The Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader

By Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg

Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader 1 This Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader is Dedicated…

In loving memory of our beloved Judy Mintz, by Marty Mintz and her children and grandchildren

In loving memory of our cherished family members, Nelson Neuman, Phyllis Neuman and Roberta Neuman, by Ian Neuman and Ricka Neuman

In loving memory of Rachelle Silverstein, by Ronnie Silverstein

Cover art by Levanah J Lutin 2 Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader Dear Friends,

I worry about you! I really do! And here is what I am worried about:

Most of you will not be attending services this year. Under the circumstances, that is understandable. We hope you will avail yourself of all the virtual services, programs and events that Beth Tfiloh has provided for you. But I worry … every year on Rosh Hashanah, 40-45 minutes of your life is taken up by sitting in your seats in the synagogue and listening to my sermon. But if you won’t be in shul this year, I worry how you are going to fill those 40-45 minutes… and a lot more of your time!

The fact that you are not going to be in shul does not mean that Rosh Hashanah is just another day. It is the day on which the world was created. It is the day on which we are judged. It is a day that should be spent in prayer, repentance, gratitude and introspection.

So how are you going to fill the 40-45 minutes, and beyond? To help me stop worrying, I have put together a High Holy Day Reader containing articles and thoughts I have come across in recent weeks that have educated and enlightened me, and most important, made me THINK. I hope they will do the same for you!

I have divided the readings into three sections:

Part 1: The Meaning of the Day (articles 1-6) Part 2: Issues Facing Us (articles 7-12) Part 3: Don’t Worry, Be Happy! (articles 13-15)

It has been said that one should think of the High Holy Days as “a lookout on the top of a mountain that you have been climbing all year. See your days and their moments spread out before you. Be willing to look now at this big picture of your life. Your ultimate goals. Your beliefs.” So set aside time for yourself as you usher in a New Year in your life to THINK.

With best wishes for a good and sweet New Year,

תכלה שנה וקללותיה - תחל שנה וברכותיה‘ Let the old year end with all its curses; let the new year begin with all its blessings. High Holiday Liturgy

P.S. A copy of my Rosh Hashanah sermon will be posted online at bethtfiloh.com/highholidays on Thursday, September 17th.

Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader 1 Contents

Part 1: The Meaning of the Day...... 3 Rosh Hashanah at Home...... 3 Teshuva – Unpacking Jewish Repentance...... 6 In and Out, Quick and Easy Judaism: Can We Do Better, Even in a Pandemic?...... 7 To Thine Own Self Be True...... 8 Part 2: Issues Facing Us...... 11 I Am a Jew: Bari Weiss’s Powerful Speech...... 11 Coronavirus Will Change the World Permanently. Here’s How...... 12 The Death of Nuance...... 21 Between Scylla and Charybdis...... 24 Why Black Lives Matter — to Jews...... 25 Cancel culture ‘Cancel Culture’ Is as Old as Religion, And It’s Only a Thing Because of Who’s Doing the Cancelling...... 26 Part 3: Don’t Worry, Be Happy!...... 29 Be Happy Be Grateful with What You Have...... 29 What to Be Grateful For...... 30 Coronavirus in a Broken Holy Land: Three Personal Prayers...... 30

2 Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader Part 1: The Meaning of the Day Rosh Hashanah at Home Jewish Family Living – Holiday Celebrations at Home Congregation Beth El, Bethesda, MD

The Head of the Year This blessing is the same as the blessing said over the candles on Friday night except for the last words. On Shabbat you The rabbinic sages teach that in our tradition, there are four include the words in the parentheses. new years—one falls upon the first day of the spring month of Nisan (the month in which we celebrate Pesach); another, usually around February, that is the new year of the trees, Tu Blessing Over the Candles B’Shvat; one falls in late summer signifying the annual renewal ָּברּוְך ַא ָ ה ּתהֹ' אֱֹלקינּו ֶמ ֶלְך ָה ָםעֹול ֶאֲׁשר ִקּדְ ָׁשנּו ִּבְמצְו ָֹתיו ִוְצ ָּונּו ַלְהדְ ִליק of tithing of cattle, on the first of Elul; and the fourth is Rosh נרֵ ֶׁשל ַ)ׁש ָתּב ֶ ל(וְׁש יֹום טֹוב: Hashanah. Arriving in early autumn on the first day of the month of Tishrei, this is the most familiar of these new years. It is a holiday on which many find themselves in synagogue, spiritually awakening to the call of the shofar, taking stock of Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, Asher kidshanu the past year, and readying themselves for the year ahead. b’mitzvotav, V’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel (Shabbat v’shel) Yom Tov. Rosh Hashanah at Home Guide Praised are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe whose mitzvot add holiness to our lives and who gave us the mitzvah Since Jewish holidays begin at sunset, most home rituals take to kindle lights for (Shabbat and for) the Festival. place in the evening. The central home ritual for Rosh Hashanah is a festive holiday meal, during which families often use their After lighting the candles, you say Shehecheyanu to thank nicest china and place settings. The following is a step‐by‐step God for enabling us to reach this season. guide for home observance of Rosh Hashanah. It includes information on traditional and symbolic foods to incorporate into your celebration of the holiday, prayers to add during meal Shehecheyanu times with your family, and some ideas for family activities ָּברּוְך ַא ָ הּת הֹ' אֱֹלקינו ֶמ ֶלְך ָה ָעֹולם ֶׁש ֶהחֱיָנּו ִוְק ָּיְמנּו ִוְה ִּג ָיענּו ַל ַזְמן ַה ֶּזה: .during this festive time The Order of the Home Service/Ritual: Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, Shehecheyanu, v’kimanu v’higi-anu laz’man hazeh. 1. Lighting candles 2. Reciting Kiddush (sanctifying the day with a blessing Praised are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, for over the wine) keeping us alive, for sustaining us, and for helping us to reach 3. Washing hands this season. 4. Chanting Hamotzi (a blessing over the bread) 2. Reciting Kiddush 5. Blessing for eating apples and honey We sanctify the holiday by reciting the special kiddush (blessing 6. The meal over wine) for Rosh Hashanah. It is a custom to ensure that all family members and guests are able to participate by holding 7. After the meal and drinking from their own cup of wine or grape juice. 1. Lighting Candles There are three parts to the kiddush. When Rosh Hashanah falls The holiday celebration begins with the lighting of candles on Friday evening, we include the first paragraph, the Vayechulu, (hadlakat nerot), symbolizing the transition between profane which comes from the Torah. The next part is the daily blessing and sacred time, much like the lighting of candles both at the over the wine or juice. The third piece, the Kiddush is the longer beginning and end of Shabbat. Candles should be lit eighteen blessing sancitifying the festival (and Shabbat) and reminds us of minutes before sunset on the first night of Rosh Hashanah. On creation and the Exodus from Egypt. As with all other festivals, it the second night, candles should be lit one hour later than they is traditional to recite the Shehecheyanu prayer again after the were lit the previous night. kiddush and before drinking.

Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader 3 Vayechulu (Only on Shabbat) Shehecheyanu

ָּברּוְך ַא ָ הּת הֹ' אֱֹלקינו ֶמ ֶלְך ָה ָעֹולם ֶׁש ֶהחֱיָנּו ִוְק ָּיְמנּו ִוְה ִּג ָיענּו ַל ַזְמן ַה ֶּזה: וַ ִיְהי ֶ ֽע ֶרב וַ ִיְהי ֽב ֶֹקר: יֹום ַה ִּׁש ִּׁשי: וַ ֻיְכּלּו ַה ָּׁש ַ ֽמיִם ָוְה ָ ֽא ֶרץ ָוְכ ָל־צְבָאם: וַ ַיְכל אֱֹלקים ַּבּיֹום ַהּׁשְ ִב ִיעי מְ ַלאכְּתֹו ֶאֲׁשר ָע ָׂשה. וַּיׁשְ ִּבֹת ַּבּיֹום ַהּׁשְ ִב ִיעי ִמ ָּכל־ Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, Shehecheyanu מְ ַלאכְּתֹו ֶאֲׁשר ָע ָׂשה: וַ ָ ֽיְב ֶרְך אֱֹלקים ֶאת־יֹום ַהּׁשְ ִב ִיעי וַ ַיְק ֵּדׁש אֹתֹו. ִיּכ בֹו .v’kimanu v’higi-anu laz’man hazeh ָׁש ַבת ִמ ָּכל מְ ַלאכְּתֹו ֶאֲׁש ָר־ּב ָרא אֱֹלקים ַלעֲׂשֹות: Vayehi erev, vayehi boker, Yom Hashishi. Vayechulu Hashamayim Praised are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, for v’ha’aretz, v’chol ts’vaam. Vay’chal Elohim ba-yom hash’vii, keeping us alive, for sustaining us, and for helping us to reach m’lachto asher asa vayishbot bayom hash’vii, mikol m’lachto this season. asher asa. Vayevarech Elohim et yom hash’vii, vay’kadeish atah ki vo shavat mikol m’lachto asher bara Elohim la’asot. 3. Washing Hands The ritual washing of hands has nothing to do with physical The sixth day – The heavens and the earth, and all within them, cleanliness. While the hands are obviously to be clean of dirt were finished. By the seventh day, God had completed the work before food is eaten, even hands that are physically clean which He had been doing; and so God rested from all his work. should be ritually washed before sitting down to eat. This ritual, Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because on originating in Temple times, has continued on the grounds that it He rested from all the work of His creation. the ideal of holiness demands a special ritualistic washing of Blessing Over the Wine the hands – this act is seen as the introduction of holiness into the everyday life of a Jew. It is just another way, like lighting candles and saying kiddush, that we separate special days like ַס ִבְרי ָמ ָרנָן ַוְר ַּבֹותי: ָּברּוְך ַא ָ הּת הֹ' אֱֹלקינו ֶ ֽמ ֶלְך ָה ָעֹולם ֵ אּבֹור ִּפְרי ַה ָּגֽ ֶפן: Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah, from the rest of the week. Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam, borei p’ri ָבּרּוְך ַָאתּה ָ׳ה אֱֹלקינו ֶמ ֶלְך ָה ָעֹולם ֶאֲשׁר ִקדְ ָּשׁנּו ִבְּמ ָצְֹותיו ִוְצוָּנּו ַעל .hagafen ִנְט ַילת יָ ַדיִם: Praised are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates fruit of the vine. Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav vtzvivanu al n’tilat yadayim. - Kiddush On Shabbat, include the words in Praised are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has parentheses. sanctified us with commandments and has commanded us to .wash our hands ָּברּוְך ַא ָ הּת הֹ' אֱֹלקינו ֶ ֽמ ֶלְך ָה ָםעֹול ֶאֲׁשר ָ ּֽב ַחר ָ ּֽבנּו ִמ ָּכ ָםל־ע וְרֹומְ ָ ֽמנּו ִמ ָּכל ָלׁשֹון, ִוְקּדְ ָ ֽׁשנּו ִּבְמ ָצְֹותיו. וַ ִּת ֶּתן ָ ֽנּו להֹ' אֱֹלקינו ָּבְַאהֲבה. ֶת)א יֹום ַה ַּׁש ָּבת Chanting HaMotzi .4 ַה ֶּזה וְ( ֶתא יֹום ַה ִּז ָּכרֹון ַה ֶהּז יֹום ִ)זכְרֹון( ּתְ ָרּועה ָ)ּבְַאהֲבה( ִמקְ ָרא ֽק ֶֹדׁש Before eating dinner we recite HaMotzi, the blessing over ֵזֽ ֶכר ִל ִיציַאת ִמ ָ ֽצְריִם. ִּכי ָ ֽבנּו ָב ַ ֽחרְ ָ ּת ָ ֽוְאֹותנּו ִק ַ ּֽדׁשְ ָּת ִמ ָּכ ָל־ה ַע ִּמים. ּודְ ָברְ ָך ,bread. Just like on Shabbat, we say this blessing over challah ֶאֱמת ַוְקּיָם ָל ַעד: ָּברּוְך ַא ָּתה הֹ' ֶמ ֶלְך ַעל ָּכל ָה ֶָארץ מְ ַק ֵּדׁש ַ)ה ַּׁש ָּבת וְ( however, because Rosh Hashanah celebrates the cyclical יִׂשְ ָר ֵלא וְיֹום ַה ִּז ָּכרֹון: Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher bachar passage of time, it is customary to use a round, sweet loaf of banu mikol am v’rom’manu mikol lashon, v’kid’shanu challah. We drizzle honey over the bread to ensure that the b’mitzvotav. Va-teeten lanu Adonai Eloheinu b’ahava et (yom coming year is a sweet one. ָּברּוְך ַא ָּתה הֹ' אֱֹלקינו ֶ ֽמ ֶלְך ָה ָעֹולם ַה ּֽמ ִֹוציא ֶ ֽל ֶחם ִמן ָה ָ ֽא ֶרץ: (haShabbat ha-zeh v’et) yom hazikaron hazeh. Yom (Zichron t’ruah (b’ahava) mikra kodesh zeicher l’tiziat mitzrayim. Ki vanu vacharta v’otanu kidashta mikol ha-amim ud’varcha Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam, Hamotzi lechem emet v’kayan la-ad. Baruch atah Adonai, melech al kol ha’aretz min ha-aretz. m’kadeish (haShabbat) v’Yisrael v’yom hazikaron. Praised are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who Praised are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe who brings forth bread from the earth. has chosen and distinguished us by sanctifying our lives with Commandments. Lovingly have you given us this (Shabbat and 5. Blessing for Eating Apples and Honey this) Day of Remembrance, a day for recalling the shofar sound, During Rosh Hashanah, it is traditional to eat apples dipped a day for holy assembly and for recalling the Exodus from Egypt. in honey, to symbolize our hopes for a “sweet” new year. The Thus have you chosen us, sanctifying us among all people. Your apple is dipped in honey, the blessing for eating tree fruits faithful word endures forever. Praise are You, Adonai, Ruler of is recited, and then we ask God to “renew for us a good and all the earth, who sanctifies (Shabbat), the people Israel and the sweet year.” Day of Remembrance.

4 Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader Pomegranates are another traditional food to eat on Rosh • ָּברּוְך ַא ָּתה הֹ' אֱֹלקינו ֶמ ֶלְך ָה ָעֹולם ֵ אּבֹור ִּפְרי ָה ֵעץ: Hashanah. The 613 (supposedly) seeds inside correspond to the Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, borei p’ri ha-eitz. number of commandments in the Torah and in eating the seeds Praised are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who of the pomegranate we pray that our merits will increase in creates the fruit of the tree. great number.

