“Critique, Complaint, and Criticism,” Rabbi Zecher’s Shabbat Awakenings
July 12, 2024 | 6 Tamuz 5784
Welcome to Shabbat Awakenings, a weekly reflection as we move toward Shabbat. This week, I share with you my d’var Torah that I offered at Qabbalat Shabbat last Friday. You can listen to it as a podcast here.
It may have been a short lived cultural phenomenon in 2003, but its purpose demonstrated patriotic pride.
What was it?
The freedom fry, of course.
I’m talking about that deep fried piece of potato. Before there were truffle fries or sweet potato fries, there used to be just French fries.
This change of nomenclature occurred as strong American loyalty exploded with great enthusiasm shortly after the devastation of 9/11 in 2001.
Now we might think of what happened as lame partisan politics, but back then, being a proud American belonged to everyone. Everyone was touched by the terrorist attack by Al Qaeda in 2001 no matter where we lived or whether we personally knew someone. In Boston, and in this congregation, we certainly were directly impacted and mourned the losses suffered. Richard Ross, our beloved member, died on one of the planes as did many people, including quite a few young women who worked at the corporate offices of TJ Maxx who thought they were taking a business trip across the country. None of those innocent souls made it to their destination.
There was a shared vulnerability throughout the country, and tender hearts easily frayed.
So when France opposed the United States invasion of Iraq, the expression of displeasure by some Americans, especially politicians and restauranteurs, came in the form of renaming one of America’s favorite food. Then, when the cafeteria in the House of Representatives formally changed their menu to reflect the new name, it was clear something significant was happening.
It sounds a bit ridiculous now and the change was short lived, but for a moment in time caused by the heartbreaking attack upon our citizens and America, focusing the attention on loyalty, pride, and a particular kind of allegiance permeated throughout.
The decision to change the name from French fry to freedom fry as a perceived punishment to France is absurd and silly. Back then, people felt that too, yet it is a worthy cultural phenomenon on which to reflect as we come out of our celebration of July 4th with all of its barbequed delights and fireworks displayed.
Moments of national trauma have the potential to bring us together just as much as they carry the possibility of breaking us apart. As we commemorate the collective declaration of independence achieved by our brave forebears, the light shines not just on the leaders, but also on the individuals who helped to guarantee freedom from the tyrannical power of English oppression.
This week’s Torah portion might ring of an action centered around the voice of individuals not in the seat of power. Some may see this as an early expression of political democracy. Others regard it as treason. And still others view it as an expression of the trauma of a people figuring out how it can productively move forward together.
One of the members of Moses’ own Levite tribe railed against Moses’ leadership. His name was Korah, along with Datan and Abiram, as well as 250 others unnamed except for the mention that they were highly regarded in the community. The commentator and author, Erica Brown, notes that:
“There is a repeated emphasis on “all” and on the fabric of togetherness generated by a community of anger and protest: ‘They combined against Moses and Aaron and said to them, ‘You have gone too far! For all the community are holy, all of them, and the Lord is in their midst. Why then do you raise yourselves above the Lord’s congregation?’” (Num. 16:3).
Their dissatisfaction and distress bring the people together. The narrative of Korah does not have a satisfactory ending for those who may see Korah as brave, as an upstander, or as someone willing to challenge authority. To the contrary, his behavior was regarded as treasonous with the worst possible punishment — being swallowed up by the earth. Korah, his fellow protestors, Datan and Abiram and all of their families, including their children, disappeared as the earth opened never to be seen again.
The traditional commentators condemn Korah’s actions. Rashi in the 11th century regarded the dissension as the ultimate act of separation. Rather than work within, Korah took himself out to seize control. Whereas Sforno in the 16th century determined that Korah gathered his own loyalists to rise up against Moses, in the 18th century, Or HaChayim wondered what did Korah take really, and expressed amazement at the list of outstanding ancestors of Korach whom the Torah did list.
“A modern commentator (quoted by Erica Brown) uses the Akkadian equivalent “lequ,” to take, as “to learn, to understand” as in the grasping of facts or knowledge. The leadership grasped what was happening and “confronted Moses with their grievances.” (Leadership in the Wilderness; Authority and Anarchy in the Book of Numbers, Erica Brown, in chapter 9)
Maybe Korah wasn’t as bad as we have been made to believe. Though the Torah clearly condemned Korah for his rebellion, I am not willing to dismiss him so easily or to take the biblical view of him without recognizing the evolution of how diverse opinions and perspectives wove its way into our tradition.
The Talmud stands in contrast to what we find in the Torah. It contains majority and minority opinions. It elaborates on debate rather than squelch it or have the earth swallow dissenters. It seeks to grasp understanding. My assertion here is on a meta level and the specifics might provide other kinds of examples, yet we do know the culture the Talmud displayed in its many arguments and narratives. It transformed critique, complaint, and criticism into a diverse panoply of voices and opinions arguing, learning, and listening from each other.
This is the Jewish way of what we have inherited and what animates us in how we function. It is also the legacy handed down to us by those who had the courage to separate from the tyranny of the monarch they experienced and launched a most imperfect union but a union nonetheless.
I name here their ignorance and myopic decisions regarding people of color, women, indigenous population on the land, LGBTQ and so many more.
Embedded within the declaration of independence, they penned these words:
“…all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”
Though they were willing to continue too much suffering for sure and to become desensitized by it, they laid the foundation that critique, complaint, and criticism can move people to consider what they might change as a result.
As our the declaration of independence concludes, it reminds us of our destiny and our fate:
“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
Ultimately it will be our vote and our active participation in societal concerns that transform our ability to experience life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
We have enough traumas in the world to activate our shared communal pride. Please God, we don’t need a national trauma, just the will of the people to make life better even if we must complain and criticize in order to help the vulnerable among us, our neighbors, our families, our communities, and all humanity with whom our destiny and fate are bound together — with or without freedom fries.
Shabbat Shalom! שבת שלום
- We celebrate Shabbat this week with Qabbalat Shabbat at 6:00 p.m. inside in Levi Auditorium. Register to join on Zoom.
- Register here for Global Riverway Project Shabbat with JDC Entwine (20s & 30s) at 6:45 p.m.
- On Shabbat morning, we gather at 9:00 a.m. in the library for a short Shabbat service and Torah reading, followed by a lively discussion of this week’s Torah portion. All levels and abilities are welcomed. Register to join on Zoom.
- Gather online to say goodbye to Shabbat with a lay-led Havdalah on Zoom at 8:00 p.m
- See Temple Israel’s webpage for Livesteam options.
I continue to value the many comments you exchange with me through these Shabbat Awakenings. Share with me what you think . Your email goes directly to me!
Rabbi Elaine Zecher