#and I need to make recordings of my students Torah portion

[garlic-and-cloves]

Oh no what have I done

[keshetchai]

Genuine answer:

There are decades of Jewish feminists considering, retelling, reframing, and reclaiming Lilith and her story. There's an entire Jewish Women's magazine called Lilith, even. The complexities of the Jewish woman's struggle with the very misogynistic characterization of Lilith as Adam's first wife are real, and have of course, been explored.

I have a favorite Jewish feminist version of Lilith's story, actually! It's by far my favorite interpretation which wrestles with "misogynistic story" and "kills babies," and "mother of monsters," AND says "how was this framed? Can we frame it differently without dismissing all the facts? What about her agency?"

In short, it's an excellent feminist midrashic take on Lilith, her infamy, and a slight reimagining. But it doesn't make Lilith into a Goddess or someone to be Worshiped. It just makes her complicated.

On the whole, the vast majority of people doing this still aren't worshipping or "working with," Lilith. There might be some Jews who do, but this would be a teeny tiny minority, because...well, why? God doesn't have a gender or sex, so why insist on making a random "goddess" to balance out gender or something?

What's the point? If you want to say Goddess instead of God in English, like...just do that? You don't need Lilith for it. If you want to use the feminine Hebrew words instead of masculine terms, then just do that.

Also slight-ish correction on the issue of women's ordination, if you're interested/curious!:

I believe that is essentially more of a Christian line of reasoning for women's ordination.

The Hebrew Bible itself doesn't really involve a whole lot of ordination — you're either born a Kohen (Priest) or you aren't. A woman born to a priestly family is a Kohenet, but typically doesn't bear the same responsibilities of the priesthood and for the most part, they still don't.

There's a very very small subset of modern day feminist Kohenet women, but iirc they're using this as a title one can earn, and not all actually women from priestly lineages.

There are no Rabbis in the Hebrew Bible, because the Rabbis are essentially the students of the Pharisees (many of whom were Kohanim (priestly lineage) all of whom were scholars of Jewish law) after the fall of the second temple.

The Mishnah portion of the Talmud essentially tracks this lineage from priests and scholars of Torah who were Pharisees to the people known as Rabbis. And yes, they were almost entirely men. There *are* some very learned women in the Talmud, women whose expertise or Torah knowledge are consulted or praised, even one who helps teach in a beit midrash (school) I believe, and I think you can make an argument from that for female rabbis being "ordained," as it were.

But also there have always been women considered to be prophets within Judaism and the Hebrew Bible, which does help.

The issue of women in spiritual leadership positions is actually much older than most people think! We actually have some records of various important community titles used by Jewish women via their epitaphs in the ancient Roman Empire. They weren't rabbi or rabbanit, (and not all of them are simply "Kohenet,"), but they did indicate importance or respect within the religious community, and some of them even seemed to have other freedoms as Jewish women that their pagan counterparts typically did not.

Then you get a few women that pop up after this time period every so often who are exceptional Torah scholars and probably teachers. At least one ran her father's beit midrash. With enough knowledge or students they sometimes get called rabbi out of respect.

Side note:

Ordination (smichah, also spelled semichah or semikhah) as a concept probably also wasn't always as formalized as you might picture ordination into say, being a Catholic Priest, either. The smichah process was sometimes just one Rabbi conferring authority to their student who was deemed ready (with enough learning) or three rabbis conferring said authority to rule in matters of Jewish law onto someone. The process formalized more and more over time (in the sense of like, now some rabbinical programs are x number of years of university and confer a degree at the end as part of the ordination).

This is part of why I feel like when communities called women in history their Rabbi, I could them as female rabbis, even if formalized degree program ordination of a women didn't happen until shortly before the Holocaust.

Is it ok to convert to Judaism so I can work with Lilith without breaking closed practice rules? Ive been told only jews can work with her. I don't believe in the Jewish god but I believe in Her and feel a connection.

