Stumbling Block

We started this week by observing Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day.  As I pointed out at our community service on Sunday, the word “genocide” has been in the news quite a bit recently.  Now, it’s never a good thing when genocide is in the news, but it’s particularly bad when it’s misused.

In a modern version of the blood libel, Israel has been falsely accused of genocide over and over again – most recently on college campuses across this country.  Not only does this contribute to Israel being treated like a pariah country, it also diminishes the memory of a real genocide perpetrated against the Jews – the Holocaust.

It is a double dose of antisemitism.

While we Jews do not have a monopoly on the term “genocide,” I think it’s fair to say that, sadly, we have some experience and expertise when it comes to genocide.  We know a genocide when we see one.  The world Jewish population is smaller today than it was in 1939.  We still have not recovered our numbers from the horrific losses of the Holocaust.  That is the impact of genocide.

So, it is particularly disheartening to hear students and faculty members from prestigious universities accuse Israel of perpetrating a genocide when the facts simply do not support such an accusation. Quite the opposite, one of our country’s foremost experts in urban warfare, Maj. (ret.) John Spencer – who teaches urban warfare at West Point – has made it clear over and over that Israel has done more to protect the civilians of Gaza than any other army in the history of urban warfare (click here).  Even if we accept Hamas’ casualty numbers – and there are many reasons NOT to believe them – the numbers simply do not add up to genocide.  It is a horrible war and every civilian death is one too many, but that does not make it a genocide.

And yet, some of our best and brightest students across the nation seem to be willing to accept the accusation of an Israeli genocide as fact.  

There are no tent encampments for the non-Arabs who are being ethnically cleansed by the Arab-led RSF in Darfur.  There are no building takeovers for the hundreds of thousands of deaths at the hands of Bashar al-Assad in Syria – including many Palestinian refugees.  Only Israel’s defensive war elicits such a response.  The double standard is tiresome.

Supporters of Hamas have been extremely effective in putting pro-Hamas faculty members and student activists in place on campuses across the country.  Using language that appeals to the most liberal minded of college students – while omitting all references to Hamas’ murder, rape, kidnapping and terrorism – these pro-Hamas organizations have recruited an enthusiastic band of supporters willing to chant their antisemitic chants day after day.

Sadly, lovers and supporters of Israel have not been nearly as effective at making our arguments on campuses. We always thought that being right would be enough.  After all, why shouldn’t the Jewish people have a state like every other people?  We underestimated the forces arrayed against Israel.

This week’s Torah portion has the famous biblical precept, “do not place a stumbling block before the blind (Lev. 19:14).”  The rabbis always understood this broadly. We should not purposely do something that would cause another person to fail.  

That’s exactly what the pro-Hamas organizations have done.  They caused college students – even some Jewish ones – to stumble into supporting a terrorist regime.  They made it look easy by overlooking Hamas’ evil acts and making false accusations against Israel.  It will be much, much harder for us to remove the stumbling block.  Yet, that is exactly what we must do.  We have to tell the story of a real genocide in order to show the inaccuracy of the accusation against Israel.   And we have to tell the story of Israel showing more concern for Palestinian civilians than the Hamas terrorists who use them as human shield.  And then maybe some of those students will be able to walk over to the other side without stumbling.

Shalom, RAF.

Safe on Campus?

When I arrived on the campus of the University of Michigan in the Fall of 1987, there was already an anti-apartheid shanty on the Diag (the central pedestrian walkway and hangout space of the campus pictured below).  It eventually came down when the university agreed to divest from South Africa.  

Within a few months of my arrival, the first Intifada started in Israel.  Shortly thereafter, an anti-Israel shanty appeared on the Diag.  It was clearly an attempt to emulate the success of the anti-apartheid movement and force the university to divest from Israel.  That effort was unsuccessful.  However, one could argue that Palestinian activism on college campuses was born in Ann Arbor in the late 1980’s.  

