Archive for category Jewish Unity
In Appreciation
Posted by Yonason Goldson in Culture, Education and Parenting, Jewish Unity on January 3, 2010
An open letter to the St. Louis Jewish community
And Adam knew his wife…
Genesis 4:1
Why does the Torah employ an expression of “knowledge” as a euphemism for intimacy? Because emotional and psychological intimacy is impossible with intellectual familiarity. Similarly, the term for “gratitude,” hakoras hatov, translates literally as “recognition of the good.” One cannot feel gratitude without first seeing the good; with that recognition, gratitude results naturally and inevitably in a morally healthy mind.
The Me’am Loez explains that the character trait of ingratitude underlies the Torah command to destroy the nation of Amoleik. Having become free from the Egyptian sphere of influence in the wake of the Ten Plagues, the Amolekites used their newly acquired freedom to attack the nation responsible for the overthrow of their former overlords. A nation so indifferent to how it has benefitted from another is similarly incapable of attaining even the most minimal level of human virtue. Just the opposite, such a nation will rebel pathologically and unceasingly against any moral or legal structure imposed on it by the Ultimate Authority. Consequently, its continued existence cannot be tolerated upon this earth.
With this in mind, I feel it incumbent upon me as a member of the St. Louis Jewish community in general, and as a teacher and parent of Block Yeshiva High School in particular, to express my most heartfelt and sincere gratitude to an individual who has gone above and beyond in support of our school.
Every private educational institution has been suffering through the current economy, and Block Yeshiva has been no exception. As the financial crisis has steadily worsened over several years, a few persons of note have devoted themselves to the school’s survival. They have had, and continue to have, our deepest appreciation.
Nevertheless, as the situation continued to deteriorate and the viability of the school became increasingly uncertain, one individual stepped forward to address the problems head-on, with passion and energy drawn from her increasing familiarity with Block Yeshiva and the school’s extraordinary contribution to the community. As the twelfth hour drew near, one person made all the difference. I therefore take great pleasure in publicly offering this small expression of gratitude and appreciation to Ms. Shu Simon.
Ms. Simon has not always possessed such enthusiasm for Block Yeshiva. Over the last few years, however, she has learned how the school strikes a harmonious balance between Torah studies and secular knowledge, how Block students develop academic discipline, Jewish awareness and commitment, refinement of character, and international distinction, how Block serves the greater Jewish community, and how Block graduates are sought after by the most prestigious yeshivas, seminaries, and universities. The more she learned about Block, the more intimately connected Ms. Simon felt to the school and the more prominent role she shouldered in support of our mission.
While many around her indulged in hand-wringing, finger-pointing, and strategic astigmatism, Shu Simon demonstrated the singular purpose and tenacity that are the signs of true leadership. (I know nothing of the details of what she did – my job it is not to address the business operations of the school but to attend the academic and spiritual welfare of the students, per my training and experience.) But amidst an atmosphere in which ideology and personal bias have frequently overshadowed Torah values and objective achievement, Ms. Simon has won a place in the hearts of all those who have sacrificed their time, energy, and tranquility on behalf of Block Yeshiva.
Any individual or institution that aspires to high standards and ideals will inevitably acquire detractors. On the other hand, attempting to be everything to everybody results in becoming nothing to anybody. Those who know the Block faculty and administration well have already recognized their invaluable contribution to the community. Those who haven’t are not paying attention.
Tragically, we live in a culture where educators often feel unappreciated for their labors, and so we would be especially delinquent if we missed this opportunity to show our appreciation for Shu Simon. May her efforts serve as a call to action for others, as well as a reminder that the crisis is far from over. At best, we have gained a little time to rally our forces.
If you don’t know Block Yeshiva, it’s worth your time to find out who and what we are. If you do, then you already know Block’s value. Don’t remain silent, lest the voices of cynicism and ingratitude create an illusion of discontent and carry the day.
And again: thank you Ms. Simon.
