Over the past few months,
we have been working on the design of the Aron Kodesh of the new Adath
Tikvah-Montefiore Chapel. It will be a beautiful Ark on the east wall
of a wonderful space for prayer, learning and celebration. After much
discussion of the design of the Ark doors and deciding that they would
be glass within wood borders, we decided to have the Ten Commandments
symbolically etched into the glass.
I sat down at my computer to work on the lettering for the Ten
Commandments. I made two columns with the first word of each of the
commandments to represent the Ten. It hit me in a way that it never
has before that seven of the Ten Commandments begin with exactly the
same word and so artistically it looked boring. Even worse, the first
word that repeats itself seven times is the Hebrew word Lo which means
No in the imperative. The only way this could work artistically would
be to at least add the second word of each Commandment so we would
have more than Lo, Lo, Lo.....
It made me think about how, on the face of it, these Ten Commandments
are so negative. Besides the injunctions to observe the Sabbath, honor
your parents and the first Commandment which is more of a preamble
than a commandment, "I am the Lord your G-d," these commandments speak
with a negative voice. They do seem like a downer. Don't do this and
don't do that.
We know that you can't raise a child or train a pet by just saying No.
Saying No and any accompanying punishment does not and will never
produce any positive behavior. At best it can suppress negative
behavior. If my dog Oliver could talk and you asked him his name, I am
sure that he would tell you his name is Oliver No. That's what he
hears all day. His only confusion would be if his name is Oliver No or
No Oliver.
The truth is Judaism has a lot more to say than "No." Judaism is
filled with great and lofty positive teachings such as "Justice,
Justice, Shall you pursue" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." and
to care for the orphan, the widow, the stranger and the poor amongst
you. There are a plethora of positive teachings that can shape our
behavior towards the good.
There was in biblical times and sadly there still is today so much
evil that happens in the world that a strong voice is necessary to
stand up and say No. That is wrong. Do not. We have witnessed the
ongoing killing in Iraq amongst people of the same religion. We see
this tragic killing happening now in Kenya which has been a great
democracy of Africa and the atrocities continue in Darfur. Judaism has
looked at the world and has seen all too clearly what is wrong,
corrupt and unjust and has cried out "No," "Do not." Before we can
hope to shape positive behavior, we have to cry out to stop the
injustices that exist. We have not always been loved for being the
voice decrying injustice, and we have been especially hated by the
perpetrators of those acts of injustice.
How ironic and how sad that this week the United Nations Security
Council has worked on a resolution condemning Israel for its unjust
treatment of the Palestinian population in Gaza. It would have already
been adopted if not for the persistent protests of the United States.
This collection of nations in a sense is saying "No" to Israel and "Do
not" continue to do what you have been doing to the Palestinian
population. This is in itself a statement of the injustice and
hypocrisy of the world. For months and years, since Israel's
unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, Palestinian terrorists have been
firing mortars at the city of Sederot and other areas close to the
Gaza border. What would the governments of the Security Counsel do if
mortars were raining down on their cities? They would not have been
nearly as restrained as Israel. After many months of pleas by the
residents of Sederot, Israel has stepped up its efforts to weed out
the terrorists and the ammunition which hide amongst the civilian
population in Gaza. We can be sure that the Security Council would be
silent if Israel's actions were carried out by any other country of
the globe. Israel gets special treatment and maybe that is because we
are the people which has proclaimed to the world "Do not...." The
truth is that while the United Nations has no right, we have to hold
ourselves up to a higher standard, the highest standard possible while
maintaining our survival.
My response to all of this. If the Palestinians were to stop their
terrorist attacks against Israel from Gaza and the West Bank, we would
see how quickly Israel would stop its military actions in Gaza and
would open up road blocks and check points in the West Bank. The
attacks against Israel will not stop, however, because the dream of
too many in the Palestinian world is not to live next to Israel but in
place of Israel. Israel's response to that Palestinian hope is "No."
It comes right out of these Ten Commandments. "No," "Do not" destroy
us. In saying No, Israel is saying Yes to her survival and future.
Shabbat
Shalom