Unfortunately, that pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel activism has morphed into a completely different experience.  I never felt unsafe on campus due to the protests of the Muslim Student Association or other groups.  I never felt like there were parts of campus that I could not go because I was Jewish.  Protesters never hid their faces in order to scream antisemitic slogans anonymously.  The encampments that have been created on college campuses across the country this past week have taken things to a new level.  Pro-Palestinian activism is one thing.  Pro-terrorist antisemitism is quite another.

Although I’ve already sent three kids off to college, I feel like things are completely different as we prepare to go through the process a fourth time.  As a community, we must work together to make sure that Jewish students are ready to be Jews on a college campus.

First of all, it’s more important than ever that we “arm” our students with knowledge.  I don’t expect any of our kids to get into a full-throated debate with a protester on campus.  However, I want our students to know enough that they well be able to resist and reject the misinformation that they are likely to hear on campus. Earlier this year, I gave a presentation to our Anafim teen students, and I will continue to talk to them about what’s going on Israel.  We all need to have our facts straight.

Secondly, parents need to know what’s happening on the campuses that their kids are considering. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends can help as well!  There are two excellent resources available to help in assessing the situation on college campuses.  First, Hillel puts out an annual College Guide which tells how many Jewish students there are on campus, whether there is a Jewish studies department and what kind of programming Hillel provides.  In addition, this year for the first time, the ADL has put out a Report Card for colleges on how they are handling antisemitism this year.  If a campus is not handling the situation well, then we should not entrust our children to them.  There are plenty of good options out there.

Thirdly, those of us who have college degrees have to reach out to our alma maters and ask what they are doing to keep Jewish students safe.  When they ask us for contributions, we have to ask what they are doing to combat antisemitism.  If we are not happy with their answers, then we should direct our funds to the on-campus organizations that are actually supporting Jewish students and keeping them safe.  If they are doing things the right way, then we should reward them with our donations.

Picking a college was hard enough before all of this started.  Our kids certainly did not need any more stress.  However, if we all work together to support them and put pressure on colleges to do better, we can make sure that all of our kids can have a great college experience on a safe campus.

Shalom, RAF.

We Remember

Here we are on the 3^rd day of Passover.  Spring is here.  We are looking forward to the Festival of Shavuot which celebrates the giving of the Torah and the summer harvest.  It is only seven weeks away. This ought to be a happy time on the Jewish calendar.

The seven weeks between the 2^nd day of Passover and the Festival of Shavuot are called the Omer (sheaf) because our ancestors brought a sheaf of barley each day as they counted down from Passover to Shavuot.  It was a celebratory time of year in the agricultural cycle.  At some point, though, this joyous countdown became a period of mourning.  There are a number of theories as to why.  Here are two: 

According to an obscure passage in the Talmud (BT Yevamot 62b), some 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva’s disciples were killed by a plague during this time period.  Some scholars have suggested that it was not, in fact, a plague which was responsible for these deaths.  Rather, these disciples died in the Bar Kochba revolt which took place in the year 135CE – the Jews’ last attempt to evict the Roman Empire from the Land of Israel.  Regardless of the actual cause of these deaths, this huge loss caused the entire Jewish people to plunge into a period of mourning.  The customs of mourning – no shaving, no haircuts, no weddings or other celebrations – have persisted until today.  The one exception is the 33rd day of the Omer, or Lag Ba’Omer – the one day out of 49 upon which Rabbi Akiva’s army seemed to have some success.  The Talmud itself, though, never legislates a period of mourning for these fallen men.  It’s just something that people did out of a profound sense of loss.

In addition to the loss of Rabbi Akiva’s students, some later sages suggested that the mourning was the result of the massacres of Ukrainian Jews in 1648.  Bohdan Chmielnicki the leader of the Cossacks, wanted to free the Ukraine from Poland’s control.  He and his followers used a violent uprising to make their case.  The main targets of their violence were Jews.  Perhaps as many as 100,000 Jewish people were killed, and nearly 300 Jewish communities were destroyed.  Ultimately, Ukraine was annexed by Russia, and the anti-Semitism in Ukraine grew even worse.  It was the worst violence against Eastern European Jewry until the 20th Century. The name “Cossack” became synonymous with “Antisemite.”

