The dangers of the "Individual"

As we enter the month of Elul, I return to teaching. As a teacher and parent, I think a great deal about the factors that craft our spiritual and religious personality. A passage from an article by Rav Lichtenstein (Orthodox Forum - Contemporary Impediments to Yirat Shamayim) , gave me pause for thought recently:

"We — more the ben Torah in us, than the modernist — are not content with training our children or ourselves to bring our faculties to bear upon coping with the quandaries of life and its vicissitudes. We strive to mold the self, proper — to maximize ability, to extract and exploit the potential immanent, by divine gift, in our inner core. We share the Greek passion for paideia, as an educational and civic
ideal — and this, out of religious aspiration, as an end in itself, rather than merely as a means to inculcate or improve the capacity for dealing with issues. Ba’alei ha-mussar speak incessantly of the responsibility to build kohot ha-nefesh [traits of the soul], beyond activating or energizing them; and this emphasis is an integral part of our authentic collective tradition. Moreover, we encourage, as part of this process, a stress upon dynamism and vibrancy: man as agent — gavra in contrast with object — hefza. This is reflected in the extraordinary emphasis upon will as the epicenter
of the self; and, in the tradition of the Rambam, free will, postulated as both experienced reality and desideratum …
And yet … the course may boomerang. The capacity for chosen spiritual aspiration may issue, instead, in vaulting secular ambition. The more powerful the personality, the graver the potential for rebellion, the stronger the passion for independence, the greater the reluctance to submit. The kabbalat ol malkhut shamayim of the docile may be less attractive or even significant, but it is probably more secure."

What Rav Lichtenstein is saying is that Judaism desires the empowerment of the individual, the strengthening of independent resolve. But that if we empower the individual, it can backfire! If that independence of mind and spirit, the dynamism and force of the individual suddenly turn away from Judaism to other pursuits, then we have proverbially shot ourselves in the foot..

Now, Rav Lichtenstein attributes the passion for individual empowerment "more to the ben Torah in us than the modernist," but I am not so sure. As I see the Haredi community, the sense of the collective - the uniform dressing, the prescripted life-choices, and the emphasis of conformity – is far more prominent. In the secular environment as in the Modern-Orthodox community, far more emphasis is placed on self-expression, individual life choice, wide ranging self enrichment and fulfillment.

I would go further: From a religious vantage point, the Modern Orthodox worldview sees the development of the individual as an expression of tzelem elokim, of the unique individuality that God has invested in each and every one of us. Talking to my Haredi cousins, they simply don't promote the self exploration and wide opportunities that we desire for our children. They will be less likely to value the experiences and ambitions that my kids voice – whether in music and art, whether in sport and reading, whether in understanding science or History. Their strength is in the group. They create a "weaker" individual., which engenders a more powerful collective. However, for the Modern Orthodox community, this very empowerment makes us more susceptible to people taking their choices elsewhere, away from Torah, and possibly from Judaism. We promote a stronger individual. The stakes are higher. Success will be sweeter, but failure is higher. In RAL's word's: "the stronger the “heart,” the greater the
potential for just such a life, the bolstering of personality and of will, as its dynamic principle, engenders the risk of enabling rebelliousness."

Rav Lichtenstein follows his logic in the field of intellectual development:

"Here, too, we deal with abilities much valued by ourselves, in the Torah world no less than in the academic. … the overriding emphasis upon study as a value, and the development of the capacity and the desire to study as central to spiritual growth.

… Almost inevitably — particularly, in the modern context — this entails inculcating and encouraging a modicum of critical perspective, as regards both the reading of texts and the analysis of concepts, which, in turn, fosters a measure of independence.

Here, too, then, we risk encounter with a golem who may turn upon his creator and/or mentor; with forces which, once unleashed, may reduce an educator to the role of the sorcerer’s apprentice. As the primeval serpent well knew — and this was crucial to his temptations, as appealing to spiritual pride, no less than to sensual appetite — da’at opens access to knowledge, and knowledge is power, not only in Bacon’s sense, as enabling a measure of human mastery over man’s natural environment, but as providing and possibly encouraging spiritual autonomy. That autonomy is, however, precisely what possibly distances man from the Creator, undermining yirat shamayim at its root."

This has given me some room for thought over the summer, both in regard to child-rasing, and the education of our students. Sometimes, the same values that we instill as an expression of our spiritual mission and legacy, have to be delicately nurtured so that they yield the correct fruits. And yet, as Rav Lichtenstein points out, intellectual empowerment – itself a mitzvah - generates independence of mind, but then … we can never have assurances as to where our minds will lead us!

Being Thankful

After taking a summer break, I am back. Thanks to all of you who said they missed the blog. Blogging is quite a burden when you commit yourself to posting multiple times a week. I have decided to go for a monthly post. And if something comes up in the middle, maybe I'll post about that too :-)

This month, I want to talk about being thankful. If a can use a cue from the Parsha, it is this week that we read the verse:

ואכלת ושבעת וברכת את ה' אלוקיך על הארץ הטובה אשר נתן לך

This is the passuk that tells us to say Birkhat Hamazon. But look at the context in Devarim ch.8! - It is all about taking nothing for granted. It is about realising that our good fortune is a blessing and that we shouldn't just live our lives forgetting to reflect upon the goodness that we have - our homes, our livelihood, even our food and clothing. No! We should activate our brains to connect those things to the Source of everything i.e. God.

