Posts from Israel

 Below are my Facebook posts from Israel, in chronological order.

No. 1: Jerusalem

I am in quarantine, but I don't care. Every visitor to Israel has to isolate until they receive the results of their serological test. Hopefully, the results come soon.

But I really don't care either way. I look out my window, and in the distance I can see this scene. And as I look at it, I think about how many people in previous generations dreamed of just catching a glimpse of this view, just for a few seconds. People like Alana Zouda Yitzhak, who arrived from Ethiopia in 1991 as part of Operation Solomon. And his first night in Jerusalem, a reporter asked him for his reaction. He said the following:

“We can’t go downstairs, because we won’t find the room again,” he admitted with a grin. “But I don’t care what I will do here. I can say that I arrived here, and every hour I say, blessed be the name of God.”

I cannot agree more. Looking out my window I say, blessed be the name of God.

724You, Michele Bismuth, Marla Goodwin Zipper and 721 others

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No. 2: Ashkelon

Ashkelon bore the brunt of last week's attacks. This city of 60,000 was barraged with over 1,000 rockets last week, and has been under attack for years. The trauma affects everyone; even a door slamming can cause people to jump. Gitty, the wife of a Chabad Shaliach, told how children cannot look at balloons, which for them, is associated with incendiary devices from Gaza. Then we visited the home of Sigal Arielli, which received a direct hit. She was luckily in her mamad - in home shelter, which saved her life.

But despite the challenges, the human spirit can - and does - overcome. Gitty told me how her husband took an ice cream truck and gave out ice cream, so now they can find joy as they emerge from their shelters. Sigal spoke about the enormous support she has received from friends around the world; and the front of her house is now decorated with Israeli flags, a way of saying that she will rebuild, and so will all of Israel. #UJANewYork

115You, Lisa Schwartz-Steinmetz, Marla Goodwin Zipper and 112 others

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• Jennifer Wise Miller

  Am Yisrael Chai!

  

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No. 3: Lod

Our visit to Lod was the most difficult of our trip. We visited the area of the riots. We spoke to Jews and Arabs about the personal tragedy of the violence, and the damage done to the social fabric of the entire city.

The apartment pictured was burned, and nearly entirely destroyed - yet the family made it clear immediately that they would come back and rebuild. And on the wall hangs the one item that was not destroyed - a metal cutout decoration, with a prayer that says: "may joy, health, prosperity, blessing, and peace dwell in this house." Even after disaster, there are prayers and there is hope. And as our group leaves, we add our own prayers for this beloved country, which is rebuilding. May it be filled with joy, blessing, and peace as well. #ujanewyork

152You, Lisa Schwartz-Steinmetz, Marla Goodwin Zipper and 149 others

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No. 4: Returning Home

I'm home, but miss Israel already. What I will remember most about this trip is the value of solidarity. Here we were, a diverse group of 25 rabbis, who picked up at a moment's notice and flew off to Israel to be there for our Israeli brothers and sisters. At every stop we got the same response: "Thank you for coming". We found it hard to believe that people who were on the front lines of these attacks were grateful to a couple of American rabbis for visiting; but they were. It is sometimes overwhelming to struggle alone, and to suffer in isolation; just knowing someone else cares makes all of the difference. That is why we visited, and that is why our visit made a difference. And this is an obligation that all of us share, as part of the Jewish family: We must be there for each other. Even small gestures, like a visit to Israel or an Israel advocacy email make a big impact. We need to let our Israeli family know that even though we are thousands of miles away, no distance is too far for the human heart. #ujanewyork

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It Starts With the Truth

Many American Jews are now hiding their identity in public. Even in New York City, observant Jews are removing their kippah on subways and in the street. A spate of antisemitic attacks in the last two weeks have shaken the community; and all of these attacks are associated anti-Israel protestors. The connection between anti-Zionism and antisemitism could not be clearer; when people say they hate Israel, they hate Jews as well.

There is a direct line from anti-Israel hysteria in the streets to the cacophony of celebrity condemnation on instagram. Criticizing Israel is a fashionable form of virtue signaling, and that is why comedians like John Oliver have decided to jump on the anti-Israel bandwagon. They call what Israel is doing “war crimes”; and now, that slander sticks to every Jew, who are being accosted in the streets as accessories to the killings in Gaza.

The real problem behind these accusations is that they substitute catch phrases for the truth. John Oliver said there was no need for context and complexity; he knew what was right and wrong. Sadly, if he was looking for the truth, he didn’t look hard enough.

Much of the discourse assumes that somehow, Israel takes joy in civilian tragedies. But if you care about the truth, you would know Judaism's attitude towards bloodshed. It is a tradition that commands one to love the stranger, and not to rejoice when your enemy is killed. Every Israeli soldier is trained in a code of “purity of arms”, and carries a card affirming its values.