For starters, I don’t know a ton about Lilith, aside from yes, only Jews can work with her. I’m also no expert on conversion, as I’m not a convert nor have I been heavily involved in someone else’s conversion. For this reason, I’d like other Jews who see this, especially converts, to add in their thoughts on the matter. My answer is going to be relatively vague considering the question at hand

That said, I would be very wary of someone converting specifically for Lilith, especially if they don’t believe in any tenets of Judaism. You don’t believe in our god, not all converts do. But there’s so much more to Judaism that conversion requires beyond that belief. My question for you, anon, is what other reasons do you have for converting? If it’s only for Lilith, you don’t actually want to be Jewish. You just want access to a closed practice. Ask yourself: am I ready to join a new culture and ethnicity? Am I ready to face antisemitism? Am I ready to analyze the antisemitic thoughts and beliefs I already have and uphold? Am I ready to support a new community? Am I interested in adopting other beliefs and practices of Judaism?

Talking to a rabbi will likely give you even more questions you need to ask before you can know if conversion is right for you. As I said, I know relatively little about conversion, and I know nothing about you, anon. If you feel serious about converting already, tell a rabbi exactly what you’ve sent me, and ask to have a more in-depth discussion on your interest in converting. After getting to know you more, they’ll likely have a better answer on whether converting because of Lilith is appropriate or not

At the end of the day, I cannot tell you whether conversion is right for you. What I can say is that it’s a serious decision that takes a lot of time and hard work. Converting to Judaism is not something a rabbi will let you do unless they’re certain you are ready for all that entails

@ folks in the notes, if you intend to respond to anon’s message, please be kind and assume they’re asking in good faith <3

[dfroza]

A new covenant of grace is illuminated

in Today’s reading of the Scriptures with the 7th chapter of the book of Hebrews that looks back into the ancient book of Genesis:

In the Book of Genesis, we read about when Melchizedek, the king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he returned from defeating King Chedorlaomer and his allies. Melchizedek blessed our ancestor, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything captured in the battle.

Let’s look more closely at Melchizedek. First, his name means “king of righteousness”; and his title, king of Salem, means “king of peace.” The Scriptures don’t name his mother or father or descendants, and they don’t record his birth or his death. We could say he’s like the Son of God: eternal, a priest forever.

And just imagine how great this man was, that even our great and honorable patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the spoils. Compare him to the priests who serve in our temple, the descendants of Levi, who were given a commandment in the law of Moses to collect one-tenth of the income of the tribes of Israel. The priests took that tithe from their own people, even though they were also descended from Abraham. But this man, Melchizedek, who did not belong to that Levite ancestry, collected a tenth part of Abraham’s income; and although Abraham had received the promises, it was Melchizedek who blessed Abraham. Now I don’t have to tell you that it is the lesser one who receives a blessing from the greater. In the case of the priests descended from Levi, they are mortal men who receive a tithe of one-tenth; but the Scriptures record no death of Melchizedek, the one who received Abraham’s tithe. I guess you could even say that Levi, who receives our tithes, originally paid tithes through Abraham because he was still unborn and only a part of his ancestor when Abraham met Melchizedek.

If a perfect method of reconciling with God—a perfect priesthood—had been found in the sons of Levi (a priesthood that communicated God’s law to the people), then why would the Scriptures speak of another priest, a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, instead of, say, from the order of Aaron? What would be the need for it? It would reflect a new way of relating to God because when there is a change in the priesthood there must be a corresponding change in the law as well. We’re talking about someone who comes from another tribe, from which no member has ever served at God’s altar. It’s clear that Jesus, our Lord, descended from the tribe of Judah; but Moses never spoke about priests from that tribe. Doesn’t it seem obvious? Jesus is a priest who resembles Melchizedek in so many ways; He is someone who has become a priest, not because of some requirement about human lineage, but because of the power of a life without end. Remember, the psalmist says,

You are a priest forever—

in the honored order of Melchizedek.

Because the earlier commandment was weak and did not reconcile us to God effectively, it was set aside— after all, the law could not make anyone or anything perfect. God has now introduced a new and better hope, through which we may draw near to Him, and confirmed it by swearing to it. The Levite order of priests took office without an oath, but this man Jesus became a priest through God’s oath:

The Eternal One has sworn an oath

and cannot change His mind:

You are a priest forever.

