Random Musing Before Shabbat - Bekhukotai 5768 - Idle Idols Idyllic

In the Haftarah for parashat Bekhukotai, the prophet Jeremiah uses these well-known words:

"Can a man make gods for himself? No-gods are they!"

You would think, after all our history and experience, we would have given up on idols, idol worship, on the idea that human beings can make gods.

But, noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.  We still don't get it! we keep trying, and succeeding, in making our idols, and elevating them to high status (sometimes, even Divine status.)

What's been in the news these last few days? That is, besides the aftermath of the Myanmar/Burma cyclone, the earthquake in China, or the endless "when will Hilary finally call it quits" and "Obama's Communist ties exposed" ?

The winner of this year's "American Idol."  Imagine what's in store for him. He has already been shaped into an "idol" so turning him into god won't be far behind.  97 million votes were cast for the finale of this year's "Idol." That's more than the number of people who voted in some of the presidential years in the 1990s. (In 2004, only 122 million voted.) Even if you allow for the duplicate votes that get cast for "American Idol" that's still a pretty significant number of people who are buying into this whole idea.

Last summer, at the CAJE Conference, the organizers planned a "CAJE Idol" which, after enough objections, got sort of changed to "CAJE Rising Star" or something of that ilk. Now, I was asked to be one of the accompanists for this spectacle, which I did agree to do, and did. The selected judges, thank G"d, understood the program as more of a fun parody of the real thing, and went over the top in their impersonations of the "American Idol" judges whose personalities are continually foisted upon us. And, while the whole thing was all in fun, the whole process was frighteningly similar to the real thing, with coteries and cliques of sign-toting fans. And the attendees had the final word, getting to vote for and select the winner, their "CAJE Idol."

You could say that this was an anomaly, a liberal Jewish fete as a logical consequence of patrilineal descent, intermarriage, etc. No "real" Jew would ever engage in such tomfoolery.  However, considering the rather diverse nature of those who attend CAJE (and even those who attended each night of the "CAJE Idol" program, including the judges) I would not be so quick to attribute this failure to "get it" about idols to just the liberal streams of Judaism. (Do I need to say more than Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson z"l to make my point? Does the name "Shabbetai Tzvi" ring a bell?)
We are going to continue to suffer the indignities and horrors clearly spelled out for us in parashat Bekhukotai, and reiterated by Jeremiah in our Haftarah so long as we persist in our stubborn refusal to give up making idols.

The earth itself, is becoming one of our idols. We have worked to reshape her, refine her, tame her, until we have molded her into the image we want. This despite the constant warnings we get - hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and more - that we aren't yet in as much control as we would like to be. I'm a great fan of science fiction, and space opera, yet I am beginning to dread the prospect of our species branching out and bringing its disturbed ethics, morals, and values into the broader universe.

We are surrounded by our idols. How many of us have big, flat screen televisions? (Guilty, as charged, though only a 37 incher) We worship at the altar of petrochemicals, even as we face the prospect of a finite resource, and ridiculously high prices. We make idols of actors, sports players, singers, pundits. Some of us make idols of our countries or their flags. We made these things idols. We "voted" for them.
When will we stop? Are we so afraid that those who say "G"d is dead" are right, and that therefore no consequences await our continued idolatry? Do we simply accept that any potential Messianic Age is decades, centuries, or millennia away, so we just shrug our shoulders and say "what the heck, lets get while the getting is good"?

The first step in removing idolatry from our midst is to withhold our votes for those things we have idolized or seek to idolize. Be entertained by "American Idol" if you must, but don't buy into the premise, and don't vote. Don't participate in cults of personality. Make choices based on values, ethics, and the facts at hand. You don't need a McMansion, or a Beamer. Our cities don't need new ballparks and stadiums - they need to care for the hungry and the needy and for all their citizens.

Let's strive for an idyllic society by allowing all our idols to become idle. They won't be so idolized then. Let's stop trying to make gods. One is enough.

As the wise rabbis who assembled the siddur did, let us take the closing words of this Haftarah and change them from the singular to the plural communal form, to make our prayer:

"Heal us, O lord, and let us be* healed;
Save us, and let us be* saved;
For You are our glory."

