From ICE protests in LA to “No Kings” protests nationwide, our own country moves through a time of quaking unrest. The foundation of power and those who wield it tremors as races begin to appear on the horizon. No leader is safe. For those of us who are not politically minded, the noise is deafening, as is the silence. However, what remains unassailable is that the role of those who pursue leadership will always come under question. And this week’s Torah portion is no different.
Parshat Shelach features the Israelites losing faith (again), and upon hearing the report from the spies’ reconnaissance mission into “the land of Canaan,” they stage a protest of their own. Their protest signs read with a jingoism like “Hell no, we won’t go,” “Praying for a better God for my children” and “He’s not my King.” The God character assumes the role of the failed leader, and faith is lost by all as doom and gloom and spiritual practice don’t mix.
The “God Character” is reminded by Moses of who he is – as “slow to anger” is one of 13 attributes of God’s own self description (Exodus 34:6-7). Moses begins his approach with an interesting abbreviation of God’s Exodus utterance, and states: יְהֹוָ֗ה אֶ֤רֶךְ אַפַּ֙יִם֙ (Numbers 14:18) in this week’s Torah portion. Rashi (11th c.) tells this story to grant all of us, 1,000 years later, with perhaps the eyes to see:
When Moses ascended to Heaven, Moses found God writing the words “The Lord is Long Suffering.” Moses asked “Surely, only for the righteous?” Whereby God responded, “To the Wicked, also.” Whereupon Moses said: “The wicked — let them perish!” He (the Lord) replied to him: “I swear by your life that you shall eventually need this thing (the extension of My mercy also to the wicked)”.
As previously mentioned, we have collectively fallen through the looking glass, gone on a collective psychedelic journey and are spinning right round. For anyone with half a heart, the whole picture does not make sense. Many felt deep pain at the images coming out of Gaza and the ICE round ups, and many took to the streets in protest.
But where is the protest for Israel?
Like so many of our family members – or if we can be honest, our own selves – Israel is both righteous and wicked, perfect and flawed, dynamic and sleepy; it aspires towards human visions of the highest ideals for humanity and falls to the most base. Israel is a Rorschach for the trauma within, as its name itself means “ones who struggle with God.” Founded from the pursuit of self-determination for the Jewish people, it is proof that the Palestinians can do it, too, that Dreamers can make something for themselves in the USA and that colonialism can end and people can return to their homeland. Our sacred covenant as Jews – all Jews, and especially American Jews, as ours is a covenantal land as well (ask any Mormon); in exchange for this sacred covenant returning us to our homeland from 3000 years ago, we have a Disneyland for our Souls. A place that will always welcome us, support our dreams and offer endless Shabbos dinners, cafes for commiseration, jobs in arguably the greatest tech sector in the world and invitations into Knowing our Souls.
But, most American Jews today, especially the “Nones” – those who are “Spiritual but not Religious” – are uneasy at the thought of Israel. It seems that a lack of moral connection to spiritual pursuit has left a mind and soul disconnected from the family history that gave them the privilege to claim their apathy or alexithymia. The doubt or ambivalence felt by so many (like the ancient Israelites given some bad news) is the crux of their spiritual pursuits of moral bypass; an obsession with psychedelics, self-healing, Instagram tile-therapy and all other massaging of bodies and minds to bypass the work of the soul. Israel represents, at its most glorious, that the soul and who we are and how we show up in this world is intertwined, and any shirking of that truth will lead to a feeling of emptiness. In short, Israel offers us Ethical Monotheism for the Spiritual Warrior.
Which is why we all see how complicated that plays out, and which is why even God expresses that “I am long suffering for both the wicked and the righteous.” For like all of us, Israel is both. No better and no worse than any of us.
From New York Magazine to the “No Kings Day” marches, moral sanctimony is a new national epidemic in the US. It is founded on the principle that the person carrying the sign is more righteous than the person they castigate on their sign. Outside of a moral universe, or within a social media cosmos, we can pretend to be whomever we want to be. But moral consistency is the deepest of spiritual practices, and it is actually a lot easier to wake up every day for a 5 am Cross Fit or 6 am Yoga class than it is to commit to a curiosity of morality and ethics.
Israel’s war in Iran is NOT a deflection of Gaza. It is the outcome of what began on October 7. What happened in Gaza has been a moral war with collateral damage caused by many players and we grieve for the children and innocent who have and are suffering. We even send them food and medical care, and if we had a Time Machine, would see how much Israel will do to help Palestinians as well as Jews worldwide. There are talks in the works to help people and advance their lives to the privilege all of us reading this has. And I add, it will be Jews around the world helping.
As for now, what do we do? We pray for the righteous and we pray for the evil. On all sides and in all countries. We pray for the turning of hearts of judgement into hearts of compassion. We pray for their well-being and their ability to have a plan for their government that will restore a balance of power for all of their citizens. We pray for the citizens of Iran (whom the Israelis have magnificently spared in their assault); we pray for women’s rights in the region and for the future of Gaza as a stable one. And we acknowledge this imperfect world filled with imperfect humans, and pray that America never knows of terror as Israel knows of because Israel, our homeland, has done the dirty work for the rest of us. And we pray that our prayers are heard within and we return to a prayer practice that increases our ability to contribute to a moral world – not a sanctimonious one – but a moral world of complexity and subtlety. For ethics and morals require practice.
Bless the Righteous. Bless the Wicked. And pray for the discernment to know the difference.
With love and a prayer for all in the region to feel the promise of Torah and lead a self-determined life free of terror,
Rabbi Lori
And for those who want to begin a prayer practice, please use this reference guide as a start. Prepared with my AJR/CA colleagues, it’s a good 1.0 for the “Jew-ishly curious and those who love us.” Godspeed.