It’s been nearly 1,900 years since Bar Kochba and Rabbi Akiva, but we still remember.  It’s been over 350 years since the Chmielnicki massacres, but we still remember.  Through the customs of the Omer, we still mourn.

It’s been 202 days since October 7^th.  There are still 133 hostages.  There are still rockets flying into Israel.  There are still dead bodies that haven’t been recovered.  While the rest of the world may be ready to forget and to move on, that’s not the way we are wired.  We remember.

Shalom, RAF.

Let My People Go

I remember very clearly adding a reading called “The Matzah of Hope” to our Passover Seders when I was growing up.  It spoke of the 3 million Soviet Jews who could not celebrate Passover.  It gave special significance to the words “Let my people go,” in the Seder liturgy.  We have always understood that the lessons of Passover are not just history.  They must be applied to the contemporary context.

Well, we know that the Soviet Union ultimately fell and many of those Jews who wished to leave were able to leave.  Many of them made their way to Israel and the US.  Our prayers for them were answered.

Today, we once again find ourselves in a similar situation.  When we tell the story of redemption and freedom, it’s hard not to think about the remaining hostages in Gaza.  How can there be a Festival of Freedom when our brothers and sisters are not free?

So, as we have always done, we add to the Passover liturgy in order to speak to current events.  There are many suggestions as to how we can do this.  One idea is to tie a yellow ribbon around the stem of your wine glass.  Each cup represents one of God’s promises of redemption.  The ribbon forces us to think about the hostages when we remember God’s previous acts of redemption.

Another possibility is to add a lemon to the Seder plate.  It is the color that Israelis are using to raise awareness for the hostages and it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth – just like the hostage situation.

And of course, we add readings.  Hadassah is suggesting that we add an extra piece of matzah just as we did years ago for Soviet Jews.  This time, it is called “The Matzah of Healing.”  Together with the Israel Committee, I put together a Seder Supplement with that reading as well as some others.  Hopefully, the hostages will soon know freedom just as the Soviet Jews did a generation ago.

Best wishes for a happy and meaningful Passover celebration.

Shalom, 

RAF.

Healing

Just a couple of months ago, I sent out emails to our fourth grade families with the date of their child’s B Mitzvah in three years.  Inevitably, I get the same question from at least one of the families with a spring date:  Is this the Torah portion that talks about bodily fluids and skin diseases?  The Torah portion that causes such fear and anxiety in parents is – of course! – this week’s Torah portion Tazria which is often combined with next week’s portion Metzora.

Many parents want to avoid having their children give a speech about these “icky” subjects.  And if there’s another available date, we’re happy to make a switch.  However, the truth is that there is nothing to be afraid of. This week’s Torah Portion is not really about diseases or bodily fluids.  It’s about healing.

Now, we may go about healing in a completely different manner than our ancestors in the Bible, but the truth is that the topic of healing is never obsolete or irrelevant.  It’s a part of all of our lives – whether it is physical healing from sickness or injury, or emotional healing from a trying experience – we all want and need healing.  We were still in the process of healing from COVID when we were hit with upsurge in antisemitism.  We were still in the process of healing from that when October 7^th happened. 

Even our heated political discussions are ultimately about healing – healing from hard economic times, healing from pandemics, healing from wars, healing from the impact of criminal activity or healing from the destructive language that has become the standard in politics.

For a very long time, our tradition has believed that bringing healing to those most in need is a distinctly sacred act – possibly the most sacred act.

We can do this in so many ways – visiting someone who ailing, calling someone who is lonely, making a shivah call, buying flowers for someone who is feeling down, having a drink with a friend and MORE!  But sometimes, we get so caught up in our own lives and our own challenges that we don’t take the time to think about the impact that we could be having on others.

In this week’s Torah portion and next week’s, the priests – who had the highest social status in Israelite society – had to literally go to the outskirts of the camp in order to evaluate someone with a skin disease that put them at the bottom of the social order.  I imagine that it was risky and it was scary.  I am quite certain that the priests did not always look forward to this aspect of their jobs.  But they did it. They modeled for the rest of us that we must set aside petty concerns when given the opportunity to bring healing into the world.