* that's the JPS Committee's choice of translation. I find myself preferring the more traditional "and we shall be"

Shabbat Shalom,
Adrian

©2008 by Adrian A. Durlester

Random Musing Before Shabbat - Behar 5768 - Too Difficult?

I am about to commit a sacrilege. I am about to engage in an enormous act of hubris. Of course, I've always been a gadfly, so why stop now. Might as well go out even further on a limb.
Just before our haftarah for parashat Behar begins, we find Jerusalem under siege by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The prophet Jeremiah, having counseled King Zedekiah to surrender to the overwhelming forces that were laying siege to Jerusalem, has been thrown in the palace prison for his views. It's a bit of a minimum-security, white-collar situation, for Jeremiah is free to have visitors, engage in transactions, and has his trust scribe Baruch with him.

Linking with the parasha, which teaches of the sabbatical, the jubilee, and the rules of land ownership and redemption, Jeremiah hears G"d's word, telling him that his cousin will come to him, asking him to buy his land in Ananot. (In parashat Behar we are told that when our relatives are having financial difficulties, a close relative has the obligation to acquire the land and help his relative out, knowing that the land will revert to the original owner in the next jubilee year. The relative is obligated to try and purchase back his holdings, but, if he cannot, the land will return to his family at the time of the next jubilee year.)

As G"d had spoken to Jeremiah, his cousin does come to see him and asks him to buy his land, and Jeremiah fulfilled his obligation. Now, what's odd about this, is that Jeremiah took a great risk. The Babylonians would likely conquer the Israelites, and the land in Ananot would be lost to him. Yet Jeremiah instructed his scribe Baruch to seal the contract and deed in a clay jar, so they would be safe for a very long time. Now that's faith! Jeremiah was certain that Jerusalem would fall to the Babylonians, yet he was also certain that a time would come when the Israelites would again occupy the land and be able to buy and sell it as needed.

Jeremiah then prays to G"d. First, he butters G"d up quite a bit. Then he praises G"d for all the wonders and miracles G"d has done for the people, and for bringing them to and giving them this land. Jeremiah then says that the people blew it, failing to heed G"d's laws and commandments, and so G"d has brought this imminent defeat at the hands of the Babylonians-just a G"d foretold to Jeremiah. Now G"d has told Jeremiah to redeem his cousin's land-just when the city is about to fall.

And G"d answers Jeremiah:
"Here am I, Ad"nai, G"d of all flesh - is anything too difficult for Me?"

That's one omnipotent G"d. With a bit of hubris.

Yet there is so much in this world that needs fixing. If nothing is too difficult for G"d, then why are they not fixed? Of course, we have all sorts of apologetic answers. We can't understand G"d fully. G"d's time scale may be different. We can't fathom G"d's plan.

Yet I do not believe apologetics are the answer. We've known the answer, had the power all along. Just like the ruby slippers. G"d may just be waiting to see if we can do it ourselves. And end to war. And end to hatred. An end to poverty and hunger. A world of peace and harmony. Sounds impossible, maybe even for G"d?

And here is my sacrilege. We are, after all, b'tzelem El"him, in the image of G"d, a reflection of G"d. Might we not say:

"Here am I, a human being, created by G"d in G"d's image. Is anything too difficult for me."

And it works even better if we become a community. For perhaps each of us only reflects some piece of G"d. Working together, might we not reflect all the power that is G"d? (If we take the story of the tower of Bavel, then it is theoretically possible, since G"d appeared to fear it happening, and confounded our speech.) So let us all say:

"Here we are, human beings, created in G"d's image. Is anything to difficult for us?"

Shabbat Shalom,

Adrian
©2008 by Adrian A. Durlester
--
Adrian A. Durlester
Director of Education & Congregational Life, Bethesda Jewish Congregation
301-469-8636
personal: adrian@durlester.com
work: director@bethesdajewish.com
www.durlester.com
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Why Do Cars Have Blind Spots?

Just a random thought that popped into my head while driving today. Why is it that cars still have blind spots?

