In two congregational events this past week politics came up-in one case it sounded like a political rally. I have a challenge with this not because I don’t have my own opinions but because assumptions came up that I don’t think one should make. I’ll speak for myself-I don’t fit in a box. Conservative Judaism is the best fit for me but it’s not perfect; similarly, political parties not a perfect fit. I think there’s a lesson we need to have as we head towards November and beyond.
In Judaism we are loyal to one thing and one thing only-God. Not a particular political party, not a particular ideology, but God. In the blessing after the Haftarah which Rabbi Leider beautifully chanted, she readונאמנים דבריך נאמן אתה הוא ה אלקינו “You, Adonai our G-d, are loyal, and your words are loyal.” In Parshat Eikev, G-d commands us to observe all of the commandments. Throughout Eikev G-d commands us to remember and take heed of what we are being told. The word זכור, remember, appears 200 times in the Torah. The word שמע, to take heed, not just to listen but to harken-to really take something in-appears 92 times in the book of Deuteronomy alone! Incidents which occurred long ago, such as provoking G-d with the golden calf or testing G-d when there was no water in the desert, are repeated at length here. These are drummed into this new generation, about to enter the Land of Israel so that none of them can say they were not informed of the importance of observing G-d’s commandments as they embark on this new adventure.
In Judaism, we are required to have loyalty to G-d and to be informed of what G-d wants us to do in the Torah; in return G-d will be loyal to us. Whether we like it or not, it is a quid pro quo relationship. We are not commanded to be loyal to anything else, whether a person, institution or political party. When we wanted a human king, the prophet Samuel almost went into mourning and opposed this because he feared that allegiance to a human king would take the peoples attention away from the King of Kings, G-d.[1] We see the foibles and the weaknesses of the kings as you look in the Books of Samuel and Kings.
When the ark was opened before the Torah was taken out, I shared the following words: “I do not put my trust in any mortal, nor upon any angelic being do I rely, but rather on the G-d of Israel who is the G-d of Truth, whose Torah is Truth, whose prophets are prophets of truth and who abounds in deeds of goodness and truth. In G-d alone do I put my trust and to G-d I utter praises.”[2] The motto on US currency-in God we trust. Of course, it’s easy to forget this-it’s easy to go astray-and of course it’s human nature to feel joy or fear based on what’s going on in the world. What I am saying is we often have short memories and pledge or fealty and loyalty to a certain cause and we don’t often think about what is at stake here.
Two months into my rabbinate here I spoke at a United Farm Workers rally, looking at is as an opportunity to show what Judaism says about how we treat workers. What I was unaware of was that the rally was based off a particular piece of legislation that one of the organizers told me was bad legislation in its current form.[3] What looks like something that everyone would stand behind-treating workers fairly-does not necessarily take into account that there’s more than meets the eye. We have to be aware of that. Not that it should make us paralyzed and afraid to take a stand on anything-that is certainly not the goal! We need to be aware of what it is that we’re standing for and that our ultimate loyalty is to G-d; not to any cause, not to another person, but to G-d alone.
We’re required to read these words over and over again, year after year. Humans by nature have short memories. We need to read and repeat in Mishneh Torah,[4] the repetition of the Torah, until things become second nature, and we develop positive habits. We have in Parshat Eikev words that demonstrate this. In the second paragraph of the Shema, the one which many are afraid to talk about and which some denominations have excised from their liturgy, G-d says to us “impress My words upon your very heart; bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead, and teach them to your children-reciting them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up; and inscribe them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates.”[5]
One of the things I love about Judaism is that there’s no dogma or one belief/opinion that one must follow. Sure, there are declarations of faith-Maimonides wrote one of the most famous. But we are encouraged in Judaism to be independent thinkers, to question things, to take what we have and arrive at our own conclusions. We’re given a roadmap for life in the Torah, but we have free will to do with it as we choose. We’re a people where belief is secondary to action, where doing the right thing, Tzedek,[6] that comes first before anything that we may believe. Remember the section of the Talmud “study is important when it leads to action”[7]-thoughtful, informed action.
What makes our community at Mosaic Law Congregation so wonderful is to have multiple opinions and at times vehemently disagree but to come together as a unified community. We’re here for a greater purpose than the latest story on the news, the latest rally. We’re here to come together and be unified as a community-not shying away from what we believe but being thoughtful and careful when we express it, not making assumptions that others think like us.
Everyone here is welcome at Mosaic Law Congregation regardless of what you believe provided that it will not lead to physically or emotionally harming another. If it’s destructive, then we have to have a conversation. We come together as a congregation for the greater good. We’re commanded to remember the shared narrative of our past, and to hearken to what we hear, keeping it near and dear to our hearts. We’re commanded above all else not to be loyal to a cause at the expense of everything else, only to be loyal to the One Above. That’s what we need to hold onto. The danger comes when we think “how could someone else think this way?” True it is fostered in the political environment, when someone says, “How can Jews think _________?” NO, NO. Jews like anyone else and anyone at Mosaic Law Congregation are entitled to their opinion. It doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily be given a platform to espouse it, but you need to be treated with kindness and respect. I’m not naïve that stakes are high, but what’s most important to me, the highest value is for everyone to feel comfortable, safe and welcome at our congregation.
That is what we are being reminded in Ekev. Remember the past, remember that our ancestors often disagreed, even on occasion reached the brink of civil war but they ultimately stayed together as a community. They were not always loyal to G-d, but it got drummed into their head that they could not sever from one another, that our core principle of faith in a better future and belief in G-d, the blueprint that is the Torah, which is what stood firm. Before responding at Kiddush, I want each of us to think-not to jump into the fray but to recognize that we are all images of G-d and that here we come together for a higher purpose, connection to G-d and to our community.
[1] 1 Samuel 8
[2] Breich Shmeh D’marei Alma in Torah Service
[3] I am grateful the legislation got amended and adopted a few short months later.
[4] A rabbinic name for Deuteronomy
[5] Deuteronomy 11:13-21
[6] Thanks to Rabbi Mark Margolius for this framing in Institute for Jewish Spirituality Awareness in Action
[7] Talmud Kiddushin 40b
Meet Rabbi Herman 