B’kovod rav,
Rabbi Yonason Goldson
Distractions
Posted by Yonason Goldson in Jewish Unity on December 28, 2009
Sorry, folks, I’ve been distracted by other projects and responsibilites, and my editor at JWR, Binyamin Jolkovsky, has been ill and not publishing.
Binyamin has done an extraordinary job, to the point that endless hours running a one-man show has left him very ill. If you haven’t visited his site, you should add it to your favorites. And if you’ve enjoyed the articles I’ve published there, please consider a donation, large or small, so that he can hire the assistants he will need to continue his fine work on behalf of Torah and the Jewish people.
Click on Jewish World Review and look for the link to make your tax deductable donation.
Please don’t lose touch. I hope to get back to publishing and posting before too long.
Talking to the Wall Dept.
Posted by Yonason Goldson in Culture, Education and Parenting, Jewish Unity on May 11, 2009
My efforts to engage an ideologue in civil discourse. Draw your own conclusions.
E Unibus Plurum
Posted by Yonason Goldson in Jewish Unity on February 25, 2009
Well, it didn’t take long for my most recent essay on Jewish Unity to ruffle some feathers. Anyone else think I’m off base?
Rabbi Feldman’s Modest Proposal
Posted by Yonason Goldson in Culture, Education and Parenting, Jewish Unity on January 20, 2009
Rav Emanuel Feldman once again distinguishes himself by bolding suggesting what everyone else is afraid to whisper, let alone think.
In a recent essay, the eminent rabbi observes how, in the wake of the Madoff disaster, many of the venerable institutions that suffered losses of tens- or hundreds-of-millions of dollars calmed their constituents by explaining — in chorus — that these losses amounted to only a few percent of their total endowments.
Rabbi Feldman then offers the following observation:
When a Jewish institution reaches $1b. in endowment funds, would it not be a fine idea for it to allocate a mere 1% of its funds to help other similar institutions? Do the math: 10% of $1b. is $100m., 1% of $1b. is $10m. Can you imagine the impact on Jewish life if these behemoths of endowment funds were somehow to shave off 1% of their funds annually to help sister institutions in need? If by their own admission, a loss of $100m. does not affect them, then certainly giving away $10m. would be a mere pittance.
If Technion would distribute $10m. a year to the science programs of Jewish schools everywhere; if Bar-Ilan and Hebrew University would allocate $10m. a year to fund Jewish studies departments in Jewish high schools around the world; if Yeshiva University would allocate only 1% – something over $10m. a year – to struggling small yeshivot and day schools that cannot pay their teachers on time, that are housed in meager facilities and have inadequate equipment, that are living a hand-to-mouth existence, that are valiantly trying to keep their heads above water – if all this were done, it could make a major difference to the future of Jewish life. If institutions like these can survive losses of more than 8% of their endowments, certainly a gift of 1% should be easy to manage.
As one of those rebbes in one of those small yeshivos that consistently struggles to make payroll, I would like to hear the financial officers of these billion-dollar institutions respond to Rabbi Feldman’s proposal. Oh, I have no illusions that a single one of them will take his suggestion seriously, but it might prove amusing to watch them dance and squirm if put on the spot in a public forum.
And so, for those of you who might one day soon find yourself in a position to pose Rabbi Feldman’s suggestion in person and in public, please do it. And, if possible, record the reply with your cell phone and post it on YouTube. Who knows? With enough publicity, the people positioned to solve some of our most immediate problems might begin feeling motivated to do so.
Taking Responsibility
Posted by Yonason Goldson in Culture, Jewish Unity, Philosophy on January 20, 2009
Rabbi Avi Shafran offers a poignant reflection on how we — each and every one of us — may be more responsible for the suffering of our fellow Jews than we care to realize.
Required reading for all who aspire to self-perfection.
