October 23, 2009

I recently went to hear Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski speak of the respect the Torah demands in relationships.  He quoted the Talmud, which says, “a man must love his wife as himself and respect her more than himself.”  He spoke of the fact that the Talmud forbids rape within marriage, something the western world only began legislating a century ago.

He spoke of how some Jews who are abusive, especially knowledgeable ones, quote things in the Torah to defend themselves, such as from last week’s Torah portion. “…and he (Adam) will rule over you (Eve).”  And the Talmud’s statement that a woman must respect her husband by doing what he says.

I asked Rabbi Twersky, how he thought rabbis could help to tweak the Jewish people’s views of relationships so that it would be clear that relationships which are abusive are always wrong?  He did not have a specific answer to the question but did add that it is rare to change an abuser. 

I would say that even if we can not change individual abusers and control freaks in marriages,  how we describe the Torah’s views of men, woman and relationships, how we as rabbis color the glass through which our people look is everything, and can, over time change our views as a people.  What we quote from the Torah, what attitudes we depict and which we leave aside, is the way that in their preaching and writing rabbis construct a Jewish worldview for their congregants and for the Jewish nation.  In this way, over time, we can change (for the better) the way in which the Jewish people see the Torah’s image of relationships, and for that matter most things. 

The first nine months of the Obama administration have been intriguing; a model of what happens when a politician tries to hew to a fairly moderate line in his policies. He gets battered from the right for his “socialism” and he gets battered from the left for his “failure to do what has to be done and damn the compromises.”

Whether the issue is healthcare reform or Wall Street bailouts, he just can seem to quiet the critics. He is neither moderate enough for the right nor radical enough for the left. I can’t tell you many dinners I have had with friends (mainly on the left of the political spectrum) who express exasperation that Obama hasn’t yet transformed the world to their liking. The dialogue usually ends with our guests uttering an exasperated “he’s really no different than Bush.”

I understand the Republicans’ antipathy, that’s politics. With regard to the liberal critics, I am reminded of Lyndon Johnson’s” title=”blogs of July 28 and 31″>blogs of July 28 and 31). If he is willing to buck those unions in order to effect meaningful change, than we all ought to take notice and acknowledge the political courage it demonstrates.

Today’s insightful New York Times’ Obama and Education Reform Read More »