WE ARE STRONG

"We are STRONG. We are UNITED. They CAN'T BREAK US." These were Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein's words to his congregation last Shabbat as the terror attack was taking place at Chabad of Poway.

In response to this horrific attack let's #ShareShabbat, this Shabbat I encourage all to make an extra effort and come to services beginning at 9:30 AM followed by a Kiddush at approximately noon.

Please rest assured that we have taken extra security measures to secure our facility and all who attend services. May the Almighty protect all of us and the world at large. 

As the Jewish world grieves for the heinous terror attack on Chabad of Poway, last Shabbat, April 27, 2019; as we are alarmed and disgusted by the ugly display of antisemitism in the US and the world over;  as many survivors and their families commemorate today Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, to remember the 6,000,000 who perished in the Holocaust; as Jews in Israel continue to be threatened by nations determined to destroy it; as abuse and injustice often take root in our own communities due to the silence of good people—let us reflect on a stirring story in the Talmud as we begin this week to study The Ethics of the Fathers.

A store manager overheard a clerk saying to a customer.  “No, ma’am, we haven’t had any for some weeks now, and it doesn’t look as if we’ll be getting any soon.”

Alarmed by what was being said, the manager rushed over to the customer who was walking out the door and said…  “That isn’t true, ma’am. Of course, we’ll have some soon. In fact, we placed an order for it a couple of weeks ago.”

Then the manager drew the clerk aside and growled, “Never, never, never say we don’t have something. If we don’t have it, say we ordered it and it’s on its way. Now, what was it she wanted?”

The clerk smiled and said, “Rain…”

There is a fascinating and perplexing story in the Talmud: There is a fascinating and perplexing story in the Talmud:  A gentile once came before Shammai and said: “Convert me to Judaism, on the stipulation that you teach me the entire Torah as I stand on one leg.” Shammai drove him off with the builder's measuring stick in his hand. [The Talmudic sage Shammai was a builder by profession.] He then came before Hillel, who converted him. Said Hillel to him: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. This is the entire Torah. The rest is commentary---go and learn.”

Hillel and Shammai were two leading rabbis of the early 1st century BCE who founded opposing schools of Jewish thought, known as the House of Hillel and House of Shammai. They lived in Jerusalem during the time of King Herod and the Roman Emperor Augustus, in the turbulent and bloody a century before the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.

Shammai (50 BCE – 30 CE), one of the leading spiritual and moral figures of his day were usually more stringent in matters of Jewish law and ethics than his colleague Hillel (110 BCE—7 CE), who became one of the most important figures in Jewish history, the founder of a dynasty of Sages who stood at the head of the Jews living in the land of Israel until roughly the fifth century of the Common Era. It is the above story in Talmud which captures Hillel’s ethic of reciprocity, or the "Golden Rule": "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. "

Hillel’s response is understood. Yet, Shammai’s behavior is perplexing. Even if Shammai felt that the gentile was insincere, he could have told him respectfully that he is not ready for conversion. Why throw him away with his measuring stick?

To be sure, the approach of Shammi and of his school, throughout the Talmud, is usually more stringent than Hillel. The Kabbalah explains, that Shammai’s soul was rooted in the energy of Gevurah—strength, and discipline, while Hillel’s soul originated in the realm of Chesed—loving kindness. But being strict does not mean being rude; taking a more severe approach does not allow for denigrating another human being. Shammai, perhaps, was unimpressed with someone demanding to learn the entire Torah in thirsty seconds while standing on one leg, but does that give him the right to throw someone out with a stick?

The question becomes far stronger when studying the first chapter of the Ethics of the Fathers, which we study on this very Shabbos. There we learn this Mishnah:

Shammai would say: Make your Torah study a permanent fixture of your life. Say little and do much. And receive every man with a pleasant countenance.

According to Shammai’s instruction, one ought to receive every single human being in a graceful and respectful fashion. Why, then, would Shammai behave in the exact opposite fashion and drive away a human being in a seemingly harsh and unsympathetic gesture?

Shammai was not being a hypocrite, contradicting his own teaching on how to greet people benignly. Nor was he being unkindly. To the contrary: Shammi was assisting this gentile in his journey. This gentile came to Shammi, and said, “Teach me the entire Torah as I stand on one leg.” And Shammai did just that! When the Talmud states that Shammai drove him off with the builder's measuring stick it does not mean that Shammai waved the stick and threw him out of the study hall; it means that Shammai actually presented him with an answer to his quest: to obtain the essence of Judaism while standing on one leg.

For all of the Torah, all of Judaism consists of two pervasive themes: Yes and no. And the two sages who embodied these two twin pillars of Judaism were Hillel and Shammai.

Judaism is a way of life, a system of thought, a day-to-day manual for a living—which includes two dimensions: The “yeses” of life—what we embrace. And the “no-no’s of life—that which we reject. They are encapsulated in the first two of the Ten Commandments: 1) "I am the Lord your G-dl;" 2) "You shall have no other gods before Me." The first is the most fundamental and the foundation of all of the "positive commandments" all those actions, words and thoughts which we hold dear. The second is the basis and the essence of all divine prohibitions all those behaviors, habits, and actions which we shun.

Often, we make the mistake of choosing the “yeses” of Judaism and dismissing the “no’s” of Judaism. Many Jews appreciate deeply the beautiful traditions, rituals, and customs of Judaism. We enjoy the latkes, the matzah, the sense of community, family, tradition, history, culture, the idea of Shabbat and the centrality of Israel. But it is much harder for us to embrace the boundaries and restrictions: No Burger King, no shrimp, no intermarriage, no cooking, opening a light or driving on Shabbat; etc.

“Can’t we enjoy one without the other?” This is the question many Jews ask. Yet history has proven that the beautiful rituals, mitzvot, and traditions of Judaism, the celebration and quality of life it engenders, has remained vibrant only with those who unflinchingly maintained its prohibitions. The two are simply inseparable.

Why? Because every “yes” must include a “no.” Let me offer a few illustrations.

Loyalty to your marriage means, by definition, the creation of certain nonnegotiable boundaries that you never cross. If you want to enjoy the cake and its icing too, you must say “no” to other cakes. “Yes” is meaningless if it does not come with a “no.”

When the gentile came to Shammi asking him to convert him to Judaism and to teach him the entire Torah while standing on one leg, Shammai pushed him away, with his measuring stick. Shammi was not rejecting him; Shammai was rather teaching him one of the two twin pillars of Judaism: the need and the ability to reject, to say no, to set boundaries, to push away certain behaviors, habits, cravings, and thoughts. Shammai was essentially teaching him that the first thing he needed to know to become a Jew is how to reject those things in life which are immoral and unholy; how to say “no” to that which was contrary to G-d’s will and blueprint for life.

In the face of despicable anti-Semitism, coming from white supremacists, or any other sources from the Right or the Left—all good people who remain silent, become accomplices to the crime.

Ideas have power. It was the propaganda of the Nazi party eight decades ago which allowed millions of Germans to become active murders of millions. When Jew-hatred goes unchallenged and unprotested, the consequences can be horrific.

Throughout history it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most that has made it possible for evil to triumph.—Haile Selassie

Shabbat Shalom and may we hear good news only,
Rabbi Yoseph Geisinsky