:Other Holiday Activities ִיְהי ָרצֹון ִמ ָלְפנֶיָך ֶׁשּתְ ַח ֵדׁש ָע ֵלינּו ָׁש הנָ ָה טֹובּומְ ָתּוקה: Y’hi ratzon mil’fanecha, Adonai Eloheinu veilohei avoteinu, • During the High Holy Days, usually on the first day of Shet’chadeish aleinu shanah tovah um’tukah. Rosh Hashanah in the afternoon, it is traditional to go to a nearby body of water and symbolically cast away our sins or May it be Your will, our God and God of our ancestors to renew wrongdoings from the past year in a ceremony called Tashlich. for us a good and sweet year. This year, take some bread crumbs as a family to a nearby lake or stream. As you throw your crumbs into the water, you can 6. The Meal either say your mistakes aloud or think them to yourself. The Rosh Hashanah evening meal is often quite festive and we • Set the tone for your upcoming year by performing at least enjoy foods we might not have during “normal” dinners. The one mitzvah each day from the start of Rosh Hashanah until meal can encompass an ancient custom of eating symbolic Yom Kippur. Perhaps one day it is doing some Jewish learning foods, like a mini Seder. Besides apples and honey, there are as a family, and another day could bring the mitzvah of giving other foods we may want to have at our holiday table. Other tzedakah, visiting the sick, or feeding the hungry. special foods (mentioned in the Talmud, Shulhan Arukh and other sources) include leeks or cabbage, beets, fenugreek or This guide was prepared by Elisha Rothschild Frumkin, carrots, dates, gourds, pomegranates, fish, and the head of a Family Education Director at Congregation Beth El, with help fish. (Visit myjewishlearning.com to find out more!) from: Celebrating the Jewish Year by Paul Steinberg and myjewishlearning.com. Prayer excerpts are from B’kol Echad 7. After the Meal published by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. After dinner is finished you may choose to recite Birkat HaMazon, the grace after meals. Make sure to include the paragraphs for Rosh Hashanah and Shabbat (if Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat). Shofar in the Year of Corona Family Activities for Rosh Hashanah Let this year’s shofar blast take on a whole new meaning, by Rabbi Shlomo Buxbaumprint, Aish.com Before the Holiday Begins: Most of us take breathing for granted. It’s something that just • Take some time to make greeting cards to wish friends and happens on its own. But as we approach Rosh Hashanah and relatives a Shanah Tovah, or “A Good Year.” This is a great look back at some of the takeaways from the Jewish year 5780, way to be creative together while reviewing some common there has been a focus on breathing. greetings for this festive time of year. This year will be remembered as a year of Covid-19 ventilators • Go apple picking! It is traditional to eat first fruits to celebrate and masks that inhibit our breathing. This year will be the new year, so use your harvest in special recipes for your remembered as the year that we were forced to slow down Rosh Hashanah dinner (and dessert!) from the rapid pace of our daily lives and just breathe. And with every breath we learned to humble ourselves, to relinquish • Make a special Rosh Hashanah challah cover. A simple challah control, to take each day as it comes, and to live a little more in cover can be made with a hemmed square or rectangle of fabric. If the present. using a light colored fabric, your family can decorate it with fabric markers. You can also sew a decorative ribbon on as a border. For the many who suffered losses, trauma, or disappointments, 5780 will be remembered as a year of challenges and pain. But At Your Holiday Table: many will remember this year as one that snapped them out • As a family, reflect on the happy and sad memories of the of the trance of daily repetitive living, giving them a chance past year. Have each family member discuss what they hope to to learn how to focus on what matters, to get to know their accomplish during the coming year, perhaps identifying ways families and themselves a little better, a year that taught them in which your family will incorporate new Jewish rituals or how to truly breathe. observances in your home.

Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader 5 On Rosh Hashanah there is a commandment to blow the shofar, Teshuva – Unpacking Jewish a unique mitzvah in that it is fulfilled by using our breath. The shofar blasts mark the birthday of mankind when God “blew” Repentance into man’s nostrils his soul, giving him the “breath of life” We do not confess to rabbis; they are not Catholic priests, nor (Genesis, 2:7). Breath is symbolic for the soul, as the two share do they possess the power of absolution. a common Hebrew root. The word for soul, “neshama,” is By Aharon E. Wexler, Jpost.com almost identical to the Hebrew word “neshima,” breathe. It’s no wonder that one can become more aware of the higher levels of their soul by slowing down and focusing on their breathing. The rabbis tell us we are judged on Rosh Hashanah. I honestly Blowing the shofar teaches us how to discover our soul. The don’t know what that could really mean. We say it. We repeat shofar is nothing more than a hollow shell, yet it transforms it. We sing it. But how many of us really understand what is a fleeting breath into a powerful victory cry. When we make meant by that? Does God really sit down and inscribe people in ourselves hollow, letting go of our egos and relinquish the false the Book of Life? Why would God need a book? Why would God sense of control, only then can we fully experience the spiritual even need to judge? essence that is inside of us. I think the brilliance of the Jewish calendar is its ability to Commenting on the verse, “Lift up your voice like a shofar” apportion a period of time to a specific theme and then do a (Isaiah 58:1), one of the early Hassidic masters, Rabbi Avraham deep dive on that theme. Of course, the lessons of freedom Chaim of Zlotchov, known as the Orach L’Chaim, writes: When that Passover teaches us apply every day, all 12 months of the we view ourselves like a shofar that has no voice besides for year. But having one holiday once a year is the best way to learn what is blown into it, in that we have no power outside of what and appreciate its value. God gives us, we can awaken the Divine love and bring upon ourselves great kindness and compassion. The lessons of assimilation that we can gather from Hanukkah apply also throughout the year, but we cannot light candles This past year we learned how to do just that. We saw how every night. Nor can we get drunk every day and ponder God’s quickly our entire life can change, and how the entire world mysterious behind-the-scenes way like we do on Purim. can be thrown into chaos. We saw that most of the external structures that we build are really hollow and powerless, like So, too, with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. This sacred time a shofar. We learned that without breath – without a spiritual for reflection, introspection and teshuva is made possible by connection, without meaningful relationships, without personal the fact that it is a small window of time out of the vastness growth – our lives can turn very empty very quickly. of the year. Of course we should be spending every day in repentance and making amends, but it is just not how human As the virus first began to spread, many took note of its name, beings are wired to operate. So we set aside one time during “corona,” which means crown, pointing out how this virus the year just toward that end. would wake up the world to realize how dependent we are on the King of Kings to protect us and to keep world order. Jewish As they say, “Every day is Mother’s Day,” but isn’t it nice that we tradition teaches us that the shofar is the very instrument that have one particular day set aside to pause and mark that? So, we use to coronate God as King, proclaiming that everything we too, with the High Holy Days. Their message should resonate have is dependent on God Who is constantly breathing life and with us 24/7, but the more human thing is to have one special sustaining us with His Divine energy. time of the year dedicated to teshuva. As we look back on a year when we learned how to pay What then is teshuva? Our Sages tell us that teshuva is a attention to our breath, when we saw the hollowness and three-part process. The first is to regret the sin, the second is to fragility of our control, when the word corona became a confess it, and the third is to never do it again. household word, perhaps we can view the entire year as I think we should unpack this a little. one great shofar blast, one great reminder of who is really in control. Let’s start with regret. One does not need to regret the sin itself. The sins are part of the mosaic of our lives. They made us who we are. We need to regret that the sin committed was a violation of our covenant with God. In other words, when we sin, we “hurt” God, and perhaps we are even hurting ourselves. Our regret is that... – that we violated the will of God. The next step is to confess. We do not confess to rabbis; they are not Catholic priests, nor do they possess the power of absolution. We confess to God and God alone. It is with Him we

6 Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader need to repair the relationship. hamper our lives, lifestyles and, in all likelihood, our High Holidays. The last step is to promise not to commit the sin again. While this sounds pretty straightforward, I think the best we can hope Planning, providing and coordinating meaningful shiurim, for is to promise to try our best to not to do it again. How often classes, programs, and most of all minyanim this year is do we make resolutions to better our lives to only fail again and extraordinarily complicated and challenging. The questions and again? To diet? To exercise more? Too often we make well- dilemmas of what to do are not limited to decision-makers at intended resolutions that fail in practice. Our rabbis tell us that institutions like Shuls and schools. These questions are also very all we need is one small step of rapprochement toward God and real and present for the stakeholders of those institutions who we will find Him running toward us. have to decide comfort level, safety threshold, personal risk factors and more before determining if, what, where and how The incredible thing about this process is that it wipes the slate to participate. clean. It never happened. This is amazing when you think about it. If you get into a fight with a friend, he may forgive you, but I fear that when considering how hard it is to access inspiration it is highly unlikely he will ever forget. Injuries have their scars. in this unprecedented climate, many people will simply write But teshuva is quite literally the only thing in this universe off this Elul and Yamim Noraim, take the spiritual loss, and that has repercussions for one’s future and one’s past. An move on hoping to make it up when this all passes. Such an opportunity to change the past is perhaps one of the greatest attitude is understandable, even enticing. After all, who doesn’t gifts God can give to us. This is why the Sages make such a big have corona fatigue, who isn’t done with Zooming? Many are deal out of teshuva. They, too, cannot get over the chance to lonely, most are emotionally spent, all are very tired of this. remake oneself and forge a better future. While there has been lots of learning over Zoom and amazing One of the greatest obstacles to taking advantage of this gift chesed efforts that have been creatively coordinated, there is is the feeling of hypocrisy. We feel inadequate and not up to also a sense of spiritual apathy, a sentiment of trying to survive the challenge. Or perhaps the enormity of the change that is religiously, rather than to thrive. This complacency manifests needed dwarfs us and paralyzes us from taking the first step. itself in several ways, including in participation in minyanim— both outdoors and in Shul. Advice I often give my students is baby steps. It is okay to do teshuva in one area, even while completely sinning in another. Even now, some people are continuing to stay home or daven In other words, it is okay to do teshuva for Shabbat, while still in a local development minyan because of genuine health not taking upon yourself to be careful about kashrut. Judaism concerns, and these people are doing the absolutely correct isn’t an all-or-nothing religion. If there is too much that needs thing. Let me be clear: Someone who davens alone or to be done, pick one thing, and focus on that. And after you’ve outdoors near their home out of safety considerations mastered that, you can then choose another and another. And should not feel at all guilty, ashamed or hesitant and so on, until you feel you are in the right place with both yourself they should continue until they feel it is safe to do and God. otherwise. That said, let’s be honest. Many people are also not coming to shul or staying home entirely out of sheer convenience. That becomes evident when the level of personal comfort and In and Out, Quick and Easy concern when it comes to sharing meals, playdates, shopping Judaism: Can We Do Better, Even and socializing is radically more permissive and lenient than it is in a Pandemic? when it comes to joining davening. I understand the attraction of davening on the block. After all, it By Rabbi Efrem Goldberg is more conducive to dressing in whatever is most comfortable, Shortly after BRS (Boca Raton Synagogue) shut down in March, it is condensed, there is no Torah reading or Haftorah, no someone said to me, almost half-jokingly, “Imagine if things are speech or announcements. One person recently commented still like this for Rosh Hashanah.” I vividly remember dismissing that he is very comfortable coming back to shul from a health the sentiment saying there is no way, this shutdown will only perspective, but he doesn’t want to because the davening on last a few weeks at most, and it will most certainly be figured his block is in and out, quick and easy. out by Rosh Hashanah. In and out, quick and easy. Is that what our Judaism has Well, here we are welcoming in the month of Elul and, with it, been reduced to? Does living through a pandemic mean we the launch of the Yamim Noraim season. While we know more can’t have spiritual ambitions or aspirations, that we can’t now than we did then and things are a bit more under control, push ourselves beyond our comfort zone or stretch to do this pandemic continues to grip the globe and to significantly what is right, not what is easy, what is virtuous, not what is

Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader 7 most convenient, what will give the greatest nachas ruach to are we meant to make, how are we thought of by others and Hashem, not necessarily what is most expedient or convenient by Hashem, how do we ultimately want to be remembered? for me? The word teshuva literally means an answer or answers as in she’eilos u’teshuvos – questions and answers. Some will counter that davening at shul isn’t normal either. We are making compromises in the minyanim at shul: we start at a The truth is that every single year, the answers we are looking different place in the davening, singing is reduced, the derasha is for are not found in others, they aren’t available or provided shortened, there is no socializing, no Kiddush, no place for young by anyone or anything other than us. The Yamim Noraim are a children. For some people, some or all of this contributes towards large mirror held up to us, covered with these questions and the desire not to come back. Honestly, I hear that, I really do. I others. Sometimes the teshuva is easy, a minor adjustment, a miss those same things terribly and ache from their absence. tweak. Other times theteshuva , providing meaningful answers, may involve a large overhaul. If we are sincere and genuine in But let me ask you this – if your loved one were convalescing the process of responding to the questions, then we have done and you were told you can start visiting them again but you teshuva, we have provided teshuvos, meaningful answers. have to wear a mask, you cannot hold their hand or come too close, you cannot stay long and you can only talk to them from The most valuable, satisfying, gratifying and meaningful things the doorway, would you say, “Well that isn’t the normal way or in life are never in and out, quick and easy. They take effort and the ideal way to visit so I am just going to continue waving from struggle, they often demand sacrifice, but they are worth it. outside the window”? Of course not. You would take what you could get, grateful for the opportunity to come just a bit closer, Whether you can come back to shul, can only daven in an to feel more in their presence, to communicate how badly you outdoor minyan, or need to daven alone, don’t sell yourself want to draw close once again. short, don’t underachieve or write off this time spiritually. Persevere, fight through, and push yourself. Set goals and make Yes, this year is dramatically different from all others. In most resolutions to achieve them. Inspire yourself and your family years, we can rely on others to generate our inspiration. We to not only survive but to thrive, to make choices now that will attend the talk of the speaker who motivates us, listen to the allow you later to look back and see how much you grew, how chazzan who inspires us, join the tzibbur who lifts us. This year, you were transformed by the lasting meaningful changes you for those who must daven alone and even for those who can made during the pandemic Yamim Noraim. attend shul, we won’t have the same support system, the same external drivers of inspiration. But I plead with you: do not For the forty days from the beginning of Elul through Yom write off this season. Do not take a loss on the Yamim Noraim Kippur take on a challenge. Perhaps it can be to start wearing this year. tzitzis or putting on tefillin each day, maybe a promise to turn your cell phone entirely off each time you daven, perhaps Inspiration, motivation, growth, and change are all readily to listen to a shiur or learn on your own a little more each available to us this year as much as any other when we realize day. Consider pushing yourself to exercise or to eat in a more that ultimately, these things must come from within ourselves. healthy way. Resolve to interact better with a specific family They don’t depend on others and we can experience them if member or friend. You choose the challenge, but understand only we are determined to. that no matter your environment, only you can provide the teshuva, the answer. Indeed, even in normal times, many who have yet to make needed changes in their emotional, physical or spiritual health If you accept this challenge, these forty days likely won’t be say, if only I had someone to inspire me, if only I read the right quick and easy, but I guarantee you that the results will be well book, attended the perfect seminar. If only my spouse were worth it. on the same page, if only my children were more obedient and compliant, if only my rabbi was more available, if only my boss was more supportive, if only my parents were more encouraging, if only… To Thine Own Self Be True But those are excuses, they are deflections and distractions. An Excerpt from The Book of Jonah: A Call to Personal Of course, supportive surroundings help us but if we are not Responsibility, Rabbi Hayyim Angel, Tradition 30:1, Fall 1995 motivated, inspired, or driven to make changes they will never happen no matter who we are married to, how our children In studying the book of Jonah, the basic story line is a gateway behave, what DNA our parents gave us or what virus is plaguing to the universal truths and deeper meanings found in the text. the globe. Even on the simplest level, Jonah is an appropriate reading for Yom Kippur. Repentance, God’s forgiveness, the impossibility of Elul and the holidays present us with a list of questions to fleeing from God, and other major religious themes permeate consider – who are we, who do we want to be, what difference this succinct tale. On fast days, leaders of communities

