Jon Stewart

April 1, 2009 · Filed Under Uncategorized · Comment 

Click here to listen to Rabbi Barr speak about Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer.

This is from a Friday evening service at Congregation Beth Adam where Rabbi Robert discussed the recent controversy between Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer.
The beginning includes a Shabbat reading. The rest of the audio file includes a commentary on the controversy between Stewart and Cramer.

Tags: , , ,

Smashing of the Idols Part II: A Modern Midrash

August 29, 2008 · Filed Under Uncategorized · Comment 

What appears below is a modern midrash – a piece of creative writing. The word midrash relates to the Hebrew word for “seeking” or “asking.” Over hundreds of years, midrash has evolved as a type of literature which often connects to a biblical text or event. Rabbis have been writing midrashim for years. This one, by Rabbi Barr, is based loosely on a midrash found in Midrash Genesis Rabbah 38.

This is the second part of a two-part midrash series. You can read the first story here.

Smashing of the Idols Part II:

Thinking he was alone in his father’s shop, Abraham began to smash the idols. The man who stood in the entryway unseen was startled by what he saw. Here was Abraham, who was known to be a wise and respectful son, destroying his father’s shop.

The man started walking away from the door slowly, curious as to what would happen next. As chance would have it, Abraham’s father Terah was walking down the street. Standing outside the store, the man watched as Terah entered his store and surveyed the destruction. He eavesdropped, hearing the argument that followed between father and son.

The man heard Abraham shouting, “if you know that they are but stone, why do you sell these idols?! How could you allow people to believe that they are more than just sculpted rock?”

“It is not my place to take from people that which they hold dear,” answered Terah, “I am here to give them what they ask for even though I myself do not believe that what they want is of value.”

“That is a sham!” declared Abraham, “It is deceitful and dishonest – I will not be a part of such a charade. I will leave this place – I will not return.”

As Abraham stormed out of the shop the man confronted him, challenging Abraham for what he had done. The man asked Abraham, “how can you turn your back on the past? How can you reject that which was so important to your ancestors? By rejecting their idols you are rejecting your ancestors!”

“No!” declared Abraham, “not finding value or meaning in that which brought my ancestors comfort is not something for which I must apologize. My ancestors found meaning for themselves and so must I, and so must each person and every generation. We do not dishonor our ancestors when we acknowledge that we find meaning from new sources. We dishonor our ancestors when we feel that the only way to satisfy them is for us to deny who we are and what we believe. Know that we, like they, are on the same quest: seeking truth, gaining wisdom, finding meaning. We are linked by virtue of the questions we ask – not by the answers we find. We honor our ancestors when we acknowledge what we value. To deny ourselves that is to deny that which our ancestors struggled so long to achieve – the right to be who we are.”

“But Abraham,” pleaded the man, “what of the past? It is not our responsibility to forsake it.”

“We do not forsake the past when we have our own vision for the future,” spoke Abraham. “Our vision of the days to come must be strong, bold, and clear. Our vision must inspire us to action, stir us to meet the challenges that we face, excite us to raise our voices in song so that we may celebrate that which we are and that which we are becoming. No! The past is not forsaken if we are willing to create a future. For in our hearts, souls, and minds we will always carry within us those who journeyed before – those who brought us this far, giving us the opportunity to go even further. Our ancestors did not struggle so that we would stop struggling. Our ancestors did not teach us so that we would stop learning. Our ancestors did not tell us what they valued so that we would only take their lessons as our own. No! They gave us the best that they had to offer so that we would give to those who come later the best that we have to offer. Our responsibility is not to preserve what came before us – for that is the job of idol merchants. No! We are to build upon that which we were given – it is not an act of defiance – but is rather out of the recognition that every generation builds upon the lessons of the past.”

By now, a crowd had gathered and was listening to the words that Abraham spoke. Some found his declarations heresy. Others simply did not care. And some heard in his words their own thoughts; those who did embraced Abraham’s vision as their own and together they forged a new path.

For you to comment on here – or in another setting:

  1. What is the significance of Abraham (the mythic father of Judaism) being an idol smasher?
  2. How are or aren’t you willing to smash idols (challenge traditions) today?
  3. Are people willing to challenge their own traditions? Or, do they mostly complain about other people’s traditions and think their own are fine?
  4. Is idol smashing (questioning tradition) a core element of a liberal Jewish approach today?
  5. In what ways have you seen Jews question tradition and in what areas are Jews less likely to question tradition?

A Modern Midrash
By Rabbi Robert B. Barr

Tags:

Why I Don’t Read the Binding of Isaac on Rosh Hashanah

August 28, 2008 · Filed Under Uncategorized · 4 Comments 

By Rabbi Robert B. Barr

Note: This story makes reference to the Binding of Isaac story in the Bible, Genesis chapter 22. You can find it online here.

Part of what makes Congregation Beth Adam and OurJewishCommunity.org unique is our willingness to change – we are not stuck on the past – or stuck to tradition for its own sake. In fact, while we recognize and respect our people’s past and appreciate that our ancestors created rituals and behaviors that spoke to their generation – we also realize that what they crafted may not speak to us as modern Jews. And so, it is incumbent on each of us to not simply walk away from our heritage; rather, we must reshape the old or craft something new. It is our responsibility – to continually revitalize our expressions of Judaism.

