“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)
Suppose you went to a therapist to help you deal with your problems. You get to his office, and begin to explain your concerns. Suddenly, he interrupts you, and says "Why are you telling this to me? I have my own issues! My health is not the best, I have problems with my kids, I have trouble paying the mortgage. I simply have no time for you!" You would probably walk out of the office bewildered and angry. But what if what he was saying was true? The therapist had several options. He could leave his profession He could take some time off in order to get his affairs in order. Or he could put his cares aside,giving his patient the attention and help he deserves. The prophet Isaiah is saying in the above passage that Torah is not just for the Jews, but, rather, we have a mission to be a "light unto the Nations". Many non-Jews complain to me that they do not find the Jewish People to be open to sharing anything. Like the therapist I have just described, the Jews could answer "Hey, I don't have my own problems? I am persecuted. I am hated. Keeping my children Jewish in an open society takes up all my time, resources and energy. My salary goes to Yeshiva tuition (most Jewish Day Schools cost $20,000 per child annually)."
What we have here is a true dilemma. The Jew is commanded to spiritually lead the world that wants to destroy him. The great commentator, RASHI, living in France on the eve of the first Crusade, which brought in two centuries of unspeakable persecution for the Jews, took the passage quite non-literally. It couldn't possibly mean that we should impress the importance of Torah Truths on the savages who are burning us alive, throwing us off cliffs, killing our pregnant women by cutting open their bellies and throwing their unborn children to the ground. The "Nations" referred to in the text must mean the Northern Tribes that have strayed from Torah. What else could it mean? In context, the verse clearly states that we have a mission to the world. But, for at least 2,000 years, we have been is survival mode. The exponential rise in antisemitism keeps us there. In all my years, I have never, ever heard a rabbi speak of our obligations to the non-Jewish world (except for humanitarian relief efforts, and political lobbying against discriminatory laws; but even these are few and far between). If a rabbi is asked, he will say "Oh, that means teaching by example". I know of no source for this. The early Zionists did make reference to being "a light unto the Nations", but that was interpreted as setting up a model Socialist society, which would show the world how it's done. Survival is vital. But is survival in a sheltered, self imposed isolation really survival? The "Teshuvah Movement" really started in the aftermath of the Six Day War in 1967. But Chabad had been involved in this for over a century; and others were NOT pleased. When I was in college, I met many who grew up "frum", who told me that their parents hated Chabad for making Baalei Teshuvah, thus "diluting the community". I will never forget when, in 1970, I was dating a young women. I came to her home and met her parents (that's how it was done in those days). When they learned that I was a Baal Teshuvah, they stood up and left the room, ordering their daughter not to see me again. What would they have said about a convert? In this whole issue of Noachides, Converts, and Baalei Teshuvah, the Orthodox Jewish community needs to do a great deal of soul searching, and seeking their raison d'etre.. I will end this series with an incident I witnessed a little over a year ago. My teacher, Rabbi N.D. Kiwak, was visiting the States. He took ill, and was hospitalized for several days. Sima and I went to visit him, as did several people in my extended family. One of my sons in law told a friend that he was going to visit a Tzaddik in the hospital. His friend said that he also wished to go. To everyone's astonishment and embarrassment, the friend made a "sales pitch" to Rabbi Kiwak for a project he was running. He was planning to organize converts into moving to Lakewood, New Jersey (the heart of the Lithuanian Yeshiva world in the U.S.) That way, they could absorb "True Torah Judaism" completely. Rabbi Kiwak listened politely. When the man left, i asked the rabbi "do you agree with that approach?" He sat up, looked at me and said "are you joking?" We cannot keep doing the same thing, and expect different results. May Hashem guide us in the right path!
What we have here is a true dilemma. The Jew is commanded to spiritually lead the world that wants to destroy him. The great commentator, RASHI, living in France on the eve of the first Crusade, which brought in two centuries of unspeakable persecution for the Jews, took the passage quite non-literally. It couldn't possibly mean that we should impress the importance of Torah Truths on the savages who are burning us alive, throwing us off cliffs, killing our pregnant women by cutting open their bellies and throwing their unborn children to the ground. The "Nations" referred to in the text must mean the Northern Tribes that have strayed from Torah. What else could it mean? In context, the verse clearly states that we have a mission to the world. But, for at least 2,000 years, we have been is survival mode. The exponential rise in antisemitism keeps us there. In all my years, I have never, ever heard a rabbi speak of our obligations to the non-Jewish world (except for humanitarian relief efforts, and political lobbying against discriminatory laws; but even these are few and far between). If a rabbi is asked, he will say "Oh, that means teaching by example". I know of no source for this. The early Zionists did make reference to being "a light unto the Nations", but that was interpreted as setting up a model Socialist society, which would show the world how it's done. Survival is vital. But is survival in a sheltered, self imposed isolation really survival? The "Teshuvah Movement" really started in the aftermath of the Six Day War in 1967. But Chabad had been involved in this for over a century; and others were NOT pleased. When I was in college, I met many who grew up "frum", who told me that their parents hated Chabad for making Baalei Teshuvah, thus "diluting the community". I will never forget when, in 1970, I was dating a young women. I came to her home and met her parents (that's how it was done in those days). When they learned that I was a Baal Teshuvah, they stood up and left the room, ordering their daughter not to see me again. What would they have said about a convert? In this whole issue of Noachides, Converts, and Baalei Teshuvah, the Orthodox Jewish community needs to do a great deal of soul searching, and seeking their raison d'etre.. I will end this series with an incident I witnessed a little over a year ago. My teacher, Rabbi N.D. Kiwak, was visiting the States. He took ill, and was hospitalized for several days. Sima and I went to visit him, as did several people in my extended family. One of my sons in law told a friend that he was going to visit a Tzaddik in the hospital. His friend said that he also wished to go. To everyone's astonishment and embarrassment, the friend made a "sales pitch" to Rabbi Kiwak for a project he was running. He was planning to organize converts into moving to Lakewood, New Jersey (the heart of the Lithuanian Yeshiva world in the U.S.) That way, they could absorb "True Torah Judaism" completely. Rabbi Kiwak listened politely. When the man left, i asked the rabbi "do you agree with that approach?" He sat up, looked at me and said "are you joking?" We cannot keep doing the same thing, and expect different results. May Hashem guide us in the right path!
No comments:
Post a Comment