Surely, with all our engineering and technology expertise, we can figure out a way to overcome this simple design flaw. I know there have been some attempts at using sensors to detect other vehicles in blind spots,  but nothing much seems to have come from that.

On the Car Talk web site, Tom and Ray suggest that one can actually line up rear view and side mirrors to have minimal overlap. I tried it, but it still doesn't completely eliminate the blind spot.

Years ago, I remember having spherical add-on mirrors on my pickup truck side mirrors, but they weren't that useful.

Surely, some kind of simple proximity sensor could be designed that would alert us to the presence of vehicles in our blind spots? Or car and mirror design could be re-engineered to eliminate blind spots altogether.

Too expensive? People won't pay the additional cost? Does it really have to be expensive?  I think not.

Pulitzer-Caliber Reporting from NPR All Things Considered Melissa Block

As I wrote to NPR: "Melissa Block's heartfelt story following Wang Wei and Fu Guanyu as they tried to find their missing child and Wang's parents amidst the rubble was journalism at its absolute finest. This piece deserves a Pulitzer. I was completely reduced to tears, and marvel at how Melissa managed to relate the story without completely dissolving into tears herself. She is to be heartily congratulated."

Families Frantic to Find Loved Ones in Rubble : NPR

http://www.npr.org/templates/s...

Rescuers worked frantically throughout southwestern China on Wednesday to reach the thousands of people still trapped in the rubble after Monday's devastating earthquake. But, as the day faded, so did the hope that many of the missing would be found alive.

Random Musing Before Shabbat - Emor 5768 Appointments With G"d

On the wall in my office, I have posted a laminated clipping from a Dilbert Cartoon. In it, Pointy-Haired Boss is speaking to Catbert, the devilsh Human Resources person.

PHB: "My open door policy is ruining my business.
PHB: "People stop by all day long and complain. How can I maintain the morale inspiring illusion of an open door policy without actually having one?
Catbert: "Use your body language to create a protective bubble of unwelcomeness."
Catbert: "Try this stressed out scowl."

In the next frame Dilbert asks PHB's secretary "Can I poke my head in?"
She responds: "Sure. He has an open door policy.

In the next frame, PHB and Catbert have stressed out scowls on their face.
PHB: It's a pleasure to see you."
Catbert: "We value your input."

In the last frame, Dilbert is shown running away from PHB's office saying "Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi" while PHB is peeking around the door saying "Stop by any time."
What has any of this to do with parashat Emor?

After the priestly stuff in chapters 21 and 22, in chapter 23 we receive what can best be described as "G"d's schedule of appointments with the Israelites." All the observances are outlined, beginning with Shabbat, and including Passover, Shavuot, the 7th month events which later became Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.

These are the "appointed times of G"d," the "moadei Ad"nai." Ore, as the JPS committee put it "These are My fixed times, the fixed times of the L"rd, which you shall proclaim as sacred occasions."
The word "moadei" is built upon a root that is quite interesting. At it's base is the root ayin-dalet (and sometimes hey.) Variations upon this root have a wealth of somewhat related meanings. At its base, we have ayin-dalet, ad, indicating the advance of time and often perpetuity (as in "va'ed".) "Ad" when used poetically often means "up to or until." Point (vowelize) ayin-dalet yet another way and you get "eid", the word "witness, testimony, evidence." There is a verbal root, ayin-dalet-hey, meaning "to pass on, to advance." (An interesting side note - properly pointed, ayin-dalet-hay give us the noun "menstruation." Another cyclical, time-related thing.) Stick a vav between the ayin and dalet, and you get ayin-vav-dalet, the verb root that means "to return, repeat, do again." From this we then derive "mo-eid", and the possessive plural form "moadei."

Witnessing, testifying, repeating, returning, doing again, until, forever, continually. All related. when we have our "appointments" with G"d, I suspect that we are expected to engage in all of these things, and do them repeatedly and forever.

Yet, why is it that we have only these "fixed times" for our appointments with G"d? Where is G"d's "open door" policy? Isn't every day a day to celebrate G"d's creation, to worship G"d, to have an appointment with G"d?