8 Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader followed the simple reading of Jonah, citing God’s forgiveness stifling prophecy is death through divine agency) so that the for Nineveh as the classic example of His clemency towards Assyrians will not repent. God will then destroy them, and they penitents. Similarly, Radak draws lessons from the simple no longer will be able to conquer Israel. Alternatively, one could reading of Jonah: If non-Jews repent, certainly Jews should; and say that Jonah, as a prophet of Israel, sees the idolatrous ways God accepts the penance of people from any background. Yet, of his people. If gentiles repent, then the Israelites will look the usual lessons derived from a superficial reading of Jonah worse by contrast. leave the careful reader with a host of unanswered questions, as they do not provide (nor do they attempt to provide) a Elyakm Ben-Menahem (Da’at Mikra) suggests that Jonah comprehensive picture of the details of the story. opposes the concept of repentance altogether. The prophet thinks that if wicked people suffer immediate retribution for Just as human awareness is multilayered, including the fully their wrongdoings, they will not sin as much. Alternatively, conscious and the subconscious, so too biblical texts present Jonah wants to understand God’s ways, and repentance makes readers with multifaceted accounts which can be understood in matters too subjective for even the greatest of prophets several dimensions simultaneously. Here, we will consider the to comprehend (see J. T. Makkot 2:6). In a similar vein, R. text of Jonah in light of several Midrashim and commentaries Yehoshua Bachrach suggests that Jonah wants to understand sensitive to the prophet’s inner life and reflective of a God’s judgment, but is unable to fathom why bad things do comprehensive picture of Jonah. Jonah is willing to present not happen to bad people. Although these explanations are even a prophet as having passive characteristics, an attribute of deeply rooted in the text, one must wonder why Jonah is the all people in varying degrees. The subtle details in the laconic only prophet ever to flee his mission. Clearly, there must be text help the reader delineate some aspects of passivity, most something unique to Jonah beyond opposition to repentance or signifi- cantly, the ability often to ignore realities about oneself a lack of understanding of God’s judgments which causes such in order to maintain a satisfactory self-image. The study of an extreme reaction to God’s command. Jonah then boards Jonah’s biblical career encourages the reader to lead an active the ship in Jaffa. A curious Midrash (PirkeI de-Rabbi Eliezer 10) and profoundly honest religious life, a message fitting for Yom expands the plot: Kippur. He (Jonah) went down to Jaffa and did not find a ship to God orders Jonah to go on a prophetic mission to Nineveh. board, but there was a ship which was at a two-day distance Jonah flees, finding a ship heading for Tarshish. After the boat from Jaffa. What did God do? He brought a great gale on the leaves the port of Jaffa, God sends a great storm which prompts ship and returned it to Jaffa. When Jonah saw this, he greatly every sailor to pray to his respective deity, but Jonah has fallen rejoiced. He said: Now I know that my ways are justified to fast sleep. After the captain asks Jonah to pray, the sailors myself. draw lots; Jonah is picked out and confesses that he is fleeing from God. He tells the terrified mariners that the tem-pest will This Midrash highlights an intriguing, even unexpected trait subside if they cast him overboard. After valiant efforts to save of Jonah: he felt the need to defend his actions. This Midrash themselves without resorting to this measure, the sailors throw appears to pinpoint a deeper layer of Jonah’s psyche. The Jonah overboard. The storm ceases. The sailors pray to God, prophet acts as he does despite a deeper, almost subconscious making vows and offering sacrifices. Let us now take a closer awareness that his flight from prophecy is wrong. Alternatively, look at the chapter, focusing on Jonah’s puzzling behavior. the Midrash suggests that Jonah wants a sign of God’s approval despite his rebellion against God’s command. Thus, according When God assigns Jonah to his mission, the prophet flees to to the Midrash, complex motivations and conflicting feelings Tarshish. The general explanation of this ostensibly absurd underline the prophet’s behavior. reaction is that Jonah is fleeing Israel since God does not give prophecy outside of Israel. This explanation appears Once on the ship, Jonah continues his idiosyncratic behavior. difficult, however, since Jonah does receive prophecy near While the sailors and captain pray and work to save the ship, Nineveh in chapter four! Additionally, Moses and Jeremiah, rowing furiously and throwing cargo overboard, Jonah escapes midrashically associated with Jonah in their initial reluctance to the crisis passively, by sleeping. Even more enigmatic, however, prophesy, forthrightly protest to God (not to mention that both is Jonah’s “dialogue” with the captain and the sailors in the text subsequently accept their missions). Jonah, on the other hand, itself: tries to evade his mission without so much as a response. So the shipmaster came to him and said to him, why are you sleeping? Arise, call upon your God; perhaps God will think upon Many commentators justify Jonah’s actions by explaining that us that we perish not. And they said everyone to his fellow, come, Nineveh is the capital of Assyria, a rising power which ultimately and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil will exile the Northern Kingdom of Israel (see II Kings 17:1-6). (ra’a) is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Jonah, because of his love for his people, prefers to forfeit his Then they said to him, please tell us for whose cause this evil is own life by failing to transmit his message (the penalty for

Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader 9 upon us; what is your occupation, and where do you come from? but it is the antithesis of Jonah’s own perception. The reader What is your country, and of what people are you (vv. 6-8)? sees that the sailors act admirably, praying and acting to save themselves. They repent, becoming sincerely God-fearing Trembling with fear, the captain directly addresses Jonah, people. Jonah, by contrast, does nothing, but actively avoids asking that he pray, yet the prophet does not respond! As the doing God’s will. sailors draw lots to identify the source of their woes, Jonah watches passively, without saying a word about his own Why doesn’t Jonah repent at this point? Or, why doesn’t he wrongdoing. Even after Jonah loses the lottery, he still remains jump into the water himself? Although the Torah injunction silent. Only when confronted by the sailors does he respond, against actively taking one’s own life must weigh into this but his response is not to the point: discussion, it would appear that other factors are involved. Throughout the first chapter, Jonah acts passively. He hardly And he said to them: “I am a Hebrew (ivri); and I fear the Lord, responds to those addressing him, watching in silence the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land” (v. 9). as everyone else acts. Fleeing from God, Jonah avoids confrontation. Even as he wants to die, he cannot actively take To say the least, it is difficult to imagine that the panic-stricken his own life. sailors were interested in their peculiar guest’s religious commitment. Adding to the mystery of Jonah’s response, we As Jonah is cast overboard to a seemingly imminent demise, the find in v. 10 that the prophet has told the mariners about his careful reader watches an extraordinarily passive person sink fleeing God: beneath the waves....

Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and they said to him, why [At the conclusion of the book upon hearing God’s lesson form have you done this? For the men knew that he had fled from the the kikayon] Jonah, staring at the realization that he has been presence of the Lord, because he had told them (v. 10). diverting attention from his own shortcomings by focusing on other people’s flaws, reacts in character: he fails to respond. Why does the text not mention this critical information in The story is left open, indicating that the struggle against verse 9 with the rest of the response? R.YehoshuaBachrach passivity and self-deception is ongoing, without total resolution. suggests that the text omits Jonah’s embarrassing response for the sake of the prophet’s honor. This interpretation treats As we have seen, Jonah is a parable demonstrating that even Jonah as worthy of respect, despite his disobedience. But it also the best people can have a powerful sense of self-de- ception. highlights the self-deceptive element in Jonah’s behavior: not In addition to its more obvious messages,Jonah teaches that only does the prophet cloud his own self-image, but the text each person must take an active role in his or her life, trying to does the same for him. uncover the truth regarding one’s motivation and promoting justice even where doing so is destructive to oneself or Let us further develop this interpretation. The Midrash in Gen. one’s nation. A consequence of not doing so is that one will Rabba 42:13 explains that the term ivri (pertaining to Abraham) inevitably judge others uncharitably. One will neither achieve means that all the world stood on one side while Abraham self-awareness nor yes yesobey God as faithfully as one should. courageously opposed them. Here, Jonah contrasts himself with Ultimately, to flee the very essence of one’s being approaches everyone else on the ship: you worship your idols, but I fear the spiritual suicide. true God. The prophet’s response also reveals that he believes his apprehension to be more complete than that of the sailors. What better story could the Jewish people read at Minha of While the sailors nervously refer to the storm as a ra’a (evil) in Yom Kippur than one which encourages them to live an active, v. 8, Jonah calmly calls it a se’ara (storm- i.e., an objective term) honest religious life, with the courage to confront the greatest in v. 12. He confidently states that he is the cause of this great impediment to repentance: blindness to one’s own flaws tempest and displays remarkable poise as he suggests that and secret injustices. Through-out the Yom Kippur liturgy, we they throw him overboard. Thus, it would appear that Jonah is bravely and honestly confess to God: belittling the sailors for their religious beliefs and their ignorance of the total picture. The text omits Jonah’s mention of his flight For we are not so brazen nor stubborn to say to You, Lord our from prophecy because this information is irrelevant to the God and God of our ancestors, we are righteous and have not prophet himself. Jonah does not fear as do the sailors; he sees sinned; but we have sinned, ourselves and our ancestors. himself on a higher plane of knowledge. And the text reflects this disdain in its omission of the most important element (from the On Yom Kippur, we attempt to demonstrate to God that we are sailors’ point of view) of Jonah’s response. capable of being Benei Amittai, people of truth who are capable of repenting on the deepest human levels. Jonah contains the How ironic it is that Jonah contrasts himself with the sailors: he clear message that human beings can take an active role so as to is righteous and aware of God’s plan; they are idolatrous and become closer to others, to themselves, and ultimately, to God. ignorant of God’s ways. The careful reader also sees a contrast,

10 Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader Part 2: Issues Facing Us

I Am a Jew: Bari Weiss’s logic of history and disappear. And I am a Jew because some of Powerful Speech our greatest renewals took place in exile. I am a Jew because my people has been targeted and despised By Bari Weiss, Aish.com and murdered by the Nazis and Soviets. New York Times columnist Bari Weiss gave the following I am a Jew because evil hates my people. powerful speech at the No Hate, No Fear solidarity march in New York. There were an estimated 25,000 people in I am a Jew because my people managed to turn destruction attendance protesting the recent outbreak of anti-Semitic into redemption by returning to their land after 2,000 years. attacks. I am a Jew because our Founders saw themselves as new My name is Bari Weiss. Israelites. I am a proud American. I am a proud New Yorker. And I am a I am a Jew because the biblical words on the liberty bell – proud Jew. proclaim liberty throughout the land! – rang out from the righteous mouths of this country’s abolitionists as they fought I am not a Jew because people hate my religion, my people, and for universal freedom in this New Jerusalem. my civilization. I am a Jew because it was Emma Lazarus who etched Not for a single moment does Jew-hatred, like the kind we are the biblical injunction to welcome the stranger onto the seeing in this city, make me a Jew. consciousness of America when she wrote the words: “Give me I am a Jew because of the audacity and the iconoclasm of your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe Abraham, the first Jew of all. The whole world was awash in free.” idols and he stood alone to proclaim the truth: There is one I am a Jew because of the martyred of Tree of Life and Chabad God. of Poway and Jersey City. And I am a Jew because of the I am a Jew because my ancestors were slaves. And I am a Jew courage of those who fought back in Monsey and who then, because the story of their Exodus from Egypt, their liberation immediately after the attack, gathered together to sing. And I from slavery, is a story that changed human consciousness am Jew because my brothers and sisters in Crown Heights and forever. Boro Park and Williamsburg who refuse to hide their Judaism. I am a Jew because our God commands us to never oppress the I am a Jew because of students across this country who refuse stranger. to be smeared and denigrated because of who they are, who are standing up against humiliation, pressure and abuse to I am Jew because Ruth, the first convert to Judaism, told her affirm the justness of Zionism. mother-in-law Naomi, “your people will be my people and your God will be my God,” reminding us of the centrality of the I am a Jew because my brothers and sisters in England and Jewish people to Judaism. France are battling the anti-Semitism of populist thugs and the anti-Semitism of politicians in parliament. I am a Jew because of Queen Esther, who understood that she had attained her royal position in order to save her people from I am a Jew because I refuse to stay silent in the face of injustice. destruction. I am a Jew because I have no patience for leaders who speak boldly while failing to take the actions necessary to protect our I am a Jew because the Maccabees were the original resistance. community. Or for partisan hacks that claim anti-Semitism is Because they modeled for us – and for all peoples – how to the exclusive domain of their political opponents. Or for leaders resist the temptation of self-erasure. who believe they can fight Jew-hatred while making political alliances with anti-Semites. I am a Jew because when Rabbi Akiva was being tortured to death by the Romans he laughed. He laughed and he told his I am a Jew because I refuse to lie. students that he could finally fulfill the commandment to love God with all of his being. I am a Jew because Jews are of every color and class and politics and language. And I am a Jew because hatred of us has I am a Jew because even after the heart of Judaism and Jewish no color or class or politics or language. sovereignty were destroyed my people refused to accept the

Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader 11 I am a Jew because Jews do not cause Jew hatred. Ever. COMMUNITY Today, as in so many times in history, there are many forces in the world insisting that Jews must disappear or die. Some say it The personal becomes dangerous. bluntly. Some cloak it in the language of progress. Deborah Tannen is a professor of linguistics at Georgetown and author, most recently, of You’re the Only One I Can Tell: Inside But I am a Jew because of I know that there is force far greater the Language of Women’s Friendships. than that. And that is the force of who we are and the force of our world-changing ideas. On 9/11, Americans discovered we are vulnerable to calamities we thought only happened in distant lands. The 2008 financial The Jewish people were not put on Earth to be anti-anti- crisis told us we also can suffer the calamities of past eras, like Semites. We were put on Earth to be Jews. the economic meltdown of the Great Depression. Now, the We are the people whose God never slumbers or sleeps, and so 1918 flu pandemic is a sudden specter in our lives. neither can we. This loss of innocence, or complacency, is a new way of being- We are the lamp-lighters. in-the-world that we can expect to change our doing-in-the- world. We know now that touching things, being with other We are the ever-dying people that refuses to die. people and breathing the air in an enclosed space can be risky. How quickly that awareness recedes will be different for The people of Israel lives now and forever. different people, but it can never vanish completely for anyone Am Yisrael Chai. who lived through this year. It could become second nature to recoil from shaking hands or touching our faces—and we might With thanks to Jewishmom.com all find we can’t stop washing our hands. The comfort of being in the presence of others might be replaced by a greater comfort with absence, especially with those we don’t know intimately. Instead of asking, “Is there a Coronavirus Will Change the reason to do this online?” we’ll be asking, “Is there any good World Permanently. Here’s How. reason to do this in person?”—and might need to be reminded and convinced that there is. Unfortunately, if unintendedly, A crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways, those without easy access to broadband will be further for better or worse. Here are 34 big thinkers’ predictions for disadvantaged. The paradox of online communication will what’s to come, by Politico Magazine be ratcheted up: It creates more distance, yes, but also more connection, as we communicate more often with people who For many Americans right now, the scale of the coronavirus are physically farther and farther away—and who feel safer to crisis calls to mind 9/11 or the 2008 financial crisis—events us because of that distance. that reshaped society in lasting ways, from how we travel and buy homes, to the level of security and surveillance we’re accustomed to, and even to the language we use. A new kind of patriotism. Mark Lawrence Schrad is an associate professor of political Politico Magazine surveyed more than 30 smart, macro thinkers science and author of the forthcoming Smashing the Liquor this week, and they have some news for you: Buckle in. This Machine: A Global History of Prohibition. could be bigger. America has long equated patriotism with the armed forces. A global, novel virus that keeps us contained in our homes— But you can’t shoot a virus. Those on the frontlines against maybe for months—is already reorienting our relationship to coronavirus aren’t conscripts, mercenaries or enlisted men; government, to the outside world, even to each other. Some they are our doctors, nurses, pharmacists, teachers, caregivers, changes these experts expect to see in the coming months or store clerks, utility workers, small-business owners and years might feel unfamiliar or unsettling: Will nations stay closed? employees. Like Li Wenliang and the doctors of Wuhan, many Will touch become taboo? What will become of restaurants? are suddenly saddled with unfathomable tasks, compounded by But crisis moments also present opportunity: more an increased risk of contamination and death they never signed sophisticated and flexible use of technology, less polarization, up for. a revived appreciation for the outdoors and life’s other simple When all is said and done, perhaps we will recognize their pleasures. No one knows exactly what will come, but here is sacrifice as true patriotism, saluting our doctors and nurses, our best stab at a guide to the unknown ways that society— genuflecting and saying, “Thank you for your service,” as we government, healthcare, the economy, our lifestyles and now do for military veterans. We will give them guaranteed more—will change.