So we can see that Jesus has become the guarantee of a new and better covenant. Further, the prior priesthood of the sons of Levi has included many priests because death cut short their service, but Jesus holds His priesthood permanently because He lives His resurrected life forever. From such a vantage, He is able to save those who approach God through Him for all time because He will forever live to be their advocate in the presence of God.

It is only fitting that we should have a High Priest who is devoted to God, blameless, pure, compassionate toward but separate from sinners, and exalted by God to the highest place of honor. Unlike other high priests, He does not first need to make atonement every day for His own sins, and only then for His people’s, because He already made atonement, reconciling us with God once and forever when He offered Himself as a sacrifice. The law made imperfect men high priests; but after that law was given, God swore an oath that made His perfected Son a high priest for all time.

The Book of Hebrews, Chapter 7 (The Voice)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 47th chapter of the book of Jeremiah that pronounces God’s Judgment upon the Philistines:

The word of the Eternal came to Jeremiah the prophet about the Philistines, before Pharaoh attacked Gaza, one of Philistia’s five major cities.

Eternal One: Do you see how the waters are rising in the north?

They will become an overwhelming flood.

They will flow across the land, covering everything—

including the towns and the people who live there.

Those people will cry out;

those who live in that land will weep loudly,

For they will hear the pounding hooves of the charging horses,

the clatter of enemy chariots, and the rumbling of their wheels.

Fathers will panic and abandon their children,

their hands limp with fear.

For the time will come

to destroy all the Philistines.

She will find no help in Tyre and Sidon—

these allies, too, will be cut off.

The Eternal will destroy the Philistines,

this remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.

The people of Gaza will shave their heads in mourning,

for Ashkelon is no more.

You who remain in the valley,

how long will you cut yourselves in grief?

You cry out, “O sword of the Eternal, when will you stop?

Return to your sheath, rest from your destruction, and be still!”

But how can His sword be still

when the Eternal has given it a direct order?

For Ashkelon and those along the coast will be no more!

The Book of Jeremiah, Chapter 47 (The Voice)

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for Wednesday, September 29 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons that points to Genesis:

Each week in synagogues across the world a portion from the Torah (called a parashah) is studied, discussed, and chanted. Jewish tradition has divided the Torah into 54 of these portions - roughly one for each week of the year - so that in the course of a year the entire Torah has been recited during services. The final reading of this cycle occurs on the holiday of Simchat Torah ("Joy of the Torah"), which immediately follows the holiday week of Sukkot. On Simchat Torah, we celebrate both the completion of the year's Torah Reading cycle as well as the start of a brand new cycle. Each Jewish year, then, we “rewind” the scroll and begin again. The sages have wisely said that you cannot compare studying Torah for the 49th time to studying it for the 50th time....

Our spiritual inheritance is bound up with the Torah: it is part of our story, our history, our heritage (Gal. 3:7; Rom. 4:16; Luke 24:27). The stories of Torah serve as parables and allegories that inform the deeper meaning of the ministry of Messiah: “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come (1 Cor. 10:11). “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom.15:4). "All Scripture is inspired by God..." which refers first of all to the Torah, the Writings, and the Prophets which attest to the Messiah (2 Tim. 3:16-17). You are therefore no longer a stranger or outsider to the heritage of the LORD but a partaker of the covenantal blessings (Eph. 2:12,19). Disciples of Yeshua are called talmidim (תַּלְמִידִים) -- a word that comes from lamad (לָמַד) meaning "to learn." Among other things, then, following the Messiah means becoming a student of the Scriptures He loved and fulfilled (Matt. 5:17-18; Luke 24:44-45). Only after learning from Yeshua as your Teacher will you be equipped to "go to all the nations and teach" others (Matt. 28:19).

We read V'zot HaBerakhah ("this is the blessing") at the end of Simchat Torah, which is the final portion of the entire Torah itself... After reading this portion, we "rewind the scroll" back to the beginning to begin reading parashat Bereshit. We do this every year because Talmud Torah - the study of Torah - is an ongoing venture in the life of a Jew. In this connection, it is interesting to note that the very first letter of the Torah is the Bet (בּ) in the word bereshit (בְּרֵאשִׁית), and the very last letter of the Torah is the Lamed (ל) in the word Israel (יִשְׂרָאֵל). Putting these letters together we get the word lev (לֵב), "heart," suggesting that the entire Torah - from the first letter to the last - reveals the heart and love of God for us... Moreover, the first letter of Scripture is a Bet (בּ), as explained above, and the last letter is a Nun (ן) in the word "Amen" (אָמֵן), so the whole Bible - from beginning to end - reveals the Person of God the Son (בֶּן) for us...