So now for one piece of tradition to which our congregation no longer adheres. For years, Congregation Beth Adam read the Binding of Isaac (Genesis chapter 22, called the Akedah in Hebrew) on Rosh Hashanah morning because it is the assigned Torah portion. Just as there is a Torah portion assigned to each week, the rabbis assigned Torah portions to the various holidays and festivals. While Congregation Beth Adam has always allowed Bar and Bat Mitzvah students to pick a Torah portion that speaks to them – rather than being bound by ancient assignments – the Congregation had not originally been as willing to push this boundary on the High Holidays.

The decision to read the Binding of Isaac or not was one that stirred passion and concern over the years within the congregation. The bottom line – it is a problematic Torah portion.

On the one hand, the story is straightforward and unambiguous. The basic sketch:
1. God tests Abraham
2. The test is to see if he will sacrifice his son Isaac
3. Abraham is willing to sacrifice his son
4. God has to stop him
It may seem like a straightforward outline – but the problem is that the story is not an easy one to accept. After all, it is a story of a father willing to murder his own son – and a God who is willing to ask him to do so.

Given that uncomfortable scenario, rabbis and commentators have spent generations trying to make this story acceptable. Sometimes they have tried to obscure what is obvious – and at other times they have tried to reshape the story to make it more palatable. Truth be told – the Jewish community does not want its mythic father to be the kind of guy who is willing to kill his own son.

So, how have commentators tried to make the story relevant? Probably the most frequently cited justification for the Binding of Isaac story is that it was written as a polemic against human sacrifice. In other words, according to this explanation, human sacrifice was common during Abraham’s time, and it was not uncommon for people to kill their children. In fact, in “The Torah: A Modern Commentary” Gunther W. Plaut writes (page 149):

“The practice of human sacrifice, which was well-known to the ancients and central to the cults of Israel’s neighbors, stands as a backdrop to [Genesis] chapter 22. In the framework of his time and experience, Abraham could have considered the command to sacrifice his son entirely legitimate.”

Given that context, the rabbis/commentators say: yes, Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, because it was normative. Next, God steps in to save the day by not allowing Abraham to complete the act.

That explanation may sound good at first, but the problem is that the story is still not easy to accept. It’s a common explanation – but it does not suffice. It does not address the torment that was inflicted on Abraham – or Isaac – or his mother Sarah. Why would God have put them through such a horrible sham? Nor does it address the fact that elsewhere in the Bible God issues decrees without such psychodrama. For example, in the Ten Commandments God proclaims “honor thy father and mother” – without requiring Isaac to try to beat up his father and then God intervening to make the point. Thus, while the commentators attempt to make this story about stopping human sacrifice – it is really just an attempt to make the story into something different.

Other commentators have worked to move away from the attempted slaughter of Isaac; instead they say this is a story about Abraham’s deep love of God. Some have noted Abraham’s “unquestioning obedience and steadfast loyalty” – as they attempt to turn this horrific act into something noble and religious. Further, some even say this about Isaac – that he willingly went along with it because he too was an obedient servant. At root, these are attempts to put this into the context of dying for a cause – the highest sacrifice a person can make. However, that is not what this story is about. It is not about a person risking his life for a higher purpose. This is a story about a father wiling to kill his son.

I have struggled over the years to make sense of this story. At one time, I embraced a stream of commentary that said that Abraham failed the test. In other words, God did not want Abraham to obey. God never intended for Isaac to be sacrificed. This is the one commentary that came even close to justifying what is obviously a tragic tale.

No matter how the rabbis and commentators have tried to save this story and to put it in a positive light, there is no way for this story to be anything other than what it is – a story about Abraham, a man who believes in his God and is thus willing to kill his son when God asks him to.

This is the story that rabbis all over the world read every year. And yet, it is a story about blind obedience; it is a story about doing what God says even when it sounds immoral; and it is God who is right at the end. The message there is that no matter what, your job as the New Year begins is to do what God says – even if it involves killing an innocent child.

In 2004, I came to the point in my rabbinate and in my thinking where I realized that this story is no longer acceptable. Despite their attempts, there is no commentator or sermon that can make this Torah parable acceptable or justifiable. It is time to stop pretending and to start calling this story what it is – an immoral unjustifiable act.

As citizens of the 21st century, we live in the shadow of an event in which men, women, and children were rounded up and murdered simply because of who they were. Sadly, the defense that many of the murderers used to justify their acts was to say “I was just following orders.” Had Abraham been put on trial, would he also have said “I was just following orders”?

Unfortunately, we live in an age where people have flown planes into buildings and strapped bombs onto their bodies to kill innocent men, women, and children – often explaining that it is what their God wants of them. Had Abraham been asked, would he also have said “I was just doing what my God wanted of me”?

