National revelation and national redemption

I realized something the other day. The Jewish view on the messianic age, heaven, the world to come, whatever you want to call it is based on national redemption. I was talking about this with some students recently. A big difference between Judaism and Christianity is the notion of heaven. For Christians, heaven exists. It's a place to which you have to gain admittance. But, it's an individual place. If a Christian has faith that Jesus died for his or her sins and acts upon that faith, he or she will have a place in heaven regardless of what is happening in the rest of the world.

But Jews are different. Our view of heaven is not that it is a place that exists but rather a place that we must create. It's what we pray for in the Aleinu. More importantly, we can't get there alone. Regardless of the life I lead as an individual, the reward of "heaven" or the perfect world only can happen if everyone gets there together. That's a really important difference.

Then it occurred to me that on the other end of the spectrum, revelation, the difference between individualism and nationalism also is what differentiates the Jews. Judaism is one of the only (perhaps the only) religion based on national revelation. God didn't appear to an individual. God revealed the overall plan to the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai.

I guess that's why we need a minyan to pray. It's why we hear the sound "nu" in so many of our prayers ("nu" is the possessive pronoun "our").

We got the vision as a people and we can only achieve it as a people. We are all connected. It doesn't matter how good we are as individuals. I can be a good person yet, that's not enough to create heaven. That really changes the stakes, doesn't it?

Why wasn't Moses allowed in to the promised land?

Poor Moses. After all he did. Forty years of putting up with the Israelites kvetching and of having to go, kipa in hand, before God to ask him to give them a break and what does he get in return? He doesn't get to go into the Promised Land. It's like at the end of Vacation when the Griswald's finally make it to Wally World after enduring nearly every travel nightmare imaginable and find it closed. Now, Moses is a clearly a more ethical and sophisticated character than Clark Griswald and seems to accept his fate (as opposed to Clark who buys a BB gun and abducts a security guard). But, what an odd ending to the Torah. After all, the Torah is all about the rules and responsibilities we have to repair the world, and yet the one guy who is the ultimate symbol of those very things doesn't get the prize. Seems like a tough way to market your program.

So, what's the story? I've heard different explanations as to why Moses does not get to go into the promised land. Here are the two that come up the most. First the old stand-by, "We are incapable of understanding everything that God does". While true, I always find this to be a cop out. It's the "Because I said so" of theology. The second one ties back to the book of Numbers. The Israelites are complaining (as usual) to Moses that they would have been better off in Egypt. They are unable to find water and believe that they and their animals will die of thirst. Moses and Aaron take this issue up with God, the rest is history:

8“You and your brother Aaron take the rod and assemble the community, and before their very eyes order the rock to yield its water. Thus you shall produce water for them from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their beasts.” 9Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He had commanded him. 10Moses and Aaron assembled the congregation in front of the rock; and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?” 11And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod. Out came copious water, and the community and their beasts drank. 12But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me enough to affirm My sanctity in the sight of the Israelite people, therefore you shall not lead this congregation into the land that I have given them." (Numbers 20:8-12)

Well, OK. I guess that is pretty black and white. If God tells you to speak to a rock, you probably should follow directions. Duh. But, c'mon, it's not like he built a golden calf or something. And, who wouldn't whack a rock after having to deal all those years with those snively little Israelites in the desert. Sheesh. Give the guy a break. On Yom Kipur God forgives us for all of the sins we've committed against him/her/it. So, why hold a grudge for smacking the rock?

Well, maybe there is something to that. I've also read that it wasn't actually hitting the rock that was the issue. The issue was that God didn't want the Israelites to confuse Moses as being their redeemer. By striking the rock, it would appear that Moses caused the water to come forth and thus was the one who produced it. Now, I can sort of buy this although I think it gives the Israelites much more credit than they deserve. If Moses spoke instead of hitting the rock, I still think they'd believe that he had something to do with it. But, the idea of Moses not being seen as the redeemer is an interesting idea.