But if you care about the truth, you would know who deserves ultimate responsibility for the deaths of Gazans: Hamas.

Hamas has long waged war on its own citizens. Freedom House, an NGO which advocates for democracy and human rights, gives the Hamas government an 11 out of a possible 100 rating, or simply “not free”. Hamas regularly imprisons, tortures, and kills its political opponents. During this most recent conflict, Hamas was surprised at how much Israel knew about its internal movements, and how many of its own people were spying for Israel. And that is in large part because many Gazans are deeply disenchanted with Hamas’ despotic and violent rule. Hamas regularly uses children as human shields and hides military installations among civilians. They spend international aid on terror tunnels and rockets instead of taking care of their own population.

If you care about the truth, you would remember that in 2005 Israel disengaged from Gaza, and offered Gaza the opportunity to pursue its own destiny. But instead of building their own homeland, Hamas set out to destroy Israel. Since then, there have been six conflicts in just 16 years. And there would have been more, had Israel not thoroughly degraded Hamas's military abilities in several of the conflicts.

Simply put, if you care about the truth, you would recognize that Hamas is against human rights, against democracy, and anti-Semitic.

Disproportionality is another word thrown about by critics. But if you cared about the truth, this is what you would call "disproportionate". You might vehemently disagree with the evictions in Sheikh Jarrah. But if in response you shoot rockets at civilians, that's wildly disproportionate. Perhaps, those giving lectures and what is proportionate and what is not should talk about that first.

But what is not disproportionate is to destroy the rockets of an organization that wants to kill your children. It is not disproportionate to try to defend families who have to spend night after night in bomb shelters. It is not disproportionate to respond to an attack by destroying the enemy’s military capabilities.

By the critics' definition of disproportionate, the United States shouldn't have started a war with Japan over Pearl Harbor; they should have bombed one Japanese base. The Allies shouldn't have pursued the destruction of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan after those enemies lost the military capability to attack. But there are times when an absolute victory is necessary to achieve security, especially against fanatical opponent that will continue to attack you at every opportunity.

Israel does everything it can to ensure civilian life. Yaakov Katz, the editor in chief of the Jerusalem Post noted last Wednesday that “the Israel Defense Forces has bombed over 1,000 targets in Gaza, many of them homes, buildings, tunnels & Hamas positions. The number of dead – which sadly includes civilians – is, according to Hamas, 227. IDF says at least 160 are terrorists. That means approx. 60 of the dead were civilians….over 1,000 bombs dropped on over 1,000 targets and 60 civilians killed. Every life should be protected, but now go tell me that the IDF is disproportionate.” Judgements about “war crimes” are being discussed without even giving the slightest thought to what has actually occurred. If we compare Israel's record to that of the United States and her allies in Afghanistan and Iraq, Israel's is as good or better. Yet none of the people worried about disproportionality have ever said a word about those wars.

Particularly disturbing is the practice of many media outlets. The reports about the war that emanate from Hamas and Israel are given equal weight; some seem to give the reports of Hamas priority. But it should be obvious that a group that is willing to murder both Israeli civilians and their own citizens for political gain would also be willing to lie to newspaper reporters.

But those who make quick judgments of right and wrong assume that the underdog is always right; John Oliver offered a variant of this thesis. More to the point, the assumption is that the Westernized country is always wrong. And it is because of these assumptions that the critics believe that Israel must always be wrong. It is a bitter irony that the state founded by a people persecuted for two millennia around the world is now the scapegoat for all the sins of colonialism.

If you care about the truth, you would abhor Hamas. If you care about the truth, you would support Israel. And if you care about Jews, you wouldn’t slander the Jewish State.

Sadly, Jews around the world now have to take cover because too many prefer virtue signaling to telling the truth.

It’s Time for the Anti-Selfie

The selfie has an elevated pedigree. For much of history, people did not have the ability to look carefully at their own image. One could see their reflections in water or on polished piece of metal or stone, but those reflections were imperfect and offered only a partial glimpse of what the person truly looked like.

The mass production of the mirror at the beginning of the fifteenth century revolutionized how people saw themselves. In “Millennium: From Religion to Revolution: How Civilization Has Changed Over a Thousand Years,” Ian Mortimer explains that the mirror played a critical role in the Renaissance and enabled people to recognize their own individuality. This new appreciation for one’s unique appearance impacted the world of art, which shifted its focus from religious scenes to portraits, often commissioned by the painting’s subject. By the mid-fifteenth century, the mirror gave rise to the self-portrait, which was adopted by distinguished artists like Albrecht Durer, Jan Van Eyck and Rembrandt. That first “selfie” was the expression of a budding appreciation for the individual. 

