Isaac and Israel – Under the Knife(1)
Rosh Hashanah Morning 5767
Rabbi Joseph R. Black
Congregation Albert -
Albuquerque, NM
My Dear Friends,
I spend a lot of time visiting people in the hospital. When I walk into a patient's room, I never know what I will find. Sometimes - most of the time - people are happy to see me. Hospitals can be lonely and scary places. The fact that somebody from the Congregation cared enough to come to see them when they are ill, means more than anyone who has never experienced the fear and degradation of a hospital stay could possibly understand.
About a year and a half ago, a dear friend of our congregation was diagnosed with lung cancer. After his diagnosis and several failed attempts to treat the disease, he knew that he faced death. And yet, despite this knowledge - or, perhaps because of it, he spent the last few months of his life doing exactly what he wanted to do - with the people that were most important to him. He savored every moment that God gave him because he understood the preciousness of each day he could spend on this earth. Life was a gift - and he knew it. He helped many of us discover that as well.
There's something about facing illness or surgery that helps - no forces - us to put things into perspective. It may sound cliché, but I have never heard someone facing a serious illness or lying in a recovery room say to me: "Rabbi, as I faced the ordeal of my illness, I started thinking about what was truly important in life and I wish that I spent less time with my family and more time at work..." Instead, I often hear the exact opposite: "Rabbi, now that I've faced death it's time for me to embrace life." In particular, those who have faced the surgical knife often have a sense of clarity about life and it's priorities that cannot be understood by those who have not shared the experience. They don't have time for unimportant things. They know just how precious life is and they want to savor every moment they are given.
I think about this today, on this Rosh Ha Shanah morning after we have read the Akedah - the binding of Isaac. Each year that we read this difficult text, I try to find a new perspective on how to understand its message. This year, I've been thinking a lot about Isaac and the impact of the ordeal upon his psyche.
Isaac is a fascinating character. Unlike his father, Abraham, Isaac doesn't blaze new trails. Unlike his son, Jacob, he doesn't become the father of a great nation. Instead, he is portrayed as a good man - a simple man - who lived a simple life. We know from the Torah that Isaac loved his wife, Rebecca - passionately. As a matter of fact, the first time the word "Ahavah" - love - is found in the Torah is when it describes Isaac's feeling for his bride. The Torah speaks of how they "played" together - indeed, his very name, Yitzchak, comes from the Hebrew word, Tzocheyk, meaning "to laugh" or "to play."
Some Biblical scholars see Isaac as the quintessential intergenerational "middle child" - in the shadow of his father and son. His is the generation sandwiched between the founder of Monotheism - Abraham, and the progenitor of the nation of Israel - Jacob. Isaac is perhaps best known for the fact that when he was just a child he literally lay "under the knife" on the top of Mt. Moriah.
We read that, later on in life, Isaac was a peace-maker. Maybe the reason that, as an adult, he longed for the simple, peaceful life was because he knew what it was like to face his own mortality. Like many of you who sit here this morning that have faced the surgeon's knife - or who have loved ones who were in the same position, the trauma of that life-changing event on Mount Moriah caused Isaac to re-evaluate his priorities. He didn't need to go into the "family business" of building a new nation - he could leave that to his father and son. After all that he went through, he just wanted to live a simple, happy life - he paid his dues.
Anyone who is facing, or who has lived through a life-threatening experience understands how this can change your perspective on just about everything. But it is not only in the realm of illness and recovery that this concept is relevant. It also can be applied to an understanding of national, cultural and political identification. Living "under the knife" can also be a powerful metaphor for what communities, institutions - even entire nations can experience.
As most of you know, this past summer, Sue and I joined with 74 other individuals - most of whom were members of our congregation - on an amazing trip to Israel. While we were there, we traveled to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. We saw the Golan Heights, Haifa, Tsfat and the Carmel. We climbed Masada and floated in the Dead Sea. And, oh yes, a war broke out.....
