Friday 31 May 2013

Freud's Moses with Prof Laurence Kaplan

 

Professor Laurence Kaplan is the best kind of world-class academic. For several decades he’s been a renowned scholar of twentieth century Jewish thought; author of a slew of highly respected monographs and longer works on Martin Buber, Joseph Soloveitchik, Rav Kook and the like. He’s also not afraid to wade into debates which go to the heart of traditional Jewish thought and life. In particular he’s won a reputation for destabilising ultra-orthodox apologists idolisation of figures such as the Hazon Ish and Rav Hutner. Professor Kaplan is spending time at the Oxfrod Centre for Hebrew and Jewish studies as part of their ongoing seminar looking at the legacy of the works of our founding Rabbi, Louis Jacobs z’tl.

We are hugely fortunate to have him give the Rabbi Louis Jacobs Memorial Lecture this year.

 

Professor Kaplan will be speaking on Freud’s Moses and the Jewish Psyche. It’s a lecture for anyone interested in Freud, Judaism and the relationship between Moses, God and Israel.

New London was founded because of a willingness to engage, critically, with the most important questions in Jewish theology and scholarship and a belief if the value of scholarship and rigorous intellectual endeavour. The Jacobs Memorial Lecture is the intellectual highpoint in our annual calendar I do hope you will be able to join us.

 

Sunday 9th June 19:30 at New London Synagogue, 33 Abbey Rd, NW8 0AT

 

Shabbat shalom,

 

Tuesday 28 May 2013

The Knotty Question of Buying Tefilin

 

Questions Rabbis Get Asked: What Tefilin should I buy?

 

I love Tefilin.

I love the ritual of putting them on and I love the detail, the raised, strange 4 pronged ‘shin’, the specific way of tying this knot ....

But buying Tefilin isn’t easy. When I bought my first set of Tefilin I could have been sold anything by the frum looking Sofer with the big white beard and I would have handed over my Shekels knowing nothing of the choices and questions a person should have to mind when Tefilin shopping.

 

There are two questions to consider; Minhag and Hiddur

And there are three elements to a set of Tefilin; Batim - boxes, Klaf – parchment & Retzuot – straps.

 

Minhag – Custom

There are, broadly speaking, three different customs when it comes to Tefilin; Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Chassidic (Sephardi-ish, but reworked in the time of Isaac Luria). There are some technical differences in the style of the Batim and some differences in handwriting on the Klaf, but the most important difference is how the Retzuah around the arm works. Ashkenazim go one way round, Sephardim (and Chasidim) the other. The knot of the tefilin for the arm needs to be tied so the strap can go round the right way. There are also two different ways to tie the knot for the tefilin for the head.

 

You want tefilin dependent on your custom.

 

On a related issue is the question of on which arm to wear the Tefilin. Right-handers wear Tefilin on the left arm, left-handers wear Tefilin on the right arm and, again, the knots need to be tied to make that possible.

 

You want either right handed or left handed Tefilin

 

There is a debate (obviously) about the order of the passages written on the Klaf. There are four passages and Rashi thought they should go in one order and his grandson, Rabbeinu Tam thought they should go in a different order. Everyone follows Rashi, but once, in an airport lounge, I davenned next to someone with Rabbeinu Tam Tefilin. They davenned virtually all the service ‘by’ Rashi, then took them off, put on the Rabbeinu Tam Tefilin and finished the service that way. I’ve also seen photos of people wearing double sets simultaneously. No-one in any community I have davenned in does any of this.

 

You want Rashi Tefilin, which your sofer will almost certainly assume.

 

Mehudar – Honouring – also Hiddur

The idea is that we should bring the best we have for God. A Kiddush cup is better than a kitchen mug, silver is better than tin etc. I have a love of beautiful ritual things, but there is a balance to be drawn. Too much ostentation can be just that (there is a wonderful Hebrew word – Yoharah – literally turning yourself into a mountain – idiomatically self-aggrandising, which is also not good). Hiddur can also get prohibitively expensive, especially when it comes to Tefilin. And part of the issue isn’t ever seen. There are Klafim, parchment, which are beautifully written with immaculate calligraphy, and there are Klafim which are obviously scribbled out. They are Kosher, but not Mehudar.