Jewish practice was also impacted by the mirror. The first discussions about them in the Talmud relate to crude mirrors that were also blades used to trim unwanted hair; for this reason the Talmud prohibits its use on Shabbat. In the Middle Ages, some rabbis prohibited men from using mirrors because they were too feminine, an exotic item that only women would use for grooming.

But as the mirror became commonplace, Halacha saw it as a symbol of human dignity. People would cover the mirrors in a house of mourning. This, according to Rabbi Moshe Sofer, is because the mirror contains the reflection of man’s divine image; and the Talmud says that with death, this Divine image is “overturned,” and all humans are reminded of their failures and frailty. In the mirror we can see ourselves and appreciate how we are created in the image of God; but during the week of Shiva the mourners cover up their mirrors, a way of saying that their own dignity is diminished.

Looking at one’s reflection is nothing short of intoxicating. But that can lead to a situation where  that image starts to control us. In Greek mythology, Narcissus, a beautiful but arrogant young hunter who spurns the love of others, is cursed. One day he drinks from a pool of water and immediately falls in love with his own reflection, which he tries to hug and kiss. He remains frozen until death, in pursuit of his own reflection. The legend of Narcissus is an allegory about self-love; but it’s also an allegory about the dangers of substituting an image for reality. Ovid, when narrating this story, says to Narcissus, “this that holds your eyes is nothing save the image of yourself reflected back at you.” An image isn’t reality, and when we take the ideal image too seriously, it can destroy us.

Rabbinic literature offers its own meditation on the Narcissus myth in a story told about “the Nazir from the South.” Nazirites would make a vow of holiness to not drink wine, avoid contact with dead bodies and let their hair grow out (At the end of one’s term as a Nazir, one must shave off all of their hair in the Temple). The Nazir's long hair was meant to foster a sense of independence; Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains the long hair symbolizes being insulated from society. The Nazir is meant to tune out all the noise around him and take a mirror to their own soul.

Yet even this holy ritual became more about image than substance. King David’s son Absalom is a lifelong Nazir; yet he takes pride in his long flowing hair, which becomes a symbol of his arrogance and rebellion. The institution of being a Nazirite was corrupted by those entranced with the dashing image of the outsider.

It is in this context that Talmud tells the story of the Nazir from the South, whose entire goal is to cut off his hair. The Talmud recounts:

One time, a man who was a Nazirite came from the South (who) had beautiful eyes and was good looking, and the fringes of his hair were arranged in curls. (The High Priest said) to him, “My son, what made you decide to destroy this beautiful hair of yours by becoming a Nazirite (who would have to cut off his hair at the conclusion of his vow)?” (The Nazirite) said, “I was a shepherd for my father in my city, and I went to draw water from the spring, and I looked at my reflection in the water. My evil inclination quickly overcame me…(and) I said to myself, ‘Wicked one! Why do you pride yourself in a world that is not yours? Why are you proud of a body fated to be worms and maggots? I swear... that I shall shave (my hair) for the sake of Heaven.’”

This young man offers a sharp contrast to the ordinary Nazir. For him, cutting his hair off is an act of holiness; he refuses to be intoxicated by a self-image that will destroy his soul. Unlike Narcissus, the Nazir from the South looks beyond the beautiful image in the water and remembers that life is short, there are promises to keep, and there’s more to life than having perfect hair. The Nazir from the South steadfastly refuses to fall in love with his own image.

The contemporary selfie is no artistic self-portrait, no profound exploration of self; it is usually just a form of image management. Instagram stars faithfully photoshop their photos before posting, and ordinary people go to great lengths to get the perfect shot, sometimes endangering their lives in the process. These selfies deceive others and distort the lives of their subjects. Too often, people live for their selfies, making themselves miserable in order to project an image of being absolutely happy.

It is time for the anti-selfie. As a child, I loved “The Wizard of Oz.” At the end, when Dorothy and her friends visit the great wizard, they find a grand man on a large screen who has nothing to offer. But as they discover the actual man behind the curtain, this simple man becomes a wizard, helping all of them with their problems. This is the lesson of the anti-selfie: we are best pulling back on all the layers of fake imagery to see what the person truly is; even if that looks less impressive, authenticity is far more inspiring.

Rabbi David Bashevkin has written about the importance of embracing one’s failures and notes in his biography that he “has been rejected from several prestigious fellowships and awards.” This should be the motto of the anti-selfie. Our greatest self is when we are someone who is real, warts and all. Authenticity and vulnerability, failures and struggles don’t project a perfect image, but they certainly make one into a better person. And that is the lesson of the Nazir from the South: We need to stop perfecting our image and start perfecting our souls; we need to embrace the anti-selfie.