Moses led them out of Egypt. If he took them into the promise land, he would be their redeemer. By stopping him short, it set up the possibility that it was something beyond Moses that was actually delivering them.

That could work. I've also heard that one of the reasons that no one knew of Moses burial place was that so it wouldn't become a shrine or a holy place. Moses served a purpose, albeit an important one. But he was the messenger and channel for the redeemer, he wasn't the redeemer. He was an important player, but he was one of many. He wasn't divine.

So, that's one thought.

But then again I've also read a lot of explanations of why the Israelites spend 40 years wandering the desert which might shed some light on this issue. Of course, the two most common are punch lines:

Moses was a typical man and wouldn't ask for directions

Moses dropped a quarter and couldn't find it

But, there are some others that have resonated with me. In particular, one writer (I think it was Joseph Tellushkin) points to the whininess of the Israelites. He argues that these people were born into slavery and while they could be removed from it physically, they couldn't be removed from it psychologically. That's why despite miracle after miracle they keep telling Moses that they would have been better off in Egypt. Therefore, the Israelites wandered for forty years so that the generation that would be entering Egypt would be a generation born into freedom.

That makes a certain amount of sense. It got me thinking that perhaps this "purging" of the slavery mindset was necessary for the Israelites to become a nation in their new land. Therefore, the last remnant and symbol of that slavery was Moses, the very person who helped deliver them from it. Perhaps it is that that simple.

Of course, it could just be that there are something things that God does that we can't understand like punishing people for hitting a rock.

Wha does it mean to say Kaddish for someone?

For as long as I can remember, I've always heard the experssion "say kaddish for ..." a person. I had always interpreted the "for" as meaning that the person was the recipient of the action. I thought of it in the same way as you would use "for" in the sentence, "Say a prayer for him".

However, it recently occurred to me that perhaps I've been misinterpreted the meaning of "for". The Kaddish is It's about God's greatness. It is a prayer FOR God. So what does it mean to say Kaddish "for" someone?

I think I finally figured it out (perhaps I'm the last one to do so). When I say Kaddish "for" someone I am saying it on their behalf. I am praising God for them since they no longer can. That makes more sense. It is part of the Mitzvah of keeping someone's name alive. By saying Kaddish for them, you are perpetuating their presence in the world. That's a powerful Jewish idea.

More importantly, taking on that practice will help me think of other ways to keep those people alive. It will remind me of what they stood for, what they cared about, and what they did. Maybe it will even drive me to continue repairing the world on their behalf.

Jewish Law in Business

I had a wonderful opportunity the other day to meet with Marty Levine, the General Director of the Chicago JCCs. Marty explained that the JCC is aggressively working to ensure that it runs it's business in line with Jewish values. A friend of mine asked what this meant. It got me thinking about some of the issues that a company must deal with if it were to be aligned with Jewish values. Here are a few that struck me:

1. If you receive an invoice with payment terms of NET 30, do you hold it for 27 days or pay it right away? ("in the same day thou shalt give him his hire" - Deuteronomy 24,15). Is "on time" within the terms provided or should we pay sooner? Is holding payment to maximize your cash on hand ok?

2. Is it ok to put off preventitive maintence on equipment? (When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you do not bring bloodguilt on your house if anyone should fall from it”-Deuteronomy 22:8)

3. Can you foreclose, reposses, or charge late fees to people who owe you money? (“When thou dost lend thy neighbour any manner of loan, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge.” - Deuteronomy 24:10, “Thou shalt surely restore to him the pledge when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his garment, and bless thee; and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.” – Deuteronomy 24:13)

4. How much free product or service should an orgnaization provide for the needy? ("When you have made an end of tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within your gates, and be filled.” - Deuteronomy 26:12)

5. How "green" should we be? (“When you besiege a city…you shall not destroy its (fruit) trees. You shall eat of them, do not cut them down; for man’s life depends on the trees of the field” - Deuteronomy 20:19), “When God created Adam, He led him around the Garden of Eden and said to him: ‘Behold my works! See how beautiful they are, how excellent! All that I have created, for your sake did I create it. See t it that you do not spoil and destroy my world; for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you’” -Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:13)

I'm interested in hearing about other business decisions that could be influenced by Jewish law.

