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| Rabbi Cantor Alison Wissot |
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| Cantorial Soloist Mark Britowich |
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Jewish State - Jewish Values
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Jewish State-Jewish Values
Yom Kippur 2009/5770
Rabbi Don Goor
I’ve never met Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu. In exactly one month there’s a chance that I’ll be meeting with the Prime Minister with a small group of rabbis from Los Angeles. I’m not sure we’ll actually get to see him, however I’m hoping! If we do, clearly the discussion will center on the importance of a strong Israel, the need for American support of Israel, and the necessity for American Jews to deepen their connection to their homeland. I know that together with the other rabbis present, I’ll support these important principles. However there is more that I want to say, more that I feel the need, as a Rabbi and as an ardent Zionist, to share with Prime Minister Netanyahu. A potential meeting like this needs preparation. So, let me rehearse with you today, the comments I hope to share next month in Israel.
Mr. Netanyahu. It’s indeed an honor to be invited to speak with you today. Thanks for the coffee and delicious rugaleh! Together with the other rabbis, I want to reiterate my support for a strong state of Israel – a state in which all citizens live in peace and security. Yet there is more that I want to share. And I know what you must be thinking. Most Israelis, as soon as an American begins offering advice, think to themselves, what right do Americans have, who don’t put their lives on the line, whose kids don’t serve in the IDF…what right do you have to offer advice to Israel? What Chutzpah! Well, Professor Michael Walzer, of Harvard and Princeton, provides a wonderful response: “Don’t tell Israel what to do” he suggests. “Instead, share with them how you feel.” “Israel” he says, “is too important to leave to Israelis!”
Today, Mr. Netanyahu, I hope to share what I feel, speaking out of concern and love, which is exactly what the Torah, in the book of Leviticus (19:16) teaches us to do: show your love by reasoning with your brother.
I believe the Torah is speaking directly to us today. We invest a lot of energy speaking about how impossible it is to reason with the Palestinians. It’s time we direct our energy to speaking our minds and reasoning with our own Israeli brethren, those whom we love and care deeply about.
Together let’s change the quality of the discussion from shrillness to civility; from politics to values. When our conversation is based upon Jewish values, we recognize that the status quo as it exists in Israel today must be unacceptable to us as Jews.
To change the quality of the discussion from politics to religious values, let me assert that we must begin by asking Jewish value questions of our own behavior. Prime Minister Netanyahu, you have demanded that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state. If we are to be a Jewish state, then we must engage in a Jewish conversation.
If we speak only of security and avoid reflecting on the Jewish values that must be present in a Jewish state, I am concerned that we may end up saving a state filled with Jews rather than ensuring the future of a Jewish state. It is time we began to worry about the survival of Israel’s Jewish soul.
I realize that we must be realistic. In the Middle East, naiveté is dangerous. When peace is achieved, God willing very soon, we all know that the Palestinians will have to deal with their history. They’ll have to look in the mirror and ask themselves how they remained so mired in hate. How they could have invited so much wanton death and destruction upon their own people. They’ll have to answer how their leadership passed by so many opportunities to provide their people with peace, with security, with a state of their own.
And Mr. Prime Minister, you know what? We too, in the years to come, will have to look into the mirror and ask ourselves about our own behavior, our own values. Rather than turning the mirror to reflect on the behavior of others, let’s be brave enough to follow the Biblical commandment to reason with and love our brother; let us turn the mirror on ourselves.
Looking into the mirror requires that we change the quality of the conversation when it comes to Israel. Political conversation leads us to point fingers at them – what they haven’t or won’t do. A religious conversation asks us to look in the mirror – what are our values, are we living up to them, how should we behave?
True Zionists, true lovers of Israel, know that the modern day state of Israel isn’t just about a state or about land. Israel challenges us, in the modern world, to take the ancient and ongoing Jewish way of life and live it in the practical, real world. The mirror we hold up asks us: What does it mean to be Jewish today? How do we live our Judaism in a post holocaust world, in which we are not the victims? How do we live our Judaism in a world where we are the ones with power?
So, let us hold the mirror up to ourselves, to the State of Israel. And let us change the quality of the conversation and return to Jewish values, the Jewish values upon which the Jewish State was founded. Mr. Netanyahu, as you move forward in your deliberations regarding a two-state solution, let us recognize the following critical Jewish values:
The first Jewish value at stake when we hold up a mirror is that Jewish values and lives are more important than Jewish land. While we all recognize that the land of Israel is holy, we must remember that it’s not the land that’s the ultimate expression of Israel's Jewishness. What makes Israel holy is the people and the lives they lead. The principle of giving up land for peace is deeply Jewish. Why? We have always taught that peace is more important than land, and the quality of the lives we lead is a more significant Jewish virtue than the actual space in which that life is lived.
