15th Thought

The article I will be discussing, from the Jerusalem Post:
Here

This article is over Parashat Emor by Shlomo Riskin. Riskin asks why such attention is paid in the passage to the Israelite son of a mixed marriage who is stoned for his blasphemy. Why would a Jew blaspheme G-d who has just delivered them from Egypt, committing a transgression from which he derives no pleasure? From where does his anger and rebellion come from? Riskin cites Rashi's midrash, who argued that this Israelite never felt like a full Jew but was seen by the others as an outsider due to his mixed parentage. "This young man, certainly an Israelite from a halachic legal perspective, yearned for acceptance; instead he was rejected."

The concluding paragraph by Riskin is of such beauty that it deserves a full quote:
"The primary message of our redemption from Egypt is that we must "love the stranger [the other]" because we were strangers in Egypt. Hence this biblical passage emphasizes that the stranger must be treated as a full citizen, and that rejecting any human being is tantamount to smiting his soul. Only when we truly accept the stranger will God truly accept us as His redeemed people! "

This passage brings up two important points. One is the idea of who counts, under halachic, as a true Jew. This is a fraught issue anyone, but especially for Israel, given the Law of Return. I personally think the tent should be as large as possible. This story certainly illustrates the dangers of tying the tent door down. Why should any Jew who yearns for acceptance be rejected? Because they're conversion isn't recognized by another branch, because they're gay or transgendered, because they're female? Isn't that "smiting their soul"?

This is the other point, the love for not just the neighbor, but the stranger. I didn't grow up in a practicing household, and neither did my mother. Our family ties to our heritage were solely in recipies and Yiddish jokes. I really stumbled back into Judaism on accident, researching our family history for a school project. But I fell instantly in love with it, and one of the main reasons (amongst so many) was its ultimate respect for every human being as a shard of the Divine Light. The sentance "only when we truly accept the stranger will God truly accept us as His redeemed people!" makes my heart sing. I wanted to end on this article because I think it really sums up my attitude on Israel. Israel is important, because it protects the Jew who is always the stranger. And Israel must continue to grow and recognize other strangers currently cast out. This is a burden that we all share, while we support each other through our failings. May we reach this goal, may G-d accept us as His redeemed people!