Rabbi's Teachings

We are a few portions into the book of Bamidbar, or as I like to call it, the book of the Jewish Hypothesis. Back in Exodus, having been freed from slavery, the Jews make their way to Sinai to receive revelation. And, there they stay for the rest of the book of Exodus AND Leviticus as they receive law after law. These laws range from how the High Priest should atone for the entire Jewish people on Yom Kippur, to more intimate laws between two people. In the book of Bamidbar, they take a census of everything they have, get up, and go.

So why the Jewish Hypothesis? For one thing, they don’t just immediately get up and walk the two weeks to the Holy Land and settle. They meander for 40 years. The reason they meander is that they can’t seem to get it right. They have laws in front of them which seem to be unambiguous, but when the laws are interpreted by the individual, the shades of gray are exposed.

Both God and the Jews need this time of the Jewish Hypothesis to get it right. But in truth, I do not think the experiment ended when the Jews finally settled down in the land in the Books of Prophets and Writings. I think the experiment is ongoing. As we change and grow, so too does our relationship to God and God’s laws. In essence, God evolves and Judaism evolves along with us in relationship together.

I see this reflected as well in the country we all call home, the USA. As we approach July 4th, we are reminded of the American Hypothesis. On July 4th, 1776, the Colonies severed all political ties from Great Britain, declaring themselves independent. America is only 248 years old. To put that into perspective, the oldest recognized country is Egypt, dating back to 3150 BCE, at 5174 years young. Just a bat mitzvah’s worth of years following the Declaration of Independence, the USA ratified the Constitution. As one can see by just turning on the TV, scrolling Facebook, or casually talking to someone over kiddush, most Americans have strong opinions about what the Founding Fathers must have meant when they wrote the Constitution. 

Just like with the Torah, I am sure that they did, in fact, have concrete ideas about what they meant when they wrote the laws that govern our nation. However, the American Hypothesis, like the Jewish Hypothesis, is tested with each and every generation. As we evolve as a country and as humans, it is the job of our nation’s leaders to see how America can grow along with its people.

We have heard time and again how this will be a rather historic election cycle. Others have said it will be as nasty as it will be historic as our people become more politicized and siloed. To that end, this year I have applied to be a poll chaplain. I will begin training for that role in July and will hopefully be chosen as a clergy member to keep peace at our polls this November. This non-partisan role is meant to act as a balm on election day, to help people find peace and to keep peace during what is anticipated to be a challenging day. I look forward to sharing more news about non-partisan ways we as a congregation can contribute to making this a peaceful election cycle for all voters on both sides of the aisle.

With each passing High Holiday cycle, we grow as a Jewish people. With each election day, we grow as Americans. May we contribute all we can to both the Jewish and American Hypotheses. Both are deserving of all of our love and best efforts.

God Bless America, Happy Fourth of July!
And, as always, Am Yisrael Chai!

Rabbi Bender