TJJ2012

Eternal Nation

TJJ Education: Jewish Identity Page 1

JE WIS H IDE NT ITY

WHAT IS JUDAISM?

A RACE?

A RELIGION?

A PEOPLE?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A JEW?

VAYIKRA 18:3

ה מעש רים ארץ כ תם אשר מצ שב ה י ה תעשו לא ב מעש נען ארץ וכ אשר כביא אני כם מ ה את מ יהם תעשו לא ש ת חק כו לא וב ל :ת

Like the practice of the land of Egypt, in which you dwelled, you shall not do, and like the practice of the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you, you shall not do, and you should not follow their statutes.

ALEINU (PRAYER)

It is our duty to praise the Master of all, to ascribe greatness to the Author of creation, who has not made us like the nations of the lands nor placed us like the families of the earth; who has not made our portion like theirs, nor our destiny like all their multitudes. But we bow in worship and thank the Supreme King of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He…to rectify the world and to render it under the sovereignty of God.

HAVDALLA (PRAYER)

The Jew has always been a people with definite racial

characteristics and never a religion.

-Adolf Hitler (Mein Kampf)

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"Blessed art thou, God, our Lord, King of the Universe, Who distinguishes, Holiness from profanity, Light from dark, Israel from the nations, The Shabbos from the six workdays. Blessed art thou, God, Who distinguishes holiness from profanity."

BAMIDBAR RABBAH 20:21

In the merit of four acts of restraint were the Jews redeemed from Egypt - they did not change their names; they did not change their language; they did not disclose each other's secrets; and they did not break barriers of morality

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR

THE JEWISH PEOPLE REMAIN DISTINCT AMONG THE

NATIONS?

HOW DOES DISTINGUISHING OUR BEHAVIOR IMPACT OUR

JEWISH IDENTITY AND THE WORLD AROUND US?

DOES SEPARATION ALWAYS IMPLY SUPERIORITY?

WHO WE ARE

PIRKE AVOT 3:18

ד"י דברים שנאמר למקום בנים שנקראו להם נודעת יתירה חבה בניםלמקום שנקראו ישראל חביביןחמ כלי שניתןלהם להם נודעת יתירה חבה חמדה כלי להם שניתן ישראל חביבין אלהיכם 'לה אתם בנים

:תעזובו אל תורתי לכם נתתי טוב לקח כי שנאמר העולם נברא שבו דה

Beloved are the people of Israel, for they are described as the children of the Omnipresent; it is indicative of a greater love that it was made known to them that they are described as children of the Omnipresent, as it is said, ‘You are children to Hashem your God’

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT THAT THE JEWS ARE CONSIDERED

LIKE THE CHILDREN OF GOD?

WE HAVE TO KNOW THIS IS TRUE. DAILY REMINDERS EVEN

OF THE MOST BASIC INFORMATION HELP US. WHAT ARE

SOME DAILY REMINDERS THAT YOU CAN USE TO REMIND

YOURSELF OF THIS?

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DEFINING IDENTITY

NATAN SHARANSKY (DEFENDING IDENTITY)

“Whatever its form, identity offers a sense of life beyond the physical and material, beyond mere personal existence. It is this sense of a common world that stretches before and beyond the self, of belonging to something greater than the self, that gives strength not only to community but to the individual as well.

Our identities open portals to our past and future, making the life we lead so much more meaningful than our mere physical existence. We become a link in a chain that stretches back, out, and forward. By viewing ourselves as

part of this chain, we discover a power that can enable us to overcome our fears and remain true to our innermost beliefs. Armed with this power, we have strength to stand tall, walk straight, and as I so often prayed, live in a way that is honest and worthy.”

SANHEDRIN 44A

“A Jew, even though he has sinned, is still a Jew.”

IS THIS HOW YOU VIEW IDENTITY?

CAN A RELIGIOUS JEW AND A NON-RELIGIOUS JEW SHARE

THE SAME JEWISH IDENTITY? WHY OR WHY NOT?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT YOU ARE A JEW?

RABBI AVRAHAM YITZCHAK KOOK

“My God, before I was formed I was of no worth, and now that I have been formed, it is as if I had not been formed.”… When I was not yet formed, I was obviously of no worth, since the fact that I did not yet exist meant that there was no need for me to exist. But now that I have been formed, it means there must be a reason for my being. There must be a mission that I am to fulfill, something which only I am able to accomplish...Consequently, my existence is of crucial importance not just for myself but for all of mankind and the entire universe. (Olat Re’iyah, vol. 2, page 356.)

TJJ Education: Jewish Identity Page 4

HOW DO YOU MAKE JEWISH IDENTITY INTO YOUR JEWISH

IDENTITY?

JUDAISM GIVES US A LOT, WHAT DO YOU DO FOR JUDAISM?

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T HE CHOS EN N AT IO N

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE CHOSEN; WHAT IS OUR

RESPONSIBILITY TO THE WORLD?

ARE WE JEWISH AMERICANS/CANADIANS OR

AMERICAN/CANADIAN JEWS?

DOES BEING THE CHOSEN NATION MEAN THAT WE ARE NOT

CONCERNED WITH ANYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A JEW?

RAV SHAMSHAN RAPHAEL HIRSH 1808-1888 (BEREISHIS 17:1)

Avraham is ninety-nine years old, with a whole life already behind him. He may well have imagined that he had already reached the pinnacle of perfection. Yet now he learns that he is still at the beginning of his journey….some people say: ‘if a person meets his obligations from a moral and humane standpoint – that is sufficient. By doing so, he meets his obligations to God as well. This is also the essence of the aim of Judaism.’ Others think: ‘Judaism is a substitute for humanness.’…on the one hand, ‘be a mensch, a decent human being, before you attempt to be a Jew.’ First acquire all the humane virtues; only then can you become a Jew. On the other hand, you are not yet a Jew if you have reached only the level attained by Avraham until this point. A person who is compassionate, forgiving, and benevolent – qualities demonstrated by Avraham until this point – is merely the embodiment of the ideal Noachide.

