I ran across something kind of beautiful that gave me an idea how to conclude this post on my Likud Derangement Syndrome and the general Israel dilemma of the leftish JOJIA (Jew Or Jewish-Identified American). It's from a commentary on Exodus 21:1 to 24:14 as a weekly Torah portion by David Marcus of the Jewish Theological Seminary, and it goes like this: [jump]
This is what I meant by saying that Netanyahu and Lieberman and their colleagues are in a certain sense not Jewish, because it is that serious.
I may think it's more Jewish to be liberal, but it's far from un-Jewish to be conservative in some ways, to be made deeply uncomfortable by this and that kind of unconventional sexual behavior, or by improvidence, by grasshoppers who didn't put anything away for the winter; or to believe that things really used to be better when people were more respectful, or that Tchaikovsky is better than Schoenberg; or even that my group is instrinsically better than your group.
What's un-Jewish is to refuse to feel empathy for those who are your inferiors in power, or fortune, or ability, or conservative virtue, to condemn them without understanding, to deny that there is anything to understand: to say, "I'm good and you're bad, so we can't talk until the situation changes."
You think Saddam is bad? When he's in power, committing his murders and idiocies, go ahead, judge him mercilessly; but when he's down, you have to give a moment's thought to what it's like to travel so far down, even if—especially if you've never been down yourself. And when that ill-made gibbet rips his body off his head, feel a twinge: because it's just not right.
And are the Palestinians bad people? All I can see is that they have no power. You can bulldoze their houses and you can burn their fruit groves, you can build walls around them so they can't get from one place to another, you can wall off an entire population of a million people like Alcatraz so they can't go fishing, can't sell their stuff, can't go to a functioning hospital unless somebody shows them a little mercy, and what can they do? Those stupid rockets, with a go-anywhere rate of approximately zero, and yes, on the rare occasions they hurt somebody they do make the situation worse.
If I were advising the Palestinians, of course, I'd tell them to forget about the rockets: it's way past time for them to go the full Gandhi. And not strictly for ethical reasons, either; it's how they'll get the best deal they possibly can. If Israelis want a better deal, they'd better not wait until satyagraha, because that's the end.
And Netanyahu and Lieberman? I'll feel sorry for them too, when they're in jail. (I know, the people have decided it's only the second most corrupt administration in Israeli history.) I hope it's soon.
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| Holy heretics |
What is remarkable about this collection of laws in the covenant is the combination of criminal, civil, and ethical law entwined together. Thus, amid laws dealing with safekeeping of property, seduction, sorcery, bestiality, idolatry, and blasphemy are humanitarian laws dealing with the protection of the ger (stranger), the widow, the orphan, and the poor. These four groups constitute the classic biblical categories of disadvantaged people: those without power and without legal protectors, who must depend on the good will of society to help them.
Of all the laws concerning the disadvantaged, there is one that is constantly repeated in many parts of the Torah: the law enjoining the Israelites not to oppress the stranger. It is an astonishing fact that the Bible has more laws dealing with the protection of the stranger than with any other law, including honoring God, observing the Sabbath, festivals, etc. Obviously, for the biblical legislator, concern for the stranger was considered a religious value of supreme importance. The law concerning the stranger reads: "You shall not wrong a stranger (ger) or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt" (Exod. 22:20) and, when it is repeated, the phrase "you know the mind of a stranger [for you were strangers in the land of Egypt]" is added (Exod. 23:9). The reason given for not wronging the stranger is only an ethical one: the Israelites were once strangers in a foreign land and so can empathize with the experience of foreigners in their own land.I couldn't help imagining a certain type of liberal rabbi asking, "So what are they saying? The Torah says protecting the stranger is more important than God? Are you serious?"
This is what I meant by saying that Netanyahu and Lieberman and their colleagues are in a certain sense not Jewish, because it is that serious.
I may think it's more Jewish to be liberal, but it's far from un-Jewish to be conservative in some ways, to be made deeply uncomfortable by this and that kind of unconventional sexual behavior, or by improvidence, by grasshoppers who didn't put anything away for the winter; or to believe that things really used to be better when people were more respectful, or that Tchaikovsky is better than Schoenberg; or even that my group is instrinsically better than your group.
What's un-Jewish is to refuse to feel empathy for those who are your inferiors in power, or fortune, or ability, or conservative virtue, to condemn them without understanding, to deny that there is anything to understand: to say, "I'm good and you're bad, so we can't talk until the situation changes."
You think Saddam is bad? When he's in power, committing his murders and idiocies, go ahead, judge him mercilessly; but when he's down, you have to give a moment's thought to what it's like to travel so far down, even if—especially if you've never been down yourself. And when that ill-made gibbet rips his body off his head, feel a twinge: because it's just not right.
And are the Palestinians bad people? All I can see is that they have no power. You can bulldoze their houses and you can burn their fruit groves, you can build walls around them so they can't get from one place to another, you can wall off an entire population of a million people like Alcatraz so they can't go fishing, can't sell their stuff, can't go to a functioning hospital unless somebody shows them a little mercy, and what can they do? Those stupid rockets, with a go-anywhere rate of approximately zero, and yes, on the rare occasions they hurt somebody they do make the situation worse.
If I were advising the Palestinians, of course, I'd tell them to forget about the rockets: it's way past time for them to go the full Gandhi. And not strictly for ethical reasons, either; it's how they'll get the best deal they possibly can. If Israelis want a better deal, they'd better not wait until satyagraha, because that's the end.
And Netanyahu and Lieberman? I'll feel sorry for them too, when they're in jail. (I know, the people have decided it's only the second most corrupt administration in Israeli history.) I hope it's soon.
I think there used to be a video like this of the whole Serenade, but it's not there any more. You can listen to the whole thing without video, though, and I suggest you do.
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