By Any Other Name
Posted by Yonason Goldson in Culture, Jewish Unity on December 14, 2008
There’s no joy in Mao-ville. Thousands have been rioting all over China as the economic tailspin of Western economies has left all those Chinese products with no buyers. Protest demonstrations seem to be directed against the Communist Party which, having long been seen as a source of corruption, is now being blamed for the looming specter of widespread unemployment. In Longnan, reported the NYT, residents said the disturbances were provoked by economic distress, rampant corruption and a lack of transparency in the local Communist Party.
The great irony, of course, is that modern China, the most aggressive capitalist economy in the world, is now suffering from the dark side of the free market, all the while laboring to preserve the illusion of its communist roots. Naturally, such a charade cannot hold up indefinitely.
Increasingly, words and labels are not used to communicate meaning but to obscure meaning. Political correctness has cast a fog of calculated confusion over language and expression. The Jewish world has not escaped the effects.
It’s easy to excuse as misguided those Jews who identify themselves as adherents to Judaism, even as they simultaneously reject the Divine Word with wholesale abandon in their quest for egalitarianism, open-mindedness, and political correctness. It’s only slightly more difficult to dismiss those dangerous and disingenuous practitioners of Torah revisionism who continue to proclaim their commitment to Orthodoxy even as they emasculate the philosophy of sincere passion and diligent observance that has preserved Jewish tradition and society for 33 centuries. These sad but persistent creatures discredit and dishonor the movement to which they claim fealty.
But it is not these who are most responsible for prolonging and deepening our interment in exile. It is the Jews who know better, the 100%, dyed-in-the-wool, sincere and passionately observant Torah Jews who are preventing the dawn of the messianic era.
The Torah community can genuinely boast so many examples of mesiras nefesh: self-sacrifice for Torah study, for Torah institutions, for charity, for all kinds of community activism. But where is the self-sacrifice for achdus — JEWISH UNITY — within the Torah observant community itself?
Where is the willingness to set aside political agendas built upon nuances in Torah philosophy that represent the 3% or 5% of differences that separate us and focus upon the 95% or 97% that we have in common? Why must our communities stretch themselves thinner and thinner, creating new institutions that are increasingly in danger of financial collapse because we fear exposing ourselves and our children to other Torah Jews who may wear different colored yarmulkes or have different notions concerning the value of secular education or harbor different feelings about the intrinsic sanctity of the State of Israel?
How do we justify our self-destructive divisiveness when we sit on the floor on Tisha B’Av mourning the Temple that was destroyed on account of senseless hatred? To whom are we speakingIs anybody listening as we remind ourselves that any generation that does not rebuild the Temple is considered to have destroyed it — for the very same reasons it was destroyed 2000 years ago?
Perhaps we ought to ask ourselves if the current crisis of the global economy has not been engineered solely for our benefit, to force us to confront our own failure to rise above our petty differences and find the strength and courage to work together. When will we recognize that cooperating with other Torah Jews who may differ from us in their ideological perspectives is not the equivalent of compromising our values? Just the opposite: it is refocusing on the common value that should override all others. Gadol shalom teach the sages — Great is peace. When will enough voices cry out to make a difference?
The Master of the World called us His chosen people. How many more lessons will we have to endure before we are willing to choose one another? When will we finally live up to our name?
Parshas Vayeitzei — Bringing the Well into the City
Posted by Yonason Goldson in Jewish Unity, Weekly Parsha on December 3, 2008
And [Yaakov] saw that there was a well in the field. Three flocks of sheep were there lying beside it, since it was from this well that the flocks were watered, and a great stone [blocked] the mouth of the well (Bereishis 29:2).
This is how the Torah describes Yaakov’s arrival at the house of Lavan, his uncle, after fleeing from his wicked brother, Eisav, and beginning his search for a wife. Curiously, when Eliezer, servant of Yaakov’s grandfather Avrohom, arrived at the same place a generation earlier, the Torah describes the location of the well not “in the field” but “at the edge of the city” (Bereishis 24:11).
This seeming inconsistancy provides the basis for an enigmatic debate recorded in the Talmud (Bechoros 8b):
The Elders of Athens said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananyah, “We have a well out in the fields; bring it into the city.”