After all, what could be more important than bringing healing?

Shalom, RAF.

The Good Guys

It seems like only yesterday that I saw the movie “48 Hours” transform Eddie Murphy into a bona fide movie star.  Although it was definitely a comedy, there was a pretty serious moment at the end.  The bad guy of the movie, who had already killed a number of people, was holding Eddie Murphy in front of him with a gun up to his head.  Nick Nolte, who was Eddie Murphy’s partner, came upon the scene with a gun of his own.  Eddie Murphy calmly told Nick Nolte to shoot the bad guy, and Nick Nolte calmly did.  Immediately afterwards, Eddie Murphy screamed out, “Are you crazy?!”  (There might have been an expletive or two.)

It’s been over 40 years since that movie came out and I remember it vividly.

On the one hand, Eddie Murphy was correct at the beginning of the scene: there’s no way to negotiate with a killer who has a gun up to your head.  On the other hand, Eddie Murphy was also correct at the end of the scene: how can you shoot at a bad buy when one of the good guys could potentially get hurt.

I have never wavered in my opinion that Nick Nolte’s character was completely in the right.  In any movie or TV show, when I see a bad guy holding a gun up to the head of a hostage, I root for one of the good guys to take the shot and end it – even if it puts a good guy at risk.  

And while it may seem simplistic, I bring this approach to my understanding of the current situation in Israel and Gaza.  There is no doubt in my mind who are the good guys and who are the bad guys.  It was Hamas that started this war on October 7^th through their murders, rapes and kidnappings.  They are the ones holding hostages – now for over 180 days.  They are the ones who have turned down proposed cease-fires time and time again.  Israel has no choice but to go after Hamas even if it means going through their human shields – their fellow Palestinians, the hostages and, yes, the NGO’s working in Gaza.

I know what you’re thinking.  I’m using an Eddie Murphy movie to justify my position on Israel.  But, that’s not exactly what I’m doing.  I’m using that movie to help me explain a position that is rooted in Jewish law.

In the Talmud, we read the following: “One who pursues another to kill him; or pursues a male to sodomize him; or pursues a betrothed young woman to rape her; or pursues a woman who is forbidden to him by a prohibition… all these people are to be saved at the cost of the life of the transgressor (BT Sanhedrin 73a).”  In other words, like Nick Nolte’s character, you’re supposed to take the shot.  The rabbis explained that this is rooted in the biblical injunction, “Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor (Leviticus 19:16).” 

Israel cannot stand idly by the blood of the hostages.  We know that some of the hostages being held by Hamas are already dead.  We know that the women are being sexually abused.  Israel is obligated to use all means at their disposal to save those who are still being held by Hamas in Gaza.

Many people are using the tragic deaths of seven aid workers as a justification to call for Israel to stand down. Many of these same people called for Israel to stand down on October 8^th before Israel had even secured its borders. While I also mourn the loss of those innocent lives, it does not mitigate Israel’s responsibility to save the lives of the hostages.  People who are calling on Israel to unilaterally stop its operations in Gaza are simply ignoring history.

First of all, they are ignoring the history of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was held by Hamas for FIVE YEARS before Hamas agreed to exchange him for over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners including Yahya Sinwar the mastermind of October 7^th.   If Israel withdraws from Gaza, how long will Hamas hold the remaining hostages?  What price would Israel have to pay to get them out?

Secondly, people are ignoring the history of war.  War is horrible even when everything goes right.  It’s even worse when mistakes are made.  In October 2015, the US Military bombed a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan killing 42 people including DWB doctors and volunteers.  It was a horrible mistake, and 16 US Military personnel were punished for their role in that mistake.  However, investigators ultimately concluded that it was not a war crime.  It was just an awful mistake.  

Israel is fighting a war on six fronts – Gaza, Lebanon, West Bank, Yemen, Syria and Iran – with a citizen army.  There are going to be mistakes.  That does NOT make the Israeli army a band of war criminals.  Quite the opposite, they are a bunch of good guys who have been put in a horrible situation by the bad guys who are the ones actually perpetrating war crimes every single day starting on October 7^th.  