12 Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader health benefits and corporate discounts, and build statues and have to think about the things that once focused our minds— have holidays for this new class of people who sacrifice their nuclear war, oil shortages, high unemployment, skyrocketing health and their lives for ours. Perhaps, too, we will finally start interest rates. Terrorism has receded back to being a kind of to understand patriotism more as cultivating the health and notional threat for which we dispatch volunteers in our military life of your community, rather than blowing up someone else’s to the far corners of the desert as the advance guard of the community. Maybe the de-militarization of American patriotism homeland. We even elevated a reality TV star to the presidency and love of community will be one of the benefits to come out as a populist attack on the bureaucracy and expertise that of this whole awful mess. makes most of the government function on a day to day basis. The COVID-19 crisis could change this in two ways. First, it has A decline in polarization. already forced people back to accepting that expertise matters. Peter T. Coleman is a professor of psychology at Columbia It was easy to sneer at experts until a pandemic arrived, and University who studies intractable conflict. His next book, The then people wanted to hear from medical professionals like Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization, will be released Anthony Fauci. Second, it may—one might hope—return in 2021. Americans to a new seriousness, or at least move them back toward the idea that government is a matter for serious people. The extraordinary shock(s) to our system that the coronavirus The colossal failure of the Trump administration both to keep pandemic is bringing has the potential to break America out Americans healthy and to slow the pandemic-driven implosion of the 50-plus year pattern of escalating political and cultural of the economy might shock the public enough back to polarization we have been trapped in, and help us to change insisting on something from government other than emotional course toward greater national solidarity and functionality. It satisfaction. might sound idealistic, but there are two reasons to think it can happen. Less individualism. The first is the “common enemy” scenario, in which people Eric Klinenberg is professor of sociology and director of the begin to look past their differences when faced with a shared Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University. He is the external threat. COVID-19 is presenting us with a formidable author, most recently, of Palaces for the People: How Social enemy that will not distinguish between reds and blues, and Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the might provide us with fusion-like energy and a singularity of Decline of Civic Life. purpose to help us reset and regroup. During the Blitz, the 56-day Nazi bombing campaign against the Britain, Winston The coronavirus pandemic marks the end of our romance with Churchill’s cabinet was amazed and heartened to witness the market society and hyper-individualism. We could turn toward ascendance of human goodness—altruism, compassion and authoritarianism. Imagine President Donald Trump trying to generosity of spirit and action. suspend the November election. Consider the prospect of a military crackdown. The dystopian scenario is real. But I believe The second reason is the “political shock wave” scenario. we will go in the other direction. We’re now seeing the market- Studies have shown that strong, enduring relational patterns based models for social organization fail, catastrophically, as often become more susceptible to change after some type self-seeking behavior (from Trump down) makes this crisis so of major shock destabilizes them. This doesn’t necessarily much more dangerous than it needed to be. happen right away, but a study of 850 enduring inter-state conflicts that occurred between 1816 to 1992 found that more When this ends, we will reorient our politics and make than 75 percent of them ended within 10 years of a major substantial new investments in public goods—for health, destabilizing shock. Societal shocks can break different ways, especially—and public services. I don’t think we will become making things better or worse. But given our current levels of less communal. Instead, we will be better able to see how tension, this scenario suggests that now is the time to begin to our fates are linked. The cheap burger I eat from a restaurant promote more constructive patterns in our cultural and political that denies paid sick leave to its cashiers and kitchen staff discourse. The time for change is clearly ripening. makes me more vulnerable to illness, as does the neighbor who refuses to stay home in a pandemic because our public A return to faith in serious experts. school failed to teach him science or critical thinking skills. The economy—and the social order it helps support—will Tom Nichols is a professor at the U.S. Naval War College and collapse if the government doesn’t guarantee income for author of The Death of Expertise. the millions of workers who will lose their jobs in a major America for several years has become a fundamentally recession or depression. Young adults will fail to launch if unserious country. This is the luxury afforded us by peace, government doesn’t help reduce or cancel their student debt. affluence and high levels of consumer technology. We didn’t The coronavirus pandemic is going to cause immense pain and

Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader 13 suffering. But it will force us to reconsider who we are and what TECH we value, and, in the long run, it could help us rediscover the better version of ourselves. Regulatory barriers to online tools will fall. Katherine Mangu-Ward is editor-in-chief of Reason magazine. Religious worship will look different. Amy Sullivan is director of strategy for Vote Common Good. COVID-19 will sweep away many of the artificial barriers to moving more of our lives online. Not everything can become We are an Easter people, many Christians are fond of saying, virtual, of course. But in many areas of our lives, uptake on emphasizing the triumph of hope and life over fear. But how do genuinely useful online tools has been slowed by powerful an Easter people observe their holiest day if they cannot rejoice legacy players, often working in collaboration with overcautious together on Easter morning? How do Jews celebrate their bureaucrats. Medicare allowing billing for telemedicine was a deliverance from bondage when Passover Seders must take long-overdue change, for instance, as was revisiting HIPAA to place on Zoom, with in-laws left to wonder whether Cousin Joey permit more medical providers to use the same tools the rest forgot the Four Questions or the internet connection merely of us use every day to communicate, such as Skype, Facetime froze? Can Muslim families celebrate Ramadan if they cannot and email. The regulatory bureaucracy might well have dragged visit local mosques for Tarawih prayers or gather with loved its feet on this for many more years if not for this crisis. ones to break the fast? The resistance—led by teachers’ unions and the politicians beholden to them—to allowing partial homeschooling or online All faiths have dealt with the challenge of keeping faith learning for K-12 kids has been swept away by necessity. It will alive under the adverse conditions of war or diaspora or be near-impossible to put that genie back in the bottle in the persecution—but never all faiths at the same time. Religion fall, with many families finding that they prefer full or partial in the time of quarantine will challenge conceptions of what homeschooling or online homework. For many college students, it means to minister and to fellowship. But it will also expand returning to an expensive dorm room on a depopulated campus the opportunities for those who have no local congregation to will not be appealing, forcing massive changes in a sector that sample sermons from afar. Contemplative practices may gain has been ripe for innovation for a long time. And while not popularity. And maybe—just maybe—the culture war that every job can be done remotely, many people are learning that has branded those who preach about the common good with the difference between having to put on a tie and commute the epithet “Social Justice Warriors” may ease amid the very for an hour or working efficiently at home was always just the present reminder of our interconnected humanity. ability to download one or two apps plus permission from their boss. Once companies sort out their remote work dance steps, New forms of reform. it will be harder—and more expensive—to deny employees Jonathan Rauch is a contributing writer at the Atlantic and a those options. In other words, it turns out, an awful lot of senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. meetings (and doctors’ appointments and classes) really could have been an email. And now they will be. One group of Americans has lived through a transformational epidemic in recent memory: gay men. Of course, HIV/AIDS A healthier digital lifestyle. was (and is) different in all kinds of ways from coronavirus, but one lesson is likely to apply: Plagues drive change. Partly Sherry Turkle is professor of the social studies of science and because our government failed us, gay Americans mobilized technology at MIT, founding director of the MIT Initiative on to build organizations, networks and know-how that changed Technology and Self, and author, most recently, of Reclaiming our place in society and have enduring legacies today. The Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age. epidemic also revealed deadly flaws in the health care Perhaps we can use our time with our devices to rethink system, and it awakened us to the need for the protection the kinds of community we can create through them. In the of marriage—revelations which led to landmark reforms. earliest days of our coronavirus social distancing, we have seen I wouldn’t be surprised to see some analogous changes in inspirational first examples. Cello master Yo-Yo Ma posts a daily the wake of coronavirus. People are finding new ways to live concert of a song that sustains him. Broadway diva Laura connect and support each other in adversity; they are sure to Benanti invites performers from high school musicals who are demand major changes in the health-care system and maybe not going to put on those shows to send their performances to also the government; and they’ll become newly conscious of her. She’ll be watching; Lin-Manuel Miranda joins the campaign interdependency and community. I can’t predict the precise and promises to watch as well. Entrepreneurs offer time to effects, but I’m sure we’ll be seeing them for years. listen to pitches. Master yoga instructors teach free classes. This is a different life on the screen from disappearing into a video game or polishing one’s avatar. This is breaking open a medium with human generosity and empathy. This is looking within and

14 Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader asking: “What can I authentically offer? I have a life, a history. Coronavirus has put a particular national spotlight on unmet What do people need?” If, moving forward, we apply our most needs of the growing older population in our country, and human instincts to our devices, that will have been a powerful the tens of millions of overstretched family and professional COVID-19 legacy. Not only alone together, but together alone. caregivers they rely on. Care is and always has been a shared responsibility. Yet, our policy has never fully supported it. This A boon to virtual reality. moment, challenging as it is, should jolt us into changing that. Elizabeth Bradley is president of Vassar College and a scholar of global health. Government becomes Big Pharma. Steph Sterling is vice president of advocacy and policy at the VR allows us to have the experiences we want even if we have Roosevelt Institute, and co-author of the forthcoming paper “In to be isolated, quarantined or alone. Maybe that will be how the Public Interest: Democratizing Medicines through Public we adapt and stay safe in the next outbreak. I would like to see Ownership.” a VR program that helped with the socialization and mental health of people who had to self-isolate. Imagine putting The coronavirus has laid bare the failures of our costly, on glasses, and suddenly you are in a classroom or another inefficient, market-based system for developing, researching and communal setting, or even a positive psychology intervention. manufacturing medicines and vaccines. COVID-19 is one of several coronavirus outbreaks we have seen over the past 20 years, yet the logic of our current system—a range of costly government incentives intended to stimulate private-sector development— HEALTH/SCIENCE has resulted in the 18-month window we now anticipate before widespread vaccine availability. Private pharmaceutical firms The rise of telemedicine. simply will not prioritize a vaccine or other countermeasure for a Ezekiel J. Emanuel is chair of the department of medical ethics future public health emergency until its profitability is assured, and and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania. that is far too late to prevent mass disruption. The reality of fragile supply chains for active pharmaceutical ingredients coupled with The pandemic will shift the paradigm of where our healthcare public outrage over patent abuses that limit the availability of new delivery takes place. For years, telemedicine has lingered on the treatments has led to an emerging, bipartisan consensus that the sidelines as a cost-controlling, high convenience system. Out public sector must take far more active and direct responsibility of necessity, remote office visits could skyrocket in popularity for the development and manufacture of medicines. That more as traditional-care settings are overwhelmed by the pandemic. efficient, far more resilient government approach will replace our There would also be containment-related benefits to this failed, 40-year experiment with market-based incentives to meet shift; staying home for a video call keeps you out of the transit essential health needs. system, out of the waiting room and, most importantly, away from patients who need critical care. Science reigns again. Sonja Trauss is executive director of YIMBY Law. An opening for stronger family care. Ai-Jen Poo is director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance Truth and its most popular emissary, science, have been and Caring Across Generations. declining in credibility for more than a generation. As Obi-Wan Kenobi told us in Return of the Jedi, “You’re going to find that The coronavirus pandemic has revealed gaping holes in our many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point care infrastructure, as millions of American families have been of view.” In 2005, long before Donald Trump, Stephen Colbert forced to navigate this crisis without a safety net. With loved coined the term “truthiness” to describe the increasingly fact- ones sick and children suddenly home from school indefinitely, lite political discourse. The oil and gas industry has been waging they’ve been forced to make impossible choices among their a decades-long war against truth and science, following up on families, their health and financial ruin. After all, meaningful the same effort waged by the tobacco industry. Altogether, child care assistance is extremely limited, access to long-term this led to the situation in which the Republicans could claim care is piecemeal at best, and too few workers have access to that the reports about the coronavirus weren’t science at all, paid family and medical leave, which means that missed work but mere politics, and this sounded reasonable to millions of means missed pay. people. Quickly, however, Americans are being reacquainted with scientific concepts like germ theory and exponential This crisis should unleash widespread political support for growth. Unlike with tobacco use or climate change, science Universal Family Care—a single public federal fund that we all doubters will be able to see the impacts of the coronavirus contribute to, that we all benefit from, that helps us take care immediately. At least for the next 35 years, I think we can of our families while we work, from child care and elder care expect that public respect for expertise in public health and to support for people with disabilities and paid family leave. epidemics to be at least partially restored.

Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader 15 GOVERNMENT Government service regains its cachet. Lilliana Mason is an associate professor of government and Congress can finally go virtual. politics at the University of Maryland, College Park, and author Ethan Zuckerman is associate professor of the practice in media of Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity. arts and sciences at MIT, director of the Center for Civic Media The Reagan era is over. The widely accepted idea that and author of Digital Cosmopolitans: Why We Think the Internet government is inherently bad won’t persist after coronavirus. Connects Us, Why It Doesn’t, and How to Rewire It. This event is global evidence that a functioning government is Coronavirus is going to force many institutions to go virtual. crucial for a healthy society. It is no longer “terrifying” to hear One that would greatly benefit from the change is the U.S. the words “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” Congress. We need Congress to continue working through this In fact, that is what most people are desperately hoping to crisis, but given advice to limit gatherings to 10 people or fewer, hear right now. We will see a rebirth of the patriotic honor of meeting on the floor of the House of Representatives is not working for the government. an especially wise option right now; at least two members of Congress already have tested positive for the virus. A new civic federalism. Archon Fung is professor of citizenship and self-government at Instead, this is a great time for congresspeople to return to Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. their districts and start the process of virtual legislating— permanently. Not only is this move medically necessary at Just as the trauma of fighting World War II laid the foundations the moment, but it has ancillary benefits. Lawmakers will for a stronger American government and national solidarity, the be closer to the voters they represent and more likely to be coronavirus crisis might sow the seeds of a new civic federalism, sensitive to local perspectives and issues. A virtual Congress in which states and localities become centers of justice, is harder to lobby, as the endless parties and receptions that solidarity and far-sighted democratic problem-solving. Many lobbyists throw in Washington will be harder to replicate across Americans now bemoan the failure of national leadership in the the whole nation. Party conformity also might loosen with face of this unprecedented challenge. When we look back, we representatives remembering local loyalties over party ties. will see that some communities handled the crisis much better than others. We might well find that success came in states In the long run, a virtualized Congress might help us tackle where government, civic and private-sector leaders joined their one of the great problems of the contemporary House of strengths together in a spirit of self-sacrifice for the common Representatives: reapportionment and expansion. The House good. has not grown meaningfully in size since the 1920s, which means that a representative, on average, speaks for 770,000 Consider that the virology lab at the University of Washington constituents, rather than the 30,000 the Founding Fathers far surpassed the CDC and others in bringing substantial mandated. If we demonstrate that a virtual Congress can do COVID-19 testing early, when it was most needed. Some its job as well or better using 21st-century technologies, rather governors, mayors, education authorities and employers have than 18th-century ones, perhaps we could return the house to led the way by enforcing social distancing, closing campuses the 30,000:1 ratio George Washington prescribed. and other places, and channeling resources to support the most vulnerable. And the civic fabric of some communities has Big government makes a comeback. fostered the responsibility and altruism of millions of ordinary Margaret O’Mara is a professor of history at University of citizens who have stayed home, lost income, kept their kids Washington and author of The Code: Silicon Valley and the inside, self-quarantined, refrained from hoarding, supported Remaking of America. each other, and even pooled medical supplies and other resources to bolster health workers. The coronavirus is this The battle against the coronavirus already has made government— century’s most urgent challenge to humanity. Harnessing a new federal, state and local—far more visible to Americans than it sense of solidarity, citizens of states and cities will rise to face normally has been. As we tune in to daily briefings from public the enormous challenges ahead such as climate change and health officials, listen for guidance from our governors, and seek transforming our era of historic inequality into one of economic help and hope from our national leaders, we are seeing the critical inclusion. role that “big government” plays in our lives and our health. We also see the deadly consequences of four decades of disinvestment The rules we’ve lived by won’t all apply. in public infrastructure and dismissal of public expertise. Not Astra Taylor is a filmmaker and author of Democracy May Not only will America need a massive dose of big government to Exist, but We’ll Miss It When It’s Gone. get out of this crisis—as Washington’s swift passage of a giant economic bailout package reflects—but we will need big, and wise, America’s response to coronavirus pandemic has revealed a government more than ever in its aftermath. simple truth: So many policies that our elected officials have