Rabbi Yehoshua took chaff and threw it before them, saying, “Make me a rope out of chaff and I will bring it in.”
They asked, “Who can make a rope out of chaff?”
He replied, “Then who can bring a well from the field into the city?”
Last week, we explained that the Torah employs the imagery of a well — the source of water, which is the basis of physical life — as a symbol for Torah itself, which is the source of spiritual life.
The Malbim explains that when peace and a sense of unity exist among the Jewish people, when they live in the Land of Israel with the Divine Word guiding their actions and their attitudes, then the “well” of Torah is “in the city,” providing the people with security and their settlements with prosperity.
However, when our spiritual negligence and complacency cause us to be exiled from our land and subjected to the uncertainty and unpredictability of life among the nations of the earth, when we have to struggle against all manner of obstacles to keep G-d’s word and His commandments central in our lives, then the well of Torah is “in the field.”
This was the assertion of the Elders of Athens, the scholars of the Roman Empire who based their wisdom on the teachings of the ancient Greeks: If you Jews are divided against one another, if you yourselves recognize sinas chinom, the senseless hatred among you, as the cause of your exile, then how can you ever expect to earn your redemption? How can you believe that the well “in the field” will ever become transformed into a well “in the city?”
Rabbi Yehoshua’ s answer finds its meaning in the continuation of the Torah narrative:
And all the flocks would gather there, and they would roll away the stone from the mouth of the well and allow the flocks to drink, and then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well (Bereishis 29:2).
To bring the well from the “field” into the “city” requires a spiritual “rope” to bind the future with the past. The Malbim explains that the three flocks represent the three eras of Jewish exile, each imposing upon the people the challenges and crises. Only by working together to overcome these challenges will the people achieve a level of unity to become worthy of redemption and acquiring the merit to build HaShem’s Temple so that the Divine Presence can dwell in their midst.
In the course of the first two exiles, the collective merit of a unified Jewish nation ultimately “rolled away the stone” of temptation and transgression, allowing the waters of spirituality to flow free and revive a spiritually thirsty people. And each time, prosperity encouraged the people to stray after the inclinations of the hearts, so that the stone of self-indulgence and self-interest rolled back to its place and drove the people back into the parched desert of exile.
The first era was galus Mitzrayim, the exile in Egypt, which forged the people into a nation and culminated in their entry into the land and their ultimate construction of the first Beis HaMikdash. Tragically, without the external pressure provided by enemies around them, their commitment to one another dissolved and, over time, led to the erosion of their collective merit and their exile to Babylon.
Thus began the second era, in which the Jews gradually earned back the privilege of living in their land, rebuilding the Temple, and regaining political autonomy in the aftermath of the miracle of Chanukah. But infighting among the descendants of the Hasmoneans eventually led to the disintegration of political stability, the conquest by the Roman Empire, and the destruction of the second Temple.
Out of the ruins of the Roman Empire grew Western Civilization, the final exile of Jewish history, in which the twin attractions of material prosperity and cultural assimilation have exceeded all the obstacles to spirituality that have confronted the Jews throughout all previous ages. And once again, the divisiveness that traces its roots back to the senseless hatred of 2000 years ago stands in the way of bringing the well of Torah and spiritual redemption from the “field” into the “city.”
Scattered like chaff, the Jewish people will remain in exile until, by bonding together in unity, they form the “rope” that connects them back to their origins as a cohesive people. When that happens, Rabbi Yehoshua told the Elders, when the “chaff” of disunity becomes a “rope” of redemption, then the Jewish people will find their way home.
But how is that possible? the Elders asked. Just as chaff cannot make a rope, disaffected and disparate individuals cannot form a people.