One way of understanding this is the old Jewish fall-back position of "individual versus communal." G"d is always accessible to us individually, but G"d has given us fixed times to interact with G"d in community - Shabbat and the khagim, the festivals. It's a valid understanding. Yet I still wonder if individual vs. communal is the whole explanation.

Had G"d, like the PHB, come to realize that having a totally open door policy can be counter-productive? Is G"ds zapping of Nadav and Avihu, who did more than they were supposed to, and at a time they were not asked to do it, a clue here? Was that zapping sort of like the "stressed out scowl" of PHB and Catbert?

If G"d is truly limitless, then should it matter how often and how many of G"d's creations are communicating with G"d? G"d can handle it all. Or maybe not. Then, we have the difficulty of coming to terms with a limited or self-limited deity. An idea not without merits, and with plenty of adherents. Even the kabbalists had this sort of concept with "tzimtzum," G"d's self-contracting of G"d'self to make space for creation.

Or perhaps this is also a practical understanding - if there are too many "fixed appointments" then the people will never get anything else done. There is such a thing as "too much fun," as "too many festivals."

It's all so confusing, I think I need to go make an appointment with G"d to try and sort it all out. Think G"d's door will be open? Will I be greeted with true welcome, or insincere platitudes? If I manage to get an appointment in which G"d actually talks to me, I'll let you know...

Shabbat Shalom,

 

Adrian

©2008 by Adrian A. Durlester

Random Musing Before Shabbat-Kedoshim 5768 - Unfamiliar Spirits

A number of times in the Torah, and in this week's parasha also more than once, we are reminded not to interact with or trust in ghosts or familiar spirits. As we know, when something appears multiple times in the Torah, we can assume attention is being called to it (like not boiling a kids in its mother's milk.)
It's sort of funny and ironic that, over the thousands of years that have passed since these injunctions were first recorded, Jewish culture has, like many others, become infected with all sorts of superstitions, use of amulets, golems, dybbuks, and more.

When we look at the Hebrew words, we discover some interesting things. The term most often used for ghosts looks suspiciously like it was derived from the root for father/ancestor.

Yet, if our ancestors could truly offer us advice and information, why would we not want it? Or is Torah warning us that such knowledge may appear to be genuine, but that, in this Universe of G"d's creation, it is not?
The word for spirits is clearly derivative of the verb root meaning "to know"  and could perhaps mean "those who know things." Of course, the question is "do they know things they shouldn't know" ?

In point of fact, one might even question the very existence of Jewish metaphysics (in the form of Kabbalah) as being somewhat inconsistent as well. (The Kabbalists do dance great big circles and take great pains to avoid the trappings that might give the impression of being related to ghosts and spirits. Such beliefs are not what Kabbalah is all about. Nevertheless, are these thiongs that we are not meant to know or understand. Are we looking where we shouldn't be looking? Seeking to know what we shouldn't know?

What knowledge is truly esoteric? Is the knowledge of good and evil, that Adam and Chava acquired after eating from the fruit, really knowledge we weren't supposed to know? It seems likely. Now that we know it, it is surely no longer esoteric. Yet there was that other tree in the garden, the tree of life. Of that tree, Adam and Chava did not eat. Is that knowledge now the esoteric knowledge we aren't supposed to know?

We are a curious species. We want to know. We want to understand. When we can't understand, we often turn to religious or metaphysical explanations. Now a whole industry has grown up around trying to  blend pure scientific knowledge with esoteric religious knowledge.

We also study history, attempting to gain knowledge from our ancestors. Even here, there is a struggle between empirically clear knowledge of history, and esoteric knowledge. (Think "intelligent design.") Is that consorting with familiar spirits?

If nothing else, the Torah is cautioning us to be suspicious of the information gained from ghosts, through divination, and consorting with familiar spirits. Yet in the Torah we read of the urim and thummim. They were surely oracular devices.

It's all so confusing, I just don't know what to make of it all. Oy. So this musing has no conclusion, no great insight. I am going to have to spend Shabbat struggling to understand what these prohibitions regarding ghosts and familiar spirits are all about. I hope I can get rid of enough of my own ghosts to do so successfully.

Shabbat Shalom,

-Adrian
©2008 by Adrian A. Durlester