Post by Rabbi Neil on Nov 5, 2021 14:36:34 GMT
In this week’s Torah portion, as Jacob tricks his father Isaac into thinking he is Jacob, Isaac says “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau” (Gen 27:22). It seems that Isaac, blinded by old age, is confused. He hears his youngest son, but he feels his eldest. He goes with what is more tangible – hearing can always be confused, whereas touch…how could that be confused? The idea of his younger son wearing animal skins to pretend to be the hirsute Esau seemingly hasn’t entered his mind. If his sight has gone, it is reasonable to assume that he also thinks his hearing has gone too. Isaac’s statement, therefore, seems to clearly be an opposite – the voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
The reason I mention this is because there is another way to translate this. In Hebrew, the letter vav means “but” but it can also mean “and.” With that in mind, it is possible to read this “the voice is the voice of Jacob and the hands are the hands of Esau.” Is there a difference? I believe so. Jacob is an important ancestor of the Jewish people – he represents us. In Rabbinic thought, Jacob does nothing wrong – it is Esau who does wrong by squandering his birthright for some soup. Esau, or Edom, came to represent Rome, so the tension between Jacob and Esau is, in Rabbinic eyes, not only a tension between two characters but also between two ways of life – the Jewish way and the Roman way. The Roman way was, according to the Rabbis, wasteful of time – Romans would go and watch gladiatorial combat while the Jews studied the word of God. Romans would eat until they were sick whereas Jews would bless their food and eat in moderation. Romans would fornicate, Jews would join together in a sacred coupling.
For this, and many, many other reasons, the Jewish community often separated itself from the rest of society in terms of social norms. Just because the rest of society was doing it, didn’t mean the Jews had to. That all changed with the Emancipation where liberté, egalité and fraternité were openly on offer for all those who took on the norms of society. Reform Judaism formed, adapting our tradition so that it could remain true to its core principles while still living and acting in a secular world. Suddenly, the voice was the voice of Jacob and the hands were the hands of Esau. Jews were doing both – they were thinking and talking like Jews, but in some sense they were behaving like the rest of the world. There wasn’t a dichotomy – the religious world and the secular world were not divided – everything was still religious, it just looked a little more secular. But this placed Reform Judaism in a very precarious position. The traditions of the hands of Esau were suddenly much more powerful for the next generation than the traditions of the voice of Jacob, since actions speak louder than words.
After a few generations, the voice of Jacob and the hands of Esau had been separated. The Jewish community started dividing things between “religious” and “secular.” Perhaps this was based on a misunderstanding between the Biblical terms kodesh and chol, which is often translated as “holy” and “profane.” Perhaps it was seen, as many people still imagine it today, that kodesh – holy – was the aspect close to God and chol – profane – was not. But this is not true. For example, Shabbat is kodesh and the rest of the week is chol. But this doesn’t mean that God is not in the rest of the week, it just means that Shabbat is that bit more special. Kodesh and chol don’t distinguish between the sacred and the secular, they distinguish between the most sacred and the least sacred. Everything is, actually, sacred.
Nowadays, we find ourselves with an interesting challenge. We find ourselves with a but instead of an and. For many – perhaps most - Reform Jews today, the voice is the voice of Jacob but the hands are the hands of Esau. In other words, there is a religious sphere and a secular sphere, and the two never meet. Going to shul is holy, life outside is secular. This could not be further from the original vision of the early Reformers. What they wanted was an and – the voice is the voice of Jacob and the hands are the hands of Esau – they wanted the Jewish community to bring religion into everything, just in a modern way.
This isn’t a sermon totally denouncing assimilation because sometimes assimilation can be very powerful and important for the Jewish community. Without assimilation, we wouldn’t have a seder service, which is modelled on Greco-Roman customs. Without assimilation, all our services would still be in Hebrew, even if people didn’t understand them. Without assimilation, in fact, this sermon would be in Yiddish! So, assimilation can bring some positive rewards, if it is handled correctly. And that’s the most difficult part. I think, to be honest, that it’s incredibly hard to be a Reform Jew, because it’s so easy to split off the religious and the secular – to have the voice of Jacob but the hands of Esau. Much harder is to make everything we do, even in the outside world, relevant to Judaism, infused with a spirit of God – that is having the voice of Jacob and the hands of Esau.
