Chesed, Loving Kindness, At the Heart of Judaism – Parashat Chayei Sarah in Temple Emanu-El, New Jersey

Flexigidity / Chayei Sarah
Temple Emanu-El / TPs

Rabbi Kirshner, Eva and Mark, Leaders of this congregation, Members of this great community

• On July 4, 2010 I embarked on a journey, to answer a simple question: what is the secret souse of the successes and failures of the State of Israel and the Jewish People. This journey led to the publication of my book, Flexigidity, and today brings me to this Bimah.
• The journey has been a very interesting one because the deeper I dug into the secret of the success of the State of Israel, the more I found myself dealing with the secret of success of Zionism. And the deeper I dug into the secret of success of Zionism, the more I found myself dealing with the secret of survival, resilience and prosperity of the Jewish People.
• So the answer to this great question stems from the inherent capacity of the Jewish People to evolve, from its adaptability. Some people associate adaptability with movement forward confidently, embracing innovation and change. But in fact, adaptability is about a hybrid between new and old, innovation and tradition, flexibility and rigidity.

• And that’s how one day, while I was running, the word FLEXIGIDITY popped up in my mind to sum up my entire argument: that our survival stems from our ability to be rigid and flexible at the same time. I realized that Judaism evolves through the tension between the conservatives and the reformers, those that reject change and those that embrace change who are interdependent and interconnected so that our people optimizes the pace of adaptation. That that optimization is what ensures our survival, security, prosperity and leadership. 

Today, as an example, I’d like to focus on the idea of Chesed, act of giving kindness, which is the characteristic that Avraham’s servant was looking for when he was mandated and sent to find the bride of the first Jewish boy. 

• First, I want to speak about the idea of Chesed as a turning point in the evolution of the Jewish People, in its adaptability and Flexigidity. Let’s try to imagine the dramatic days following the destruction of the Temple in the year 70 CE, the crisis and the drama. Jerusalem was destroyed and the Temple burnt. The center of Jewish political, religious and societal life was laying in ruins and ashes. But out of this calamity, came out a new kind of Judaism. It was Torah-centric and not Temple-centric and it was led by sags who had the power to interpret לדרוש and to innovate, לחדש, and not by priests, Kohanim, who had a monopoly over the execution of the acts of sacrifice.
• Such great revolutions in history always begin with an idea, which is then developed into an elaborate system of a language, institutions, practices, and even custims מנהגים, and laws חוקים, that may even be sanctified.
• So one of the key concepts that was used in order to drive the dramatic transformation that was essential after the destruction was chesed.
• I was reminded of that when I read the wonderful commentary of Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks this week on the Parasha
• Rabbi Sacks, in his wonderful weekly commentary about the ethics of Judaism, reminds us of the tale about rabbinical Judaism, about Rabbi Yohanan and Rabbi Joshua who were walking in Jerusalem. In seeing the ruins Rabbi Joshua wept about the sacrifices that could not be made anymore and Rabbi Yohanan answered him: do not grieve because we have an alternative way of atonement, as the Scripture says: I desire loving-kindness and not sacrifice” Hosea 6:6
• In other words, in the moment of great calamity it was the idea of Hesed that was central to the reinvention of Judaism.
• Centuries later, that idea became so central to Judaism, Jewish life and religion that Jewish communities around the world had elaborate systems for taking care of the needy, the sick, the homeless, the dead, the prisoners and the children.
• In other words, what was a radical innovation emanating from the absolute flexibility of mind and intellect became rigidified in our laws, in our Halacha. And today, there are many among our people, who actually don’t even think its necessary. Here is an idea going through the full-circle of Flexigidity. 