16 Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader long told us were impossible and impractical were eminently Most of all, we need to remember that public trust is crucial possible and practical all along. In 2011, when Occupy Wall to governance—and that trust depends on telling the truth. As Street activists demanded debt cancellation for student the historian John M. Barry wrote in his 2004 book The Great loans and medical debt, they were laughed at by many in the Influenza—a harrowing chronicle of the 1918 flu pandemic, mainstream media. In the intervening years, we have continued which killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide—the to push the issue and have consistently been told our demands main lesson from that catastrophe is that “those in authority were unrealistic. Now, we know that the “rules” we have lived must retain the public’s trust” and “the way to do that is to under were unnecessary, and simply made society more brittle distort nothing, to put the best face on nothing, to try to and unequal. manipulate no one.” All along, evictions were avoidable; the homeless could’ve Expect a political uprising. been housed and sheltered in government buildings; water and electricity didn’t need to be turned off for people behind on Cathy O’Neil is founder and CEO of the algorithmic auditing their bills; paid sick leave could‘ve been a right for all workers; company ORCAA and author of Weapons of Math Destruction: paying your mortgage late didn’t need to lead to foreclosure; How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy. and debtors could’ve been granted relief. President Donald The aftermath of the coronavirus is likely to include a new Trump has already put a freeze on interest for federal student political uprising—an Occupy Wall Street 2.0, but this time loans, while New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has paused all much more massive and angrier. Once the health emergency medical and student debt owed to New York State. Democrats is over, we will see the extent to which rich, well-connected and Republicans are discussing suspending collection on—or and well-resourced communities will have been taken care outright canceling—student loans as part of a larger economic of, while contingent, poor and stigmatized communities will stimulus package. have been thoroughly destroyed. Moreover, we will have seen how political action is possible—multitrillion dollar bailouts It’s clear that in a crisis, the rules don’t apply—which makes and projects can be mobilized quickly—but only if the cause you wonder why they are rules in the first place. This is an is considered urgent. This mismatch of long-disregarded unprecedented opportunity to not just hit the pause button populations finally getting the message that their needs are and temporarily ease the pain, but to permanently change the not only chronically unattended, but also chronically dismissed rules so that untold millions of people aren’t so vulnerable to as politically required, will likely have drastic, pitchfork begin with. consequences. Revived trust in institutions. Michiko Kakutani is author of the 2018 bestseller The Death of Truth and former chief book critic of the New York Times. ELECTIONS

The coronavirus pandemic, one hopes, will jolt Americans into Electronic voting goes mainstream. a realization that the institutions and values Donald Trump has Joe Brotherton is chairman of Democracy Live, a startup that spent his presidency assailing are essential to the functioning provides electronic ballots. of a democracy—and to its ability to grapple effectively with a national crisis. A recognition that government institutions— One victim of COVID-19 will be the old model of limiting voting including those entrusted with protecting our health, to polling places where people must gather in close proximity preserving our liberties and overseeing our national security— for an extended period of time. We have been gradually moving need to be staffed with experts (not political loyalists), that away from this model since 2010, when Congress passed a decisions need to be made through a reasoned policy process law requiring electronic balloting for military and overseas and predicated on evidence-based science and historical voters, and some states now require accessible at-home and geopolitical knowledge (not on Trump-ian “alternative voting for blind and disabled voters. Over the long term, as facts,” political expediency or what Thomas Pynchon called, in election officials grapple with how to allow for safe voting Gravity’s Rainbow, “a chaos of peeves, whims, hallucinations in the midst of a pandemic, the adoption of more advanced and all-round assholery”). Instead of Trump’s “America First” technology—including secure, transparent, cost-effective voting foreign policy, we need to return to multilateral diplomacy, from our mobile devices—is more likely. In the near-term, a and to the understanding that co-operation with allies—and hybrid model—mobile-phone voting with paper ballots for adversaries, too—is especially necessary when it comes to tabulation—is emerging in the 2020 election cycle in certain dealing with global problems like climate change and viral jurisdictions. We should expect that option to become more pandemics. widespread. To be clear, proven technologies now exist that offer mobile, at-home voting while still generating paper ballots. This system is not an idea; it is a reality that has been

Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader 17 used in more than 1,000 elections for nearly a decade by our Dale Ho is director of the Voting Rights Project at the American overseas military and disabled voters. This should be the new Civil Liberties Union. normal. The COVID-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented threat to the way that most people vote: in person on Election Day. But there Election Day will become Election Month. are several obvious steps we can take to ensure that no one has Lee Drutman is a senior fellow at New America and author of to choose between their health and their right to vote. Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America. First, every eligible voter should be mailed a ballot and a self-sealing return envelope with prepaid postage. All ballots How do we hold an election in the time of coronavirus? By postmarked by Election Day should be accepted and counted. making it easier to vote when citizens want and where they Ballots cast by mail should not be discarded based on errors or want, so that Election Day doesn’t become a health risk of big technicalities without first notifying voters of any defects and crowds and long lines. The change will come through expanded giving them an opportunity to correct them. At the same time, early voting and no-excuse mail-in balloting, effectively turning states can preserve in-person voting opportunities for people Election Day into Election Month (or maybe months, depending who need them—such as voters with disabilities, with limited on the closeness of the election and the leniency for late- English proficiency, with limited postal access or who register arriving ballots postmarked on Election Day). This transition after mail-in ballots have been sent out. requires considerable thought and planning to ensure that all communities are treated equally, and to prevent fraud. But Elections administrators should receive extra resources to facing the prospect of crowded polling places staffed by at-risk recruit younger poll workers, to ensure their and in-person poll workers (who tend to be older), states will come under voters’ health and safety, and to expand capacity to quickly and tremendous pressure to develop plans so that the election can accurately process what will likely be an unprecedented volume go on regardless. This will mark a permanent change. Once of mail-in votes. Moreover, states should eliminate restrictions citizens experience the convenience of early voting and/or prohibiting elections officials from processing mail-in ballots voting by mail, they won’t want to give it up. More convenience until Election Day (15 states currently have such restrictions). will generate higher voter turnout, potentially transforming And the media should help set public expectations that, in an partisan competition in America. environment with record levels of mail-in voting, tabulating results and forecasting winners may take longer than we have Voting by mail will become the norm. grown accustomed to. Kevin R. Kosar is vice president of research partnerships at the R If a state cannot do all of the above, it should take as many of Street Institute. these steps as possible. The current crisis makes these changes all the more necessary—and all the more likely to happen. To date, five states—Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland and Ohio—have postponed their presidential primaries. More states may well follow. But these elections cannot be put off indefinitely. Parties need to hold their conventions and select THE GLOBAL ECONOMY a presidential nominee before the autumn general election. The coronavirus might, according to some reports, continue to More restraints on mass consumption. menace Americans through June or even the end of summer. In Sonia Shah is author of Pandemic: Tracking Contagions From most states, this means elections policy is inviting an electoral Cholera to Ebola and Beyond and the forthcoming The Next train wreck. The clock is ticking. Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move. Fortunately, there is a time-tested means for the country In the best-case scenario, the trauma of the pandemic will to escape the choice between protecting public health and force society to accept restraints on mass consumer culture as allowing voters to exercise their right to vote: voting by mail. a reasonable price to pay to defend ourselves against future Military members overseas have voted by mail for decades. contagions and climate disasters alike. For decades, we’ve sated Some states, such as Washington, Oregon and Utah, already let our outsized appetites by encroaching on an ever-expanding everyone vote at home. They send every voter a ballot and then swath of the planet with our industrial activities, forcing wild let them choose to cast it either via mail or at a polling place. species to cram into remaining fragments of habitat in closer Unfortunately, most states have set the toggle to voting in-person proximity to ours. That’s what has allowed animal microbes and requiring individuals to request to vote by mail. Voters such as SARS-COV2—not to mention hundreds of others already receive registration cards and elections guides by mail. from Ebola to Zika—to cross over into human bodies, causing Why not ballots? Given the risks that in-person voting poses, epidemics. In theory, we could decide to shrink our industrial states now have urgent cause to move immediately to modernize footprint and conserve wildlife habitat, so that animal microbes their hidebound systems—and we should soon expect them to.

18 Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader stay in animals’ bodies, instead. More likely, we’ll see less The inequality gap will widen. directly relevant transformations. Universal basic income and Theda Skocpol is professor of government and sociology at mandatory paid sick leave will move from the margins to the Harvard. center of policy debates. The end of mass quarantine will unleash pent-up demand for intimacy and a mini baby-boom. Discussions of inequality in America often focus on the growing The hype around online education will be abandoned, as a gap between the bottom 99 percent and the top 1 percent. But generation of young people forced into seclusion will reshape the other gap that has grown is between the top fifth and all the culture around a contrarian appreciation for communal life. the rest—and that gap will be exacerbated by this crisis. The wealthiest fifth of Americans have made greater income Stronger domestic supply chains. gains than those below them in the income hierarchy in recent Todd N. Tucker is director of Governance Studies at the decades. They are more often members of married, highly Roosevelt Institute. educated couples. As high-salary professionals or managers, they live in Internet-ready homes that will accommodate In the ancient days of 2018, the Trump administration was telecommuting—and where children have their own bedrooms panned by experts for imposing tariffs on imported steel on and aren’t as disruptive to a work-from-home schedule. In this a global basis for national security reasons. As the president crisis, most will earn steady incomes while having necessities tweeted at the time, “IF YOU DON’T HAVE STEEL, YOU DON’T delivered to their front doors. HAVE A COUNTRY!” But to most economists, China was the real reason for disruptions in the metal market, and imposing The other 80 percent of Americans lack that financial cushion. tariffs additionally on U.S. allies was nonsensical, the argument Some will be OK, but many will struggle with job losses and went: After all, even if America lost its steel industry altogether, family burdens. They are more likely to be single parents or we would still be able to count on supplies from allies in North single-income households. They’re less able to work from America and Europe. home, and more likely employed in the service or delivery sectors, in jobs that put them at greater danger of coming into Fast forward to 2020. Just this week, U.S. allies are considering contact with the coronavirus. In many cases, their children will substantial border restrictions, including shutting down ports not gain educationally at home, because parents will not be and restricting exports. While there’s no indication that the able to teach them, or their households might lack access to the coronavirus per se is being transmitted through commerce, high-speed Internet that enables remote instruction. one can imagine a perfect storm in which deep recessions plus mounting geopolitical tensions limit America’s access to its normal supply chains and the lack of homegrown capacity in various product markets limits the government’s ability LIFESTYLE to respond nimbly to threats. Reasonable people can differ over whether Trump’s steel tariffs were the right response A hunger for diversion. at the right time. In the years ahead, however, expect to see more support from Democrats, Republicans, academics Mary Frances Berry is professor of American social thought, and diplomats for the notion that government has a much history and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. bigger role to play in creating adequate redundancy in supply Some trends already underway will probably accelerate—for chains—resilient even to trade shocks from allies. This will be a example, using voice technology to control entryways, security substantial reorientation from even the very recent past. and the like. In the short term, universities will add courses Dambisa Moyo is an economist and author. on pandemics, and scientists will devise research projects to improve forecasting, treatment and diagnosis. But history The coronavirus pandemic will create pressure on corporations suggests another outcome, as well. After the disastrous 1918- to weigh the efficiency and costs/benefits of a globalized supply 19 Spanish flu and the end of World War I, many Americans chain system against the robustness of a domestic-based supply sought carefree entertainment, which the introduction of cars chain. Switching to a more robust domestic supply chain would and the radio facilitated. Young women newly able to vote reduce dependence on an increasingly fractured global supply under the 19th Amendment bobbed their hair, frequented system. But while this would better ensure that people get the speakeasies and danced the Charleston. The economy quickly goods they need, this shift would likely also increase costs to rebounded and flourished for about 10 years, until irrational corporations and consumers. investment tilted the United States and the world into the Great Depression. Probably, given past behavior, when this pandemic is over, human beings will respond with the same sense of relief and a search for community, relief from stress and pleasure.

Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader 19 Less communal dining—but maybe more cooking. Depression and World War II, it has the potential to infect the Paul Freedman is a history professor at Yale and author, most foundations of free society. State and local government are recently, of American Cuisine: And How It Got This Way. moving at varying and sometimes contrary speeds to address a crisis of profound dimensions. The global economy has entered For the past few years, Americans have spent more money on the opening stages of a recession that has the potential to food prepared outside the home than on buying and making become a depression. Already, large parts of America have their meals. But, now, with restaurants mostly closed and as shut down entirely. Americans have said goodbye to a society isolation increases, many people will learn or relearn how to of frivolity and ceaseless activity in a flash, and the federal cook over the next weeks. Maybe they will fall back in love with government is taking steps more often seen during wartime. cooking, though I won’t hold my breath, or perhaps delivery will Our collective notions of the possible have changed already. If triumph over everything else. Sit-down restaurants also could the danger the coronavirus poses both to individual health and close permanently as people frequent them less; it is likely to public health capacity persists, we will be forced to revise our there will be many fewer sit-down restaurants in Europe and very conception of “change.” The paradigm will shift. the United States. We will be less communal at least for a while. The tyranny of habit no more. A revival of parks. Virginia Heffernan is author of Magic and Loss: The Internet Alexandra Lange is the architecture critic at Curbed. as Art.