We live in a time when a Prime Minister of Israel (Yitzchak Rabin in 2005) was assassinated by a fellow Jew for trying to make peace. The assassin’s justification was that God gave us the land of Israel so giving it back would deny what God wants. In the summer of 2004, similar statements were made against the Prime Minister by some radical rabbis in Israel. In June of 2004 Rabbi Avigdor Neventzal of the Old City of Jerusalem said that anyone who gives up part of the land of Israel (even a single settlement) to a non-Jew could be the target of a religiously sanctioned murder (New York Times 8/5/04 “Protect Sharon from the Right”). To justify killing, Rabbi Avigdor uses a passage from the Talmud (a rabbinic text codified around the year 500 CE). Avigdor is doing what countless rabbis throughout the ages have done with the Binding of Isaac – trying to justify the unjustifiable.

For me, it has ended. I am no longer willing to stand up here and read a story that I was embarrassed to read to our children. I will not read a story that tells of a father willing to murder and I will not claim that this is a man we should emulate – calling Abraham the father of our people. That will not be part of my annual Rosh Hashanah traditions any more.

In an age when terrorism is often grounded in religious fundamentalism – grounded in claims of what God wants – I can no longer read this story. I do not want this story to represent me or my understanding of Judaism. I do not ever want to give anyone the opportunity to say that the story of Abraham (the father of the Jews) justifies their actions to do something unjustifiable.

Why the big deal? You may be thinking: what difference does it make? So what if this congregation doesn’t read the Binding of Isaac story each year on Rosh Hashanah but instead chooses to read stories that we do not have to twist into knots to feel comfortable with? Certainly, I am not naïve enough to think that this will change the world and that people will suddenly stop saying “I did such and such because God told me so.”

The reason that I made this decision is that in our community – in the sanctuary in which we celebrate the High Holidays – I wanted to say without equivocation that the type of thinking that whitewashes the Binding of Isaac story is wrong. I want to know that on each Rosh Hashanah – when we plan for the year ahead and review the year just ended – that we don’t begin the year telling a story that does not represent our highest ideals.

Other congregations may or may not decide to follow suit. Even if I end up being a lone voice, I am speaking out against this text that presents a world view that we find abhorrent.

Certainly this decision will not change the world; but, it will change the corner in which we live. In order to begin changing our world and changing the culture in which people can attribute their actions to divine authority, we must start here and now. The Jewish New Year is an appropriate time to send a clear and unambiguous message that we expect more; we have high standards for others and for ourselves.

You may be wondering what Congregation Beth Adam reads in place of the Binding of Isaac. The answer is that we pick different readings each year. One year we read the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Click here to find out how Rabbi Barr made that decision

Tags:

Rabbi Barr’s thoughts on reading the Sodom and Gomorrah Story

August 28, 2008 · Filed Under Uncategorized · Comment 

By Rabbi Robert B. Barr

Note: This story makes reference to the Sodom and Gomorrah story that can be found in Genesis chapter 18, beginning in verse 16.   You can find it online here.

If we are not going to read the Binding of Isaac each year, what is the alternative? At Beth Adam and OurJewishCommunity.org we are not inclined to limit ourselves to only one story year after year.

A story that we have explored on Rosh Hashanah is the story of Abraham at Sodom and Gomorrah. Here’s the basic outline:
1. God wants to punish the people of Sodom and Gomorrah
2. Abraham bargains with God asking if God will wipe out all the people even if there are innocent people there
3. God agrees not to destroy the cities if there are ten righteous people there
4. Two messengers go to Sodom to warn Lot and his family to leave before the destruction

There are several reasons that this story seems like a good one to tell on Rosh Hashanah. First, like the Binding of Isaac it includes Abraham – the mythic father of our people. Both stories also include innocent bystanders (namely Isaac in Genesis 22 and the few righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah). Likewise, both legends include God as representative of ultimate authority and power. Finally, both stories are about God making a decision and Abraham reacting.

However, in the Sodom and Gomorrah story (unlike in the Binding of Isaac) Abraham says that he must rely not on an external notion of right and wrong (namely God); rather Abraham is governed by his conscience – his own knowledge of right and wrong.

Indeed, in the Sodom and Gomorrah story, Abraham risks God’s wrath and punishment. Certainly, Abraham cannot anticipate how God will respond, and yet the hero is willing to stand up for what he believes to be right. Abraham stands up for those who do not know that they needed to be defended. Abraham stands up to power and authority, declaring that justice is not being served. The mythic father of Judaism tries to stop the destruction – tries to stop people being killed – tries to find a better alternative.

The lesson of the Sodom and Gomorrah story is that we need to take a stand. We need to be active in the face of authority, and we must question. Our ultimate religious responsibility is not unthinking obedience, but deeply held personal convictions on which we are willing to make decisions and act. Our religious posture should not be one of silent piety, but rather it should be one of active engagement. We need to engage in our world in ways that change the world around us, at least on a local level.

At the beginning of the New Year – and always – we need to not encourage blind obedience, but rather to encourage a sense of responsibility for one’s actions. Following orders is not acceptable. Instead, we must think, we must question leadership, we must be willing to risk everything for the sake of justice.

May we have the strength, integrity, and courage to act in a manner that each year – as we review the stories of our own lives – we are proud of what we have stood for, what we have stood against, and how we have acted.

Tags: