Beshallah: Building a society in which all can sing with joy

By Rabbi Arik W. Ascherman on February 2, 2007 - י"ד שבט תשס"ז

Shabbat Shira/Tu B’Shvat

This week’s Torah portion is B’Shelakh, also known as “Shabbat Shira” because it contains “Shirat HaYam,” the spontaneous song of celebration sung by the Children of Israel at the shore of the sea when they see that they have been saved from the pursuing Egyptians. The tree holiday of Tu B’Shvat, the 15th of the month of Shvat, always falls close to B’Shelakh. This year it falls on Shabbat itself.

At first it may seem that there is no possible connection between the Torah portion and Tu B’Shvat, but there is. They both are connected to the division of water. In our portion, the sea parts so that the Children of Israel can pass through safely. Originally, Tu B’Shvat was not a tree planting holiday, nor a time to eat dried fruit, and there was no mystical Tu B’Shvat seder connecting between different kinds of fruit and the seasons and the different Worlds of Existence. It is the New Year for trees because it is the date that divides between the waters of the old and new years for tax purposes,

“Up until now they (the trees) lived off the waters from the previous year, and from here on they live off the waters from the coming year.

(Jerusalem Talmud Rosh HaShana 6a [Chapter 1: Halakha 2])

The waters of the Exodus are waters of strife. The same waters of salvation which part to save the Israelites are waters of death which close in on and kill the Egyptians. Every time that I come to “Shirat HaYam” or the prayer Mi Khamokha, which is a quote from the song, I also remember the fate of the Egyptians. In the famous midrash in Shir HaShirim Rabah, the angels join the children of Israel in song and God demands that they be silent because God’s children are dying. Are we, who are commanded to see ourselves as if we had personally left Egypt, therefore among those permitted to rejoice at our personal salvation? Or are we, of a generation that has also known oppression and salvation from oppressors, but who have also become oppressors inured to the suffering of others, among those who should refrain from rejoicing?

The rains that give sustenance to trees are Geshmei Brakha, rains of blessing. However, water and trees have also become symbols of strife in our day. There are those who argue that control over sources of water has been a major factor in the Israeli – Arab conflict, that control over aquifers is a major motivation for maintaining the Occupation, and that it is no coincidence that many of the water sources for Tulkarem, Kalkiliya and for a great deal of Palestinian agriculture fall on the Israeli side of the Separation Barrier.

This Friday we will return to Salem, where so many trees have been cut down and farmers beaten and terrorized, most likely by local settlers. Settlements are placed in the middle of Palestinian olive groves and, at least until we began to intervene, it was simply assumed that Palestinians should be kept away from the remaining trees because it was easier for the army to do so than to find other ways of protecting settlers from the danger they had placed themselves in.

This Wednesday we received a phone call from residents of Samoa. On land which had been fenced in by the settlers of Sham’a but which the Palestinians farmers were continuing to cultivate after going to court, they were prevented from working for the sake of settlers who were digging holes in preparation for Tu B’Shvat planting. A DCO officer told us that this was OK because the holes were on “State Land.” As I write, we have not yet been able to sort out whether or not this is State Land or private Palestinian land. Even if it is State Land, the idea that State Land is land for Jewish only development is outrageous, even if one does not accept that this is occupied land according to the Fourth Geneva Convention and must be used for the good of the occupied population.

Finally, I must take a step back and look at the Book of Exodus as a whole. Just as the Exodus story has been a clarion call for liberation throughout history (See Professor Michael Walzer’s Exodus and Revolution), this amazing story must be before us every day. In the very first verses of Exodus God tells Moses that God has seen the degradation of God’s people, heard their cry and is aware of their pain. (Exodus 3:7) The very week we read these words we wrote a letter to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef asking to meet him to voice the cry and pain of those suffering because of the Israeli Wisconsin Plan presided over by Shas Minister Eli Yishai. We also wrote a press release after MK Estrina Tartman made racist statements regarding Amir Peretz’s announcement that he would nominate MK Raleb Mejadleh to be a minister.

This week we read from Parashat Shemot, in which Pharaoh incites the Egyptians against the Israelites through accusations designed to arouse hatred and fear. Throughout history these kinds of accusations have prepared the way for terrible crimes against Jews. It is therefore incumbent on us to stop these kinds of accusations immediately and to totally repudiate them. This is the reason that the Torah repeats itself time after time, “For you were strangers in the Land of Egypt.”

Let these words live!

May they be for us a fount of Living Water!

I certainly think that we must recall the tragic consequences of the Exodus in order to remember that

“The sword comes into the world because of justice delayed and justice denied.”

This does not make the sword just nor justify the wielder of the sword. Remembering the consequences simply reminds us of tragic reality. However, in our generation, perhaps the words we should be praying every day are the words of Exodus 3:7, and the command to love the stranger, the widow and the orphan. When we see as a daily imperative the command to heed the cry of the degraded, perhaps we will find the way to make our shared waters, waters of blessing. When we gather as we will on Friday in Salem and as RHR does day after day so that Israelis and Palestinians can plant trees together, perhaps our trees will become again Trees of Life. When we not only hear the cries, but right the wrongs done to Palestinians suffering under Occupation and to our fellow Israelis for whom we have ceased to feel communal responsibility or solidarity, perhaps we will build a society and a world in which all can sing with joy, Mi Khamokah BÉilim Adonai ,

“Who is like You O Adonai among the celestials; Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in splendor, working wonders!

(Exodus 15:11, Daily Prayer Book).

Rabbis for Human Rights recommends that you read these articles in Beshallah

Beshallah: Building a society in which all can sing with joy - February 2nd, 2007

Rabbis for Human Rights recommends that you read these articles in Shabbat Shira

Beshallah: Building a society in which all can sing with joy - February 2nd, 2007

Rabbis for Human Rights recommends that you read these articles in Special Shabbatot

Beshallah: Building a society in which all can sing with joy - February 2nd, 2007
Shabbat HaGadol: Peace begins at home - April 6th, 2006
Shabbat Shuva: Making a Difference - October 7th, 2005
Shabbat Hazon: Misplaced Priorities in Society - August 12th, 2005

Rabbis for Human Rights recommends that you read these articles in Tu Bishvat

Beshallah: Building a society in which all can sing with joy - February 2nd, 2007
Tu B'shvat: Our tradition of Human Rights for all of G-d's creations - February 1st, 2007
Tu B'shvat: Partners in Creation and protecting the Human Rights of all - February 1st, 2007
Tu BShvat: RHR to plant trees in the Galilee - January 29th, 2007

Categories: Beshallah, Shabbat Shira, Special Shabbatot, Tu Bishvat
Tags: Bo, court, ease, fen, fence, human rights, order, palestinians, reparation, settlers