Broad Strokes & Big Pictures: Moses, the Exodus and Israel Today

D'var Torah for Chai Minyan at Shaare Zedek, Jan 4, 2013
 
Here we are, at the start of Shemot, the second book of the Torah.  We're immediately concerned with the naming of the generations, the tribes, and their plentiful offspring, but our main focus is really Moses.  Moses has his fair share of difficulty with identity development and in his relationship with God, but eventually he gathers the Israelites for the culmination of Shemot's story--the act for which the Greek speaking Jews of Alexandria, Egypt named this book-- the Exodus Aigyptous.  Which generations of Jews have shortened to what we call Exodus.  

Ok- for those of you that missed it - there’s my crazy cool fact straight from Nahum Sarna - The name Exodus is derived from Jews whose vernacular was Greek. I like the notion that even the non-hebraicized name evolved from our people, who lived within Egypt at the time. And even though that leaves us considering two different types of Jews, in two different places, using different languages, I really want *us* to focus tonight on the broadest strokes we can imagine for Jews, no matter time or their location.

You see, recently I attended an event where David Ben Gurion’s grandson told stories of David’s experiences as the Prime Minister of Israel. In 1954, he traveled to the United States to meet with President Eisenhower and seek the help and support for difficult moments of the fledgling Israel. During that trip, in a meeting with the then State Secretary of Administration, John Foster Dulles, Ben Gurion was confronted with a high degree of arrogance:
Tell me, Prime Minister –  Dulles said - Who are the people you and your country really represent?” How is it that Jews are really the same? Being that they are Jews of Yemen, Poland, Romania, Morocco, Iraq, the Soviet Union or Brazil ”? After 2000 years of exile, can we really be talking about one nation, one culture, one legacy of Jewish tradition?

Now, for those of you knowledgeable about Israeli immigration waves and even current policies, you might be inclined to agree with Dulles at least to some extent.

But Ben-Gurion replied:
“See, Mr. Secretary, and only 200 years ago the ship Mayflower sailed from England with the first settlers who settled in what is now is the great democratic powers called the United States of America. Please, walk out on the streets and ask ten North American children the following:
What was the name captain of the ship? How long was the journey? What did the passengers eat during the Journey, and how did the sea behave? Probably , you will not get many accurate answers,” he surmised.
But “Please see now it’s been 3,000 years since the Jews left Egypt. I ask you that in one your travels around the world, try and meet ten Jewish children in different countries; asked them what was the travel called?
What was the name captain of the group?
How long was the journey?
What were the passengers eating during the journey, and finally ask how did the sea behave?
“When you have the answers, and wonder again about Israel, try to remember and appreciate the question you just asked me”.

Lately, the media has focused a lot on what separates one type of Jew from another. Whether it’s so called “Jewish garb,” economic standing, Israeli politics, women of the wall - or larger issues of gender segregation - color of skin, country of origin,  issues surrounding right of return,  or more complicated still, right to identify as a Jew, or marriage rights, it is so easy to get caught up in the disparate  and often disheartening reality. Sometimes, these are issues relevant to American society or global Jewish issues, sometimes Israel takes an American idea and translates it for it’s own cultural impact. This spring, for instance, a production of Hairspray will be performed with the Ethiopian cultural center in Jerusalem, in an effort to raise awareness about race relations in Israel. But for now, I’d like to set aside the dirty differences that may frustrate us. To acknowledge that “claims” on Torah are difficult, complicated, and understanding of Torah is ever evolving. I’d like to suggest that while this particular book of Torah emphasizes the difficult necessity of the Israelite journey from Egypt to Israel, this Parsha focuses on the hardship at home. It provides space for dissenting opinions. Moses is critical of himself and questioning of God. He doesn’t trust that he can convey God’s message to the “elders of Israel,” so much so he allows his brother to speak for him even after being given the rod that will allow him to conduct miracles to imbue the elders with faith. He’s run out of Egypt once and his confidence is shot.

I have to say - if the path of righteousness isn’t inherent or natural or even direct for the leader whom we give as the gold standard, all the moreso it doesn’t have to be for us. I am hoping we can all find more compassion where we differ from one another and when we approach the other, as well as when we approach Torah.

May we all be blessed to loosen our bounds on Torah, to listen to others understanding, reading, interpretation and incarnation. May we know a Torah that has endless life and endless meaning. May we not be limited by a search for proof, for evidence, for our own hand prints on the building bricks of the Egypt that remains today. But may we also build communities of Torah that reflect our values, our understanding, our interpretations, and may we learn to teach one another when we hear the voice of God and when we raise our voices in prayer.