 

But the really significant issue around Hiddur is the Batim. Broadly speaking there are two kinds, Peshutim – simple and Gassot – fat. Gassot are made from a single piece of leather bent this way and that to create the various compartments and the form of the Bayit. It’s a time consuming process and requires a particular, and expensive, cut of leather. Peshutim are made from multiple pieces of leather and are easier (and cheaper) to manufacture.

 

I have Gassot Tefilin. I love them. I helped select the Klafim and stitched them together with the assistance of a scribe I know and trust. They are Mehudar, they were expensive, but I take huge pleasure in wearing them and believe, in some way I can never fully comprehend, that that counts before the God I stand before in prayer. There are other options which are equally kosher, and much cheaper.

 

Here are some links to the Federation of Jewish Mens Clubs, part of the American Conservative Movement. They are committed to providing Kosher, relatively inexpesive, tefilin

http://fjmc.org/content/www-frequently-asked-questions

http://fjmc.org/catalog/9

 

You can reach the Golders Green-based Sofer I recommend via

www.soferstam.co.uk

 

There are many on-line providers, but I would always recommend doing additional research, or checking with a Rabbi, before sending off money to a web-site to buy something as individual as Tefilin. One last point. Tefilin need to be used, left in a bag, untouched for weeks on end is a terrible waste.

 

Friday 24 May 2013

Stuff Gets Broken - And Then We Move On.

 

It’s wedding season, which is lovely, if you love celebrating love, commitment and Jewishly rich celebrations – which I do. It’s also proving a tense time for a number of the couples at whose weddings I will be officiating in the coming months. Who gets to stand where under the Chuppah, who  gets invited to which bit, who gets to make the decisions ... it’s proving stressful for many and I’m delighted to be largely excluded from the particularly vexed question of who pays. I tell all ‘my’ couples that stuff gets broken at Jewish weddings. Part of the reason, I believe, for breaking a glass at a Chuppah is to remind us that life in general, and wedding ceremonies are just one part of life, isn’t about perfection. It’s about dealing with a world that is often messy, uneven and, increasingly, lacking in clear well-defined norms and models that can be simply picked up and adopted to our ever-more complex contemporary social realities. Life, and wedding ceremonies, are ultimately about moving on beyond the brokenness.

 

And then I started to see reports of the wedding of the grandson of the Belz Rebbe.  25,000 Hasidim descended on the main square of the Belz district of Jerusalem to celebrate. If the list of canapés for a busy London wedding seems daunting, try catering for 25,000! Have a look on You Tube. I did and wondered at the sea of black hats dancing and singing, Bocherim perched high up and far away peering on through binoculars as the couple made their way through the rituals of a grand Hasidic wedding. I had the same fascination, admiration and alienation I often feel when I look in at Hasidic celebration, all arrayed in vast number, with deep commitment and an attitude to Judaism that I just cannot share. Then I was struck by something truly powerful. In an article in Haaretz one commentator pointed out that the last time a Belzer Rebbe celebrated the wedding of a grandson was ‘in Europe.’ The Belzer were all but entirely obliterated in the horrors of the Holocaust. After the Shoah what was once one of the most powerful of all the Hasidic dynasties was reduced to a handful of families. And now, less than 70 years later, the Belzer number in the tens of thousands, and they get to celebrate. Even after the brokenness they can move on. Any wedding is a celebration. Every successful marriage is a triumph of moving on beyond the brokenness. Emil Fackenheim wrote of this in his work, To Mend the World. After the rupture of the Holocaust, wrote Fackenheim, it’s tempting to imagine nothing counts, it’s tempting to consider every action is inauthentic and false. But this has never been the Jewish way. Even after the most horrific rupture known to humanity we have rebuilt. After every experience of brokenness we move on and dance again.

 

I will, on Shabbat, be speaking about these appalling attacks in Woolwich. I offer my prayers of comfort with the family of Lee Rigby, and the fiercest condemnation of his murderers.

 

Shabbat shalom,

 

Rabbi Jeremy

After Things Get Broken, We Move On


It’s wedding season, which is lovely, if you love celebrating love, commitment and Jewishly rich celebrations – which I do.   It’s also proving a tense time for a number of the couples at whose weddings I will be officiating in the coming months.   Who gets to stand where under the Chuppah, who  gets invited to which bit, who gets to make the decisions ... it’s proving stressful for many and I’m delighted to be largely excluded from the particularly vexed question of who pays.   I tell all ‘my’ couples that stuff gets broken at Jewish weddings.   Part of the reason, I believe, for breaking a glass at a Chuppah is to remind us that life in general, and wedding ceremonies are just one part of life, isn’t about perfection.   It’s about dealing with a world that is often messy, uneven and, increasingly, lacking in clear well-defined norms and models that can be simply picked up and adapted to our ever-more complex contemporary social realities.   Life, and wedding ceremonies, are ultimately about moving on beyond the brokenness.

And then I started to see reports of the wedding of the grandson of the Belz Rebbe.   25,000 Hasidim descended on the main square of the Belz district of Jerusalem to celebrate.   If the list of canapés for a busy London wedding seems daunting, try catering for 25,000 !   Have a look on You Tube.   I did and wondered at the sea of black hats dancing and singing, Bocherim perched high up and far away peering on through binoculars as the couple made their way through the rituals of a grand Hasidic wedding.   I had the same fascination, admiration and alienation I often feel when I look in at Hasidic celebration, all arrayed in vast number, with deep commitment and an attitude to Judaism that I just cannot share.   Then I was struck by something truly powerful.   In an article in Haaretz one commentator pointed out that the last time a Belzer Rebbe celebrated the wedding of a grandson was ‘in Europe.’   The Belzer were all but entirely obliterated in the horrors of the Holocaust.   After the Shoah what was once one of the most powerful of all the Hasidic dynasties was reduced to a handful of families.   And now, less than 70 years later, the Belzer number in the tens of thousands, and they get to celebrate.   Even after the brokenness they can move on.   Any wedding is a celebration.   Every successful marriage is a triumph of moving on beyond the brokenness.   Emil Fackenheim wrote of this in his work, To Mend the World.   After the rupture of the Holocaust, wrote Fackenheim, it’s tempting to imagine nothing counts, it’s tempting to consider every action is inauthentic and false.   But this has never been the Jewish way.   Even after the most horrific rupture known to humanity we have rebuilt.   After every experience of brokenness we move on and dance again.

 

Thursday 23 May 2013

The Rabbinic In-Tray - A Masorti Attitude Towards Non-Jewish Partners

 

 

I recently received the following e-mail (reworded a little to ensure anonymity).

What is a Masorti view on Jews with non-Jewish partners – and their partners.

My response is below.

 

--

 

My enquiry is really to find out the Masorti view on intermarriage. My partner is not Jewish and I no longer feel that I can go to the Orthodox Shul that I am familiar with. Is Masorti an option for me? I do not want to lose my Jewishness, but of course neither do I wish to lose my partner.....Perhaps I should contact Reform ? I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your time

 

--

 

Many thanks for being in touch.

You ask interesting questions.

 

Let me tell you a bit about how I engage with the issue of non-Jewish partners and offer a chance to speak or meet. I’ll speak personally, but you should expect something similar from the community I lead and the Movement I am part of.

               

I understand the problem of Jews marrying non-Jews from both Halachic and societal bases. Certainly it is far easier for two Jewish partners to create a Jewish home together, especially if and when there are children, than for an inter-faith couple. It’s also forbidden as a matter of Jewish Law.

 

I know there are Jews who fall in love with non-Jews and I know that for those people that relationship is good and hugely important.

 

I know that for many of these people falling in love with a non-Jew is not the same thing, at all, as giving up on Judaism and a good number of Jews, married to non-Jews – and even a good number of non-Jews married to Jews – show remarkable levels of commitment to maintaining and developing their own Jewish involvement and that of their children. I also know that many Jewish couples who fail to maintain let alone develop their Jewish involvement. Neither marrying ‘in’ or marrying ‘out’ guarantee anything.

