End of the Story… For Now
For several weeks those of us who write for the Jewish Journal have been keeping you up to date on the San Francisco proposal that would outlaw circumcision for children. In my writing I have tried to strike a balance between the Jewish issues and the “personal rights” issues. As a Jew I oppose such a law because it infringes on my rights to practice my faith. As an American I oppose such a law because it is an attack on personal freedom and rights. I refuse to support any legislation that dictates issues in my personal life that are of no concern to the government. I believe many of you feel as I do. The reaction to my articles and other pieces that have appeared in these pages show that laws such as this one are nothing more than the strategies of small groups to impose their will and their values on society.
Since this topic is no longer making “front page” let me give you an update: A court recently struck down the ballot issue. The judge said that the right to regulate “medical procedures” belongs to the state, not to the city. On this basis the issue was removed from the fall ballot. This is a victory for both the Jewish and Moslem communities (not to mention a victory for parents who still believe that they, and not the government, should decide what is right for their children. Although this issue has been settled, it is only a temporary solution. The anti-circumcision folks will continue with their meaningless crusade and continue to influence public policy. I would ask you to realize that this is a long term confrontation- it goes to the core of what we believe about freedom, personal rights, and the role of government. This may be a pause but it is not the end of the story.
We live in a time when “freedom” is coming to mean that no one is free- everyone must be the same and it is wrong to dare to show that you have a belief in anything. When reading of the recent decision striking down the circumcision ban I was reminded of how very delicate our freedoms are. Closer to home, I read a story lately that reported that the ACLU has warned a local town not to display Christmas or Hannukah decorations—they might offend someone! It distresses me that we live in a society in which any (or all) religious symbols are a breach of public policy.
I remind you that we, the Jewish people, have survived only because we have refused to abandon our beliefs- what a shame if we have come to a juncture in our history in which our beliefs are subject to the “bullying” of special interest groups. At least circumcision is safe for now, but what’s next?
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Out of the Ashes
Next week we will observe the 9th day of Av. It is a fast day beginning the night of August 8th and continuing until sundown of the 9th. The 9th of Av (in Hebrew Tisha b’Av) was instituted to mark the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE and the Second Temple in 70 CE. Historians tell us that this day also marked many episodes that brought suffering to our people. The rabbis considered it to be the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. This description is very appropriate- by all rules of history the 9th of Av should have been the yahrzeit of the Jewish nation. With the Temple gone as the focus of worship our people could have disappeared. Over night the basis of Israelite religion, the Temple sacrifice, was destroyed. It could have been the end of our history but it was not. Instead, it was the beginning of a new, transformational rethinking of Biblical ideas that would result in Judaism as we practice it to this very day.
This achievement, the transformation of Biblical ideas and values, insured the continued existence of the Jewish people and religion. Given this fact, I find a totally new message for this national day of mourning. We fast to remember what was lost- to the respective generations of the first and second Temples it was as if their spiritual world had ended. We might think of it as if we woke up tomorrow and found that every synagogue and Jewish institution had been destroyed. How would we begin to rebuild?
This was the challenge facing the rabbis of the Second Temple period. We are proof that their “reformulation” worked. I therefore find this new message in an ancient day: Tisha b’Av is a bitter but important reminder about Jewish survival. In an ironic sense this day that marks so much destruction also marks rebirth and renewal. While Tisha b’Av asks us to mourn the past, it also begs the question of future survival. Today social scientists tell us that Judaism and the Jewish people are disappearing. Apathy, intermarriage, and below-zero birthrates are forces that are all too quickly thinning the numbers of American Jewry (and much of world Jewry as well.) These voices say that statistics show the inevitable disappearance of the Jewish community as we know it. That is a frightening reality. We have not lived through four millennia of struggle to, at last, destroy ourselves!
The greatest honor we can give to Tisha b’Av is to take its message seriously. Our reaction to calamity is never desperation but renewal. I believe that even in this age when so many forces are aligned to end our history there are great opportunities to create a Judaism that is stronger than ever. The world needs our message more than ever, our ideas, values, and ideas are still able to make this a better world.
Our sages were right- the future can emerge out of the ashes of the past. Tisha b’Av may be the saddest day in the Jewish calendar but it is the perfect day to contemplate the miracles of the Jewish future.
First Printed in South Florida Jewish Journal and Atlanta Jewish Times
Next week we will observe the 9th day of Av. It is a fast day beginning the night of August 8th and continuing until sundown of the 9th. The 9th of Av (in Hebrew Tisha b’Av) was instituted to mark the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE and the Second Temple in 70 CE. Historians tell us that this day also marked many episodes that brought suffering to our people. The rabbis considered it to be the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. This description is very appropriate- by all rules of history the 9th of Av should have been the yahrzeit of the Jewish nation. With the Temple gone as the focus of worship our people could have disappeared. Over night the basis of Israelite religion, the Temple sacrifice, was destroyed. It could have been the end of our history but it was not. Instead, it was the beginning of a new, transformational rethinking of Biblical ideas that would result in Judaism as we practice it to this very day.
This achievement, the transformation of Biblical ideas and values, insured the continued existence of the Jewish people and religion. Given this fact, I find a totally new message for this national day of mourning. We fast to remember what was lost- to the respective generations of the first and second Temples it was as if their spiritual world had ended. We might think of it as if we woke up tomorrow and found that every synagogue and Jewish institution had been destroyed. How would we begin to rebuild?
This was the challenge facing the rabbis of the Second Temple period. We are proof that their “reformulation” worked. I therefore find this new message in an ancient day: Tisha b’Av is a bitter but important reminder about Jewish survival. In an ironic sense this day that marks so much destruction also marks rebirth and renewal. While Tisha b’Av asks us to mourn the past, it also begs the question of future survival. Today social scientists tell us that Judaism and the Jewish people are disappearing. Apathy, intermarriage, and below-zero birthrates are forces that are all too quickly thinning the numbers of American Jewry (and much of world Jewry as well.) These voices say that statistics show the inevitable disappearance of the Jewish community as we know it. That is a frightening reality. We have not lived through four millennia of struggle to, at last, destroy ourselves!
The greatest honor we can give to Tisha b’Av is to take its message seriously. Our reaction to calamity is never desperation but renewal. I believe that even in this age when so many forces are aligned to end our history there are great opportunities to create a Judaism that is stronger than ever. The world needs our message more than ever, our ideas, values, and ideas are still able to make this a better world.
Our sages were right- the future can emerge out of the ashes of the past. Tisha b’Av may be the saddest day in the Jewish calendar but it is the perfect day to contemplate the miracles of the Jewish future.
First Printed in South Florida Jewish Journal and Atlanta Jewish Times
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