Vayechi 5775

At the center of this week's parasha we find the blessings that Yaakov (Jacob) bestows – first upon Ephraim and Menasheh, and then on the rest of his children. The first few tribes, though, are not blessed, but instead are cursed. The first blessing that we read is bestowed upon Yehuda (Judah).

Yehuda is blessed in various ways: as the recipient of his brothers’ praise, as overtaking his enemies, as having great might, as holding the ruler’s staff, and more (Genesis 49:8-12). Why is it that Yehuda receives this great blessing, and not the brothers before him?

It seems that the answer lies in the transformation of Yehuda’s character throughout the book of Genesis. Yehuda as a youngster is willing to sell his own brother Joseph in to slavery (Gen. 37:27). It is only after Yehuda learns a powerful lesson from his daughter-in-law, Tamar, and admits, tzadka mimeni (Gen. 38:26) that Tamar was more righteous, more just than he, that Yehuda learns that he must begin to stand up for those who are vulnerable.

And so, in last week’s portion, Vayigash, Yehuda begins a massive speech, with a heart-wrenching plea to save his brother Benjamin in front of the Egyptian viceroy, who unbeknownst to Yehuda is Yosef (Joseph). The Biblical scholar Yochanan Muffs describes this mode of standing up for those that are guilty in his influential essay, “Who will stand in the breach” (in his book Love and Joy). It features a model of the prophet whose key role is not a scolder or occasional comforter, but rather is the defender of the people. Yehuda has the chance to put his word to his father to the ultimate test. “Take me and not my brother,” he insists.

Yehuda receives the blessings of being respected by his fellows, and of leadership, because he was willing to stand in the breach. And we, the Jewish people, live the life of Judah every time we recognize ourselves as a people, as Yehudim, as his namesake. As Yehudim, we stand in the breach for those who are most vulnerable.

With this in mind, we at Anshe Emet are honored to host ONE Northside, various churches and organizations, and more on Sunday, January 18th, from 3;00 - 5:00 p.m., when we will talk about our respective faiths, the legacy of Dr. King, and systematic injustices in our community related to racism and gender inequality. We will also learn about how we can begin battling against these inequities. We’ll conclude with some food, breaking bread together, as we reflect on how to make change together. So please save the date, so that we can join together, living as descendants of Yehuda, as people who stand in the breach.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi David Russo

With thanks to Rabbi Zach Silver for quoting sections of his D'var Torah related to the theme of standing in the breach.

Vayechi 5774

Two Burials, One Path Through Jewish History

In Vayechi, the final Torah portion in the book of Genesis, we lose Jacob – the last surviving Patriarch – and his favored son, Joseph. These two deaths – and in particular, the instructions each man gives for his burial – illustrate the two central values that have kept the Jewish people intact for thousands of years.

After giving each of his children a final blessing, Jacob – having spent his final years in Egypt, far from home – instructs his sons to bury me with my fathers in the cave… which Abraham bought (Gen. 49:29-30). Jacob asks to be buried with his ancestors, and moreover he explicitly invokes his family’s connection to that land – the Land of Israel – in explaining his choice of burial site. In doing so, Jacob sets the paradigm for every generation to follow: no matter where in the world Jews have roamed, we have always kept one eye toward Zion.

Not long after Jacob’s burial, Joseph too prepares to die, and he too gives directions for his burial. Joseph, however, makes a very different choice: in the final verses of Genesis, Joseph makes his brothers take an oath that when God eventually brings them out of Egypt and back to their homeland, you shall carry up my bones from here (Gen. 50:25). While his father was taken home to be buried in the company of generations past, Joseph’s body will remain in Egypt indefinitely, until every last Israelite returns home. Joseph, too, establishes a pattern for later generations to follow: throughout our history, the Jewish People have thrived when our various sub-groups have stood in solidarity with one another.

Two recent books examining Jewish history in the last half-century highlight the importance of these values. Joseph’s model – standing in solidarity with other Jews and working together to improve the overall Jewish outlook – comes to life in Gal Beckerman’s thrilling history of the Soviet Jewry movement, When They Come For Us, We’ll Be Gone. Equal parts adventure story and modern history, When They Come For Us shows how Jewish solidarity – whether in Latvia or Cleveland – gave otherwise unremarkable Jews the power to defy both of the world’s Superpowers and write their own chapter in the Jewish Saga.