People often see parks as a destination for something specific, Humans are not generally disposed to radical departures from like soccer fields, barbecues or playgrounds, and all of those their daily rounds. But the recent fantasy of “optimizing” functions must now be avoided. But that doesn’t make the a life—for peak performance, productivity, efficiency—has parks any less valuable. I’m sheltering in place in Brooklyn with created a cottage industry that tries to make the dreariest my family, and every day, the one time we go outside is to walk possible lives sound heroic. Jordan Peterson has been a loop north through Brooklyn Bridge Park and south down the commanding lost male souls to make their beds for years now. Brooklyn Heights Promenade. I’m seeing people asking Golden The Four-Hour Workweek, The Power of Habit and Atomic Gate Park to close the roads so there’s even more space for Habits urge readers to automate certain behaviors to keep people. In Britain, the National Trust is trying to open more them dutifully overworking and under-eating. gardens and parks for free. Urban parks—in which most major cities have made significant investments over the past decade— But COVID-19 suggests that Peterson (or any other habit- are big enough to accommodate both crowds and social preaching martinet) is not the leader for our time. Instead, distancing. It helps that it is spring in the northern hemisphere. consider Albert Camus, who, in The Plague, blames the obliteration of a fictional Algerian town by an epidemic on Society might come out of the pandemic valuing these big one thing: consistency. “The truth is,” Camus writes of the spaces even more, not only as the backdrop to major events crushingly dull port town, “everyone is bored, and devotes and active uses, but as an opportunity to be together visually. himself to cultivating habits.” The habit-bound townspeople I’ve been writing a book about shopping malls, and I would lack imagination. It takes them far too long to take in that death certainly not recommend a visit right now (all those virus- is stalking them, and it’s past time to stop taking the streetcar, carrying surfaces). But, in suburban communities, malls have working for money, bowling and going to the movies. historically served the same function: somewhere to go, somewhere to be together. What we have right now is parks. Maybe, as in Camus’ time, it will take the dual specters of After this is all over, I would love to see more public investment autocracy and disease to get us to listen to our common sense, in open, accessible, all-weather places to gather, even after we our imaginations, our eccentricities—and not our programming. no longer need to stay six feet apart. A more expansive and braver approach to everyday existence is now crucial so that we don’t fall in line with Trump-like tyrannies, cant and orthodoxy, and environmentally and A change in our understanding of ‘change.’ physiologically devastating behaviors (including our favorites: Matthew Continetti is a resident fellow at the American driving cars, eating meat, burning electricity). This current Enterprise Institute. plague time might see a recharged commitment to a closer- to-the-bone worldview that recognizes we have a short time “Paradigm shift” is among the most overused phrases in on earth, the Doomsday Clock is a minute from midnight, and journalism. Yet the coronavirus pandemic may be one case living peacefully and meaningfully together is going to take where it applies. American society is familiar with a specific much more than bed-making and canny investments. The model of change, operating within the existing parameters Power of No Habits. of our liberal democratic institutions, mostly free market and society of expressive individualism. But the coronavirus doesn’t just attack the immune system. Like the Civil War, Great

20 Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader The Death of Nuance Wisdom requires balance, an awareness of all the factors, pro and con. Indeed, the Talmud5 lists this ability to “see the other Rabbi Moshe Hauer, Jewish Action side” of what would seem to be self-evident truths, as a critical Rabbi Moshe Hauer is executive vice president of the requirement for membership in the Sanhedrin, our highest Orthodox Union court. As Maharal6 taught, this is because in our complex world nothing is so simple as to be reduced to black and white. Organized Jewish life strives for greater unity amongst Jews and more passionate engagement. But can passion and unity Recognition of the complexity and multidimensionality coexist? Or do these goals collide? While technology has of societal issues is key to fostering communal cohesion. created the global village, producing a virtual ingathering from Polarization results from the exclusion of other perspectives, the four corners of the earth, the global Jewish shtetl seems ultimately alienating those who hold those perspectives. Here crowded with the raised and conflicting voices of the most again it was Maharal7 who taught that the Talmudic homily8 passionately engaged. praising the Jewish people as a tri-partite nation observing a tri-partite Torah advances the notion that unity in this world is Some argue that unity stems from compromise, and that accomplished by the presence of a mediating third prong that passion negates compromise. But that assumes a very pale values, balances and bridges the extremes. It was thus only version of unity. The drive for togetherness that we call ahavat Jacob, the third of the Patriarchs, who was the first to keep all Yisrael and the enthusiastic engagement with Judaism that we his sons unified and part of the eternal Jewish people.9 Stated call ahavat Torah can certainly coexist. In praising the harmony simply, extremes exclude. between the ideologically divided schools of Shammai and Hillel, the Talmud1 cites the words of Zechariah,2 “Ha’emet vehashalom ehavu,” “Love (both) truth and peace.” Valuing Clarity Despite the importance of recognizing the nuances of any given We can have both unity and engagement if we love both truth situation, there are possible weaknesses inherent in such an and peace. approach, both ideological and practical. Ideologically speaking, focusing on the complexities of an issue can potentially result But we will also need a commitment to nuance. And that is 10 increasingly hard to come by. in a lack of moral clarity. Practically speaking, it often leads to confusion and inaction. A striking characteristic of our current social climate is its apparent polarization. Politically, morally and religiously, Consider the Talmud’s disparagement of the “humility of Rav extremes dominate the stage. And while any number of formal Zechariah ben Avkulas,” that left him paralyzed with indecision studies and empirical observations demonstrate the presence at a critical moment, resulting ultimately in the destruction of the Second Temple.11 Chassidic thought characterizes Amalek— of an overwhelming silent majority between those poles, the 12 decibel level emanating from the extremes has generated a the personification of evil—as a doubter, cooling passions by sense of instability and alienation for many. harboring questions in the face of clear and self-evident truths. And in a classic Talmudic agaddah,13 when Jacob’s burial was Those powerful extremes have also succeeded in shutting down delayed by a debate with Esau over burial rights in the Cave of serious, open and nuanced discussion. On the heels of the the Patriarchs, it was Chushim ben Dan—a grandson of Jacob powerful protest movement that followed the police killing of whose deafness did not allow him to hear the debate—who George Floyd, a group of 153 prominent artists and intellectuals acted decisively to resolve the matter. This story has rightfully from across the political spectrum joined in an open letter become an example of how discussion of the complexities of an decrying “an intolerance of opposing views, a vogue for public issue can at times obscure its utter simplicity. shaming and ostracism, and the tendency to dissolve complex policy issues in a blinding moral certainty . . . . Whatever the So how do we embrace complexity and nuance while retaining arguments around each particular incident, the result has been clarity and direction? to steadily narrow the boundaries of what can be said without the threat of reprisal.”3 Thoughtful Determinations Ultimately, we must exercise decisiveness, the capacity to Our tradition guides us away from such extremes. choose between competing considerations. We act with wisdom when we decisively chart a path that continues to The Need for Balance recognize and even incorporate the significant countervailing In the vernacular of our Sages, the exercise of judgment is considerations. referred to as shikul hada’at—literally “weighing of the mind,”— implying that true judgment looks at all sides of an issue and This is precisely what granted credibility to the legal decisions accords them each their proper weight.4 of Beit Hillel, who merited enduring halachic authority because of their agreeable and forgiving manner, and because when

Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader 21 they taught the halachah, they would teach both sides of the to as God’s children.”18 As observant Jews, we have a strong argument, even prioritizing the statements of Beit Shammai sense of our own chosenness and believe in the Divinity of the to their own.14 Their healthy humility enabled them to Torah, God’s word to which only we have access.19 Jewish law consider the views of others but did not impede their ultimate has even established social separation practices to prevent responsibility to decide. intermarriage,20 and to limit our exposure to other cultures.21 Complexity and decisiveness need not contradict each other. Our embrace of all these seemingly conflicting values will result Rather we are charged to act both thoughtfully and resolutely, in a Jewish community whose members are wholly committed choosing a path that results from proper consideration of the to seeing the worth of every human being regardless of skin many and competing relevant factors. We begin by identifying, color, while recognizing chosenness as both a privilege and a then weighing and ultimately deciding between the relevant profoundly humbling responsibility to benefit God, Israel and all and important values. In recognizing those values—indeed in humanity. championing them—all voices should be heard. In the final decision, even as a single path is chosen,15 when all relevant The Protests: Silence in the face of injustice is clearly 22 23 values have a place, they may be brought together to generate unacceptable. And while destructive acts are inexcusable, 24 a more holistic and textured religious worldview. angry verbal reactions by the aggrieved are tolerable. We must also recall that truth matters. The existence of bad cops does not mean that all police are bad, just as the protesters A Case in Point who exploit moments of social unrest to vandalize or to express For illustrative purposes, we may explore the values at play their hatred of the Jewish people should not characterize the in the social strife that has so deeply affected the United millions who took to the streets in peaceful and legitimate States. The police killing of George Floyd and others generated protest.25 We must be careful in employing terms such as massive protests, leading in turn to movements for social “pogrom” and recognize that free speech advocates opposing change. The tragedy, the protests and the movements have all anti-BDS legislation, opponents of annexation and those making engendered passionate and polarizing debate in this country the case that Black lives matter are not, by definition, anti- and community, to an extent that has created an environment Semites. At the same time, these activists need to distance seen as stifling the expression of opposing views. themselves from anti-Semitism and one-sided positions on the State of Israel and call out leaders and participants in these What is our reaction? What about these events stirs our movements who are blatantly anti-Semitic. passions? The killing of a Black individual, or the destructive looting rampage that followed? The millions of people—white, Once again, all these values must be embraced together to brown and Black—who took to the streets to protest the killing produce a complete Jewish response to a genuine grievance, or those who used the opportunity to express anti-Semitism? one that is proportionate, nuanced and responsible. We must The appeals for reform and improvement or the beheading of be understanding of the aggrieved and we cannot be silent in statues and calls for defunding police departments? the face of an injustice. But at the same time, we must not turn a blind eye to an unjust pursuit of justice.26 Are these indeed either/or questions? Is it not the case that all the above should stir our passions? Do we have to The Movement: Should we behead statues of our imperfect choose between the extremes: either an uncritical embrace past leaders? Should we radically defund or deconstruct police or a wholesale rejection of the protests and the movement departments? “Do not reject the Egyptian entirely, for you were energized by the tragedy? a stranger in his land.”27 On this verse, Rashi explains: “Even though they threw your male children into the sea, remember Here is a quick review from the perspective of Jewish values of that they provided you with a home at your time of need.”28 some of the many issues at play. These complexities indicate Evidently even horrible wrongs do not erase a debt of gratitude. the inappropriateness of adopting either of the two extremes The Talmudic mandate, “One must always demonstrate respect listed above. for the government”29 was applied both to the brutal Egyptian The Tragedy: The death of George Floyd in police custody must King Pharaoh and the wicked and immoral Jewish King Ahab. strengthen our commitment to appreciating the inherent value Apparently, the Sages were anti-anarchy, even where the ruling of every human being. As our Sages taught, “Man is precious, government was brutal or immoral. as he is created in God’s image.”16 Torah Judaism demands Yet there is room for reform, as authority must be informed by an absolute rejection of racism, maintaining that the Divine compassion. “The man administering the punishment should be image within every person implies unlimited potential and the heavily endowed with knowledge and minimally endowed with human capacity for exquisite spiritual sensitivity. Our Sages17 physical power.”30 Rav Yitzchak Hutner31 elegantly explained that further taught that the Creator had all mankind descend from the value of superior knowledge was to provide the policeman one man to foster universal peace and equality. On the other using the lash with the essential perspective that punishment is hand, “The Jewish people are precious, as they are referred driven by a primary motivation to provide benefit.

22 Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader These values reflect a holistic Jewish attitude but also a critically 6. Be’er Hagolah 1:5 practical one. The sense of safety that our community feels is 7. Tiferet Yisrael, ch. 11 built on both the stability of our country and its character as a 8. Shabbat 88a malchut shel chesed, a benevolent government. 9. Zohar II 175b The above observations are simply illustrations of the 10. See Rambam’s discussion in Moreh Nevuchim, ch. 2. complexity of these issues. When it comes to evaluating many 11. Gittin 58a of the societal issues at hand, we may find ourselves having 12. See Shem MiShmuel for Parashat Zachor 5679, who notes that to contend with competing values, and we will be required to Amalek has the same gematria, Hebrew numerical value, as the word make decisions as to which values should determine the course for “doubt,” safek. of action. But the recognition of the complexity of the issues 13. Sotah 13a will hopefully produce a more nuanced and complete response 14. Eruvin 13b. Note that the Talmud there informs us of this quality of that will inform our attitudes and actions, allowing us to bring Beit Hillel immediately after speaking of a distinguished student who our passion for both truth and peace to whatever the current would offer multiple arguments in favor of the purity of the clearly struggle. impure sheretz. 15. Note Eduyot 1-6. A Closing Thought 16. Pirkei Avot 3:18. This basic truism applies to all mankind and is to inform our respect and concern for the lives and well-being of others, Rambam was known as a champion of the golden mean, the expressed in both deeds (Rambam, Hilchot Melachim 10:12) and middle path between the extremes. He saw this as the derech prayers (Pirkei Avot 3:2, as explained by Rashi and Rabbeinu Yonah), to Hashem, the way of God that Avraham taught his descendants, benefit all members of society. balancing charity and justice, benevolence and principle.32 It is 17. Sanhedrin 37a a difficult balance, a unity perhaps only truly attainable by the 18. Pirkei Avot 3:18; see Rashi to Devarim 6:7 who sees children in this One God, Whose unity is His essence. context as students, referring to our being the only nation given the Torah. We humans are often unable to meld balance with true 19. Tehillim 147:20: “He has done this for no other nation; such laws commitment. In our vernacular, the term “middling” is a they do not know.” synonym for mediocrity, or—as the Kotzker reportedly opined— 20. Shabbat 17b “The middle of the road is for the horses.” 21. Eruvin 62a, Bava Metzia 71a. Yet we must pursue that balance. We must move beyond one- 22. Gittin 56a: “Bar Kamtza said, ‘Since the rabbis were sitting there sided positions to a sincere and informed pursuit of a more and did not protest the actions of the host, they were apparently in complete perspective. Wholeness—of our Torah observance agreement with his behavior.’” and values, of our religious character and of our communal 23. Shabbat 105b cohesion—requires it. 24. Pirkei Avot 4:23: “Do not try to placate your friend in his hour of anger, nor to comfort him while his dead lies before him.” Note as well There is a tradition of the Sages33 that the Hebrew word for that Ramban (Bamidbar 20:1) notes that God only reacted negatively Heaven, shamayim, is a combination of the words for fire and to the Jewish people when we asked for something inappropriate. water, aish u’mayim, for in Heaven even the polar opposites of When—on the other hand—we had a legitimate need such as hunger fire and water are brought together to form a unified whole. or thirst, even when we expressed ourselves in the most unreasonable, disrespectful and angry manner, God remained patient and loving in We thus conclude every prayer and every recitation of Kaddish His response, saving guidance for a later, calmer time. by pleading that He Who made peace on high shall do the same 25. Bamidbar 16:22: “If one man sins, will You be angry with the entire for us. community?” Driven by our passion for Jewish unity and engagement, we 26. Note the classic interpretation of Rav Simcha Bunim of Peshischa can pray and hope that God grant us His blessing of peace and to the mandate, “Justice, justice you shall pursue,” suggesting that one must pursue justice with means that are themselves just (see Sefat wholeness, shalom ushleimut, soon in our day, Amen. Emet on Parashat Shoftim, par. 2). Notes 27. Devarim 23:8 1. Yevamot 14b 28. Rashi ad loc. 2. Zechariah 8:19 29. Zevachim 102a 3. “A Letter on Justice and Open Debate,” July 7, 2020, 30. Rambam, Hilchot Sanhedrin 16:9, based on Makkot 23a. Harper’sMagazine. The letter was promptly responded to by more than 31. Pachad Yitzchak, Rosh Hashanah 4:6-9. 150 signers of “A More Specific Letter on Justice and Open Debate.” 32. Rambam, Hilchot De’ot 1:7, based on Bereishit 18:19. 4. Note that the matching term for arriving at a decision is hachra’ah, used as well to describe the tipping of the scales. 33. Chagigah 12a 5. Sanhedrin 17a

Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader 23 Between Scylla and Charybdis share ideas and make observations about the American scene when they relate to these issues. Sometimes, these concern By Jefrey Woolf, myobiterdicta.blogspot.com things that are said or done in a political context. However, I try my best to make sure that the subject matter and the I have had the honor and privilege of living over twenty-eight observations hie to issues, and do not support any particular years in Eretz Yisrael. It is my home, both spiritual and physical. political party or issue. I desire no other. Indeed, by moving here decades ago, I feel that I have redeemed and fulfilled the dreams of my great-great I will admit that my musings and critiques may (more often grandparent who, when so many Jews migrated westward in than not) single out developments on the so-called politico- the wake of the pogroms of 1881, seized the opportunity to cultural Left. There are a number of reasons for this. First, as return home to Eretz Yisrael (15 years before the First Zionist I mentioned, right wing Jew-hatred is ‘out there and obvious.’ Congress). It should, of course, be excoriated (not just ‘called-out’) and fought with every fiber that we possess. Second, while there is I also have the privilege of being a fourth generation American. horrible Jew hatred on the Right, the spiritual challenge posed My forebears emigrated to the United States from Belarus, to Judaism and Jewish survival, by even moderate elements Lithuania, and Eretz Yisrael (the latter forced out by the Turks). of contemporary Liberal culture (which is, in actuality, very Thanks to them, and despite significant challenges, I was able different than classical Liberalism), is less obvious, and more to grow up a proud American and to receive an education (both corrosive. The aggressive advocacy of atheism, doctrines of general and Jewish) which is, certainly today, unequaled. I have radical individual autonomy, denial of the existence of Truth a deep debt of gratitude to the United States of American. and Moral Norms that bind us a priori, the assault on the Despite its flaws, the memory of the country in which I was traditional Family, the excoriation of national identity and born and raised remains for me the best hope for Mankind. more in the name of fetchingly packaged ‘Enlightenment’ and Still, casting my lot with my fellow Jews in building our ‘Progress,’ indeed the dissolution of Tolerance itself (the same ancestral, God given homeland, has consequences; as do all Tolerance that allowed Jewish entry into European society two principled decisions. One of these is that, on principle, I do not and a half centuries ago)--- all of these and more are part of the vote in American elections (even though I report annually to challenge posed by the culturally dominant currents emanating the IRS and pay taxes to the American government). Neither from the Western cultural elites, and those in the United do I, on principle, endorse candidates for elective office in the States, in particular. Owing to their less obvious qualities, it United States. To do so would be, in my opinion, unethical requires more effort to highlight the threat that these pose to since I would not bear the full measure of the consequences Traditional Judaism and Jewish self-definition. Hence, my posts of that vote (just as I expect American Jews not to interfere in tend to concentrate on this threat, not because I underestimate the democratic process in Israel, as they do not bear the full the danger of brute, Jew hatred. I do not (especially, as I have measure of the consequences of their actions). personally confronted it, in all its deadly ugliness, both in the United States and in Israel.) At the same time, the world in which we live is ever smaller and ever more inter-connected. The waves generated by the The result of this is that there is much in the Conservative cultural wars, in Europe and especially in the United States, cultural agenda with which I identify, and which I find very crash loudly on the shores of Israel. The ontological, ethical and useful in waging the war of ideas and in advancing what I axiological questions that they raise impact us all. In particular, believe are the core values, the grundnormen, of Orthodox the challenges that contemporary culture pose to Judaism Judaism. However, I wish to make it very clear that I am and Jewish Survival ((and, more importantly, the hidden neither a ‘card carrying’ Conservative or Liberal (and yes, on assumptions or ‘sub-text’s) must be confronted, irrespective many issues, I am very responsive to the Liberal agenda (e.g. of where they find the most tangible expression. Finally, the legitimate advancement and strengthening of women’s in their more extreme manifestations, both contemporary Torah literacy and leadership within Orthodox Tradition liberalism and contemporary conservatism contain within and in accordance the inner dynamic of that Tradition). My themselves hostility (and too often, explicit hatred of Jews epistemological model is both simple and complex. At the and/or Judaism). On the Right, this has frequently emerged bottom, I posit the organic integrity, yea essentialist character as bald, unadulterated Jew-hatred of the type that history has of Judaism. Judaism is not detached from historical change known since ancient times. On the Left, Jew hatred manifests or cut off from intellectual/cultural challenges or stimuli. itself more deftly, more subtly, through an Orwellian (mis) However, except under extraordinary force majeure, it does use of language. It is, however, no less insidious and no less not simply submit to the outside. It interacts and responds dangerous. thereto, according to its own rules, rhythms, dynamic and clear boundaries. As the late historian H.A.R. Gibb once said of Owing to the fact that my intellectual and spiritual loyalty is Islam, Judaism only absorbs outside influences when it has a above all to the Torah as Traditionally conceived, and to the previously developed internal need to do so. Even then, it only survival of the Jewish People as the bearers of the Torah, I do does so in line with its own, internal lines of development. To

24 Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader ‘reinterpret,’ ‘align,’ or ‘adapt’ Orthodoxy so that it becomes the Straits of Messina. The Orthodox community, on the other epistemologically dependent or conditional upon an external hand, by not navigating between the extremes is in danger of value system (conservative, liberal, or otherwise) is to being devoured by Scylla or swallowed up by Charybdis.2 eviscerate the Torah and, for the believing Jew, nothing short of blasphemous.1 It matters not which is which. Now, I hope that it is clear that my engagement in these matters The result is the same. is on the level of ideas, not of individuals (except, insofar, as I Notes cite individuals who express ideas or positions). In Hebrew, we 1. It might be credibly asked how I can subscribe to this belief and be לגופו של עניין, ולא לגופו describe this type of approach as being an objective historian. I have addressed this issue throughout this blog, ,ad ideam, non ad personam). In recent years, however) של אדם which you are invited to look over. for reasons that are irrelevant here such discussions have become increasingly difficult. In fact, in the terrarium of social 2. Similar things can be said of Israeli society. However, it requires a media, they are nigh on impossible. Everything has become separate discussion. personalized, and politicized. More to that, if individuals who have moral or other failings also support a specific idea, it willy-nilly becomes de-legitimized as do all those who advocate that idea. In short, all arguments become ad personam and Why Black Lives Matter — are never ad ideam. This situation, the existence of which I am hardly the first to note, is extremely dangerous for society to Jews generally. For Jewish cohesiveness, especially Orthodox Jewish A respected Modern Orthodox rabbi insists we can stand up cohesiveness, it may well prove lethal. for racial justice and defend Jewish interests, In different ways, large sectors of American Orthodoxy have by Andrew Silow-Carroll, New York Jewish Week violated the prime directive that I described above. They have, I understand why so many Jews distrust Black Lives Matter. often uncritically, accepted external systems of cultural and The anti-Israel plank in the 2016 platform of one of its leading ethical values and forced them upon the Torah. Right wing constituent groups, the Movement for Black Lives, was Orthodoxy, in its fight against the corrosion of contemporary slanderous, and we have said so in the pages of The Jewish Liberalism, has embraced the American Right that include a Week. The isolated incidents of marchers who denounce Israel frightening degree of moral obtuseness and ethical insensitivity are a stain on the protests. and expectation from its leaders. Indeed, they all too often forgive their erstwhile allies, blinded as they are by fear Readers tell us the movement can’t be trusted, that it is a and loathing of the forces they oppose. In addition, it is Trojan horse for anti-Israel sentiment. These same readers insufficiently sensitive to the Jew Hatred that lurks in the ranks bristle at what they consider the “lawlessness” of the protests of its erstwhile allies. and, like most white Jewish New Yorkers, they have far more trusting experiences with the police than do Blacks and Self-styled Modern and Liberal Orthodoxy has an unhealthy Hispanics. They worry that cuts to the NYPD budget will return tendency to embrace and internalize those self-same outlook, New York to its bad old days. For many Jews, with recent values and world-views that are an anathema to God’s Torah memories of synagogue shootings and street attacks, the police and a life of surrender to His Will. In its more egregious represent the solution. For too many people of color, they are manifestations, this expresses itself in the distortion of the the problem. Torah, rejection of Jewish national (not nationalist) identity, and the granting of legitimacy to the unacceptable phenomenon I suspect that this isn’t just a matter of conservatives vs. of Orthopraxis or ‘Social Orthodoxy.’ In addition, the uncritical liberals. While the Jewish majority supports calls for reforming embrace of contemporary liberalism and its exponents, blinds the police departments and for a racial reckoning, more quietly far too many Liberal Orthodox Jews to the spiritual dangers most prefer to work within a system that respects police and posed by their erstwhile heroes. In addition, the absorption of demands racial justice. Reconciling those two ideas will be the post-national, inter-sectional theory threatens to attenuate the challenge of our era, and of our religious community. ties of this community to Israel. This doesn’t endanger them physically, of course. It does endanger the lives of six and a half To get there, it’s important to remember what BLM is and isn’t. million Israeli Jews. Black Lives Matter is less an organization than a rallying cry We are, then, foundering between Scylla and Charybdis. for racial justice. It’s akin to “Free Soviet Jewry,” a term that in Personally, in trying to advance the cause of my own primary its heyday was embraced by both the Jewish mainstream and allegiances, the extremes on both sides twixt whom I try to the radicals. Whether you supported the organizations that navigate make me feel as if I’m being blown out of the waters of wrote press releases and held mass rallies, or cheered the ones who planted pipe bombs at the offices of Russian-controlled

Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader 25 companies, the cause of Soviet Jewry remained urgent and just. of Black citizens. We have to be able to collaborate with them, much as we would expect them to collaborate with us in our The street protests for racial justice in all 50 states are not moments of need.” about Israel and the Jews. They are addressing real frustrations with policing, incarceration and economic disparities between To those who find street protests inherently unsettling, he black and white. And while there has been violence by describes how he marched for Soviet Jewry and for Israel, and protesters and hangers-on, there also have been dozens and against the Vietnam War and anti-Semitism. dozens of instances of police beating and teargassing otherwise peaceful protesters. “Defund the Police” is an unfortunate “This is distinctively a moment of hope in American society, slogan, but the protests have led to an unprecedented precisely because of the demonstrations that are now going discussion about how our police departments operate and what on in cities and towns across this country,” says Rabbi Berman. can be done to make our society more just. “And we the Jewish community need to be fully engaged…. There are moments when the individual cannot allow their Consider: Since the protests began, (white) public opinion has material interest to supersede their ethical responsibilities. And shifted. More and more people want something done about when that happens, we, every one of us, need to recognize bias within the criminal justice system. Southern states have at our responsibility to participate in demonstrations [and] to rise last begun to remove flags and statues that glorify those who against those forms of corruption.” fought to retain human bondage. School boards are cutting ties with police departments and looking for new, less fraught ways to keep schools safe. Cities — including NYC — are reallocating money not away from crime fighting, but towards services that even police admit shouldn’t be their job: youth employment, Cancel culture ‘Cancel Culture’ Is mental health initiatives, homeless advocacy, drug treatment. as Old as Religion, And It’s Only a Departments are banning chokeholds and maverick plain- Thing Because of Who’s Doing the clothes units. Louisville is getting rid of “no-knock” search warrants for petty crimes. Cancelling There’s no contradiction between welcoming reforms like these By Shaul Magid, ReligionDispatches.org and defending Jewish interests. Can our community do both? I don’t understand “cancel culture.” I mean, I understand what One person who insists we can is Rabbi Saul Berman, a people mean, but I don’t quite understand why those decrying professor of Jewish studies at Yeshiva University. In a recent it claim that it’s something new. online lecture for Y.U.’s “Crisis and Hope” series, the respected I’ve often thought the term itself is born from social Modern Orthodox leader talks about marching in Selma for media which portends to inaugurate the democratization civil rights in 1965. He quotes his mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. of knowledge but really functions to introduce the Soloveitchik, on the Jews’ responsibility, as citizens, to seek democratization of opinion. In some way, of course, opinion justice for all, not just for themselves. He quotes Torah on the was always democratized; free speech enables me to say obligation to rebuke one’s neighbor in the name of what’s right whatever I want (given certain caveats) but it doesn’t, nor did it and just. ever, give me the right to say it wherever I want. And he addresses this fraught moment. He inveighs against a In some way, cancel culture has always existed, mostly in the society that tolerates inequity. hands of editors of opinion pages and letters to the editor; “We as citizens have the responsibility to stand up as Jews from university committees who decide who’s invited to speak and within the framework of our own understanding [and say] what who isn’t; people who evaluate material for publication, etc. justice constitutes in the society in which we are living,” says That is, there was always a process of vetting, and that vetting Rabbi Berman. was not always pure and without ulterior motives. As for objections about BLM, Rabbi Berman recalls marching The lines of communication between what I happen to with Catholic leaders when the church still promoted anti- think and your ear have never been unmediated unless Semitic views. Conversely, he remembers how Martin Luther you happened to pass by my front lawn as I stood there King raised his voice for Soviet Jews. and expounded on the ills of the world. Before this present moment, for example, would anyone think of accusing a “So we have to be able to tell supporters of Black Lives Matter newspaper of “cancel culture” because they rejected one’s that they should not be anti-Israel, but that doesn’t mean that letter to the editor (if so, I would have been the victim of cancel we can’t collaborate with them in the process of gaining voting culture many times over). rights for citizens,” he says. “It doesn’t mean that we can’t collaborate with them in protecting the well-being and the lives But something has changed. Let me cite a few examples. When