If there is any place in the world today that understands the meaning of living "under the knife" it is the State of Israel. In the 58 years since the establishment of the Jewish State, there has never been a time when its citizens, its borders - its very right to exist - were not jeopardized. There has also never been a time when the State of Israel and its citizens stopped longing for the possibility of peace.
The State of Israel is threatened today by multiple ailments - chief among them a rampant cancer of anti-Semitism in the guise of anti-Zionism fueled by radical Islamic terror and a plethora of totalitarian and fundamentalist Arab Governments who would rather attack the Jewish State than deal with the real issues of inequities and oppression within their own borders.
On July 11, when two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped and eight others were killed by Hezbollah terrorists; when Katyusha rockets began raining down on the Galilee, everyone in Israel understood the significance of what had happened. Six years ago, the Israeli army withdrew from Southern Lebanon. Since that time, Israel's northern border had been relatively quiet. One might even say that the violence of an earlier time was in remission. But, as anyone who has had to face the realities of an aggressive tumor will surely understand, the fact that a remission occurs does not guarantee that a flare-up won't re-occur - even though we might hope and pray that it remains dormant.
This was brought home to us in a powerful way this summer. Those of us who were on the trip remember the experience of staying at the guest house at Kibbutz Ha-Goshrim and how our guide, Hannah Levy, gave us a tour of the beautiful grounds of the Kibbutz. We remember how she stopped in front of an ugly pile of stones and concrete and explained that this was an old bomb shelter that had not been used since 1982 - 25 years ago. She explained to us that the shelter was a relic of the past - of a different time and mindset. As a matter of fact, the kibbutz was currently exploring how they might find some new use for the shelter - and others like it that were scattered around the kibbutz grounds. Perhaps it could become a recreation center for the children.....
Two days later - after we left the Golan and headed for Jerusalem, Kibbutz Ha Goshrim was bombed by Hezbollah Katyushas.
The bomb shelters were re-opened.
When Hezbollah attacked, everyone in Israel knew exactly what had happened - and what was going to happen. This was not a new war - it was a continuation of a war that began in 1948 with the establishment of the Jewish State. While there may have been disagreements in the immediate aftermath of the initial attacks and kidnappings over the methodology of the counter offensive, the vast majority of Israelis understood that quick and decisive action had to be taken to eliminate the danger in the North. A cancer had re-emerged and it needed to be removed. Hezbollah had to be destroyed.
Cancer is a hideous disease. It seeks out and finds the most vulnerable targets in the human body. So too, Hezbollah. They infested not only the bunkers on Lebanon's southern border, but also residential neighborhoods in Beirut, Tyre and other coastal and southern cities that had no choice but to harbor their arms caches and rocket launchers. It is a well documented fact that many of Hezbollah's rockets were launched from within residential neighborhoods. As a result, many innocent Lebanese were caught in the cross-fire of Israel's counter-attacks. It's no accident that the language used by the IDF to describe their campaign against Hezbollah contained the phrase: "surgical strikes." But there was a tremendous loss of human life on both sides. Innocent women and children died as a result of this unnecessary war.
It may seem harsh to use words like "cancer" to describe human beings or political groups. But know this - I always chose my words carefully. For those who may have forgotten, let me tell you who Israel was dealing with when it went to war against Hezbollah.
In my remarks at the Rally at the JCC last July, the day after I returned from Israel, I said the following:
Hezbollah (is) a radical, Shiite Moslem terrorist organization that has a stranglehold on the people of Lebanon is heavily supported by the Governments of Iran and Syria. Hezbollah was formed shortly after Israel's war in Lebanon in 1982. They have been directly or indirectly linked to hundreds of terrorist attacks since that time including:
- the Bombing of the US Marine Barracks in Lebanon in 1983 in which 241 American soldiers were murdered
- the targeted killing of American Nationals in Beirut,
- the bombing of the Israeli Embassy and a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires,
- the hijacking of Kuwaiti and United States Airplanes,
- the bombing of a restaurant in Torrejon, Spain frequented by American servicemen in which over 45 people were killed - including 18 American Citizens,
This is but a partial list of their murderous activities.
