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February 2006

Our Torah portion as I write this column is Vayyechi, the last parshah in the Book of Genesis, which provides for us Jacob’s final words to his sons and grandsons who would go on to lead the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob’s farewell, interestingly, includes assessments of their characters, and they are far from uniform. He describes Benjamin as war-loving and Issachar as overly-focused on security. Simeon and Levi are portrayed as violent while Judah is seen as having calm judgment. Reuben is "morally unstable" while Joseph is "self disciplined."

Beyond our hope that we might find more positive ways of talking to our own children when our time comes, Jacob’s words, and the behavior of his sons on which they are based, remind us of the diversity but also the divisiveness that characterize both Israel and American Judaism today.

Jim Levinson, Sh'liach Tzibur, and immediate past president of BAJC, Rachel Prabhakar
 

Israel sadly seems incapable of uniting even around its ailing Prime Minister (with some ultra-Orthodox rabbis joining Pat Robertson in the assertion that Sharon had it coming), and it does not bring us comfort that the Palestinians today are in yet worse disarray.

American Jews, similarly, appear divided at present on nearly every issue which arises. The URJ’s call for a U.S. exit strategy from Iraq (to my mind a courageous stand) has drawn a plethora of criticism. At the same time, the Conservative movement’s appeal for Jews to begin active proselytizing has been seriously questioned by many of us.

It seems to me that at a time of such unusual divisiveness, the greatest challenge for Jews is to seek to rediscover and reclaim what unites us. Even while we wrestle, as we are destined to do, it’s a time for us as Jews to celebrate our common heritage, our common history and our ancient covenants.

B’Shalom, Jim