26 Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader I was a young assistant professor at The Jewish Theological someone for saying whatever racist or misogynist nonsense on Seminary I received many invitations from Conservative my Facebook page (necessary, in my view)—we find ourselves synagogues to speak about my research, or on topical matters. in a state of confusion where the right to say whatever we want I enjoyed such opportunities. Once I began publishing essays has morphed into the right to say it wherever we want. Where criticizing Israel’s occupation, the invitations stopped. Pretty public space and the democratization of opinion now enables abruptly. As I told a friend at the time, I could close my eyes and us to confuse whatever and wherever. envision my name being summarily plucked from the Rolodexes in synagogue offices. Did that disturb me? Not really. While I People can be, and continue to be, excluded (cancelled) for all certainly missed the extra income, I knew that was the price I kinds of reasons; race, religion, creed, sexual orientation. We paid for making my views public on a contentious matter. At no now have legal structures in place to try to alleviate or minimize point did I think I was being cancelled. In fact, I was happy that that kind of illegitimate discrimination. We’ve decided that at least they were reading my essays. those criteria for exclusion are unacceptable in our society. A second example happened more recently. I read an essay What it seems “cancel culture” is introducing is another in an online journal on a topic I know something about that layer; political or ideological discrimination. And in doing I felt was very problematic, not because I disagreed with the that, weaponizing something that’s existed for a long time: views expressed therein (although I did), but because the exclusion for other reasons. Kind of like how white people essay contained errors, inaccuracies, leaps of logic, and was who oppose affirmative action do so because suddenly they poorly argued. I wrote to the editors of the journal to express are disadvantaged, though they had no problem for centuries my dissatisfaction. In response I received a very mean-spirited when it was reversed. But is political discrimination valid? If I response from one editor accusing me of “bullying a young edit a journal and reject an essay because I find its political or writer” (the editor called him “a kid”) and claiming he was just ideological foundations unacceptable, is that discriminatory? “living his truth” (he was an American who had immigrated to Should it be? The expansion of discriminatory practice to Israel). include political or ideological differences in regard to who gets to say what, where, is perhaps the place to get a deeper sense First, I had assumed he was closer to my age. But if readers of what’s going on. were meant to account for the writer’s age shouldn’t his work have been presented in a way that reflected this? Second, I had Yes, even the Talmud no idea, nor did I care, where he lived. And third, I didn’t quite understand being accused of “bullying” since I never wrote Recently, Will Berkovitz, a rabbi and CEO of Jewish Family to the author and never made my views of the essay public. Service in Washington State published an opinion piece arguing To this day, the unnamed author still has no idea how I felt that, as the headline states, “The Talmud has a lesson for about his essay. I simply wrote privately to the editors. While I our cancel-culture world.” In it, he argues that the Talmud, a wasn’t quite accused of “cancel culture,” that seemed to be the product of a small cadre of Jewish sages in Babylonia from the underlying message of the editor’s remarks. In this editor’s view third to sixth centuries CE, can be a model for the tolerance and I was, in some way, questioning, by privately discrediting, the diversity of opinions that our present moment needs. That it right for this author to state his views. can teach us a lesson about cancel culture. Finally, when someone crosses a line on my Facebook thread I Others have made similar arguments that the Talmud is a lesson often block them. Before doing so, I write to them to tell them in pluralism as its pages contain legal discussions that include I’m blocking them, and that they have the right to say whatever minority and rejected opinions. In fact, one of its tractates they want in this world, but they don’t have the right to say called Ediyot (‘Testimonies’) even discusses why minority whatever they want on my Facebook page. While my page is opinions remain inside as opposed to being relegated to the public, it’s still mine and I have the right to curate it as I see fit. I dustbin of history. This of course, is not unique. U.S. Supreme offer them the opportunity to apologize or retract their remarks Court decisions contain dissenting views that are continually and if they choose not to, I block them. I’ve been accused in analyzed by legal scholars. this instance of “cancel culture”; that is, of preventing him or On the Talmud, Berkovitz concludes: her from expressing their views and censoring them. The elision of whatever and wherever seems to have grown roots in our “As our ancient rabbis understood, debate—and the people psyche. who engage in it—is vital to advancing society; it doesn’t degrade it. We gain nothing by turning debates on ideas into So in these three moments—one where I’m not invited to attacks on people. Both are part of the arc of the human story, speak at venues because of my views (perfectly legitimate), but only one will elevate our community.” one where an editor accuses me of preventing someone from “living their truth” by privately criticizing their essay How can one argue with that?! (illegitimate), and one where I am accused of ‘cancelling’

Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader 27 And yet, the example of the Talmud fails to support Berkovitz’s sense, because of the very fact of their being in common… claim. Jews, Christians, and Muslims may have entertained a they are to some extent indistinguishable from religious beliefs variety of opinions on matters of great urgency. But not all. proper.” In fact, maybe not even most. They had their own “cancel culture.” It’s called heresy. Heresy constructed the limits of Durkeim is talking about things common in a society but legitimate debate. In a sense heresy constructed Orthodoxy. the same would apply if we diversify it to apply to venues, universities, churches, synagogues, and mosques, social So who formulated heresy? That’s a complex historical question communities, even Facebook threads. To take an example beyond the scope of this essay. But typically it was ecclesiastical straight from Durkheim, a 2017 poll found that 60% of authorities, or sometimes regional leadership. And what Americans believe that professional athletes should be required constituted heresy? Also beyond the limits here, but suffice to stand during the playing of the national anthem. Groups are it to say that these were largely theological or ideological able to hold deep-seated convictions like this one, the rejection determinations that extended beyond simple “errors” of belief, of which is a kind of secular heresy meaning they are excluded but required pertinacity, which is a willful or deliberate act of from their discourse. Protesting that norm is an act of “heresy” deviance, even after being warned. to counter a norm. If successful it can change the norm. But it can do so only by acting outside it. In Christianity it often applied to the rejection of Church doctrine or dogma, while in Judaism it often consisted of This doesn’t deny that a group can hold a diversity of views either a rejection of rabbinic authority, or its construction of on a particular issue, just as the Talmud records some of the monotheism or claims of the divine origin of the Torah. One views it ultimately rejects, but the Talmud in its diversity is also guilty of any of those “fallacies” was excluded from the debate; exercising cancellation (those outside the academy or those that is, they were canceled. deemed to hold heretical views). Free speech enables us to say anything we want, but it doesn’t give us the right to say it While the Talmud indeed includes multiple voices, it’s the anywhere we want. The Jewish heretic in late antique Babylonia product of a fairly small and exclusive fraternity of sages, each could espouse any theological view he or she wanted, but if of whom passed the requisite initiation to be included. Of it didn’t find favor with the rabbis it wasn’t recorded in the course, Babylonian Jewry was much more diverse than the Talmud. And thus, for all intents and purposes, it was cancelled. included views would suggest. The Talmud doesn’t include those other voices, not necessarily because they thought they Anything, but not anywhere were heretics, but because they weren’t part of the club and thus their views had little if any authority. If all we had was In light of the Harper’s Magazine letter, I find it curious that the Babylonian Talmud we’d know very little about Babylonian many now decrying cancel culture are the very beneficiaries of Jewry in this period. All we’d have is the record of a thin slice of precisely that culture before it was named. That is, beneficiaries the society in a small number of academies. of all kinds of other people being excluded from the public sphere because of their religion, race, sexual orientation, or Today, Talmudic scholars are exploring the wider vistas of political views (communists, for example). the context of the Talmud, not only to show how it may have been influenced by its surroundings, but also in some cases to Thankfully our society is slowly rectifying those sins. But now examine those the Talmud “cancelled”; those who engaged in to raise the issue of ideological discrimination as if to say, magic bowl incantations, perhaps Zoroastrian fire worship, and you cannot prevent me from saying that I want to say in your other manner of religious practices that didn’t find favor in the newspaper, or at your university, in your church, or even on sages of the Talmud. Were the sages being discriminatory by your Facebook page, seems like protesting too much. That kind excluding these people and ejecting heretics from their midst? of freedom was never given, nor should it be foisted on, any community, publication, or platform. One could say, and many have, that heresy is an old idea that’s no longer relevant. That modernity has thankfully moved In addition, the “cancel culture” police seem to be playing us beyond heresy toward a more pluralistic world. French both sides of the wager. That is, they decry being “cancelled” sociologist Emil Durkheim didn’t think so. Author of many but maintain their state of privilege and thus use their works, including the influential The Elementary Forms of “cancellation” as proof they’re saying something important. Religious Life (1912), Durkheim held that categories like heresy do translate into secular societies. In an essay “Concerning the That’s because, ironically, the mere fact that they can say Definition of Religious Phenomena,” Durkheim writes: they’re being cancelled means, in part, that they’re not. They just take the position of privileged opposition and wear it as a “It is a fact that there are general beliefs of all kinds which badge of honor. If they were really cancelled, we wouldn’t hear appear to be relevant to secular objects, things like the flag, their voices at all. one’s country, some form of political organization, some hero, some historical event or other…They are obligatory in a certain If you want to see real “cancel culture,” look at the myriad

28 Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader women, Black, gay, and other writers who lived their life in to choose what is sacred and what is heretical. The former is obscurity because they couldn’t get published and thus had included, the latter excluded. There may be no better example no voice. For every Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, or Toni of that very limited diversity, and equally strong exercise of Morrison there are hundreds, maybe thousands, whose names exclusion, than the Talmud. we will never know. Shaul Magid is a Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth In a free society, I may have to tolerate your views, but I’m College, Kogod Senior Research Fellow at the Shalom Hartman under no obligation to publicize them, nor to let them pass Institute of North America, and Contributing Editor to Tablet without criticism. My right to criticize you publicly is no less magazine. His forthcoming book Meir Kahane: An American important than your right to pontificate publicly. As Durkheim Jewish Radical will be published by Princeton University Press. said, secular societies and subgroups, like religious ones, get

Part 3: Don’t Worry, Be Happy! Be Happy Be Grateful with What You Have dusiznies.blogspot.com

WHY? 4. Oldest retail company (JC Penny) filed for bankruptcy - to be acquired by Amazon for pennies 1. Victoria’s Secret declared bankruptcy. 5. Biggest investor in the world (Warren Buffet) lost 2. Zara closed 1,200 stores. $50 billion in the last 2 months 3. La Chapelle withdrew 4391 stores. 6. Biggest investment company in the world (BlackRock) is signalling disaster in the world economy - they 4. Chanel is discontinued. manage over $7 trillion 5. Hermes is discontinued. 7. Biggest mall in America (Mall of America) stopped 6. Patek Philippe discontinued production. paying mortgage payments 7. Rolex discontinued production. 8. Most reputable airline in the world (Emirates) laying off 30% of its employees 8. The world’s luxury industry has crumpled. 9. US Treasury printing trillions to try to keep the 9. Nike has a total of $23 billion US dollars preparing for the economy on life support second stage of layoffs. 10. Estimated no. of retail stores closing in 2020 - 12,000 10. Gold’s gym filed for bankruptcy to 15,000. The following are big retailers that have announced closing: 11. The founder of Airbnb said that because of pandemic, 12 years of efforts were destroyed in 6 weeks. - J. Crew - Modell’s 12. Even Starbucks also announced to permanently close their - Gap - A.C. Moore 400 stores. - Victoria’s Secret - Macy’s 13. WeWork isn’t in a great spot either - Bath & Body Works - Bose The list goes on & on... - Forever 21 - Art Van Furniture See the US economy landscape: - Sears - Olympia Sports - Walgreens - K Mart 1. Nissan Motor Co. may close down in USA - GameStop - Specialty Cafe & 2. Biggest car rental company (Hertz) filed for - Pier 1 Imports Bakery bankruptcy - they also own Thrifty and Dollar - Nordstrom ...and many, many 3. Biggest trucking company (Comcar) filed for more bankruptcy - they have 4,000 trucks - Papyrus - Chico’s - Destination Maternity

Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader 29 Unemployment claims reached an all-time high of 38+ million Coronavirus in a Broken Holy - unemployment is over 25% (out of 160 million of work force, close to 40 million are jobless). With no income, consumer Land: Three Personal Prayers demand is falling drastically, and the economy will go into a free When all this is over, if we’re still here, may we remember to fall. This is just USA... bless You by doing what we so tragically failed to do: To save Under the weight of the new crown pandemic, many giants are the world, by Bradley Burston, Haaretz.com facing the crisis of failure. Five months of pandemic created a LOT of debt, and tens of thousands of companies went Week One: Angels bankrupt. If you have business & your company is still there, This is what I told myself this morning: and there are no pay cuts or layoffs, please treat your company & customer well. Humans are facing the pandemic that cannot Whatever you’re doing, stop a second. be controlled. The second half of 2020, is the challenge of Take a long breath. Deep. corporate strength & relationship Take a breath and revel in it, just to decide that you’re alive. 2020 is about survival. Take care of yourself & your loved ones. Be happy with what you have. Take a breath to give thanks. Ask, who is like unto this unknowable Almighty, who invented life itself, and breath, and who created our true shields and swords, the health professionals who are the mightiest, if the What to Be Grateful For most compassionate, of angels. By Sally Berkovic Thank You, by whatever Name, who created and sent us and We have much to be grateful for in the achievements of science, sustains these heroes, these champions, who run marathons and we have much to be concerned about in the dangers of every single day to just do their jobs, which are to perform science. And so there is a woman named Sally Berkovic who has miracles. taken the traditional prayer for the community which is recited Most of all, take that long breath in honor of and in gratitude to in the synagogue every Shabbos, and made it into a prayer for the angels themselves: our time: Nurses May He who blessed our fathers, Alexander Graham Bell, Doctors Thomas Edison, Joseph Lister and Anton Von Leederback bless Emergency Medical Technicians and Ambulance Crews the founders of WhatsApp, Zoom, Facetime, Facebook, YouTube, Lab Techs and all the other resources that enrich our lives, may God bless Orderlies and Maintenance and Cleaning Staff then together with their families and all that is theirs, May He Research Scientists bless those who have created the opportunities to reach out Epidemiologists to each other in times of distress despite the quarantine, and who have enabled us to attend funerals and to make shivah And for so many others, among them the parents suddenly at calls from a distance, and who have enabled us to be present home with their children, running - without training, without from a distance at the time when young lovers are married, help, without grandparents - marathons of their own, all in an with their chuppahs on our screens. May He bless those who effort to save countless lives. have created online educational resources so that we can study Your Torah, and those who have formed virtual synagogues Modeh Ani. If only you could hear me, how grateful I am for and those who enter therein to pray. May God bless those who your faithfulness. provide online shopping and who deliver wine for Kiddush and for Havdalah, and those who create funny videos that make our Week Two: Plagues children laugh, and those who work in the IT departments and Help us. keep these systems running, together with all those who occupy themselves with the needs of the community. May the Holy One Help us understand what this is. give them the wisdom to use their talents for good and their Help us understand why the Passover came early this year. profits for tzedakah. May God remove from them the temptation to arrogance and self-worship and idolatry, May He send blessing Ha Lachma Anya. and success to all their worthy endeavors, together with all of us, their brethren, and let us all say: amen, amen. This is the hard, dry bread which our ancestors ate in an age of affliction, of misery, of darkness, of isolation, of plague.

30 Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader Anyone who is hungry, may they be able to come in, to come to the same again. us, and eat. Soon, in our days. Nor an embrace. And certainly, not a kiss. Help us. Now, outside this window, nature has begun to become nature Help us help them. again. May it heal from this. Anyone who is in need, who feels cut off, torn loose, left alone, May we as well. All of us. left behind, uncomprehending - may they come to celebrate the passing over of this plague. Soon. In our days. May we know that we are all of us, members of a nuclear family called nature. Now we are here. Apart. Next year may we be together, living in a holy land. Baruch Ata Adonai, Creator of worlds, and of our better nature, This year we are slaves, to a master we cannot see. Save us. Next year, may all of us know what it is to be free. And, in return, when all this is over, if we’re still here, should You grant us a second chance, may we remember to bless You by doing what we so tragically failed to do for You in that world Week Three: Family we thought we knew so well: Help me. To save the world. As if it were ours. When all this is over. If I’m still here. Help me over my fears, my yearning, my memories, the pain of loss. But mostly, Help me to remember, when all this is over, what I’m feeling right now, the last thing I could have expected: Alive. Reborn. Amazed by the everyday. This is my confession: I never understood why prayers began You Are Blessed. Until now. A little while ago, the world I lived in all of my life, the world I knew so well, the world I was so very certain of, came to an end. Gone for good. Now, outside this window, is a new world. Fearsome and gorgeous. Yet to be explored. Not one of us can claim to have even begun to know it. Baruch Ata Adonai, Creator of Worlds. Thank you for letting the young live through this. May they go on to save Your Creation. When all this is over, if I’m still here, help me to remember who I am. That I am not my tribe, my age, my color, my denomination, my station, my nation, my job. Help me to remember who I am. I am a member of a nuclear family called the human race. When this is all over, if I’m still here, a handshake will never feel

Beth Tfiloh High Holy Day Reader 31

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