Faith grows not from witnessing miracles, but from education, choice, and continuing commitment. That is the message of the narrative in this week's Torah reading -- so teaches Yeshayahu Leibowitz in his Seven Years of Talks on the Weekly Torah Portion. He points to the people’s repeated demonstrations of lack of faith, despite the miracle at the Reed Sea, before the event and after the event, when faced with the existential threats of the approaching Egyptian chariots and of lack of water and food in the desert. Individuals like Nachson Ben Aminadav, who, according to the midrash (Sotah 36b–37a), jumped into the water despite the danger, inspired others and saved their lives, dignity, and honour in doing so. As the Torah story continues, even after the giving of the Torah at Sinai, and even when they are about to reach the Land, the people display weakness, fear, lack of trust. In each case, the few, such as the Levites, in the first major failure of faith, and then Joshua and Caleb, in the second, follow the call that Nachshon heard: They say, "Hineni!" and act differently. Leibowitz argues that that is a basic message of the entire biblical narrative: The people fall away from their belief in the one true Deity, the God who redeemed them from Egypt time and time again, but the faithful few redeem the people from utter destruction. They carry forward our story of faith.
Now, how do we apply this understanding to our concern for human rights and social justice today, in this country and its occupied territories?
"Do not rely on miracles!" is a well-known rabbinic teaching. It refers to the behaviour of an individual faced with danger who believes he will be protected from that danger if he is carrying out a mitzvah and so does not take adequate precautions. This is said, for instance, in Kiddushin 40a, of one who uses an unstable ladder while performing the mitzvah of "Shiluah haken," taking eggs from a nest while shooing away the mother bird.
However, for the sake of saving a life, defending one's people from an attack or sanctifying the Divine Name in public (kiddush Hashem), this rabbinic warning is set aside, where necessary, before the greater principles involved: life itself, freedom and justice, central principles of the Torah narrative.
There are dangers involved in the devoted work of Rabbis for Human Rights. We cannot rely on miracles in carrying out this holy work. Nevertheless, the struggle for the soul of the Jewish people and the humanity of all those living here justifies those risks.
It is inspiring that the devoted few who conduct this struggle can maintain their faith in a world that often seems so dark. It is not the miracle of the divided Reed Sea that guides us, but the models of determination and noble devotion of our forebears throughout the generations, including Abraham our patriarch, Nachshon Ben Aminadav, and Moses himself, who stood up to Pharoah's totalitarian regime. It is their choice of faith that makes our spiritual freedom possible and continues to do so today. It is a choice we are all called upon to make as well.
Shabbat Shalom!
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Rabbi Yehiel Grenimann was ordained as a Masorti rabbi at the Schechter Seminary in Jerusalem (1991), graduated from the Hebrew University with an MA in Holocaust history and Jewish education in 1979. He served as a congregational rabbi for ten years, specialized in teaching modern Jewish Thought for adult education. He was a field activist and senior staff member and is now active in the organizations Rabbis for Human Rights and Tag Meir, and an active congregant of Kehillat Yedidya in Jerusalem. Before retiring he taught at the Massuah Holocaust memorial centre, served as director of the Ot VeEd institute for Holocaust education and as a high school teacher in Jewish history and civics for ten years. In recent years he has authored two novels: "Far Away From Where?" and "The Partisan's Coat" (Mazo Publishers).
Now, how do we apply this understanding to our concern for human rights and social justice today, in this country and its occupied territories?
"Do not rely on miracles!" is a well-known rabbinic teaching. It refers to the behaviour of an individual faced with danger who believes he will be protected from that danger if he is carrying out a mitzvah and so does not take adequate precautions. This is said, for instance, in Kiddushin 40a, of one who uses an unstable ladder while performing the mitzvah of "Shiluah haken," taking eggs from a nest while shooing away the mother bird.
However, for the sake of saving a life, defending one's people from an attack or sanctifying the Divine Name in public (kiddush Hashem), this rabbinic warning is set aside, where necessary, before the greater principles involved: life itself, freedom and justice, central principles of the Torah narrative.
There are dangers involved in the devoted work of Rabbis for Human Rights. We cannot rely on miracles in carrying out this holy work. Nevertheless, the struggle for the soul of the Jewish people and the humanity of all those living here justifies those risks.
It is inspiring that the devoted few who conduct this struggle can maintain their faith in a world that often seems so dark. It is not the miracle of the divided Reed Sea that guides us, but the models of determination and noble devotion of our forebears throughout the generations, including Abraham our patriarch, Nachshon Ben Aminadav, and Moses himself, who stood up to Pharoah's totalitarian regime. It is their choice of faith that makes our spiritual freedom possible and continues to do so today. It is a choice we are all called upon to make as well.
Shabbat Shalom!
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Rabbi Yehiel Grenimann was ordained as a Masorti rabbi at the Schechter Seminary in Jerusalem (1991), graduated from the Hebrew University with an MA in Holocaust history and Jewish education in 1979. He served as a congregational rabbi for ten years, specialized in teaching modern Jewish Thought for adult education. He was a field activist and senior staff member and is now active in the organizations Rabbis for Human Rights and Tag Meir, and an active congregant of Kehillat Yedidya in Jerusalem. Before retiring he taught at the Massuah Holocaust memorial centre, served as director of the Ot VeEd institute for Holocaust education and as a high school teacher in Jewish history and civics for ten years. In recent years he has authored two novels: "Far Away From Where?" and "The Partisan's Coat" (Mazo Publishers).