice to invite a friend or co-worker to your Shabbat table. It’s the right thing to do and the nice thing to do as a way to connect to others. By opening up our homes and our hearts, we can share the beauty and meaning and warmth of Judaism to others and they can share that beauty and warmth with us. Another suggestion is to deemphasize interdenominational competition and minimize our usage of labels because they divide and stigmatize. Third: We should resolve to always give the benefit of the doubt to our fellow Jews and see the potential in them.

In the prayer “lakel orech din,” one line we recite is “Lkoneh avadav badin” –Gd acquires his servants in judgement. What is the meaning of this prayer? The legend is told about Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev who ascended to heaven to attend the judgement of the Jewish people on Rosh Hashanah. Rav Levi Yitzchak sees a small pile of mitzvoth and big piles upon piles of sins. The heavenly accuser (the satan) is piling it on! Rav Levi Yitzchak realizes the situation is bleak and he needs to act fast. When the accuser leaves the room, he creeps up and snatches the bags of sins off the scales and throws them in the fires of gehenom. The accuser returns and is outraged that a year of merchandise is gone. All his investigative work has gone to waste. He grabs Rav Levi Yitzchok by the collar to the heavenly court and charges him with first degree theft. It’s an open-and-shut case. He’s found guilty with the ruling issued that he has to be sold as a slave to the highest bidder. Auction begins and great tumult. Avraham bids but accuser outbids him, Yitzchaks bids but in this case, even he couldn’t help because the accuser outbids him…..Finally Hashem says I am the owner of heaven and earth, I bid the highest possible price. Gd wins the auction and Rav Levi Yitzchak becomes his servant and the Jewish people are judged favorably for a good year! This is the meaning of “lkoneh avadav badin”, that Gd acquires his servants in judgement!

Rav Levi Yitzchok is modeling for us the importance of always judging other Jews favorably and seeing the good in every single Jew and every single human being. If we see the potential in others and we treat others favorably, if we take those sins of others and throw them in the fire, Gd will judge us all of us favorably and that’s how we become true servants of Gd.

From Yitzchak Avinu, to Rav Levi Yizchak to PM Begin, these role models compel each of us to ask ourselves: Do I also care as they did? Do I care about other Jews? Do I sufficiently respect and love and include other Jews OR do I consciously or subconsciously delegitimize, look down upon or ignore our fellow Jew? Let us reassert our commitment so we can answer yes to this most supreme command. Inspire yourself to reach out and inspire others. Value your Judaism, and share it kindly and respectfully with others. Resolve to make it your practice to invite a friend or neighbor or co-worker to my shabbat table and be willing if necessary to even go toe to toe with Gd to fight for every single Jew. Because we are all part of one global body. And if we’re united we can withstand and overcome our external threats.

If we all do this, if we look upon all other Jews favorably, if we increase our loving kindness, we will become true servants of Gd. And then we can turn to Gd and ask Him to look favorably upon all of us and bless us all with loving kindness, for a year of good health, happiness and stronger bonds of friendship for you, your family, the entire Jewish people and the world. Hayom Harat Olam—that will indeed be the conception of a new world!