Links to Israel Articles

The American Jewish Cocoon - Peter Beinart 2013
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/sep/26/american-jewish-cocoon/

The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment - Peter Beinart 2010
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/jun/10/failure-american-jewish-establishment/

'A' Jewish State vs. 'The' Jewish State - Michael Oren, David Rothkopf 2014
http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/05/15/a-jewish-state-vs-the-jewish-state/

Dan's Interpretation of Parsha Beha'alotecha (Numbers 8-12)

Shalom Chaverim! I am writing this from a hotel in the Italian city of Sorento with the little free time that I made for myself this vacation. Sorry if these thoughts are a little scattered, because I’m pretty scattered right now. I have read this week’s parsha, Beha’alotecha, many times in my life, the first time being for my Bar Mitzvah many years ago. Until I read it again this week, though, I had not grasped the importance or the context of the parsha. It could be that is because I am reading the Torah in order, or maybe because of the teaching that a specific parsha is meant to be read and interpreted during it’s assigned week. Either way, trying to read along in the Torah each week has been a very meaningful experience for me this year.

When I was reading Beha’alotecha this week, I saw two ideas come up again and again: trust and responsibility. This parsha is where the Israelites start their long journey in the wilderness, from Sinai to the land of Israel. After seeing the miracles of G-d, accepting the Covenant, and learning all the rules that that entails, the Israelites set off into the unknown. They are led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When the cloud/fire moves, the people move, and when the cloud/fire stays still, the people set up camp. The Israelites had to trust that G-d was leading them in the right direction, that G-d would give them enough time to rest when it was needed, and that the cloud/fire would stop at places that could meet their essential needs. And with the blast of the shofar and the gathering of the community, the trust continued and the journey began.

In the beginning of their travels, Moses speaks to Hobab, who is the son of Moses’ father-in-law and a Midianite. Moses tells him that he is needed because he has experience traveling and camping out in the wilderness. Hobab responds saying that he does not want to go on traveling with the Israelites and that he would rather go back to his birthplace. Moses responds by telling Hobab that the Israelites need him and that Moses will make sure that the people will “do good for you in proportion to the good that YHWH will do for us” (Num. 10:32). This shows the trust that Moses has for the community of Israel that they could bring about the same good for Hobab that G-d could give to them. In addition, Hobab’s decision to continue traveling with the Israelites shows both his trust in the Hebrew G-d and trust in Moses and the community that they would truly accept a stranger in their midst and share their blessing with him. 

Along the journey, their are many who start to grumble and complain. The first instance of this occurs in Numbers 11:1-3 where it says that G-d got angry at the grumblers and consumed them in fire. The next verses go into detail about a second instance of grueling amongst the Israelites. This time, the Israelites complain that they only have G-d’s manna to eat and not any meat. They remember the fish they “would eat in Egypt for free,” and say that their “soul is dried up,” because they miss the food that they left after trusting in G-d (Num. 11:5-6). In the end, G-d sends a huge flock of quail to where they were traveling and when the grumblers sunk their teeth into the quail, G-d struck them and killed them. The Israelites didn’t trust G-d or Moses after all that they had done up to that point. Even though these people committed themselves to the Covenant, they still envied their past life in Egypt, as slaves. It is hard to trust and go along with something when you perceive the short-term as harder and less comfortable as your past. I think what the Torah is trying to say here is that if you should never give up on trying to work for long-term goals to make the world better or achieve fulfillment, and if you do, there are going to be consequences. They probably won’t be as bad as the one’s depicted here, but I think the outcome will be the same, you won’t get to where you are headed and you won’t be able to shape your future or the future of your people.