(One final thought) Just over the holiday season there was a two part series entitled “Back to the Beginning” which was Christiane Amanpour’s search, along with her son, for the root of the three major monotheistic religions - in a scene where she was attempting to find where Noah’s Ark rests. One commentator, the author of Walking the Bible pointed out - We’re not going to find some lost voice of God, like a Beatles recording, that we can digitally remaster and put out for all to experience on the internet,” … many people believe that “if you can prove that one screw existed, you can prove that the entire machine existed” … 3000 years of our story and we’re still telling it in exciting, enlivening ways. We're gathering to hear it, to repeat it, to celebrate it. For me, that’s enough to prove the entire machine exists… although God as a Beatles album sure would be sweet.

On Knowing it All: Information Overload & Pride

Run with me for a bit down memory lane ... I'll tie it in with our technology obsession ... especially those glorious social networking sites sitting there, glowing, calling out to you.

There is one college memory I particularly relish. I was sitting next to one of my gay friends as he was struggling with the details of coming out. (You know, if you've been through this yourself or with a friend. The same questions arise as those of a reporter's mantra, the who, what, when, where, & how.) We were amidst a kick-off lunch to start the semester and he didn't recognize many of our classmates. I insisted I could not only tell him their names, but each of their sexual statuses with about 90% accuracy. I knew who was still holding onto the V-card, who was in what type of relationship, who had gotten some but wouldn't get close again without a major gift in a little blue box ... and the like.

By the way, while I could provide that information, I didn't, save for the most public cases, so don't go getting huffy on me for being a gossip. I went through the check list in my mind - without revealing the sordid (or pristine!) details of their lives ... but I knew them. He was shocked. I knew most of the information first hand, but why? Is that desire to share it all just ego? Why did I know the person next to me was gay, but he had convinced his closest college friends he was bisexual? What put me in the center of everyone's love life? I was in the loop, sure. More often, though, I was a trusted confidant. One freshman guy I would hardly have called a friend came to me and said, "the girl I'm dating now doesn't want to sleep with me, which is fine, but I slept with someone in high school and kind of miss that." "Oh?" (never insert your own opinion here, there's always more revealed the less you talk.) "I don't want to pressure her, so I don't want to tell her that I've had sex before ..." I must admit, I was baffled that he was sharing this with me. I think I was just a convenient sounding board. I don't think the conversation came to a particular conclusion, but there I was listening to it. 4 years later, when I'd heard she had come out of the closet, it all made sense. Of course, a straight 19 year old girl could just as easily not be ready, but there I am, passing judgment.

I am pushing my agenda a bit, running two themes here which happen to be in parallel. But the overlap of the information conduit and sexuality have me fascinated because I think that sexuality is one of the most personal bits of information we can possibly share. Yet, Logan Levfkoff, a sexologist I worked with last year put it best when she pointed out "whether people are 15 or 55, it’s a good bet they’re not going to tell the truth about their sex life." So did everything I "knew" about my college peers turn out to be true? I'm sure not... after all, I kept some of my own forays secret, and I'm sure others who had something to prove used words instead of actions.

In that spirit, there have been about 5 coming out stories I'm aware of since I graduated, at least one of which happened on friendster.

Is that the reason we love keeping up with our friends through social media? Not just to satisfy the voyeur in us with others' jaunts and drama, of course, but so that we feel more connected to others' lifecycle events? So we're not embarrassed when we are surprised by someone who recounts the engagements, marriages, children etc. of shared connections you once had?

How do you feel about social media as a tool for making your private life semi-public? For instance, sharing wedding albums, or even simpler, party albums? Most of us do it naturally. But does sharing your joy create unnecessary hurt? (Have you ever seen an album or event and wondered why you weren't invited? If you were thought about at all ... as an former best friend, lover, roommate, Greek brother or sister, etc.) There's a principle in Judaism that even sharing someone's good news is gossip - I've always said this about a marriage announcement. You don't know who was once in love with the soon to be bride or groom, or how much hurt just hearing that name can bring a scorned lover. If that sounds a little wild, think about how much hurt it is for a couple who cannot conceive to hear about all of the births and adoptions taking place in their high school class. It might be one thing to hear about each instance one at a time, but from one reporter, it can exacerbate the pain.

If this were to take place in a conversation, I would advise you to just walk away. But what about when it happens on your computer screen? I think its soo cute that at least 6 of my friends had children in the past month, but if I was trying to get pregnant, I might feel differently. Like when the term “facebook mommies” popped up in someone's status ... eep. But isn’t it great to have a social network you can simply ask a question of? “Need a new camera?

So, will I be walking away from facebook? Will you?


While I have no inclination to do that, how I handle FB has changed. I will share why and how in a post later this week. I must admit, I need a little time to reflect on the ways in which I may be guilty of inflicting emotional harm through the site... and consider what I could or should do differently, if anything at all. I don’t have a simple wrap up for this one. Just to mention that I was so focused on the topic of PRIDE because of the pride parade this past weekend. While I spent the day with my family celebrating my parents' anniversary and my dad's birthday, there is nothing like NYC – so I’ve included a picture from the subway later that day … and a request - please, opine away!