Rabbi's Blog

Over these coming Days of Awe, I invite you to join me in looking at our lives today through the questions of a teaching of the great first century Sage Hillel in Pirke Avot (1:14):

אם אין אני לי מי לי?

If I am not for myself, who will be for me?

וכשאני לעצמי מה אני?

And if I am just for myself, what am I?

ואם לא עכשו אימתי?

And if not now, when?

Many of us are descended from immigrants or refugees who came to this country fleeing persecution and in search of a better life. They had the courage to be guided by the first of Hillel’s questions, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?”

But even before they were on their feet, these Jewish immigrants had set up many organizations of mutual aid and support, from the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society to Hebrew Free Loans. They were asking “If I am only for myself, what am I?” And from generation to generation that circle of support grew, so that as our families became established in this "Goldene Medinah," they became active in struggles that were not just for the Jewish community, but for others, such as Civil Rights and International Refugees (which HIAS grew to support).

Today, we ask the third urgent question: If not now, when? It is no longer enough to look out for our own community or even just our own country. We are living in a pivotal time, when the human race is asked to make dramatic changes to insure a peaceful and livable planet for future generations. During these Days of Awe we will be have the opportunity to discover new mitzvot so that we can act locally as we think globally.

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If I am not for myself, who will be for me? First, as Jews, we must be for ourselves, to have pride in ourselves and defend ourselves. We can’t be “a light unto the nations” if God forbid our own light has gone out.  Jewish tradition says that there are 613 mitzvot or commandments in the Torah. The philosopher Emil Fackenheim taught that after the Holocaust, a 614^th commandment has been added: to survive as Jews, to keep the memory of those lost alive, and to keep our faith in God and humanity. Otherwise, we would do the ultimate sin of giving the Nazi oppressor a posthumous victory.

To paraphrase the teachings of Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, a modern Orthodox theologian, after the Holocaust, it's a moral imperative for Jews to be for ourselves by claiming power, including by supporting the State of Israel as a safe haven for the Jewish people. In his words, “To practice tikkun olam, one must be alive. To choose powerlessness is a sin, an invita­tion for evil to triumph.” At the same time he says, “ Jewish power is never self-validating or absolute. That would be idolatry. Therefore, power must be limited, guided and judged.” (Including by the checks and balances of the Israeli Supreme Court.)

To be for ourselves also means to fight antisemitism at home and abroad by working with leaders, educators and law enforcement to stand up to hate in all forms. It means supporting the work of organizations like the AJC, ADL, and United States Holocaust Museum, building coalitions and raising awareness.

But is “being for ourselves as Jews” all about standing up to our enemies and detractors? You may have heard the old joke (and you’ll know it’s old because of the content): “What’s the definition of a Jewish telegram? ‘Start worrying. Details to follow.”

I have always preferred to focus on a positive approach to being Jewish, the joy and rather than the oy. Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg of blessed memory, my Orthodox Rabbi in my hometown of San Antonio, pointed out that the Torah includes two strong commandments to remember. On the one hand, in the book of Deuteronomy we are commanded to remember Amalek, a ruthless tribe that attacked the weak and tired Israelites on our way out of Egypt, and became a symbol for all the baseless hatred toward the Jewish people throughout history. We must unfortunately remember the lessons of history: the Amaleks, Pharaohs, and Hitlers of every generation. Otherwise, history may be doomed to repeat itself.

But a more beautiful and uplifting mitzvah to remember comes from the book of Exodus. There, in the 10 Commandments, we are commanded to remember Shabbat and to keep it holy. Shabbat is a “taste of the world to come,” a weekly recurring experience of the world we as Jews aspire to build, with peace, harmony, and dignity for all. No matter what their circumstances, often far more threatening than any we face today, our ancestors never gave up on the beauty of Shabbat and the dream of creating a Shabbat world for everyone. When we “remember Shabbat,” and live our lives by it, Judaism has a meaning beyond survival. I believe that we can best be “for ourselves” as Jews by living a life filled with Jewish learning, joy, and celebration. That is the real triumph over our adversaries.

Now we turn to Hillel’s second question, “If I am only for myself what am I?” How does that apply to the Jewish people today?

Being for ourselves as Jews is inseparable from being for civil rights, welcome, and equality for all people. It is doing the hard but also joyful work of building relationships and alliances with other groups, particularly other minorities (while realizing that the Jewish people itself is a very diverse people encompassing intersectional identities). This isn’t just self-interest, because only a tolerant society will ultimately tolerate us, but because this is what the Torah demands in its many mitzvoth to love our neighbor, love the stranger, and pursue justice and peace. As a late beloved colleague, Rabbi Dr. Sarah Tauber once told me, Hillel’s saying, encompassing being for ourselves and for others, “is not a segregation model or a zero-sum. Racists say the opposite of Hillel: ‘if I am for others, I lose.’ Jewish tradition is the anti-zero sum. If we are for others, we are for ourselves as well.”

         As Jews, let us take action for the greater good of society, from our unique Jewish ethos. I call this expressing our “particular universalism.” For example, sign up with the Jewish Family Services of Delaware to help resettle refugees from Afghanistan or Ukraine. Join our Seaside Green Team that partners with Adamah, the Jewish environmental movement.  (Note: also check out the Jewish Earth Alliance).

We embody Hillel’s words right here at Seaside Jewish Community. To be for ourselves is to speak up against the growth of hate and antisemitism. Recently, members of Seaside’s Social Justice Committee along with the President and representatives of the Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice (SDARJ)have formed a new initiative, Speak Out Against Hate (SOAH). They are beginning to engage community leaders, businesses, elected officials, clergy, law enforcement personnel, and people of all ages and backgrounds in taking a stand against racism, antisemitism and all expressions of hatred. You can get involved by reaching out to cofounders Allan and Leslie Slan.

Another way to be for ourselves is to get involved in supporting the inner life of our community, by remembering Shabbat. Don’t wait for the High Holidays, come to our beautiful, spiritual, and often musical Shabbat services, join in our outstanding educational and social activities. Our community is run by volunteers. This New Year, decide to join one of our many active committees that matches your passion, where you can both be for yourself and be for others. You can find the committees and chairpeople in our directory and our newsletter.

Our wonderful Chesed (Lovingkindness) Committee insures that we are here for ourselves, for the members of our community, supporting them through times of illness or loss, providing meals and holiday care packages. But at Seaside we don’t only help ourselves. Our incredibly active Community Service Committee is involved with feeding the hungry through food rescue, soup kitchens, food delivery, collections, and many more activities to help the needy of Sussex County. Meanwhile our Social Justice engages with important issues like multi-faith activites, LGBTQ rights, gun violence, voting rights, climate change and greening our community. Rabbi Emerita Beth Cohen will speak more on Yom Kippur morning on how to get involved in our many activities for Tikkun Olam, repairing and healing the world.

My teacher, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, used to say, “the only way we can get it together, is together.” He taught that the sacramental picture of the 20^th century was the NASA photograph of Planet Earth viewed from space. For the first time, humanity could see our planet as a whole, vital and blue, a living jewel suspended in the vast black reaches of the cosmos. This is our Eden, our precious home. To truly be for ourselves is to realize that we are all interconnected, from the individual to the community, the Jewish people, and the greater world. We are each unique and we are all in this together. Shabbat Shalom and Shanah Tovah!

Photo: Earth, as photographed by Bill Anders 110 km above the Moon, on 24 December 1968 during Apollo 8. (via Wikimedia, Public Domain)

Your Question to Consider: As we embark on a new year, do you need be more “for yourself”? More “for others”? Or both?