Sh'lach Lecha: Does the Trademark Really Matter?

Why is it so utterly impossible to learn from history? The more you understand about phenomena that have come before, the more you see them repeated - why?

Well, I think I can offer ONE reason at least, even though I'm sure there are many, many factors that keep us on this infinity-loop-of-a-merry-go-round for all eternity. You see, even when we imagine we are perfectly willing to learn from historical precedent, to observe others' mistakes and thereby sidestep them, we quickly become absolute literalists! The scarier the fate we are trying to avoid, the more we INSIST that if every factor doesn't line up perfectly, this isn't a good example of history repeating. And the worst example of this, which occurs all the time, and is indeed happening right now, is of course, the Holocaust.

We are petrified of making any modern comparisons. Or, at the other extreme end of the spectrum, we call everything "Nazi-this" and "Nazi-that" - whether related to fashion, pop culture, soup, or anything else - and dilute its meaning altogether.

Neither extreme is acceptable! Some experiences and emotions DEMAND that we remember what befell us in previous generations. We constantly remind each other (and the world) about the Holocaust and Nazi oppression, because we cannot allow atrocious and abhorrent behavior - or government policy - to happen in front of our faces. Yet instead, too often individuals and institutions jump down the throats of anyone who dares invoke the Holocaust, because the details aren't identical enough. When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez referred to the detention centers on the border with Mexico as "concentration camps," she was widely denounced, even by the US Holocaust Museum and Yad Vashem. While I understand the visceral reaction of outrage to hear these terms invoked, I beg us all not to lash out too quickly. We may disagree about using these specific terms, but how are we learning from history if we don't know how to look for warning signs? Isn't the memory of genocide and terror supposed to make us vigilant? If we become such historical literalists, what exactly do we mean by "Never again"????

I was surprised to read: "The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum unequivocally rejects efforts to create analogies between the Holocaust and other events, whether historical or contemporary." On the one hand, I understand. When

too many things are compared to the Shoah, the message is lost. But on the other hand, how are we supposed to learn from the Holocaust if we reject ALL analogies??? And Yad Vashem added, "Concentration camps assured a slave labor supply to help in the Nazi war effort, even as the brutality of life inside the camps helped assure the ultimate goal of extermination through labor." Again, I know where they are coming from, and I would like to think I know Holocaust history. But why do these museums exist, and why are we learning about these atrocities, if not to keep ourselves vigilant against this kind of hatred, xenophobia, and oppression in our day and into the future?!?! We say it is to never forget... but the precise REASON not to forget is because of how the vitriol slowly grew and grew and grew, turning seemingly civilized individuals into monsters. It was condoned and ignored by good people for so long that eventually, yes, it looked as Yad Vashem described it. But how did it begin?

This week, the Torah puts us at an ominous crossroads. Even though we're in the fourth book of the Torah, the Israelites are still in Year One of the Exodus, but it is precisely in this parashah that they demonstrate utter lack of faith in God, and are

doomed to 40 years of wandering. For the umpteenth time, they groan about conditions in the desert and demand to return to Egypt. When God finally issues the decree to remain in the wilderness until the entire generation has died out, the people all of a sudden regret their disobedience and decide to march to the border. Moses is dumbfounded: "Why do you transgress Adonai's command? This will not succeed." (Nu. 14:41) No one wants to learn from history, especially when the lesson being taught is unpleasant or critical. But our response cannot be digging our heads in the sand, or insisting on perfect analogies or NO equivalency! We may wait too long, and doom ourselves to endless wilderness and chaos. This is a crossroads for us as well. If someone uses Holocaust imagery here, it isn't to cheapen the meaning of the Shoah. It is to cry out to us all: "WAKE UP!!" We have to stop groaning and grumbling. If our mission was ever truly "Never Again," we are woefully failing our ancestors.