Since we begin the Torah again for a new year, it is worthwhile to remind ourselves that the Scriptures speaks from an omniscient, "third person" perspective. When we read, "In the beginning, God (אֱלהִים) created the heavens and the earth," we must ask who exactly is speaking? Who is the narrator of the Torah? The very next verse states that the Spirit of God (רוּחַ אֱלהִים) was hovering over the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2), followed by the first “direct quote” of God Himself: i.e., "Let there be light" (Gen. 1:3). The creative activity of Elohim (God) and the presence of Ruach Elohim (the Spirit of God) are therefore narrated by an omniscient Voice or "Word of God." Obviously the Spirit of God is God Himself (who else?), just as the Word of God is likewise God Himself, and therefore the first verses of the Torah reveal the nature of the Godhead. God is One in the sense of echdut, “unity,” “oneness,” and and so on, though not “one” in the monistic sense of a solipsistic mind (νοῦς). God is beyond all theological predications: there can be no sense of “person” apart from relationship, and therefore God’s Personhood entirely transcends all our finite conceptions - and yet God forever is One..... [Hebrew for Christians]

and another about Hebraic significance:

The “appointed times” of the Scriptures (i.e., mo’edim: מוֹעֲדִים) were given by God to help us turn away from the omnipresent urge within the human heart to embrace vanity: "Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father and guard (שָׁמַר) my Sabbaths (שַׁבְּתתַי)... Do not turn to worthlessness (i.e., אֱלִיל) or make for yourselves any molten gods" (Lev. 19:3-4). In other words, the Biblical holidays - including Shabbat, Passover, and so on - were intended to help us to sanctify ("set apart," "make holy") the times and seasons in order to remind us of God’s Presence (Psalm 104:19). Therefore they are called mikra’ei kodesh (מִקְרָאֵי קדֶשׁ), “times in which holiness is proclaimed” (Lev. 23:2). The Torah’s declaration that these days are holy implies that they are set apart for special activities, such as commemorating God as our Creator (Shabbat), our Redeemer (Passover), our Resurrection (Firstfruits), our Lawgiver (Shavuot), our King (Rosh Hashanah), our High Priest (Yom Kippur), our Sustainer (Sukkot), and so on. In this connection it should be noted that it is a mistake to assume that the divine calendar was somehow abrogated with the cross of Yeshua, since all of the Jewish holidays center on Him, and indeed the advent of the Ruach Ha-Kodesh (Holy Spirit) occurred after the resurrection of Yeshua, precisely during the prescribed 50th day Jubilee of Shavuot or “Pentecost” (Acts 1:8; 2:1-4).

Presently our lives “suspended” between two worlds - this world with its illusions (olam hazeh), and the real world of spiritual substance and meaning (olam haba). We exist in an “already-not-yet” state of expectation and yearning where we must consciously mediate the truth of heaven by bringing it “down to earth.” This is a truth war, and by truth I do not mean intellectual knowledge as much as the living truth that marks the lifestyle and vision of a follower of Messiah. We consciously remember Torah truth; we choose to always "set the LORD before us," and take "every thought captive to the passion of Messiah..." May God help each of us heed the call to walk in holiness by the power of His love and grace. Amen. [Hebrew for Christians]

9.28.21 • Facebook

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

September 29, 2021

Knowing Christ

“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” (Philippians 3:10-11)

When Paul speaks of knowing the Lord Jesus, he stresses the process involved in reaching the desired level of knowledge. These particular points of awareness (knowing the resurrection power, the fellowship of sufferings, and being conformed to His death) are not mere academic achievements but part of the process of experiencing life and personal study of God’s Word that produces confident knowledge.

John’s letter gives several key signs on how to “know” the Savior, one of which is keeping God’s commandments (1 John 2:3-5). The lifestyle of obedience (process of godliness) provides the experience that produces the knowledge.