Jacob’s ultimate commitment to the Land of Israel comes to life in Like Dreamers, the latest book by Yossi Klein Halevi, who visited Anshe Emet a few weeks ago. As many of us had the privilege of hearing directly from Yossi, the book tells the story of the Israeli paratroopers who fought to reunite Jerusalem in 1967 and the courses their lives took in the years that followed. One striking theme in the book is how both camps that developed after the Six Day War – the settlement movement and the peace movement – place Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel at the center of their arguments. Despite taking diametrically opposed viewpoints, these two groups still share a deep and almost overwhelming love for Israel.

I highly recommend both of these books, each of which offers a revolutionary new perspective on recent events in Jewish history. As you read them, I hope you will also take time to reflect on how you engage with each of the two Jewish values we learn from this week’s parshah – our connection to the Land of Israel and our solidarity with the collective Jewish People.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Abe Friedman

Vayechi 5773

Jacob's Blessings, Jacob's Challenges:
A Lesson for America in the Wake of Sandy Hook

On a Friday night a Jewish parent has the opportunity to bless their children.  For our daughters, we bless them in the name of our Matriarchs.  However, for our boys, we invoke the names of Ephraim and Menashe, the children of Joseph.  This tradition is based upon a scene in this week's Torah reading of Veyechi when Jacob blesses Ephraim and Menashe.  However, you will be disappointed if you will expect to read a  touching story of a tottering grandfather blessing his grandchildren.  No, Jacob uses this opportunity to bless the younger in place of the older much to the consternation of their father Joseph.  Yet, in this way Jacob offers us a powerful lesson on the power of blessings.  Rather than see them as the positive wishes that one generation offers to the next, Jacob uses his words of blessing to challenge his descendants to better themselves and fulfill visions that go beyond them.  For Jacob a blessing is not beautiful sentiment to be shared at a poignant moment but a life lesson to be taken from that day forward and learned over and over again.

Throughout this parasha we observe Jacob preparing for his own death by challenging his children through his words of blessing.  Consider Jacob's blessing to Shimon and Levi:

5 Simeon and Levi are a pair;
Their weapons are tools of lawlessness.

6 Let not my person be included in their council,
Let not my being be counted in their assembly.
For when angry they slay men,
And when pleased they maim oxen.

7 Cursed be their anger so fierce,
And their wrath so relentless.
I will divide them in Jacob,
Scatter them in Israel. (Genesis 49:5-7)

While Jacob's words must have made his son's wince they are also well founded.  Shimon and Levi are violent in nature.  Whether in response to the rape of Dina or the plight of Joseph they are people who resort to the most base forms of violent behavior.  Rather than gloss over this fact, Jacob addresses it directly.  He forces his sons to look at themselves through his eyes and to predict a remedy.  These two sons can not be together when Jacob's descendants eventually inherit the land of Israel.  They will have to be divided within the body politic of Israel.  In this way Jacob offers his sons a blessing of awareness which can ultimately become a positive life lesson for them: "live with an awareness of your penchant for violence and continue to address it in meaningful ways".  If his children hearken to their father's words Jacob will have truly blessed Shimon and Levi.

I believe that Jacob's blessing to Shimon and Levi have something to offer us as Americans still mourning the terrible massacre in New Town, Connecticut.  We are a nation which has long had a love affair with guns.  Throughout our history as a nation we have chosen to read the 2nd Amendment as a forceful statement of every American to bear arms when it could have been interpreted otherwise.  There are as many guns in the hands of Americans as there are people in this country.  While calls for stricter gun legislation makes perfect sense the sad fact is that bans on assault weapons, stricter registration laws, or even armed guards in every school will likely not prevent other tragedies like Sandy Hook Elementary School.  They have not in the past.  If there is any blessing to be gleaned from the massacre of 20 beautiful children and their heroic teachers and administrators then it will come when Americans look in the mirror.  Like Shimon and Levi, we have a penchant for violence in this country which is only heightened through the media and the entertainment industry.  In the same way that Shimon and Levi needed to acknowledge their violent nature and be separated, we too must do the same and take comprehensive action to lesson the likelihood of such tragedies in the future.  This must include a long hard look at how those with mental illness are being cared for in this country. 

When Jacob came to the end of his life he understood that his children needed more than flowery words.  What they needed was tough and honest love if they were to be the blessing that they could be in the future.  To my mind this is the exact type of blessing we in America deserve today.  It will begin when we choose to speak less of our individual rights and more about our national responsibilities to one another.  This country has the potential to be a remarkable blessing to its inhabitants and the world.  Like Jacob with his sons, let us challenge ourselves to be the blessing we have yet to become.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Michael Siegel