And I know exactly what I want the good guys to do.

Shalom, RAF.

Making Room

I still remember my childhood bedroom.  I had one wall completely covered with images that I had cut out from magazines.  They were mostly my favorite players from my favorite teams.  That wall made it my room as opposed to anybody else’s.  It made my room special and memorable – for here I am all these years later and I can still picture it.

This week’s Torah portion – the last one in the Book of Exodus – is all about creating special space.  We read about the conclusion of the construction of the Tabernacle and Moses putting it into action.  Our Haftarah (prophetic selection) from the first Book of Kings describes the transition from our ancestors’ first sacred space to its second – Solomon’s Temple.

In order for the Temple to be an accepted successor to the Tabernacle, it had to remind people of the previous space.  So, the Ark had to be transferred to the Temple.  In addition to the Ark, there were many features of the Temple that were virtually identical to their counterparts in the Tabernacle – the table, the lampstand, the laver and the tapestries.  It made it easy for the people to make the transition from the Tabernacle to the Temple.

Then, of course, the Temple was destroyed and most of the Jewish people were forced to leave the Land of Israel?  It was much harder to create sacred space in the diaspora.  But, our ancestors learned from the success of the Temple.  They brought with them an ark, a table, a lamp, a laver and the tapestry.  It made their new places of assembly feel comfortable and sacred.

And if you look around just about any synagogue today, you’ll see many of those same things (the images on the left are replicas of Temple furnishings; the images on the right are from our synagogue):

That is just one more way that our people have remained connected to the land of Israel over the last 2,000 years.

Shalom, RAF.

Making Coffee

The story is told of a funeral that took place on a bitter cold day.  People were lined up around the funeral home waiting to get in and offer some words of comfort to the family.  Some were shaking with cold, while others were trembling with tears.  

Suddenly, a man appeared with cups of hot coffee, and he started passing them out to the people standing in the cold.  Eventually, everyone in line had a hot cup in their hands.  One of the funeral attendees saw the man walk back to the coffee shop across the street from the funeral home.

After the funeral, that attendee made her way to the coffee shop and found the man behind the counter.  He was the owner.  So, she thanked him for the coffee and asked what motivated him to do it.  He answered, “I felt so bad for them, and I wanted to do something, but all I could do was make coffee.  So, I made coffee.”

I think we can all identify with that coffee shop owner.  We see pain and suffering around us, and we are not sure how to help.  Of course, today marks five months since Hamas’ horrible attack on Israel.  Over 130 hostages are still being held, IDF soldiers are in harm’s way, rockets are landing in Northern Israel, and the entire country is in pain.  

Here in the US, incidents of antisemitism continue to rise, and college campuses are increasingly inhospitable to Jewish students.  In Europe, physical attacks on Jews are all too common, and just today, Russia claims that it thwarted an attack on a Moscow synagogue by Islamic extremists.

These are huge problems with no easy solutions.  It would be easy to throw our hands up in despair.  However, perhaps the answer is to “make coffee.”

Instead of focusing on all the ways in which we cannot solve the world’s problems, we need to think about the things we CAN do to make our corner of the world a little better.  

So, we can reach out to our friends and family in Israel and let them know that we are still speaking out about Israel.  We can continue to try to educate people in our lives who may not have all the facts about the Israel-Hamas conflict.  We can call the college students in our lives and make sure that they are doing okay.  We can write emails to thank politicians and journalists who are speaking out against antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric.  

A cup of coffee – or tea or hot cocoa – may not eliminate the problems that we face, but it can help us muster the strength to face them today, tomorrow and the day after that.  Make mine a double!

Shalom, RAF.

Some Help for Oz

I first met Oz Balas Bareket when he accompanied a group of his students from MetroWest High School in Ra’anana on their visit to New Jersey.  He was very interested in discussing non-orthodox Judaism in the US.  A couple of years later, I traveled to Ra’anana with a group of students from our congregation, and I was happy to spend time with Oz once again.