That may be true, answered Rabbi Yehoshua. But the image of chaff only describes the Jewish people in the most simplistic and superficial way. We may appear cut off from one another, but we share the collective soul of the Almighty’s chosen people. The more we become distant from one another, the more we yearn to return to our common roots. As the exile grows darker and deeper, we come closer to the time when the very depths of our spiritual darkness will compel us to pull together, thereby pulling ourselves forward into the light of the messianic era.
Mission Statement for American (and World) Jewry
Posted by Yonason Goldson in Jewish Unity, Philosophy on November 17, 2008
A Jew in America must possess the devotion to learning of the Lithuanian scholars, the warmth and enthusiasm of the Chassidishe world, the commitment to meticulous mitzvah observance of the Hungarian Jews, the aristocratic worldly nobility of the Torah Im Derech Eretz world of Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, and the ethical character traits of the Baalei Mussar (masters of introspection and self-perfection) all wrapped into one selfless total servant of Hashem.
HaRav Shraga Feivel Mendelovitz
The Common Denominator — Parshas Ki Savo
Posted by Yonason Goldson in Jewish Unity, Weekly Parsha on September 17, 2008
In one of the Torah’s most dramatic images, Moses commands the people that, upon crossing the Jordan River and entering the Land of Israel, they will divide themselves into two groups; half will ascend Mount Eval and half will ascend Mount G’rizim, where they will affirm the blessings and curses intoned by the tribe of Levi from the valley between the mountains.
For all its drama, Moshe’s instructions raise some perplexing questions. First is the division of the people. On Mount Eval, the tribes of Reuven, Gad, Asher, Zevulun, Dan, and Naphtali would receive the curses; on Mount G’rizim, the tribes of Shimon, Levi, Yehudah, Yissachar, Yosef, and Binyomin would receive the blessings.
The commentaries labor to explain this division, and none of them truly succeeds. There seems to be no logic to the arrangement of tribes, neither according to age or birth-mother. Moreover, why does the tribe of Levi both give and receive the blessings and curses? Why do some of the tribes receive only blessings whereas the others receive only curses? Why are only curses articulated in the Torah, and how to we understand the seemingly haphazard list of crimes associated with the curses?
Let us attempt the answer the last question first, then work our way back. Included in these curses are the crimes of idolatry in private, crimes of deviance within the home, taking advantage of the weak, moving the boundary marker of a neighbor’s property, and taking a bribe to put an innocent man to death. The final inclusion is one “who does not uphold and keep the entire Torah.”
In short, the list of curses results from crimes committed in secret, when there may be no witness and no one to come to the aid of the defenseless. Indeed, it is possible for one to appear outwardly righteous and pious, while secretly neglecting or perverting the most fundamental Torah laws.
If so, this may explain why only the curses are mentioned. The Torah has no need to articulate new blessings for one who follows the Torah with diligence and sincerity. These are implicit in the laws and instructions that have already been given. But one who masquerades as pious while trampling the letter and the spirit of the law behind closed doors — this is the one singled out for these curses.
From here we may explain the division of the tribes. The division is itself calculated to avoid any logical distinctions. It is too easy for us to generalize, to indulge in stereotyping based on family, community, or ideology. With no way of differentiating between one group of Jews and another, we have no choice but to evaluate every Jew as an individual and to discover who he is before passing judgment upon him. Even the tribe of Levi, charged with pronouncing the curses, does not receive a free pass when it comes to the presumption of virtue.
Finally, every Jew must account for himself and his own spiritual and moral integrity. I may stand among those receiving the blessings, but I cannot hide from the True Judge who will see me for who I truly am. I may find myself among those receiving the curses, but I am not free from accountability for my own actions.
Even if I am blessed, I cannot turn away from those among my people who have fallen by the wayside. Even if I am cursed, the road the repentance can always lead me back to take my place among the righteous. We are all individuals, all unique, all responsible for ourselves and our own actions, in public and in private. But we are also one people, responsible for one another. Our common denominator is the divine soul within each of us which, together with the Torah that guides us, will bring us home when we lose our way on the path of the cursed and steer us back to the path of eternal blessing.
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