January 9, 2009

As Jews we believe with perfect faith that the Almighty is leading us and the world to a place where all is understood, all is calm, all is as I described last week - a sublime marriage of heaven and earth. Somehow, everything is a necessary piece of this epic saga called creation; the good and the bad equally taking their place on the dais once the dancing's done. We have a belief as well that the happenings of our forefathers are signs for us children. Not mere omens, but rather the trials and tribulation of the patriarchs, down to the minutest detail, are really the seeds/dna of everything that will befall the Jewish people in the expanded reality called history. It is always with this lens that we study the Torah.

Avraham had ten trials. His will certainly be ours: in that order, in that magnitude. His ninth ordeal, before the ultimate test of the binding of Isaac, was that of Ishmael. His time has now come. Ishmael, being the father of our Arab brethren, has paraded to the forefront of the world's stage, his presence now permeates the essence of every nation, the air we breathe is filled with his influence, and his ancient and timeless passion has enveloped the psyche of our modern era. Before the final trial, we will be - we are, in fact - playing out the scene which stars our hero, Avraham, and his beloved yet wayward progeny, Ishmael.

In this week's Torah portion, Vayechi, Jacobs blesses his children before he moves on (an important point to note is that Jacob never actually died - some people transition so flawlessly that death is inappropriate and uninvited). Blessings serve as a means to effect the realization of one's potential, both by first identifying it and subsequently meriting Divine acquiescence through the righteousness of he who's giving the blessing. Jacob could see the strengths of every son, or each tribe, and his spiritual success in life charged him with the task of administering. Like spokes on a wheel, Jacob was able to anchor and centralize the 12 completely disparate strengths and tendencies of his sons. The stronger the center, the further the spokes can be stretched, and the larger and faster the wheel. In these blessings we'll read this Shabbat lie the skeletal, muscular, pulmonary and respiratory systems of the Jewish people. Our most holy books speak out the details with remarkable precision. Our Sages have spelled out the intricacies of the Jewish condition, the Jewish people, and all that we must face and overcome to achieve the goal. The answers are all there in the Torah. First you need to be able to unlock it. Then you must be able to live it.

At a pro-Israel solidarity rally today in Philly I realized that we'll never success in playing our cards successfully in the public arena. That's just not what we do, and the more we attempt, it seems the more despised we become. I didn't get the impression that anyone felt something significant was accomplished. Not because we're not clever enough, but rather because chanting slogans and waving flags just didn't seem very Jewish. Often we may not know what positively identifies something as "jewish", but we can certainly spot it when it's not, and if the glove don't fit... If we look in the words of our Torah, if we heed the council of our Sages and learn the lessons from Jewish history, there seems to be a very different formula for a response.

Call an unequivocal cease-fire on something ungodly, something antithetical to our Torah, His word. Find a durable and sustainable plan to turn your life into a qualitatively holier existence. Pray for Jewish children risking their lives to protect ours. And while we yearn for mercy for all G-d's creation and desperately seek the means to end all oppression and suffering, we need to see every Jew as family. No one could ever fault a relative for grieving his loss more than a stranger would. So too the Jewish people are family. Not simply by name, lineage, politics, socialism, or even "blood". But rather by a connection of spirit which transcends all physical limitation and can truly be something one feels no different from his hand. This is what I implore people to think about and develop. Avraham prophetically points to the final trials we will face. The trial with Ishmael will bring us to a recognition that the Jewish people are one, each to the other like a father to son. There will be a test there too. But first things first.

Know your strengths. Be the blessing Jacob would have given you.

Good Shabbos,

Rabbi Lynn