Parashat Ki Teitzei - Happy Birthday Marsha P. Johnson

            Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Ki Teitzei. In this parasha, sandwiched in among several verses about compassion and community safety, we find the following verse, “A woman may not dress in a man’s apparel, nor shall a man wear women’s clothing; for doing these things is abhorrent to the Lord your God.” Based on its placement, this verse is clearly meant to also communicate something about community safety, though today it is often used as a weapon to actively make some communities unsafe for transgender or gender non-conforming Jews.

            Our rabbis taught that this prohibition was more about sexual ethics than about gender presentation. Rashi worries that someone might crossdress in order to gain access to gender-segregated spaces for the sake of sexual encounters. Ramban and Rashbam both worry it’s a form of peacocking - that is, that it would be used as a way to stick out and garner undeserving sexual attention. So if some is truly dressing in a way that makes themselves comfortable for their own sake and not with any immoral sexual intent, we can interpret that in fact the Torah would permit that.

Furthermore, “The Sages in Our Own Time” quoted in The Five Books of Miriam, explain that from a historical perspective the prohibition, like the prohibition in Leviticus against tattoos and many other commandments throughout our Torah, was probably in direct response to what the pagans around the Ancient Israelites were doing. Crossdressing and gender-bending was a part of the mythology and worship in some ancient Near Eastern religions, especially for the female cults of the goddesses Inanna, Anat, and Ishtar. These were powerful goddesses who each achieved greatness often through masculine tasks and traits, and embodied paradoxical aspects: maiden/mother/crone and virgin/whore paradigms encased in one goddess. Ancient Israelites worshiping one God who is either envisioned as solely male or completely agender have no need for this kind of empowerment through gender-bending. Yet, as I mentioned last week, it seems silly in today’s world of religious pluralism to be threatened by the goings-on of parallel group who is only trying live their own lives and not trying to force their customs on those that have different religious practices.  

Kalonymus ben Kalonymous, a rabbinical leader in 14th century France, writes in his work Even Bochan, “Father in heaven, who did miracles for our ancestors with fire and water, You changed the fire of Chaldees so it would not burn hot, You changed Dina in the womb of her mother to a girl, You changed the staff to a snake before a million eyes, You changed [Moses’] hand to [leprous] white and the sea to dry land. In the desert you turned rock to water, hard flint to a fountain. Who would then turn me from a man to woman? Were I only to have merited this, being so graced by your goodness. . . And the sorrow of the impossible is a human pain that nothing will cure and for which no comfort can be found. So, I will bear and suffer until I die and wither in the ground. And since I have learned from the tradition that we bless both the good and the bitter, I will bless in a voice, hushed and weak, ‘Blessed are you, O Lord, who has not made me a woman’ [a traditional morning blessing for all men]." What would Kalonymus say if he could live today when gender roles could be more fluid, modern science could help him look how he feels, and modern sociology might even validate these truths? Perhaps then he could bless with gusto, “Blessed are you, O Lord, who has made me in the Divine Image [the blessing Mishkan Tefillah has in its morning liturgy in place of the aforementioned blessing].”

Tonight marks the birthday of Marsha P. Johnson, one of the early movers and shakers of LGBTQ liberation in America. Born in 1945, Marsha P. Johnson was her chosen name, and she would tell people that the “P.” stood for “pay it no mind” when people asked about her gender. Like many other members of the Greenwich Village LGBTQ community in the ‘60’s, Marsha was arrested more than once, but once she used her famous “Pay it no mind” line on a judge who was so amused by it that he released her and charges were dropped. Marsha wasn’t Jewish, but her participation in various NYC-based activist groups, including her role in the Stonewall Uprising, led the way for Queer folks from every background, including those in our own communities, to be free to be who they are, and we thank her for that. Wherever her spirit resides now, I hope it is at peace today.  