I have always connected deeply to the notion of blessings. I have always felt taht brachot - made on food, new acquisitions, smell, scenery, lightning, thunder, the sea, the Queen, and what have you - they bring God into our lives in a very tangible way. A blessing is an opportunity to recognise God in the small things and to spiritualise even the most mundane moments.

But actually many of those moments are not mundane. Thunder and lightening are an awe inspiring experience. Experiencing new fruits when you watch them grow, is a real exciting feeling of renewal and the force of nature. Brachot allow us to capture emotions.

For example when the Talmud and Shulchan Aruch tell us that when we see a special friend, we accompany our delight at seeing them with a Birkhat Shehecheyanu. The intense emotion of friendship is channeled and heightened by the recital of the bracha.

I guess I am saying a few things:
1. That brachot help us stop and appreciate life
2. That they allow us to see God in the mundane physical world
3. That they are frequently (esp. Birkhot Hashevach) a way of giving expression to a heightened emotional experience.

And Birkhat Hamazon daily should help us appreciate our lives, our livelihood, our food and our country.

I once read a beautiful "Vort" by one of the Chassidishe Rebbes. (It was in a small book - Way of Man(?)- by Buber.) When Avraham feeds the 3 "men" who visit him - we know they were angels - it writes:
והוא עומד עליהם תחת העץ ויאכלו
And the question is, how can Abraham - a mere human - stand "above" the angels?

The answer is that in eating we stand above the angels. Angels are spiritual an disconnected with physical living. But with a bracha, with kashrut, with netilat yadayim, we can spiritualise the physical act of eating. But it is more than that.

When you think of a bracha, it is a very simple formulation. It essentially is a recognistion, a tribute that the goodness (or bad) of my life is from God. That is powerful.

First we have to see goodness. Then we have to know where it is from. Then we have to say thank you.
and when we say thank you and express appreciation, we become richer people. Berachot force us into this excercise.

My Rabbi (Rav Rimon) once spoke about an exercise that he recommended for families. He had noticed that his kids were arguing and acting a little selfish. He decided that before they each went to bed, they would say something nice that each family member had done to them that day. Very oson they were more appreciative and less accusatory.
(Now of course, when I tried this at home, it totally failed. The first kid refused to acknowledge that any of his siblings had been nice in any way that day! A total failure!)

My point is that when we acknowledge that there is good in our lives, and we appreciate it and express that, then we train our mind to be appreciative. We appreciate rather than accuse. We focus on the good rather than the annoying and bad. We live in a world which pursues more, which convinces us that we don't have enough, that others have more, that we are miserable because we lack so much. Advertising convinces us about all the things taht we "need" - that we don't need. And the feeling that we are needy makes us depressed. But in truth our society has so much. We are so fortunate. When we list our blessings, we begin to realise how much we do have. And then we become happier as we count our blessings and our good fortune for every little luxury and necessity that we benefit from.

שבת מנוחה

There is a song that Israeli kids sing on Friday's in Gan (and bigger kids in the army):

היום יום ששי
מחר שבת
שבת מנוחה

Now in the religious school system, they sing the words שבת קודש instead of שבת מנוחה. I never understood why. I imagine that the aim is in some manner to say that Shabbat is not simply a day to rest, unwind, relax but rather an active spiritual day in which we connect with God, and Torah etc.

But what's wrong with resting - just resting - sleeping, reading the newspaper (God forbid!), hanging with the wife 'n kids on Shabbat? After all, the famous Shabbat Zemer "Yom Zeh Leyisrael" has the chorus line of "Shabbat Menucha"! We use the phrase Shabbat Menucha in a Shabbat liturgy. And let's not forget... God Himself rested on Shabbat!

Soemtimes Shabbat is a crazy hectic day with lots of shul (too much sometimes ... dare I blaspheme?) and huge amount sof entertaining guests. It then is neither Shabbat Kodesh nor Shabbat Menucha.

And to create a spiritual "Shabbat Kodesh" is a challeneg in itself.

This has been a crazy week. This week, I, for one , am looking forward to a good 12 hour sleep tonight.
שבת מנוחה

Shlomo Artzi is a Belzer Chassid at Heart!

On the nrg site they have an amazing clip of Shlomo Artzi - maybe Israel's top rock artist. He was recording his music at a recording studio (some 12 years ago!) and next door was a choir singing Belzer niggunim in Yiddish. So watch Shlomo artzi singing like a true chassid, from the depths of his heart! (link here)

What can I say... it all just makes me think how bad it is that we are so enclaved here into our little sub-groups. Just look how a chance meeting in a recording studio brings different people together. If we all lived in more "mixed" environments, maybe we could erase so many of those divisions in Israeli society. It is amazing that although on a day to day basis religious and secular mix in a warm and very civil manner, stereotypes still prevail. Anyhow, if you ever doubted Shlomo Artzi's yiddshe neshama, here is proof.