The Torah: Is it the perennial winner of "Jewish Idol"

The Torah service has always intrigued me. It's a major highlight of a prayer service. It also has a very high concentration of rituals. What I find interesting is the way that we demonstrate our reverence to the Torah. Don't get me wrong, I believe that the Torah should be revered, but it seems that some of our rituals walk a fine line between reverence and respect and idolatry.

The Torah is dressed in garments befitting of a king or queen. We march it around in a grand processional where people kiss it. We rise in its presence and even have specific rituals to give it a proper "burial" when it no longer can serve its purpose.

Is this reverence to God's word or has the Torah become an idol? Does the average Joe (or Jacob) like me understand those nuances? Could a normal person explain how all of these rituals when done with a Torah are ok but when done with a statue of the Deity of the day becomes idolatry?

If our rituals do not constitute idolatry, what actions relative to the Torah would? Where do we draw the line? What wouldn't be ok?

Should rabbis perform interfaith marriages?

I was married by a judge. Although we were a Reform congregation, our rabbi wouldn't perform interfaith marriages. There were a few mercenary rabbis who would but my mother, in her wise ways said, "At this point, you're going to be married by a stranger, why do you care whether that stranger is a rabbi?" Here comes the judge!

It never sat well with me though. How could the rabbi say he welcomed us to the congregation yet he wouldn't marry us? Was it really just our dues money that he welcomed? (I really thought that!)

I don't think that anymore. I don't think that rabbis should perform interfaith marriages if they don't want to. If the two people haven't fully committed to being Jewish what's the point of having a rabbi? What is it symbolizing? What does it mean? Doesn't the rabbi just become a prop like flowers?

I'm all for interfaith marriage. Frankly, with all of the problems that people have with marriages, we should embrace any two people who love each other and want to make a commitment. But, I don't think that it is reasonable to expect to have a symbol of "Judaism" when you haven't made the commitment.

So, I think my rabbi did the right thing. He didn't want to be a prop, but he accepted us and our choices and welcomed us to the community. I don't think that I could really have asked for more.

To kneel or not to kneel that is the question

Today I am going to my niece's first communion. I've only been to a Catholic Church four or five times in my life. It always seems a bit strange although I'm sure no more so than a synagogue might feel for a non-Jew. Each time I've gone, I've had to confront a set of decisions - in which rituals do I participate and which ones should I pass on.

Some are easy. Certainly I wouldn't take communion and I'm pretty certain they wouldn't want me to. It would be like a non-Jew being called for an Aliyah. Some things are only appropriate for those within the faith. Also, I obviously won't cross myself.

But there are some that are a bit more grey, at least in my mind. In particular, should I kneel? My first reaction is, "No way, Jews don't kneel. Mordechai would roll over in his grave if I were to do such a thing." But, then I thought about it some more. In our congregation we certainly expect people to rise during the Barchu, the Amida, and the Aleinu. So why not kneel?

I don't view it as a religious issue. I don't think that non-Jews who rise during our prayers are doing so in a religious way. I think they are doing it to respect out traditions. So is kneeling the same. Certainly while I am kneeling I won't be praying to Jesus or asking for salvation. I'll probably just quietly contemplate my own thoughts or more likely will space out (which is probably what people at our congregation do during the Aleinu).

Some people argue that asking people to rise or encouraging them to wear a kipah (which is also something done at my congregation) is different because it's not religious its about respect. Maybe, but I doubt the person being asked knows that. Can we think of kneeling the same way or is there something more? How would you explain to a non-Jew that doing Jewish rituals are ok because they aren't religious but doing the rituals of their faith are not ok because they are?

I probably won't decide until the first opportunity comes up. I'll keep you posted.