In our Sefirat HaBinyan, we are 15 days, that is two weeks and one day, away from Rosh HaShanah. The mystical realm for this day is Chesed she’b’Tiferet, balanced kindness or compassionate kindness. In the time of teshuvah, of returning to our souls and ourselves and our community, let us ensure that our community is open to all those seeking to return to their truest selves. Let us ensure that our community is compassionate and safe for Jews of all genders and gender expressions. Reb Zalman offers for this day:

“Psalm 27:13-[They would have crushed me] had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. (#1)” Giving myself and others gentle compassion that there is hope at the end of the tunnel. Everyone must have hope to go on. Each of us must have hope and belief in our own hearts but also reach out to those we see in need.“Psalm 27:13- I wouldn't have survived If I hadn't hoped that I would see, yet, Your goodness, God, fully alive on earth. (#2)”

This Shabbat, may we be open vessels, willing to hold space for a multitude of identities, that these final days of 5778 may be for acceptance, compassion, and love. Amen and Shabbat Shalom.

Parashat Shoftim and False Prophecy

            Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Shoftim, which dictates the Biblical justice system in quite some detail and which gives us one of my favorite commandments, “Justice justice shall you pursue.” One of concerns in this parasha is about prophesy and divination. The Torah commands elsewhere that divination and soothsaying is forbidden, but in this portion God assures the people that there will be, from time to time, prophets that God will send and God will put the proper words into that prophets mouth, and it won’t be like other forms of divination or soothsaying with witchcraft and wizardry but direct inspiration from God.

            The possibilities for the people to fall into a trap of following a false prophet are myriad. The most common or obvious is the prophet of a false god. Our prophets often reference the Israelites following pagan gods and forgetting the One and Only God as the reason for the exile. However, there is also the possibility of a supposed prophet claiming to speak for HaShem, but who HaShem did not give prophecy to. Our prophets also reference these on occasion as the prophets employed by the priesthood or the monarchy in order to maintain their power and discredit the holy prophets who spoke Truth to Power and warned against the corruption of the powerful.

The Torah equates these differing styles of false prophecy, but I think the latter is far more dangerous. If someone is speaking from a different position from you entirely, it is much easier to respect their opinion and maintain your own. Those gods don’t fit into my monotheism, but they aren’t hurting me or maligning my God, so, hey, pagans, you do you. If someone claims to be speaking on behalf of my people or my God but offers harmful words that protect the already powerful and oppress the marginalized, that is far more distressing. The God of the Hebrew Bible can be quick to anger, and proscribes some extreme punishments, but God also commands us to love one another, to be holy, to protect the marginalized in society and to take care of the environment. In this parasha alone, we are reminded to pursue equality and justice, to have fair trials with multiple judges and witnesses, to never convict someone until we are completely certain, to leave prejudice out of the community.

So when someone uses “God”, “faith”, or my absolute favorite, “Judeo-Christian values” to justify hate, bigotry, greed, injustice, environmental destruction, or any other means to further subjugate marginalized voices, it seems to me false prophesy. Claiming to speak with the authority of the One True God, but spouting words which I cannot believe HaShem would put in their mouths, they malign HaShem and embarrass and potentially endanger all people of faith. We can overcome this by speaking words of Divine peace and love, repeating the holy commandments that uplift, and committing to public acts of good faith in our communities.

Today there are 22 days left until Rosh HaShana, which is 3 weeks and 1 day. We are in the mystical realm of Chesed sheb’Netzach, enduring kindness, this Shabbat. Reb Zalman offers for this:

BUILDING THE REALM-Day 22

“Psalm 27:6- And then my head will be raised above my enemies around me, and I will offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of jubilation; I will sing and chant to the Lord. (#1)” Even the strongest of us need love to endure. The Lord does not forget me but I must be counted by my earthly family too. As we sing Halleluyah up to the One let me gather in my holy sisters and brothers to celebrate. “Psalm 27:6- And now, as You have held my head high despite the presence of my powerful foes I prepare to celebrate and thrill, singing and making music to You, Yah!”(#2)

May we be vessels for enduring kindness, matching the everlasting Divine love our liturgy speaks of, and may we bring holiness and justice into the world through acts of Tikun Olam, that the finals days of 5778 be for goodness and peace.