In the story of the grumblers, there is also a lot to say about responsibility. When the grumblers complain to Moses, he gets angry at G-d. Moses tells G-d that he feels that he is alone in his task of leading the Israelites and that it is too much of a burden for him. He feels as if both G-d and the people are leaving him with sole responsibility of the community and aren’t helping with the heavy load. Moses goes so far as to command G-d to kill him if things don’t change. After hearing this, G-d tells Moses that he should gather seventy of Israel’s elders and that G-d will share Moses’ spirit and responsibility over the people with them. Later on, Moses gathered the seventy elders outside of the camp and G-d did as he promised and Moses and the elders prophesied and shared the burden. It turns out that two people (Eldad and Medad) that were in the camp also prophesied. When Joshua heard this, he told Moses to restrain them because they were taking on responsibility that wasn’t designated to them. Moses responded saying that he wished that “all of YHWH’s people were prophets, that YHWH would put his spirit on them” (Num. 11:29). In Joshua’s view, there is a clear hierarchy and leadership is restricted to those who are chosen. On the other hand, Moses believes that everybody should be a leader and that stepping up and people taking responsibility, even if they weren’t told to take it, is the way an ideal world would look. 

Going a step further, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch says, in his commentary on Numbers, that “Moses' answer to Joshua remains for all teachers and leaders as the brilliant example they should keep before their eyes as the highest ideal aim of their work… to make themselves superfluous, that the people of all classes and ranks reach such a spiritual level that they no longer require teachers and leaders.” This relates to Habonim’s goal of engaging in revolutionary service and our endgoal for the the social order we are trying to create. The reality is that if the world was a anarcho-socialist world that believed in youth and identity empowerment, we wouldn’t really need Habonim. And that isn’t something to be sad about. I really hope that I see the day where we don’t need Habonim, but for now we must take responsibility to educate and build the society we want to live in. And we must do this both through Habonim and other avenues, and always realize that in whatever work we do, the goal should be making what we do irrelevant. Because if that is not the goal, you won’t be able to make any significant changes in the world around you. 

Machane will be starting soon for us all, and it is a very exciting time. We are all embarking together on a journey into the unknown. Throughout the summer we need to remember the importance of trust. We need to trust that everyone is trying to make the summer great for everyone. We need to trust that mazkirut is going to help and engage the tzevet throughout the summer. We need to trust that our tzvatim ktanim will be looking out for each other and sharing responsibilities. We also need to make sure that everybody is welcome on tzevet and at Machane, no matter how long they’ve been in the movement or what beliefs they hold (within reason haha). We must encourage people to look within themselves and help them on the path towards hagshama atzmit and hagshama tnuatit. We must realize that the present is not enough and the past only looks golden. That the future we envision and are building together is worthwhile and not something to give up on. The mission of educating youth is essential to this process and not worth giving up either. The essential thing is that everyone is a leader and everyone should be afforded responsibility: from Amelim to mazkirut. Because in the end, we are all filled with a divine spirit and an urge to change the world. Shabbat Shalom.

Interesting passage about political correctness, social justice etc

The legacy of identity politics has produced a problematic language idealism where we focus more on correct words and phrases rather than the material basis of oppression… And even in the moment where we imagine we are indeed combatting real world oppression we are, in fact, simply engaging with the level of appearance.  We often fail to recognize that those who lack the privileged education to understand the correct terminology and turns of phrase are not necessarily those who are chauvinist, just as we fail to recognize that those who possess the education to hide their chauvinism with the correct language are indeed the enemy.  This language idealism becomes nothing but a self-righteous exercise when it refuses to contemplate a praxis of mass pedagogy based on actually changing the material circumstances and instead focuses on anti-oppression training, atomized concepts of privilege, and how to speak correctly.  It becomes utterly rarified and intentionally ignorant when it demands that we waste our time examining every word and turn of phrase at the expense of changing the material circumstances upon which this language is dependent.  Moralism abounds.

[sent to me by a friend, I believe it's from: http://moufawad-paul.blogspot.com/2013/04/10-theses-on-identity-politics.html]

My Reflections on Yom HaZikaron

What is Yom HaZikaron? Is it a day of mourning? Is it a day to honor people's memories and people's service? Is it a day evaluate the immense presence of the military in the state? Is it a day to criticize Israel for not making peace? Is it a day to criticize others for not making peace? Is it a day to recall the victimization of Jews throughout history? Is it a day to reaffirm our need for the IDF?

