In a war full of outrages, one of the most egregious occurred recently in Ashdod, where “>Deer Park Monastery, a Buddhist community where I sometimes visit for meditation weekends. During my last trip, I noticed a poster concerning “ways you can help our community”, and was prepared for the standard fundraising pitch. It was there, all right, but at the bottom. At the top, it said that “the most important thing you can do to help this community is to maintain and deepen your practice.” I was a little surprised, but I should not have been: if a religious community genuinely believes in its sacred mission, this must be true.
Maintaining purpose in the face of threat has obvious implications for the current conflict. Put most simply: Haftarat Mase’ei reminds us that we can help the Jewish community effectively in a time of crisis by practicing Judaism. I do not in the least denigrate other methods to protect Israel, but like a commitment to social justice, Zionism is an essential part of Judaism: it is not a substitute for it.
In the contemporary era, just about anyone can be a student, and thus a teacher, of Torah (“hey, look at what I learned today.”). When I was growing up in the 70’s, there was no internet, no Skype, no quality translations of classic texts. It’s a lot easier now. Great organizations like “> Daily Daf Differently provide accessible, serious, yet brief discussions of Talmud.
Deepen your own practice. My teacher “>Rabbi Marcia Prager has written,
A simple Hebrew blessing is a powerful thing – a one-minute, deeply meditative exercise exploring the nature of the Creative Force we call God and the dynamic relationship between God, human consciousness, and the unfolding universe. Far from a mindless mumble, each word of a Hebrew blessing is crafted to touch deep centers of awareness and receptivity within us.
Haftarat Mase’ei teaches us that in a time of crisis, the Jewish people must survive but must survive for the reason we were put on this planet – to spread Torah and its values. That means augmenting our spiritual practices in the face of challenge. Can we afford 5-10 minutes extra per day to pay attention to God?
So let us return to the Haredim and the bomb shelter.
The segregation of bomb shelters was an outrage because it butchered the Torah . It needlessly risked human life based upon an absurd reading of the laws of Tzniut, or modesty. But it was not wrong because it tried to integrate Torah and civil defense. That goal was absolutely appropriate.
Thus, one cheer for the Haredim. They understand , as did Jeremiah, that Jewish life means more than mere survival, and that Israel needs to mean something more than simply being a state like all the others. Their answers – on this, as on so many other things – are quite wrong. But they insist on asking the right question. In and of itself, that is a major accomplishment.
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