The second Jewish value at stake as we look into the mirror is a declaration that we as Jews do not want to politically dominate another people. Our empathy for the downtrodden comes from our historical experience. We’re taught repeatedly in the Torah that we are required to love the stranger because we were strangers in the land of Egypt (Vayikra 19:34, Devarim 10:19). It would be manifestly un-Jewish if our own power came at the expense of, or disregard for the needs of others. For too long we were the strangers - stateless and powerless. Our hope for peace recognizes that our greatness as a Jewish state must also be reflected in the moral standards that we apply to others, in this case the Palestinian people.
The third value that I see reflected in the mirror, that I want to inject into our values based conversation is that democratic principles are a modern day fulfillment of Torah. The two-state solution places at the forefront our commitment that Israel be a Jewish democratic state and that its democratic principles are a fulfillment of our Jewish values and mission. How does a two-state solution ensure our democratic values? Without a two-state solution, the demographic balance between Jews and Arabs will be such that maintaining a Jewish State will only be possible if we become a totalitarian regime, controlling millions of Palestinians who are not allowed to vote, not allowed to fully participate in Israeli society. A Jewish minority controlling a Palestinian majority is not democratic and not Jewish. A two-state solution formally rejects such a notion as unworthy of our Zionist aspirations and antithetical to the type of Jews we want to be.
Mr. Prime Minister, as we look into the mirror, we must ask: What kind of Israel will survive? The Talmud actually teaches us that immoral behavior is profanes God’s name. Talmud teaches that we must strive higher – that the acceptance of mediocrity has the ability to destroy a nation. I am convinced that a real lover of Israel is one who demands that Israel follow Jewish principles in her actions. Unless we introduce these three values into our conversation, holiness of people over land; our need to care for those in distress; and an emphasis on democracy for all peoples, Israel may survive as a modern day state however it won’t have a Jewish soul.
Our ancient Jewish ethical tradition must hold modern-day Jewish power accountable. We must take a stand for moral principle, for human rights and dignity, or risk Israel becoming a pious fraud. The question is: to what extent are we going to activate the principles of Judaism? To what extent are we going to live by our faith?
An Israeli friend is truly following Torah when she calls upon Americans to speak lovingly to our Israeli brethren. She tells us that we, American lovers of Israel, have an important job. She instructed me - ask American Jews to "help Israel look itself straight in the eye; Help Israel see itself from a different perspective. Remind us of the fundamental questions: What kind of a country must we be, to be the country we have dreamed of? Remind us of what we must expect of ourselves. Don't blind yourselves to our blindness. Help us strive for better." (Tirza Leibowitz)
Mr. Prime Minister, the clock is ticking. You know as well as I that timing is of the essence: The prolonged stalemate in negotiations, Palestinian incitement and violence as well as ongoing Israeli settlement expansion and settler violence, has bred discouragement among Israelis and Palestinians alike about the prospects for peace. It's crucial that we, as American Jews speak up before it’s too late, not only when we have the great honor and privilege to meet with you, Mr. Prime Minister, but when we’re with friends and family, as members of ARZA, AIPAC, or J-Street, we must speak up before Israel loses her Jewish soul.
1. We must remember that the ultimate goal of a Jewish State is not more land. The holiness of the people must continue to be more important than the holiness of the land.
2. We must return to the deepest values of our Torah. We must love our neighbors, remembering that it is Jewishly illegitimate to deny the authenticity of another people's yearning for sovereignty. We cannot permit Arabs to be treated as second-class citizens.
3. We must focus on our desire to create a democratic modern Jewish state, one which lives up to ancient values and modern goals. We must behave democratically so that Israel may serve as a light unto the nations.
You Mr. Netanyahu, are a realist, and as realists we know that the two-state solution may not be viable in the near future. However, Israelis and Palestinians, as well as their friends around the world who care for the future, must do serious soul searching. Dreaming of, and speaking of peace is not the same as building peace. And yes, Israel's legitimate security concerns must be addressed. At present, I admit, I’m not clear as to how, given the state of the Palestinian Authority and the power of Hamas, these concerns can be addressed.
What I am suggesting, however, is that by looking into the mirror we will be motivated to change the tone of our conversation. We must admit that this isn’t a right wing or left wing agenda – it’s a Jewish agenda. To fail to change the tone of our conversation is to seriously damage the moral and Jewish fiber of Israeli society and Judaism world-wide. When we speak Jewishly, we will, with great pride, maintain Jewish values in a modern political setting.
I am deeply honored to have had this time with you, Mr. Prime Minister. Thank you for the time, and for allowing me to hold up the mirror of Jewish values to the political conversation.
You (and I) may not sit face to face with the Israeli Prime Minister, however in the coming year, our love for Israel will be evident in the mirror we hold up to her actions. Am Yisrael Chai – Od Avinu Chai - the people of Israel will live, when the values of our ancestors live. And how will we do this? Whenever we are at a gathering of friends or family, at work or at home, and people start to argue Israeli politics, from the right or the left, or when you receive an email demanding that you be outraged at a statement from someone on the left or the right, have the courage to step up and speak out - speak out for changing the tone of the conversation, speak out and say - it's not about politics, its not about the right or the left, it's about Judaism, its about Jewish values, its about a State of Israel with a Jewish soul.
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Jewish state-Jewish values with Netanyahu.pdf
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