I don't have answers to these questions. My own feelings are that everyday is a day to play the blame game on who didn't agree to make peace. Today, in my opinion, is not that day. Saying that Yom HaZikaron is for that purpose I think takes away from the incredibly personal aspects of the day. It is the day to remember the specific people that have been killed. who have been affected by war, by terrorism.

I think that one of the reasons people in the states feel less inclined to observe Yom HaZikaron--aside from the fact that many people don't know anyone in the IDF or anyone that has been killed--is that the holiday is tied to the military. It is a day to commend Israel's soldiers for their service. This can be uncomfortable, but I think that it is completely necessary. First, it is imperative, in my opinion, to remember that the IDF is composed of individuals, and I don't think that honoring them should be dismissed in the name of feeling uncomfortable with particular actions that the IDF takes. And second, I firmly believe that at this moment in history, the service of Israeli soldiers is crucial to Israel's existence. To avoid acknowledging this is a shame to say the least.

I also think it is a day to think of peace. To hope for a day when the purpose of the IDF will be different. Primarily, though, the purpose of Yom HaZikaron is exactly what its full title means: The Day of Remembrance for the Fallen Soldiers of Israel and Victims of Terrorism.

We should give them this day.

A Moving Prayer For Minimum Wage

The March for Minimum Wage was a very surreal happening. My journey started as a last minute decision in Amherst, Massachusetts and it materialized a couple days later on the streets of Philadelphia.  It was a Friday during Pesach and everything seemed larger than reality. There were the various teach-ins at Rittenhouse Square where chanichim, ma’apilim, and people from outside the movement sat together and talked to each other about different issues. The topics of the conversations ranged from the about different aspects of minimum wage to questions about how faith plays a part in our activism. While that was going on, people commemorated Good Friday around the square, recreating the stations of the cross, which added an additional sense of seriousness and holiness to the conversations we were having and the struggles we were talking about. It seemed like everyone was gathering at the square: religious people, workers, organizers, politicians, students, professors, community members, and members of Habonim Dror. We were all looking for our own way to interact and engage with the struggles of workers, and at the same time we were all collectively actualizing a value that we all hold dear: social justice. Some of us were workers, living on an impossible minimum wage, and some of us were people who wanted to stand in solidarity with them, understanding that our values don’t mesh with the current reality we live in. And at the teach-in, the march, and the rally, we were all standing together, meeting each other, sharing our stories, and hearing each and every voice, something that I rarely see anymore. To me, there was a sense that we were not only there to engage in social justice, but also to pray, with our voices and our feet, for a better world.

There are a couple of images from the march that really impressed themselves in my mind. One was watching two chanichim explain minimum wage and what the rally was about to a young child. It was inspiring to see youth that the movement has educated understand and feel connected to workers’ rights, so much so that they wanted to actively share that passion with others. Another occurred during the march from Rittenhouse Square to Independence Mall, where I marched with chanichim I have worked on and off with since Madatz on one side and my mother on the other, shouting chants and holding up posters that showed our support for raising the minimum wage. As we walked down the streets of Philadelphia, singing songs of freedom and wage increase, being filmed and waved at from every angle by onlookers on the street, and being joined by different people who were struck by our message, I felt, for the first time in a long time, what it means to be a part of a movement, what it means to stand for something and then take action towards it. And people in chultzot were leading the way. One thing that ran through my head the whole time was that, for a powerful moment, it seemed like Habonim Dror had reclaimed its place as the vanguard of social activism, a place it has not been for a while.