After that, we stayed in touch through social media.  This past October, when Oz reported for duty with his reserve IDF unit, I started texting with him to wish him safety and success.  While he was sitting in the Negev awaiting orders to enter Gaza with his unit, he recommended that I follow Ella Travels on X (nee Twitter), who used to tweet about nature and travel in Israel.  Since October 7^th, she has been a prolific creator of pro-Israel content on the internet. It was a great recommendation.  I read her stuff every day.

I’m happy to report that Oz returned home safely from his service in Gaza.  However, this past week, he let me know that his unit is being called up again due to the increased violence in Israel’s north, and they are in need of some new equipment.  In a perfect world, an army would provide every single item that a soldier needs, but unfortunately it doesn’t always work out that way.  

Oz’s note about what his unit needs is under the photos.

Shalom,
RAF.

Dear Friends and Family Far and Wide,
We are a combat medical unit of reserve soldiers from the Nachal brigade. We were drafted on October 7 after the terrible atrocities of that day. The following day we were already stationed by all the yishuvim and kibbutzim down south to cleanse them of terrorists. We were the 1st reserves unit to go into Gaza to the Be’eri area. For 28 days we completed defense and attack tasks during which time we provided medical assistance to wounded soldiers and saved many others’ lives. We were discharged after 75 days and are already now preparing to go back in in a few weeks as we have received a callback. In getting ready for the next round up north we are in great need of helmets and heavy duty bags which fell apart during our 1st round. The cost of a new helmet is $330 and each bag $250 Our goal is to raise $10,000 by the beginning of March so we can be fully prepared for our next call up. Please consider sponsoring us today 
 
With much love and appreciation,
 the Taagad Unit of the Nachal brigade 
 
Tax deductible donations can be made through Cardknox.  Please earmark all – combative medics
 
For donations via PayPal – Berk@juno.com Please earmark all – combative medics
 
Can also donate through Lev Lachayal:  Please earmark all – combative medics

You Are What You Wear

I’m old enough to remember having to dress up to travel by airplane.  I have a very specific memory of a tan leisure suit that my parents made me wear to fly to Florida.  Given all the videos of people putting their bare feet all over airplane seats, perhaps the old ways were not so crazy after all!

We may not dress up to travel anymore.  In fact, since COVID, most of us don’t dress up at all anymore!  However, there are still some moments when our clothing sends a message. Sometimes, it something simple like where we went to college or what sports team we root for.  Sometimes, it reflects a cause that is important to us like gun legislation or environmentalism.

In the Torah, the priestly vestments – as described in this week’s Torah portion – were clearly intended to send a message.  The ornate outfits worn by Aaron and his sons gave them appearance of leaders who were close to God.  These special uniforms were called “בִגְדֵי־קֹ֖דֶשׁ” (bigdei koshesh)– sacred garments, sacral vestments or clothes of holiness.  

One can only imagine how these clothes were perceived by everyday Israelites.  They sent a strong signal of holiness to all who saw them.

Today, we also try to send signals through the items we wear, but perhaps we are a bit more subtle.  Since October 7^th, many Jews have started wearing Jewish star or ‘chai’ necklaces to declare their Jewishness and support of Israel.  Some of us have been wearing blue ribbons to call attention to the hostages being held in Gaza.  At some point in Israel, they switched to yellow ribbons.  Others have been wearing a small blue square pin which is part of the “Stand Up to Jewish Hate” campaign.  

In Israel, Rachel Goldberg-Polin – who is the mother of one of the remaining hostages – started a new way of sending a message through what we wear.  Each day, she puts a piece of masking tape on her clothing with a number.  It is the number of days that her son Hersh has been in captivity.  Today is Day #139.  It pains me every time I see her.

When we wear these items, it makes it harder for others to forget what is going on in Israel and Gaza.  It makes it harder for others to forget that there has been a historically significant spike in antisemitism the last few months.  I wish we didn’t have to send that message, but unfortunately, it’s important that we do. 

Shalom, RAF.