 

As a community we have a number of families with one Jewish and one non-Jewish parent. We do our best to offer both parties to the relationship the warmest of welcomes. We do our best to educate any children of these families as well as we can. For what it is worth there is no question of denying aliyot and/or other kibbudim to members with non-Jewish partners. In general, as a community, we don’t go in for pointing fingers, calling names or behaving in a judgemental manner.

 

We also have a fabulous conversion programme. For non-Jews who have ‘thrown their lot in’ with a Jewish partner it’s invariably something that many think about, but there can be nervousness about discussing it. You should discuss it, and if you or your partner want to take that conversation forward, please have a look at

http://www.newlondon.org.uk/page.asp?page_id=16

And be in touch with me.

 

Is that helpful, at least to open a conversation?

If you are more interested in the community you should come for a Shabbat, or Friday evening meal, or we can arrange a meeting,

 

Very best wishes,

 

Rabbi Jeremy

 

Friday 17 May 2013

Ruth & Game Theory

 

As I was thinking through this sermon, I pulled this book off the Shelf, Matt Ridley’s The Origins of Virtue. It’s a book I read nine years ago.

It contains the story of an experiment in game theory – the study of the decisions we make.

Suppose, says the academic Douglas Hofstadter a dilemma in which 20 people sit, in a cubicle with their finger on the button. Each person will get £1000 after ten minutes, unless someone pushes his button in which case the person who pushed the button will get £100 and everybody else will get nothing.’

Even a fool knows, Ridley notes, that the best result is not to press the button.

But if you are a little bit more clever you will realise that there is a high chance that someone else will press their button, so if you are a bit clever you should probably press your button before they do.

As a matter of Games theory, pressing fast is the way to go.

The risk reward balance demands it.

‘Don’t get misled by your morality’ writes Ridley, ‘that fact that you are being noble in cooperating is irrelevant to the question. What we are seeking is the logically best action in a moral vacuum – it’s rational to be selfish.’

Ridley wants us to feel the power of the logic of game theory,

I’ll come back to Dr Ridley, or Viscount Ridley later.

 

I knew I wanted to share something about this book because I am still thinking about the single moment in the entire Hebrew Bible which most stands most fiercely against this kind of game theory.

The moment, in the entire Hebrew Bible, which looks at logic, calculation and the rest of it and hurls it all away because of a strange, most human quality we call chesed - kindness.

 

We read the Book of Ruth during the Festival of Shavuot – on Thursday, forgive me for still being held in thrall by its foundational uncovering of what it means to be human.

 

Story –

Naomi has two sons, they marry and then they die.

Leaves three women, devoid of economic possibility, devoid of the possibility of a future – without a child to carry the name of the family onwards.

Give up on me, tells Naomi, head back to your own families. And one daughter in law leaves.

But Ruth doesn’t leave.

Naomi attempts, for a second time to push away and Ruth stops her.

Do not entreat me to leave you, or to keep from following you;

For where you go, I will go

Where you stay, I will stay;

Your people shall be my people,

Your God my God;

Where you die, will I die, and there will I be buried.

 

I’m in, says Ruth, I’m with you.

And the reward for this fidelity – I disregard.

This is the key point, for an understanding of Ruth.

When we do something for someone in the expectation of reward, or if we do something for someone because they have done something for us, that is all called reciprocity.

What Ruth does for Naomi has nothing to do with reciprocity.

What can I offer you? Says Naomi, even if I were to be with a man tonight, it makes no sense for you to wait for me to have another son for you to marry.

Where you go I will go – says Ruth.

I have nothing to offer you - Naomi.

Where you stay, I will stay – says Ruth

 

This isn’t reciprocity.

It’s the inverse of reciprocity.

Doing something for someone not only not in the expectation of reward, but in wilful disregard of what one might get back from the relationship.

This is love.

Love is doing something for someone with no thought as to the return, the reward, the ‘what’s in it for me’

This is the meaning of Hebrew term Gemilut Hesed – doing things for others out of a sense of kindness – phrase perfectly encapsulated by the translation – wanton acts of kindness.

To be Gomel Hesed is to be gratuitously kind.

