Dear Friends,
The year was 1894. A young journalist named Theodor Herzl was
working as the Paris correspondent for the Viennese newspaper the Neue
Freie Presse. While in Paris, Herzl
covered the trial of Alfred Dreyfus, a highly decorated Captain in the French
Army who happened to be Jewish. Dreyfus
was falsely accused and convicted for treason.
Following the conviction – which was later overturned – Herzl witnessed
and wrote about mass anti-Semitic rallies in the streets of Paris where many chanted:
“Mort aux Juifs!” “Death to the Jews!” The experience of covering this trial had a
profound impact on Herzl and, legend has it, was the impetus for writing his
book, Altneuland which paved the way
for the modern Zionist movement and, ultimately, the creation of the State of Israel
54 years later in 1948.
One of the key themes of
Herzl’s writing was the fact that, if France, the birthplace of the
Emancipation could voice such animus against the Jews, then there was no
solution for the problem of anti-Semitism other than the creation of a Jewish
State. Jew hatred was an eternal conundrum
that could only be solved by nation-building.
Today, in the wake of 3
Terrorist acts that have shocked the world, we have, to our great sorrow, once
again witnessed the grotesque dark shadow of murderous anti-Semitism pass over
the beautiful facades of the City of Love and Light. Of course, this is nothing new. The rise of Islamic extremism and the French Muslim
population explosion has long-branded Paris as the epicenter of anti-Zionist
and anti-Semitic rhetoric and terror in Europe.
How can we, as American Jews
living in relative safety, understand and comprehend these incomprehensible
events? What are the lessons, if any,
that we might begin to glean in the aftermath of today’s horrors?
I wish I knew…
All that I can do is to
somehow try to place today’s evil in the context of our weekly torah portion.
On this Shabbat, we begin a
new chapter of Torah –Shemot/Exodus- that
contains the phrase: Vayakom
Melech Chadash Al Mitzrayim Asher Lo Yada Et Yosef - and a new king arose over Egypt who did not
know Joseph. (Exodus 1:8)
Why was it important to
mention Joseph’s name in the context of speaking about the new Pharaoh? Our tradition teaches that perhaps it was
only because of the greatness of Joseph that Pharaoh allowed the Israelites to
live in peace. Once Joseph was out of
the picture, any security that the Israelites may have expected
disappeared.
Overnight, the fortunes of
the Israelites changed from a protected and valued people, to that of outsiders
who were ripe for enslavement.
How could this have
happened? Were there no signs or
warnings that would have indicated that this new Pharaoh was so hostile? Our
commentators differ in their answer to this question. Some posit that, even in the last chapters of
the book of Bereshit (Genesis) the Egyptians
were showing the beginnings of their fear of the Children of Israel. For example, when Joseph and his brothers go
to Canaan to bury their father, Jacob, Pharaoh sent an army of soldiers to
accompany them – officially as a sign of the high esteem in which Joseph was
placed – but also, quite possibly, the soldiers were sent in order to ensure
that they would return to Egypt.
Whatever interpretations we
might want to ascribe to our text, the lesson is clear enough: just because one generation finds itself in
relative safety and comfort, this safety is not guaranteed into the
future. Attitudes, prejudices and fears
of the other are fickle. Yesterday’s
hero is tomorrow’s pariah. All we need
to do is look at World attitudes towards the State of Israel to find proof of
this fact. Following the 1967 war,
everybody loved Israel –the underdog; the David facing the Arab Goliath. As Israel prevailed against her enemies, we
witnessed a turning of the tide to the point where Israel was portrayed- not as
the victim, but as the perpetrator of evil. Israel’s acts of self-preservation in the face
of terror and violence have been re-interpreted by many, if not most of today’s Europe as
illegitimate. And, as we have seen all
too often, anti-Israel discourse
quickly morphs into the classic tropes of anti-Semitism. Many European countries
have also become a safe-haven and breeding ground for the radicalization of
young, impressionable Muslims who themselves are not accepted into mainstream
European society. This creates a toxic
combination of medieval anti-Semitism with Islamic xenophobia and Jew-hatred
that is both ancient and new.
The reality is that, no
matter how good it may be for the Jewish people today, the possibility of a
radical shift occurring in the attitudes of non-Jews towards Israel and the
Jews, is always there – lurking underneath the surface. Think of Spain in 1492 – the beginning of the
Inquisition; or Germany in 1933 – in the beginning of Hitler’s rise to
power. Think of the situation of the Jewish
Communities in Morocco, Iran, Iraq and throughout the Arab World following the
establishment of the State of Israel.
Communities that had thrived for centuries were decimated overnight.
Is there anyone here tonight
who watched the terror unfolding in that Supermarket in Paris today and who
didn’t ask themselves: how could this
happen? Could it happen here? The answer is: It has happened…and it easily could happen
again. That is the reality of Global
terror and hatred.
So how do we deal with all
of this? I think the answer can also be
found in a story in this week’s parasha. If you will recall, one of Pharaoh’s
decrees was to kill all male Israelite children. You also may recall that there were two Egyptian
midwives named Shifra and Puah who defied Pharaoh - who refused to carry out his genocide. Their bravery – their decision to defy
Pharaoh’s decree and speak truth to power ensured that the Israelites were not
destroyed.
And so, on this Shabbat, I
ask the questions: Who will be France’s
midwives? Who are the Shifra’s and Puah’s of today? Who is brave enough to confront the faces of
evil and say: “Enough! We will not allow ourselves and our society
to be bullied into submission by Religious Fanatics who distort the meaning of
their faith through their acts of violence.”
In 1894, a young Theodore
Herzl saw the future in the chants of the mobs of Paris. If, today, we do not find the courage to proclaim
that we will never allow terror to define us in the 21st Century in
the aftermath of today’s events, then we have forsaken our sacred duty to stand
up to oppression. We must seek out voices of moderation within the Islamic
community – voices who will not only condemn extremism in private conversation –
but shout from the rooftops that they will not allow their sacred faith to be
polluted by terror. We must be vigilant
in the face of attempts to paint Israel and all Jews as evil – whether in the
United Nations, the European Parliament, the streets of Paris or here in
Denver.
17 pure souls – at least 4 who were
Jewish - lost their lives because of hatred these past three days. That alone should be a call to action and
sanity. Today we grieve the loss of life
due to hatred. Tomorrow we start
building a new future.
Y’hi Zichram Baruch –
may their memories be for a blessing.
AMEN
Special thanks to Rabbi Emma Gottlieb for coming up with the idea of "Who will be France's midwives?"