CC images in this blog post, courtesy of:
1. Russ Seidel on Flickr
2. edwin.11 on Flickr
3. VIRIN on Ramstein Air Base
4. Sander van der Wel on Flickr

B'Ha'alotecha: Filling the Pages of a Book About Prayer (repost)

Dear all,

You may have noticed that I didn't write a blog post last week. Sorry about that, and sorry for not letting you know ahead of time. I am again not writing a post for this week, but it's really more about taking a brief summer hiatus than anything else. I hope you don't mind the little break. My plan is to write again for next week... but we'll see how it goes. In the meantime, here is a post I wrote for this week's Torah portion, but in 2013:

 

http://takeontorah.blogspot.com/2013/05/filling-pages-of-book-about-prayer.html

Other than the dated reference to a particular town affected by a tornado, the rest will hopefully seem timely and pertinent. Thanks so much. 

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Gerber

B'Midbar (and Erev Shavuot): Why Do You Wanna KNOW??

What REALLY happened? That is the eternal question, right? If you didn't witness it with your own eyes - whatever IT is; an exciting moment, a terrifying accident, a hilarious blunder, an unbelievable coincidence - it's impossible to know what

ACTUALLY took place. Usually, multiple versions emerge, narratives shift, grow, evolve, devolve, and we drift further and further away from ever being able to fully answer this pressing question. As we begin the Fourth Book of the Torah, and immerse ourselves in the wilderness of the Exodus, and as we also recount the story of God speaking to Israel on Mount Sinai in conjunction with the Festival of Shavuot, it's tempting to want to ponder this question. Are these stories "true"? Were these people "real"? Did God, who may or may not exist, really participate in these stories in as tangible and physical a way as the text suggests? If you don't know this about me by now, you probably should; I like to answer questions... with more questions.

What is underlying our curiosity? Why do we so desperately want answers? Especially when, ultimately, we know that much of what we're yearning for is unknowable. How could we go back and VERIFY the moment-by-moment

accounts in either the desert travels described in the Book of Numbers, or Revelation at Mount Sinai in the Book of Exodus?? You weren't there, and neither was I, so I maintain my first point above; you can't KNOW something with certainty if you weren't an eye-witness. And even if you WERE, memories get murky, porous, and elastic. So, for me, we are actually asking the WRONG questions. The Torah *never* purports to give facts, to lay out chronology, or to try and offer scientific data and corroborating evidence. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel asserted: The Torah is a moral, not a chronological, text. The Torah is addressing questions like, "Why are we here on earth?", "What are our obligations to ourselves, our fellow organisms, and to our planet?", "What does it mean to be 'good' or 'bad'?", and "What's the deal with this God-character???"

Do you see what a shift that is? How inadequate our fact-based questions become?? This Saturday morning, we are celebrating Shabbat Shevatim, "The Shabbat of the Tribes," where we honor and explore the massive art project we installed in our Main Sanctuary in 2016, The Children of Israel Mosaics.

And again, the questions we might ask revolve around how this was meaning-making for us, and looking back at the Torah, we might wonder how tribal affiliations and desert wanderings solidified their sense of community and togetherness. It may be LESS relevant to ask, "Were these images REALLY on the flags of each tribe in the desert?" Then, on Saturday evening, we will celebrate Shavuot and discuss the approaches of different religious faiths to The Theology of Resilience. What texts/traditions/rituals/customs do we turn to when we are struggling or in crisis? Does the story of Revelation at Sinai perhaps inform this question, and help us lean on our ancestors to grapple with difficult and chaotic times in 2019? And again, a less relevant concern might be, "Did God ACTUALLY carve each letter of the Ten Commandments into the stone tablets?" Do you see where I'm going with this??

I know these questions don't just go away. We want to know!! And I like discussing the historical origins of our traditions too, and I also enjoy challenging the accepted
explanations that don't pass muster. But sometimes we feel that society is *forcing* us to choose - you either have blind, obedient faith, or you're a skeptical, jaded heretic. I reject that dichotomy! It doesn't have to be one extreme or the other. We can maintain our curiosity about the lives and details of our ancestors, and muse about the origins of our texts and our traditions... while also recognizing the underlying - and often eternal - values and beliefs that permeate our history. So again, what REALLY happened??? I honestly don't know. But I DO know what is happening today - in my own life and in the world - and I know that the Torah helps me make sense of it all. Wherever this Torah ACTUALLY came from... I sure am glad we've still got it with us today.


CC images in this blog post courtesy of:
1. Pixabay
2. Adafruit Industries on Flickr
3. Right side of Sanctuary, seven mosaic panels; image courtesy of Rabbi Gerber
4. dollen on Flickr