I believe that dividing the religious from the secular is what leads young Jews away from Judaism. It’s what is causing the decline in membership in so many Temples around the world. The way to bring Jews back into the fold is to show them that we can live our lives in such a way that everything is relevant to Judaism – that everything has God in it. Before the voice of Jacob becomes a quiet whisper, we need together to live a life where the voice is the voice of Jacob and the hands are the hands of Esau. I’m certain that we, together, can show that this is possible and live such a wonderful Jewish life. May such be God’s will, and let us say, Amen.
The reason I mention this is because there is another way to translate this. In Hebrew, the letter vav means “but” but it can also mean “and.” With that in mind, it is possible to read this “the voice is the voice of Jacob and the hands are the hands of Esau.” Is there a difference? I believe so. Jacob is an important ancestor of the Jewish people – he represents us. In Rabbinic thought, Jacob does nothing wrong – it is Esau who does wrong by squandering his birthright for some soup. Esau, or Edom, came to represent Rome, so the tension between Jacob and Esau is, in Rabbinic eyes, not only a tension between two characters but also between two ways of life – the Jewish way and the Roman way. The Roman way was, according to the Rabbis, wasteful of time – Romans would go and watch gladiatorial combat while the Jews studied the word of God. Romans would eat until they were sick whereas Jews would bless their food and eat in moderation. Romans would fornicate, Jews would join together in a sacred coupling.
For this, and many, many other reasons, the Jewish community often separated itself from the rest of society in terms of social norms. Just because the rest of society was doing it, didn’t mean the Jews had to. That all changed with the Emancipation where liberté, egalité and fraternité were openly on offer for all those who took on the norms of society. Reform Judaism formed, adapting our tradition so that it could remain true to its core principles while still living and acting in a secular world. Suddenly, the voice was the voice of Jacob and the hands were the hands of Esau. Jews were doing both – they were thinking and talking like Jews, but in some sense they were behaving like the rest of the world. There wasn’t a dichotomy – the religious world and the secular world were not divided – everything was still religious, it just looked a little more secular. But this placed Reform Judaism in a very precarious position. The traditions of the hands of Esau were suddenly much more powerful for the next generation than the traditions of the voice of Jacob, since actions speak louder than words.
After a few generations, the voice of Jacob and the hands of Esau had been separated. The Jewish community started dividing things between “religious” and “secular.” Perhaps this was based on a misunderstanding between the Biblical terms kodesh and chol, which is often translated as “holy” and “profane.” Perhaps it was seen, as many people still imagine it today, that kodesh – holy – was the aspect close to God and chol – profane – was not. But this is not true. For example, Shabbat is kodesh and the rest of the week is chol. But this doesn’t mean that God is not in the rest of the week, it just means that Shabbat is that bit more special. Kodesh and chol don’t distinguish between the sacred and the secular, they distinguish between the most sacred and the least sacred. Everything is, actually, sacred.
Nowadays, we find ourselves with an interesting challenge. We find ourselves with a but instead of an and. For many – perhaps most - Reform Jews today, the voice is the voice of Jacob but the hands are the hands of Esau. In other words, there is a religious sphere and a secular sphere, and the two never meet. Going to shul is holy, life outside is secular. This could not be further from the original vision of the early Reformers. What they wanted was an and – the voice is the voice of Jacob and the hands are the hands of Esau – they wanted the Jewish community to bring religion into everything, just in a modern way.
This isn’t a sermon totally denouncing assimilation because sometimes assimilation can be very powerful and important for the Jewish community. Without assimilation, we wouldn’t have a seder service, which is modelled on Greco-Roman customs. Without assimilation, all our services would still be in Hebrew, even if people didn’t understand them. Without assimilation, in fact, this sermon would be in Yiddish! So, assimilation can bring some positive rewards, if it is handled correctly. And that’s the most difficult part. I think, to be honest, that it’s incredibly hard to be a Reform Jew, because it’s so easy to split off the religious and the secular – to have the voice of Jacob but the hands of Esau. Much harder is to make everything we do, even in the outside world, relevant to Judaism, infused with a spirit of God – that is having the voice of Jacob and the hands of Esau.
I believe that dividing the religious from the secular is what leads young Jews away from Judaism. It’s what is causing the decline in membership in so many Temples around the world. The way to bring Jews back into the fold is to show them that we can live our lives in such a way that everything is relevant to Judaism – that everything has God in it. Before the voice of Jacob becomes a quiet whisper, we need together to live a life where the voice is the voice of Jacob and the hands are the hands of Esau. I’m certain that we, together, can show that this is possible and live such a wonderful Jewish life. May such be God’s will, and let us say, Amen.