Paul’s reference to the power of the resurrection is reflected in the wonderful promise of Ephesians 1:17-21. There, Paul says we can know the “exceeding greatness of his power” that was demonstrated in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus—that very power being beyond anything that can be observed in this or any age to come.

The fellowship that we now share in Christ’s sufferings is merely the process by which we are “being made conformable unto his death” (today’s verse). Paul noted that we were “crucified with Christ” but are still alive since Christ “liveth in [us]” (Galatians 2:20). Our bodies are to be “living [sacrifices]” so that we can prove the “good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God,” having been transformed by our renewed minds (Romans 12:1-2).

These many life processes are what our gracious God has decreed for our ultimate eternal possession—being “conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29). HMM III

[fitnesshealthyoga-blog]

New Post has been published on https://fitnesshealthyoga.com/baltimore-jewish-life-drinking-diet-soft-drinks-increases-risk-of-dying-young-from-stroke-and-heart-attack/

Baltimore Jewish Life | Drinking Diet Soft Drinks ‘Increases Risk Of Dying Young From Stroke And Heart Attack’

A famous anomaly related to this week’s portion is the omission of Moshe’s name from the entire reading.

We are taught that this is due to Moshe after hearing from G-d, subsequent to the sin of the Golden Calf, that He intended to eradicate the entire nation saving only Moshe from whom a new nation would arise, that Moshe protested by stating, forgive their sin… if not, erase me now from Your book, which You have written.

Moshe was willing to forfeit his life and his accomplishments for the sake of his beloved nation. G-d retracted His decision permitting the nation to survive, but symbolically fulfilled Moshe’s request by omitting his name from this one portion.

Why though did G-d select this portion specifically from among many others to carry out Moshe’s entreaty?

G-d’s exact response to Moshe seems at odds with the tradition we have.

In His rejoinder to Moshe G-d tells him: whoever has sinned against Me, him I will erase from My book.

The reply seemed to be a total rejection of Moshe’s suggestion, with G-d seemingly asserting that only the deserving sinners will be erased from the Book of Life. There is no further dialogue reported regarding this issue.

The third Belzer Rebbe, Reb Yissocher Dov, offers a brilliant interpretation to resolve this dilemma.

Moshe sought to remove his fate from among those recorded in the Book of the Righteous rather than forsake his beloved flock. His intent was to be bonded and fated with them in the Book of the Wicked, if that’s what it took. G-d however had a better idea. Agreeing with Moshe in principle that they shall be entwined forever, but rather than Moshe being inscribed among the wicked, G-d will have them all etched among the destiny of the righteous with Moshe. When G-d states ‘whoever has sinned, him I will erase from My book’, He meant from the book of sinners, and be placed instead with Moshe among the righteous.

Where is the justice in this? How can sinners be given a pardon based simply on Moshe’s throwing down the gauntlet?

Until this juncture Moshe embodied all of Torah. The nation was expected to follow suit in abiding by all its laws. When they failed miserably at the Sin of the Golden Calf, it was over, a botched experiment. G-d therefore called for a new game plan, starting from scratch from Moshe alone. Moshe understood that this simply wasn’t viable, he couldn’t carry on without them as they were part and parcel of him. G-d, consented, but instructed them the deeper consequence of this reality. It was no longer a relationship of a teacher with a disciple, but rather an embodiment of Moshe by the people. The lessons of Torah would be taught through the lives, challenges and failures they would face and endure. It would be a process within each individual, who each possessed a ‘piece’ of Moshe that would have to come to fruition in the lives they lead and the manner they reacted. Every soul although inherently pure, would nevertheless have to struggle to discover its brilliance. G-d would never give up, for He knew that ultimately the collective ‘soul of Moshe’ would accomplish its task.

Moshe’s disappearance from our portion wasn’t a diminishing of his presence but rather the expression of his submersion within the ‘soul of the nation’ who by living its ideals would become the fullest manifestation of ‘Moshe’.

At the end of our portion the directive to construct the altar upon which the incense would be brought is recorded.

Weren’t, the vessels of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, enumerated in the previous portion? Why is this listed here amongst and after the discussion of the priestly garments and the inaugural sacrifices?

