I was dismayed to wake up to news the other day of an anti-semitic attack at a Los Angeles restaurant. Like anti-asian acts of hatred, acts against the BIPOC community and others, hate crimes against the Jewish community continue to rise. This attack was particularly obvious as the perpetrators, part of a pro-Palestinian mob, deliberately asked who was a Jew. As my colleagues at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles wrote in response, We call on the law enforcement and government to seek out the perpetrators, prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law and make clear that
such crimes of hate will not be tolerated in our city or in our country.
Years ago, signs maintaining Hate has no Home Here emerged on the Upper West Side and around the country. The Torah explicitly prohibits hatred of one's fellow in the verse Thou shall not hate your brother in your heart" (Lev. 19:17).
Ibn Ezra explains this command through the lens of the destruction of the Temple which was destroyed because of hatred of one's neighbor for no reason. From this, one might say the command applies only to one's own people. Yet, I believe the expectation is deeper, calling us to keep hatred far from the lifeblood that pumps throughout our being. Spanish commentator Ibn Ezra explains it is the way of those who hate a person to cover up their hatred in their hearts, just as it is said, the one that hates disassembles with their lips, but they hold deceit within them (Proverbs 26:24). Removing hatred from the heart is a matter of integrity. Midrash Kohelet Rabbah speaks of the many emotions of the heart. It can see, hear, speak, fall, stand, celebrate, cry and comfort (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 1:16). As the seat of our emotions, the heart holds a depth of who and how we are. Were hatred to sit with the heart, it would poison the heart center and bleed into other emotions. As the seat of wisdom, the heart is designed for discernment, demonstrated in First Kings when Solomon asks the holy one for a lev shomea/an attentive heart to judge the people and discern wisely. In response, Gd gifts Solomon with lev hacham v'navon/a wise and understanding heart (I Kings 3:9-12).
These days, we could all use lev hacham v'navon. As I write, Hamas and Israel are entering a cease fire. What will be when this message reaches your inbox I do not know. There has been much conversation about the complexity of the situation in Israel. Certainly, conflict in the middle east must be understood from a place of discernment and nuanced understanding. However, terrorist attacks are not complicated. They are a sad and terrifying expression of hatred that has infested the heart. As I've mentioned before, in the Torah the word hamas is understood as lawlessness, beyond civilization. This is the space of terrorism. Defense from terror is not about rights, it is about responsibility and obligation.
In this week's parasha, Naso, we find the Priestly Blessing that many offer their children on Friday night. Gd provides a formula with which Aaron and his sons will bless the people (Numbers 6:24-26). Then the Torah tells us, Thus they shall place my name on the people Israel and I will bless them (vs. 27). Whom does Gd commit to bless? One might presume it is the people. The priests offer the blessing formula and then Gd blesses the people. The Talmud suggests in Rabbi Yishmael's name that Gd also blesses the priests. Rabbi Akiva sees things differently, understanding that the priests bless the people and the Holy One affirms the blessing, as we know from Gd's promise to Abraham, And I will bless them that bless you (Genesis 12:3). However we understand this, what is clear today is that we are those priests. We have the capacity to offer blessings from the deepest place in our heart. Those blessings can help people feel safe, filled with grace and whole.
As we enter Shabbat, let us free our hearts from seeds of hatred and commit to turn towards one another in blessing. Let us model at home and in community, with our words and our deeds, what it means to raise up another and receive divine and holy affirmation from the heart. Standing with discerning hearts of wisdom and understanding, let us proclaim that hate has no home here - not in our neighborhood, not in our community, not in our country, not in our world and not in our heart.
Shabbat Shalom, rg
Congregation Habonim 103 West End Ave New York, NY 10023