AS JEWS WE ARE OFTEN HAVE MANY CUSTOMS AND LAWS WHICH

SEPARATE US. WHAT IS THE BALANCE THAT WE SHOULD TRY TO

STRIKE BETWEEN BEING SEPARATE/ CHOSEN AND BEING PART OF

THE WORLD?

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RAV SHAMSHAN RAPHAEL HIRSH (BEREISHIS 18:1)

How maliciously have Judaism and its bearers, the heritage of Avraham and its heirs, been maligned: “these circumcised ones arrogantly regard themselves as the ‘only ones’ of their God. The sign of the covenant, which sets them apart from the other nations, removes from their heart all cosmopolitanism, all feeling of being united in brotherhood with the rest of mankind. They reduce the God of heaven and earth, the God of all human souls, to the God of their tribe, the God of their small country.” But here sits the first circumcised Jew – and where is he seated? “in the groves of Mamre”!...Although he was now circumcised, his relationship to mankind outside his limited sphere remained unchanged. Our sages teach us that Avraham’s sole concern – and this is what prompted him to sit before his door in the heat of the day – was that now, following his circumcision, people might avoid him…And who were the guest Avraham was expecting? Uncircumcised idolaters! (he could have expected no others.) For their sake he left God’s Presence; he ran to greet them, to fulfill the duty of acting with loving-kindness toward one’s fellow man….This section is juxtaposed to the section on Brit Milah. The people of Avraham, isolated by circumcision, are to become the most humane of men. In essence they are a contrast to the rest of [the] world; nevertheless they are to be ready at all times to realize every universal human value. Toward this end they became a people that dwells apart- to foster within themselves this pure humanity….throughout the generations, even the enemies of Israel have not denied that the disparaged Jews possess this spirit. Wherever open hearts and open hands are sought for universal humane purposes, even the disparagers of Judaism turn, first of all, to the Jews.

IN TRYING TO ACHIEVE OUR GOAL WHAT IS OUR FOUNDATION?

RAV SHAMSHAN RAPHAEL HIRSH (BEREISHIS 14:13)

Avraham’s conduct should serve as a model for his descendants throughout the generations, as long as they live as the children of Avraham in a land not theirs. A Jew should conduct himself as a Jew, loving peace, and should not interfere with the affairs that are not his. He should develop and shape his own affairs, and attend to Israel’s needs. The result will be that the other peoples will seek to enlist him as an ally – not vice versa. Every person of purity will recognize that true, complete Judaism is the most perfect conception of humanity – not vice versa. For the concept ‘Jew’ is broader than the concept ‘man.’ A Jew need only be a Jew, in the full and complete sense of the word. If he behaves in this manner, then, although he will be only a neighbor[temporary settler], he will win the esteem of the other peoples, and they will enlist him in their covenants. Avraham did not purchase this alliance relationship at the cost of abandoning his own calling.

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DOES GOD LOVE HIS FIRST BORN CHOSEN NATION MORE?

RABBI YOSEF DOV SOLOVEITCHIK: FESTIVAL OF FREEDOM

The Rav (as Rabbi Soloveitchik is called by his students) argues based on the Pasuk that we are Gods children, but more directly we are Gods first born. Being the first born child does that mean that you are better than the other children. Parents love all their children equally (and even if not, God loves all of his children equally). However the first born still has an elevated status; responsibility. The First born is supposed to be the liaison between the rest of the children and the parents. He is supposed to live his life by example and to show the other siblings that if he can succeed, then they can succeed also.

MANY TIMES WHO TO GIVE CHARITY TOO BECOMES A

QUESTION OF PRIORITIES. SO WE NEED TO KNOW:

CAN/SHOULD WE CONSIDER GIVING CHARITY TO NON-JEWISH

CAUSES?

A LETTER FROM RABBI AARON SOLOVEICHIK:

Dear Dr. Luchins,

I am writing this letter in response to your request from me for a brief note on the appropriateness of raising funds to assist needy and indigent non-Jews.

It is obvious that from the Judaic perspective righteousness is to be practiced equally towards Jews and non-Jews alike. Rabbeinu Bahya ben Asher in his comment on the verse in Deuteronomy chapter 16 verse 20 "Righteousness righteousness thou shalt pursue" says that the reason as to why the Torah reiterates the term righteousness twice is to impress upon us the notion that righteousness is to be practiced equally to Jews and non-Jews alike. Rabbeinu Menachem Hameiri – one of the outstanding

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Torah giants in the thirteenth century – writes that decent Christians and decent Moslems are to be treated like proselytes of the gate (ger toshov). And in respect to a ger toshov (a gentile who observes the fundamental obligations of humanity as represented by the seven Noahide laws) Maimonidies in Yad Hachazakah Hilchot Melochim chapter 10 writes: "It is my view that we are obligated in our relationship with a ger toshov to deport ourselves with the same degree of consideration and generosity as we display towards our Jewish brethren. Even in respect to pagans our sages command us to support their poor, to visit their sick, to comfort their mourners in the same way as we do it towards our Jewish brethren. For it is written: 'God is kind to all and His compassion extends to all his creatures.' And it is written: 'Its ways are pleasant and all its paths are conducive to peace.' “We thus see that the "Jewish fund for Justice" represents a sublime endeavor that is grounded in the ethical doctrines of our Torah. Hoping that this letter will accord with your request, I remain, Respectfully yours, Aaron Soloveichik