The Midrash Tanchuma teaches that this altar and its service is distinct from all that preceded it.

Everything up until this point was implemented for man’s sake to serve, devote and grow spiritually in that experience atoning for one’s failures. It certainly was not to fulfill a ‘need’ of G-d’s as all is his and possessed by Him.

The fragrant incense, in distinction, was brought to bring joy to G-d, and display His personal satisfaction with his servants. It is thus placed separately at the very end.

Is this a ‘need’ that has to be filled? The one who ‘owns and governs all’ can’t possibly ‘need’ this.

The early commentaries point out that the word for incense, קטרת, is actually an acronym of the following words: ק-דושה, sanctity;ט-הרה , purity;ר-חמים, compassion;ת-קוה, hope.

How are these attributes and attitudes unique to the Incense?

In Israel, many schools have report cards with three categories of general comments assessing the child’s standing:מאוד  טוב-very good, טוב-good, and כמעט טוב-nearly good. A good humored teacher who had a particular student who was both greatly challenged and very challenging, added a fourth category,יהיה טוב-It will be good!

G-d wants to be in a state of joy, so that we may sense His love and appreciation.

The scent that rises up from the special formula unique to the Ketores, represent the inner essence of that which stems from the vaporized molecules, that which is invisible and ethereal. G-d acknowledges the inner essence of each our beings, our special souls, which strive towards closeness, even when externally it may not appear as such. G-d knows that we will each come to manifest that spark of Moshe that is bursting forth.

He senses and cherishes those who have reached sanctity, and even those who have only sloughed off impurity alone. His compassion understands the struggles of those who are still entrenched in contamination, trying to come clean. And even those who seemingly wander purposelessly, G-d still holds out hope that indeed, יהיה טוב, it will be good!

Although the incense represents the personal and private joy of G-d, yet that fragrance cannot be kept private, as it envelopes every space way beyond the Alter of Incense. It is intentionally so, because it is that pervading presence of G-d that our ‘Moshe Souls’ can connect to wherever we may discover it, wherever we find ourselves.

May we each make ‘scents’ out of the myriad of opportunities that come our way in manifesting new lessons in Torah and Avodah, in the spirit of Moshe, our very essence and soul.

באהבה,

צבי יהודה טייכמאן

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[rabbiandrewrosenblatt]

Raising A Mensch, Raising a Community

School, as we know it today, is an invention. Originally, people were educated at home. We need no more proof than the words of Shema, “and you shall teach them to your children.” However, parents proved unequal to the task of fully educating children. The Talmud records that a change took place under the leadership of Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Gamla. He initiated an open-enrollment school.

The Torah still tells each of us to teach the children. This raises a question of how much education is to be at school, and how much should be given at home. We can all agree that literacy, math, and science are now the responsibility of the school. This makes sense. Those subjects are more complicated today than they were in ancient times, and the methods of teaching them are best understood when one has teacher training.

So much for the basic subjects. What about teaching civics? If we leave civic engagement, a close cousin of politics, up to the professionals, then students will adopt the political philosophy of their socials teacher, and then later their Libertarian economics professor, or their Marxist-based history prof. The basic skills of grammar can be taught objectively, but the art of persuasion, of what to write about and how to argue are very subjective.

What, then, is the role of Jewish schools in mediating between the objective needs of general education, and the subjective needs of the Jewish students? How do we raise a mensch? The Avichai Foundation  – which is dedicated to furthering Jewish education – recently sponsored an article in the Jewish Telegraph Agency titled, “Jewish schools grapple with a question: How do you turn a kid into a mensch?”  

The article and the efforts it describes have fantastic merit. However, the enterprise calls into question why a Jewish school’s job should be to raise the student to be a mensch. Is that not the job of parents? Have we surrendered an all important task to professionals, to institutions?

I think that there is an even bigger issue here. The goal of raising an individual to be a mensch seems laudable. However, from where I sit, we seem to be trying to raise lots of great individual meschen, but failing to raise a menschlich community. There is almost no environment that is more individualistic and competitive than school. Everyone gets individual marks, they all compete for scholarships, places on sports teams and limited berths in elite universities and colleges. Class rank is not merely an abstraction; it is a measure of social and personal capital.  

