Menachem Mirski
Thoughts on Parashat Tetzaveh
Within the last few days The Jerusalem Post, as well as several other media outlets, covered a report, presented by the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, that analyzes confidential and public testimonies, eye-witness accounts, and interviews with victims, first responders and witnesses. It was sent to “decision-makers” in the United Nations to leave “no room for denial or disregard”. The report analyzes numerous testimonies from the October 7 massacre specifically relating to Hamas’s sexual violence revealed that families and friends were forced by Hamas terrorists to watch their loved ones be raped and sexually assaulted at gunpoint. […] “The terrorist organization Hamas chose to harm Israel strategically in two clear ways – kidnapping citizens and committing sadistic sexual crimes,” said ARCCI CEO Orit Sulitzeanu. “Silence will be remembered as a historical stain on those who chose to remain silent and deny the sexual crimes committed by Hamas.”
On a seemingly different note, our parasha for this week, Tetzaveh (“You Shall Command”), talks about God instructing Moses to appoint Aaron and his sons as priests. God details how to make the priestly clothing, how to sanctify the priests and offer sacrifices during the seven days of inauguration in the Mishkan (Tabernacle), and how to build the golden altar. All of that is revealed to Moses shortly before he comes down from Mt. Sinai to pass the Divine revelation and to instruct his people.
However, as we know from the Biblical story, Moses ‘was late’ and the Israelites built the Golden calf. Or rather they were impatient. Because of these circumstances, their future high priest got involved in something he will be tremendously ashamed of – the Golden Calf. Had he known what was just revealed to Moses, what an important role he would play in the community of his people, he might have tried to appease his people in a different way. But he had no knowledge of it – there was no direct communication between him and God at that particular time. And this is the first takeaway from our reflection: what had been assigned to him and what he had done did not go hand in hand. It is a fairly typical human experience: what is Divinely assigned to us and what we actually do – these things often don’t go hand in hand. For this exact reason we are commanded in our everyday Shma not to follow our eyes and our hearts, after which we stray. – v’lo taturu acharei levavchem v’acharei eiyneyechem asher atem zonim achareihem. This is a commandment to always make our actions consistent with the laws of the Torah. We need to be mindful of the laws of the Torah in everything we do, even if we don’t see a direct correlation between the content of the law and our actions.
A curious, insightful mind is likely to ask a philosophical question here: What is the reason to always adhere to the laws of the Torah? Are there some more general principles behind them? Absolutely. Here is one of them and perhaps the most known one:
The same gentile came before Hillel. He converted him and said to him: That which is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah, and the rest is its interpretation. Go study. (Shabbat 31a)
This is an universal principle of justice and compassion; this is a rule against barbarism. According to Timothy Snyder, this very principle was the reason Hitler hated us, Jews. His philosophy, likewise the one of Hamas, was about barbaric dominance of one human group over another. Our eternal mission is to fight barbarism, in any form.
Destruction of Hamas is fighting barbarism. Those who support Hamas are barbarians too. They often deny it; many of them are delusional and believe that they are motivated by compassion towards the “oppressed Palestinians”. Even if their compassion is real, it doesn’t change anything. Compassion for barbarians is barbaric too. Why? Because it means cruelty for non-barbarians – for civilized people.
How should we deal with our ‘domestic barbarians’ – all those people who for whatever reason support Hamas, often not being fully aware of that? Well, we cannot eliminate them. But there are some things we can do. If you have a personal relationship with one of those people and want to preserve it, I would suggest pausing this relationship until the war is over. It will be over, Hamas will be decimated, if not eliminated, and will be deprived of political and military power. People have a short memory; they won’t remember it in a few months, and if they happen to realize that they were wrong, they will be embarrassed and will never admit which side they were on.
On a more global level we need to use all means we have to present the truth about the barbarism of Hamas and show the world what the world doesn’t seem to see. That’s our mission now. How successful will it be? I wouldn’t expect anything sudden and spectacular. But every non-Jewish soul taking our side is a success, because it’s a righteous soul, and that kind of moral and spiritual transformation of the world has been our mission since the time of the prophets. Nothing is going to happen quickly; it will take years or decades but it will bring change over time, the pro-Hamas oppressor/oppressed brainwashing will be undone in the long run. The Mishnah says:
It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it.
Pirkei Avot (2:16)
These are the reasons we must keep doing it – keep exposing the evil: the barbarism and the lies perpetuated by our enemies.
Shabbat shalom!
Rabbi Menachem Mirski
Leave a Reply