These were not "fine people"

Re’eh

Deut. 11:26 - 16:17

Précis: Moses begins by quoting God, saying “Behold (re’eh), I set before you a blessing and a curse this day.” The blessing flows from observance of the laws and the curses result from violations. A concern with idolatry permeates the following verses. The parasha explains that there will be a single site for sacrifices. A test for a false prophet and the punishment of an idolatrous city are included. The parasha then shifts to other subjects: a prohibition against self-mutilation, the biblical basis of the laws of kashrut, tithing so that the needs are met for the Levites, the "stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.” Remission of debts, freeing of Hebrew slaves, and the dedication of firstborn cattle are discussed, as are the commandments for the observance of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot.

Deut. 11:26–28 “Behold I set before you a blessing and a curse this day; a blessing if you obey the commandment…and a curse, if you will not obey the commandments…”

            The parasha begins with the word “behold” (re’eh) which in Hebrew is a singular verb. But the second word, “before you” (“lif’nechem”) is in the plural.   What does this grammatical oddity mean?  The rabbis suggest in the Talmud that the mitzvot were given to the Jews as a single group (hence the singular “behold”), but the plural “before you” means it is up to each individual to accept the blessing or the curse. This is not an issue of so-called moral equivalence: there are blessing and curses which derive from our actions to perform or abstain from mitzvot.

            This past week, we observed Nazi, KKK, and other “alt right” white supremacists hold a torch-lit parade through the UVA campus, and the following day they instigated a horrific melee with counter-protesters, ending in death and injury caused by an American white terrorist, who seemed to have “learned” from ISIS the technique of driving his car into a crowd of “others” who he opposes.

            Our President, after an unseemly delay, initially said there were “fine people” on both sides. The following day, he deplored the KKK and the neo-Nazis. Yet, in following days, he doubled-down and then tripled-down on his belief that there were “bad actors” and “fine people” on both sides of the dispute.

            There are no “fine people” among Nazis and members of the KKK or other white supremacist groups. Their beliefs are antithetical to American values. A torchlight parade to support the retention of a statue honoring the leader of the rebellion against the United States is all too reminiscent of the torchlight parades of the 1930’s in Germany.

            As our parasha reminds us, there is indeed a stark difference between good and evil, and there are starkly different outcomes for those who observe the mitzvot and those who don’t. While it is true that it appears that the willingness of evil to speak out is growing – and even to gain the tacit approval of the President on some level – we need to remind ourselves that our tradition demands justice and concern for the least among us, and that it is our duty to oppose evil wherever we find it. As Jews, we must stand up to the anti-Semites who comprise a significant segment of the so-called "alt right."

An economic philosophy

Ekev

Deut. 7:12 - 11:25

Précis: Moses continues his recapitulation of the commandments to the people, reminding them to be obedient to God’s laws in their forthcoming struggle with the Canaanites. He describes in detail all of the blessings which God had already provided them, and reminds them to bless and thank God for the bounty they receive. On the other hand, they should follow the rebelliousness of their fathers, including the incident of the Golden Calf, punishment will occur.

Deut. 8:10 "When you have eaten your fill, and have built fine houses to live in, and your herds and flocks have multiplied . . . beware lest your heart grow haughty and . . . you say to yourselves, 'My own power and the might of my own hand have won this wealth for me.'. . . Remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you the power to get wealth . . ."

One key teaching of this week's parasha is that wealth originates with God.  The text here is a basis for what we might call Jewish economic philosophy. This philosophy reminds us that we who are fortunate enough to accumulate wealth are merely stewards of God’s bounty, and as stewards, we have the responsibility to see to the needs of the poorest among us. As our text repeats so often, these are the fatherless, the widow, and the stranger. 

Our sense of social responsibility is totally oppositional to those who worship at the altar of private property, and who scorn those who lack the necessities of life as deserving of their status. This is not a merely political difference; rather, it is at its heart a remarkable moral distinction. A Jewish view is that the generation of wealth is in fact a collective effort, with God at its center. We do not become wealthy solely by our own efforts.  

It is quite obvious that in American society at large, we focus on the generation and growth of wealth. Rather than assuming economic success is a sign of God’s approval, we should remember that we are stewards of His bounty, and as stewards, we have responsibility to use our wealth to enhance the society in which we live.