Peter Augustine Lawler wrote an essay ten years ago that describes the trajectory of the modern world. He begins with the English philosopher John Locke, and ends up predicting the utterings of my daughter’s teacher. Locke was one of the foundational thinkers on freedom. Lawler describes him as follows

But it is a sign of human freedom that the individual could be invented as a human goal to free civilized people from their traditional, political, religious, and even familial dependence. Locke intended, as far as he could, to transform social, political, religious, and familial beings into individuals. Because nature was not really on his side, we can now say that Locke was to some extent engaged in mission impossible. But it is also undeniable that he achieved some real success.

Locke gave us permission to decide to become whomever we wanted to be. We could be Jewish, or not. We could be Canadian or not.

My daughter was taught by her teacher in school that there are not two genders, there are at least 50. Furthermore, she was told that it is each individual who decides what is to be their own gender. As Lawler puts it, “the individual really did try to replace the G-d of the Bible in the modern world – with the individual himself.” Not Gd, nor biology, nor genetics place limitations upon us. It is all self-definition.

Don’t be distracted by the references to transgender politics. The point is not two genders vs 50. The issue is who gets to decide what values define identity per se. Our society has voted for the individual and has relegated the rest of the social, familial, political, and religious realms to non-voting status. In secondary education the State still retains the authority to influence the curriculum. However, university subculture demands that everyone be respected for his or her or thons [i.e., the third-person singular, gender-neutral, possessive] self-definition. The problem with this is that students know that their grades, and their professional social networks, depend on how well they agree with the ideology promoted by their professors, who remain unaccountable under the fiction of “academic freedom.” This matters because the politicians and thought leaders of tomorrow are competing for grades and letters of recommendation from those same professors.

The results of completely untethering people from their particular community identity, rules, norms or group is rampant loneliness and anxiety coupled with a severe crisis in the search for a life of meaning. We raise individuals to believe that a universalist world revolves around them, but they will find no answer for why they should be the centre of all meaning. It will not matter if the universal principles are free-market, Marxist, scientifically evidence-based, or Pastafarian.

There is an interesting comparison to be made in biblical terms between Jerusalem and its counterpart in the religious capital of the Northern Israeli Kingdom. After Solomon passed away, the kingdom of David and Solomon was split in two by a civil war. Yerav’am Ben Nevat seceded with ten tribes in the North. He realized that if people were religiously devoted to Jerusalem, his secession would fail. So, he set up an alternative temple with a golden calf at the site of Yaakov’s dream of the ladder, Beit El.

The geography may seem insignificant, but I believe it is truly emblematic. Jerusalem is built on the sacrifice of Isaac, the willingness of the individual to negate their own interests. Beit El is built on the dream of Jacob, of angels ascending a ladder. Abraham and Isaac are described as וילכו שניהם יחדיו – the two walked together. Jacob is leaving his father’s house alone, after an acrimonious split with his brother. David moves his capital from Hebron to Jerusalem, to unite the tribes. He removes a capital in the middle of the land of Judah and designates as capital a city, ‘between the tribal portions’. He buys each tribe an equal stake in the hallowed ground of the temple.  

In contrast, Beit El of Yerav’am was established to divide the tribes. It advanced the personal position of Yerav’am himself. Jerusalem is a center for the entire people, a place where all join together. Beit El, becomes a franchise, with a second location in the far north, Tel Dan, further dividing the people. Locke would have certainly felt more comfortable in Yerav’am’s Beit El than in David’s Jerusalem. From his perspective, Yerav’am championed individualism, whereas David privileged the collective.

Locke, a founder of liberalism died over 300 years ago. Since then, almost all of Europe and the New World has adopted liberal democracy. With it we embrace universal human rights that protect the individual. In our democracies, Jewish communities have struggled mightily to hold ourselves together as these issues play out in everyday life. I am not suggesting throwing all of liberalism out, nor vainly trying to erase the gains of individualism. I humbly suggest that it is time to abandon the Beit El of Yerav’am and reclaim our Jerusalem. It is time to not just ask how do we as a community raise an individual mensch, but to ask how I will personally work to raise my mensch to be part of a community of menschen.