remember the mission

I am angry.

I did not wish to see this antisemism coming, and I was warned. I attended a lecture back in early 2017 by Eric Ward, activist and author of his ground-breaking paper “Skin in the game”. Ward argues that underneath the racism and prejudice pervasive throughout this nation is a deep-rooted antisemitism, and he suggests that issues of civil rights in this nation will never truly be resolved until we have tackled antisemitism. 

I see his point. Antisemitism comes from the extreme right. Antisemitism comes from the extreme left. Antisemitism comes from angry teenagers making poor choices, from down-trodden individuals in minority and/or majority groups looking for a target upon which to place their frustrations, and from those who turn to hate for whatever reason.

I am angry that this antisemitism is so pervasive. I’m angry that we are inclined to look to our neighbors with cautious suspicion and watch our backs as we pray in our synagogues, exercise at our JCCs, eat in our kosher establishments, and walk down the street with any visible Jewish identification.

I am angry because this is not the America that has become my home. We are so much more than this, so much better than this. 

I am angry because antisemitism distracts us from the work that needs to be done. This threat from the outside pushes us inwards, directing our attention and resources to safety and security, taking us away from the inordinate effort needed to build a world fit for our children and grandchildren. We should be devoting ourselves to finding a way to mitigate the climate crisis, to ending poverty, to finding a way towards coexistence and even peace in the middle east, and perhaps even, learning for the sake of learning!

Rabbi Donniel Hartman in his recent blog-post “I hate talking about anti-Semitism” wrote, “When we focus on the hate, it can become the defining element of Jewish life, when that should be living lives of moral and spiritual greatness.” Though we do have a responsibility to protect ourselves and survive, this responsibility is not our mission. Our mission, as taught by Torah, is “to create a people guided by a tradition which challenges us to live lives of meaning and value and which can be a light both to ourselves and others.” When we think of antisemitism, we focus on our responsibility to survive. What we need to keep in front of us, however, is our mission, given at Sinai, be a holy people.

I was particularly moved reading an article translated from its original yiddish by a Shimon Rolnitzky, a Monsey Haredi Jew, responding to the Hanukkah machete attack. In “We Hasidic Jews of Monsey must ignore the outsiders who want us to take up arms and politicize our tragedy” Rolnitzky wrote, “We Jews do not raise our hands in resignation. No! We did not give up in the concentration camps, when Jews were set on fulfilling commandments, despite life ostensibly having no more meaning, and we will continue not giving up. We will just go on with our lives. We will not let the horror of Jew-hatred gain dominion over our lives. We will remain subjects of the King of Kings.”

Indeed, we must be devout divine subjects, keeping our mission on earth front and center: l’takein olam b’malchut shaddai— to repair the world in sacred wholeness. Our safety and security is paramount, but it must be in service of our greater purpose.

Here are some things we can do to serve that greater purpose:

1)Join Temple B’nai Abraham’s Antisemitism and Hate working group. Our first meeting will be January 15 at 7:30 pm, where we will officially begin this phase of our work and explore what efforts we might take to counter and prevent antisemitism and hate in our community and nation. We will be working with the Anti-Defamation League as part of their Signature Synagogue program. Anyone interested should come out. 

2) Keep up those sacred efforts and join one of our other working groups. We will be setting up meeting dates over the coming weeks for four additional working groups to address and make change in the following areas:

• Mental Health
• Climate Change / Environment / Disaster Relief
• Gun Violence
• Israel

3) Come be with your community at every possible opportunity. There’s a reason why Judaism requires a minyan to say prayers of mourning— we believe that no one should be alone in their pain. Now is the time to come together. Come to Shabbat services in the evenings and mornings. Celebrate community milestones by showing up to B’nai Mitzvah. Come to classes, programs, and events to say that we’re here, proud, and part of a vibrant Jewish life. 

4) Come to NYC this Sunday January 5 and walk at the No Hate, No Fear Solidarity March. We meet at Foley Square at 11 am. 

5) Foster and nurture relationships with people of all kinds. We must remember that we have friends all over, and that relationships between minorities are absolutely essential towards building a society in which all of us can flourish. We must remember that antisemitism will only be defeated when we’ve won over the hearts and minds of all humankind. 

May hate and anger only work to fuel us in doing exactly what needs to be done.