The Ideas Keep Coming

The ideas keep coming at a furious pace, even as my brain gets more jet-lagged (the third and fourth days are always the toughest -- I hope my sleep cycle will normalize by Shabbat).

Last night's session was titled "The Challenges of Israel."  Donniel Hartman spoke first, about his take on the current political domestic situation.  His provacative thesis was that in Israeli politics they are always looking for "the other within" as a distraction from other "real" problems like the budget deficit (which was solved with 4 billion shekels/1 billion dollars in cuts, against promises that Tommy Lapid had made in his campaign).  He sees anger and policies directed at groups such as the National Religious (including settlers), Haredim (the ultra-religious), and Israeli citizen Arabs, each have been labelled a "threat" to Israel.  In particular, he talked about the recent efforts to draft Haredi youth into the Army, and asked why all of a sudden such coercive policies could be enacted, rather than a process of dialogue.  He noted that, should the rabbis not be on board, Haredi youth will certainly be willing to go to jail rather than serve -- and where will that get us?  He sees it as a distraction, and an easy way out, instead of the slow but real changes already taking place in that community through patient cultivation and dialogue, in which thousands are now enlisting in the Army and in vocational programs.

Tal Becker's provacative these about the international arena is that Israel can't "acknowledge its victory" with the Palestinians, and then consolidate that victory by also allowing a space for Palestinians to also feel "victorious" through an appropriate settlement.  Instead, Israelis have taken on a sense of "inevitability" -- a passive sense that "there is no partner for peace" and that over 70% of Israelis would want a settlement, even a painful one, but "it doesn't matter because it will never happen."  He sees this passivity as ironic givent that Zionism was built on a sense of activism and affirmative effort to control Jewish destiny.  He sees it as a betrayal to both Judaism and Zionism's optimistic spirit.  What he did not offer was a specific set of actions or principals with which to move forward, despite the fact that he serves as an important advisor in the Foreign Ministry.  But it is certainly an interesting perspective, and a reminder that a decision to do nothing in this arena is still a decision.

This morning's session with Moshe Halbertal centered around the idea of what Judaism believes about "sacrifice" and "self sacrifice."  We focused first on readings from Yishayahu Liebowitz, who felt that this was the essense of mitzvah -- that Judaism is, essentially, halakhah -- what we do -- and that halakhah is simply the way we act on our relationship with God.  There is no "utilitarian" aspect to it -- it doesn't lead to "knowledge" of God, nor to any type of reward.  The essence of being human and Jewish is to do mitzvot, and doing mitzvot leads to doing more mitzvot.  The extreme example of this was Abraham and the Akedah, in which Abraham was even called on to give up his "moral sensibility" for the sake of acting on God's command.

Liebowitz also makes an interesting twist, in saying that in this way, Judaism and Christianity are polar opposites.  He sees the Akedah as the Jewish "foundation story," in which Abraham is willing to sacrifice his son for God -- it is man doing for God.  But he sees in the crucifixion a "utilitarian" myth, in which God sacrifices for man -- a human centered, pagan understanding.

David Hartman, on the other hand, rejects the Akedah story as the foundation myth of Judaism, and instead favors Abraham's behavior before the destruction of Sodom and Gemorrah -- an embrace of Abraham's moral sensibility, and his willingness as God's partner to challenge God.

Finally, later today we had our second and final meeting with Ed Feinstein, who challenged us to think more deeply about our rabbinates.  In particular, he challenged us to see if we can articulate, over the next 3 weeks, "the message of our rabbinate."  This is something I take seriously, because I've felt over the past several months that that message is in some state of change and flux, as my congregation moves into its next stages -- I think of both the congregation and my rabbinate as being in a stage of "adolescence" -- a stage of searching, uncertainty, and desire for identy, purpose, and meaning.

Meanwhile, the weather is perfect, and I've taken to early morning walks since I've been waking up at 5 AM everyday.  I'm sure there will be more to write tomorrow!