Parashat Re'eh: Differing Narratives

Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Re’eh, which, among other things, foretells the building of the Temple in Jerusalem. The parasha tells the Israelites to destroy all the altars they encounter when they enter the land of Israel, meaning the idolatrous idols. Moses says, “You shall not do this to your Lord.” However, there are several generations between this and when Solomon builds the Temple, and in the meantime, priests build altars in each tribe’s land. Once the Temple is built, the Books of Kings would have us believe that there is no longer any need or desire for these lesser temples. There are passing references in the Prophets of these altars being destroyed, mostly blaming the Israelites for turning toward idolatry. The Haftarah for this parasha promotes the supremacy of the Temple in Jerusalem, and being a Haftarah of consolation, assures the Israelites in Exile that they will once again make sacrifices there.

I recently read The Secret Book of Kings, a book translated into English from Israeli author Yochi Brandes’s מלכים ג, meaning III Kings. It tells the story of much of the Books of Samuel and Kings from the perspective of Saul’s family. It posits that these books of the Bible were written by what amounts to David’s propagandists. From the point of view of The Secret Book of Kings, Solomon had his goons destroy the altars and temples in all the tribal lands when he was building his Temple to force the Israelites to come to Jerusalem any time they wanted to make a sacrifice to HaShem. To be sure, in The Secret Book of Kings, these local altars are unquestionably to the One God of Israel, and not to the Queen of Heaven as the prophets claim later in our Bible as if to comply with the prophecy in this week’s parasha, yet still they are destroyed.

This is just one of many possible examples of how there may be multiple narratives surrounding a singular event. Of course, The Secret Book of Kings is a self-described fiction book, whereas the Books of Samuel and Kings have at least some historical backing. Yet, the realities from our Bible which are verified by archeology do not necessarily contradict anything in the novel and we know historically that ancient archives were chronicled by those in the palace, often exaggerating for the sake of elevating the king’s doings or the military successes of the ancient civilization doing the chronicling. Even to this day, we talk about how history is written by the victors and there may be multiple narratives to every tale told.

This week marked the anniversaries of the two atomic bombs dropped on civilian cities in Japan. On Monday, a story came out that the last surviving member of the crew that flew over Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945 has no regrets about his participation in the deaths over approximately 160,000 people. To be sure, I do not want this 95-year-old who served our country bravely to be wallowing in regret. I understand that the Japanese bombed the U.S. first and that the crew that dropped the bomb didn’t know it was an atom bomb and that even the people who did know what they were sending really didn’t understand the long term effects of such a bomb. But if we heard the narrative of that day or of the ensuing years of radiation from someone who live in or around Hiroshima, what would that story look like? Would it cause a twinge of guilt or regret in those responsible? Would it shock those of us who grew up on a different telling of the tale?

Differing narratives doesn’t necessarily mean one is right and one is wrong. It just means there were multiple experiences of the same occurrence, and different fallouts for the people involved and often also the people surrounding or descending from the people involved. Realizing this does not have to cause regret, but it can be an opportunity for pause. For reflection. For teshuvah. Teshuvah does not just mean repentance or have to connote feeling sorry; the word also means returning and answering and could also be a means of taking ownership of difficult choices one had to make and stand by.

The spiritual realm for this day of Sefirat HaBinyan is Chesed she’b’Hod, Kindness in Majesty. Reb Zalman’s reflection for this day is, “Once upon a time we were children. If lucky we had loving parents to take care of and nurture us. They were the support posts to lean against as we stretched ourselves out into the world. How kind they must have been to put up with all our silliness. I am reminded of this as I spend the night in the house where I did most of my growing up. Each of us, mom and I, do things in our way in our respective worlds. Coming together now we must both be humble, be sensitive, and honor the other.” Just as children and parents often have different experiences of the same event, both real and valid, so too do most any two people or peoples. But we can come together in humility and sensitivity, honoring each other, and learn to see from the other’s point of view. In this way, we can become more balanced, holding up kindness and understanding as a crowning achievement.

Today there are 29 days left until erev Rosh HaShannah, which is 4 weeks, and 1 days. May we be vessels of majestic kindness, using this period of Sefirat HaBinyan for good, bringing peace and blessing to all those around us. Amen and Shabbat Shalom.