Over the last 6 years - ever since Israel's withdrawal from Southern Lebanon, Hezbollah ruled the area south of the Litani River with an Iron first - despite UN resolution 1559 calling for the disbanding of all militias in Southern Lebanon. They compiled a massive stockpile of weaponry including Katyusha rockets and other, more powerful and dangerous missiles provided by Iran with logistical and financial support from Syria.
Both Hezbollah and its Palestinian partner, Hamas are driven by a fundamentalist Islamic ideology that sees the world in terms of Black and White. They see Israel as an agent of Satan and, as such, feel that they are justified in any actions they take that will rid the world of this curse of Zionism.
This is the cancer that Israel is facing. This is what has placed the Jewish state "under the knife."
One would think that the majority of Israelis who have lived "under the knife" for almost 60 years, would become obsessed with war and hatred of the enemy. The truth is, they're not. Most Israelis I know think more about the economy than military. In the days prior to the Hezbollah attacks, the biggest news in Israel was the fact that Warren Buffett, the American Venture Capitalist, was investing four billion dollars in an Israeli metalworking company based 8 miles from the Lebanese border. Israelis today are like Isaac. They truly have a sense of Clarity about what is happening in their land and what needs to happen. This doesn't mean that all Israelis agree! Far from it! There are more political parties in Israel than almost any other country in the world. Everyone has an opinion - and their opinion is the only correct opinion. And yet, if you scratch beneath the surface of all but the most extremis positions - on the right and on the left - you will find that most Israelis do agree on one point: they want nothing more than to live in peace with their neighbors - if only they had neighbors who were interested in living in peace!
For those of us who live outside of Israel - in the Diaspora - we have a much more complicated relationship with the Jewish State that those who live in Israel on a daily basis - whether we like it or not.
On the last day of our trip this summer, I told the trip participants to be prepared for the fact that people would be seeking them out to speak about their opinions of what was happening in the Middle East. "Be prepared to answer questions posed by family, friends, co-workers and even the media when you return," I told them - not only because they were returning from a trip to Israel - not only because they were returning from what the world perceived as a war zone, but also because they most of them were Jews - and they were expected to have an opinion.
As Jews we are linked with Israel whether or not we consciously make it a part of our life. World opinion about Israel is not often distinguished from world opinion of Jews. We are expected to have answers about the Middle East. Like it or not, we who have not had the experience of directly living "under the knife" in Israel are, nonetheless connected to our cousins in the Jewish State.
There's a famous story about how Leon Blum, a former Socialist Premier of France met David Ben Gurion. The story goes is told that he introduced himself this way, "I had better tell you right away, Mr. Ben Gurion, that I am a humanist first, a socialist second, and only then a Jew. Whenever I write my name that is what I believe." Ben Gurion reportedly replied with a smile, "Never mind, we Jews read from right to left anyway!"
Each of us here this morning has the ability and the responsibility to be an ambassador for the State of Israel and the Jewish people. No, we have not lived directly "under the knife" on a daily basis like our brothers and sisters in Israel. Nonetheless, the future of the Jewish State will have a huge impact on Diaspora Jewry. The sooner we realize that, the better it will be for all concerned.
Recently, the question of the "legitimacy" of the State of Israel has once again reared its ugly head. There are those - even in our own Jewish community - who feel that its creation was a mistake. After all, look at all of the violence, the killing, the diplomatic headaches that could have been avoided if the United Nations would not have voted to grant the Jewish people a state of their own in 1947. Wouldn't the world be a better place if there WAS no State of Israel?
I will let the facts speak for themselves:
These are but a few of the thousands of remarkable achievements that this tiny State has made in only 58 years of a threatened existence. What more could it have accomplished if it did not have to achieve them while living "under the knife?"
On this Rosh Hashanah all of us are like Isaac - longing to live in peace - but aware of the potential for pain that lies above us. May we, together, use our awareness of the potential for evil that exists as a catalyst to bring about change in our world. May we find the peace we crave - peace in Israel, in our communities in our homes; and may we, in the process of doing so, bring healing to our world.
AMEN L'shanah Tovah
(Footnotes)