Doing the kind thing above and beyond any supposed call of duty.

 

The Rabbis understood precisely how the Book of Ruth carries this relationship with kindness at it’s very heart in a Midrash, a commentary which plays with this supposed challenge in the book.

 

The book of Ruth, says Rut Rabba, contains nothing about ritual, nothing about forbidden and permitted. Why then was it written? To teach how great is the reward for gemilut hesed – wanton acts of kindness.[1]

 

Why would you do something for no reward?

The Rabbis consider Gemilut Hesed not just a nice thing to do, but a religious, a godly, thing to do.

Here is another Midrash, another Rabbinic teaching on gemilut hesed, from the collection Yalkut Shimoni

Anyone who is Gomel Hesed, it is as if they accept all the miracles which the Holy Blessed One has done since bringing Israel out from Egypt, and one who does not Gomel Hesed is like one who denies the existence of the Divine.[2]

 

That’s a stunning idea.

The idea that if you do something for someone with no thought for what is in it for you, when you do something out of love, out of a sense of Hesed you are in some sense accepting the notion of God,

who placed this possibility of love in the human soul

who justifies all acts of love in ways beyond human fathom

and who demands from us these acts of love.

 

Try this as a definition of God – God is the begetter of the possibility of Gemilut Hesed –

God is that which elevates our lives beyond the level of reciprocity.

I think that’s stunning.

That’s the God I believe in.

 

I began by mentioning Matt Ridley’s book The Origins of Virtue.

Virtue in Ridley’s book has nothing in common with Hesed.

Rather the book documents a sort of evolutionary principle which explains how humans and animals alike end up doing things which appear to be non-selfish.

The book documents how doing which appear on the surface to be non-selfish ultimately rewards and turns out to be in our best interests.

Ridley’s virtue involves acting selfishly, but with a slightly longer term perspective than one might at first expect.

The book is not theological, it’s not about love, it’s not about Chesed.

I mentioned I would return to Matt Ridley, he came to prominence in 2007 when he resigned as Chairman of Northern Rock Bank. That’s right they made an evolutionary biologist who believed the pursuit of self-interest was the same thing as pursuing virtue the Chairman of a bank.

And when it turned out that the Bank had done exactly what Ridley would have expected, and gone bankrupt and dragged half the city of London down in its wake, some were surprised.

Certainly MPs, leader writers and the rest of them were quick to point a finger at Ridley who resigned in disgrace.

But what else could one have expected.

If you confuse self-interest with virtue you can justify all sorts of economic lunacy.

I don’t mean to belittle self-interest. Of course it a necessary part of life.

And the book is certainly a terrific read.

 

It’s fascinating to understand why fish exist in schools.

It’s an extraordinary act of scientific discovery to unpack how meerkats work out how to avoid predators or how flocks of doves can fight off a hawk.

But these biological truths have nothing to do with virtue.

If you want to understand virtue you would do a lot better reading the Book of Ruth.

 

What can I offer you? Says Naomi.

Where you go I will go – says Ruth.

I have nothing to offer you - Naomi.

Where you stay, I will stay – says Ruth

 

The things we do for those we love.

The things we do for our children, for the members of our family, for our friends, even the things we do for mere acquaintances and most especially the things we do for the stranger in our midst, the things we do with no thought of reward, these are the markers of virtue.

 

This, Max, is the test of whether, as you grow and develop you will be a virtuous man.

Will you do things for others with no thought as to what is in it for you.

This is the test of virtuousness for all of us.

Gemilut Hesed is more than being nice.

Gemilut Hesed is the test of our humanity – the extent to which we, as humans -  beings created with a soul, beings created in the image of God -  transcend the life nasty brutish and short.

 

It’s one of the deepest and most central teachings of our faith.

When we look out at the world and you look to make decisions as to how to expend your energies and your resources, do we plot what is in it for me, or do we reach beyond the reciprocal, to the true level of virtue of love and Gemilut Hesed.

This is the test,

May we rise to meet it and triumph in the love and kindness we can pour into the world.

 

Shabbat shalom

 



[1] II:14

[2] Shoftim 64

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