Dan's Interpretation of Parsha Kedoshim (Leviticus 19-20)

Shabbat Shalom everyone! I feel compelled to relate some Torah to you even though we are in the midst of Shabbos Koydesh. It was my last Shabbat with the JSU at Hampshire and it was a very moving experience, having to say goodbye to the community that sustained me this year, and realize that I would be leaving the community and the traditions we built together in order to live in a movement context next year. It was bittersweet. I will miss the community I am leaving and the weekly Shabbat Services we led and the weekly Torah study sessions we engaged in. I am already hoping that Anya and Zaq will agree to come with me and visit Hampshire next year on a Shabbes eve. Enough sentiment, now for Torah (although the Torah teaches us that everything is interconnected!)!

This week’s parsha is Parshat Kedoshim, or holies. It continues on the track of setting out the regulations of a holy life. It starts out with the declaration that we are holy because G-d is holy, which is a powerful statement that recalls Genesis, where it says that we are all made in the image of G-d. It goes on to list different things: restatements of some of the Ten Commandments, agricultural laws (these are cool and are the basis for the idea of tzedaka!), ethical and moral law, and religious laws. The sort of mixed bag of laws symbolizes that, in life, all of these things are connected. Everything that you do is interconnected. Religiosity, morality, and normalcy are all bound together and should guide all your actions. That is why it is taught that if you let religion influence your thought and actions, then everything you do is religious, and the sam with morality, and normalcy. 

This parsha is famous for an oft repeated phrase, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18). Usually when it is said, it is said after somebody does something bad, and you ask them how would you feel if somebody did that to you. While this is a good question, and a good way of evoking empathy, I don’t think that is what the Torah is commanding us. That question and the way this phrase is normally evoked is the height of relativism. It is according to the individual. In the Torah, however, loving your neighbor isn’t some relativistic notion. It actually gives us guidelines. These come right before the phrase, in Leviticus 19:17 and 19:18. The first thing to do to love your neighbor is to “not hate” (Lev. 19:17). Pretty self explanatory. The next guideline is that “you shall criticize your fellow” (Lev. 19:17). Then it says that you shouldn’t seek revenge or hold grudges. This isn’t some relativistic thing, it is a commandment, and a commandment we should all strive to take seriously.

The reason I bring this up is because I feel like this notion of loving that is demanded of us in Leviticus 19:17-18 is the same way we talk about love in Habonim and in kvutza. When I saw that G-d tells us that in order to love, you must criticize, I was filled with happiness. This is where Martin Buber gets the idea of I-Thou relationships! I never knew that such a powerful concept was actually a commandment defined in the Torah! I feel like we should all strive to find the beauty of the Torah, and not be content with only what people tell you is in it. It is the root of the ideologies we hold dear and we should come to know where our treasured ideas come from. And lastly, I want to challenge all of us to have an I-Thou relationship with the Torah, reading it, accepting it, and demanding from it, and reaching together into the unknown of our souls. Shabbat Shalom.

Seder/Economic Justice

Forgot to post this before seder but here it is for years to come....I found this and brought it to the Mercaz call last week. It's an interpretation of the Bread of Affliction (HaLachma Anya [ANYA!!!!]) text at the beginning of the Magid section of the Hagada. Original text then interpretation:

Ha Lachma Anya

This is the bread of affliction, the poor bread,

which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt.

Let all who are hungry come and eat.

Let all who are in want, share the hope of Passover.

As we celebrate here, we join with our people everywhere.

This year we celebrate here.

Next year in the land of Israel.

Now we are still in bonds.

Next year may we all be free.

Affliction Beyond Hunger

by Jews for Racial and Economic Justice

In our city today, some of our neighbors are forced to work in order to receive their meager welfare benefits, which barely enable them to survive. Tonight we share their bread of affliction:

• The affliction of work without dignity
• The injustice of no minimum wage
• The theft of protection from injury
• The anxiety of work with no future
• Panic at the threat of lost benefits.
• The stress of leaving a child for work
• The shame of forced placement
• The death of educational opportunity
• The robbery of the right to organize
• Silenced voices of protest.

Who speaks aloud alongside those whose speech has been muted?

Who breathes together with those who cannot catch their breath?

We can breathe the breath of life, we can join these struggles, we can face the Pharoahs and strip them of their power.