Second, I want to what to discuss what I, Flexigidity of Mission:

• Rigidity stems from the Jewish People having four founding stories, each is coherent carrying with it a distinct set of values, identifying heroes and villains, emphasizing different holidays, and being serviced by specific structures and institutions. These four stories are:
  • Nationhood, that we are a community that has a place on the face of this earth, to which we have been loyal and always sought to return until we were allowed in the twentieth century
  • Peoplehood, that we are a family and a tribe with shared history, destiny and mutual responsibility
  • Or La’Goim, that we are people endowed with a mission to serve humanity…
  • Faith and Convenant, that we are a religious community of faith in God and of a covenant with him for each and every individual and for the entire community
• Flexibility stems from their interaction
  • All four stories emanate from Abraham. Therefore all four stories are ever present in the Jewish People. Together they provide a menu of options for association with the Jewish People and essential fallbacks for disillusioned Jews. Some of us are more ‘peoplehood Jews’ than others, and others are more ‘nationhood Jews’, religious Jews or Tikkun Olam Jews. 
• This Flexigidity of mission was inherited by Zionism and has been essential for its success. They are found in our Declaration of independence and they shape Israeli society today. This is the reason why many Diaspora Jews can associate with Israel, because they can all find the Israel that that is important for them
• The Parasha of this week, speaks to all four of these narratives: 
  • It speaks to the narrative of being a light unto the nations by the commandment of Kedoshim Tihiyu, 
  • It speaks to the story of peoplehood by the fact that Avraham asks his servant to find Isaac a wife from his extended family and not from the foreigners of the land; 
  • It speaks to the notion of nationhood since it relates to bringing Rivka to the Land of Israel, a land which Avraham would not leave as he had just bought a burial property there, Me’arat HaMachpela, for its more-than-full price. 
  • It speaks to story of religion, as the entire story is guided by the presence of God
  • And it speaks to the idea of being a light unto the nations, because, when commanded to choose an adequate wife for the first Jewish child, the one criteria is Chesed. 
• The Chesed that is expected from the future wife of Isaac is not just within a family and among friends: it is a Chesed that stems from deep humanism, from seeing the other. It is Chesed to the stranger. And not only to the stranger, but even to the animals. It is about the ability to see the full picture and to respond with an act of giving kindness.  In other words, the message of this Parasha that Chesed, acts of giving kindness, and not sacrifices or religious rituals, nationalism or tribalism, are at the deep core of Judaism, echoes strongly from this text.
• I believe that this message is greatly important not only for our Diaspora communities, but also for the State of Israel. It is the ethical qualities of our society, demonstrated in how we treat the poor, the needy, the sick, the stranger and the minority, that will determine the fate of our nation in Jewish history.
• Furthermore, my team and I believe that now, for the first time in history, the Jewish People and the State of Israel, together, can actually improve the lives of many millions of people, thus making a significant, and distinctly Jewish and Israeli contribution to humanity. Our vision is for Israel and the Jewish People to affect the lives of a quarter of a billion people within a decade. 

Finally, I want to speak about the meaning of Chesed:

• In other words, what does it mean for us – Israelis and Jews, separately and together – to be a society of Chesed. Here too we can see the wonderful Flexigidity of Judaism. On the one hand, rigidity: one has the basic acts of living kindness that are rigidly universal and eternal: shelter to the homeless, food for the hungry, assistance to the poor, visiting the sick, comforting mourners and dignifying the dead. These acts are universal and eternal because we were all created in the image of God. On the other hand, there is flexibility: The answer to this question about the meaning of Chesed is evolving all the time, as the world changes in technology, politics and economics. For example, what does it mean to do Chesed when there is the internet, when there are 3D printers that can print human organs or when an enemy may acquire a nuclear weapon? 
• In our the Parasha, Chesed was executed by giving water. Nowadays, my Reut team in Israel is working to design and build, using 3D printers extremely affordable products that solve acute needs of disabled people and to make them available for anybody around the world. In other words, the practical meaning of Chesed changes with time, but the idea of Chesed as a fundamental trait of society, is universal and eternal. 
• But how do we know what is the right way to do Chesed based on our tradition? Well, we do so through the process of interpretation. We look at the rigid text that cannot be change, on the one hand. We look at the ever changing flexible reality on the other hand. And then we try to bridge the two through our intellect. 
• One of the most wonderful tools our tradition gave us to perform this gymnastics is the Dvar Torah. Every Shabbat Jews all over the world are exercising: they are exercising their brains, in trying to bridge the rigid sources with the ever-changing reality. It is a wonderfully democratic process, where everybody can participate. A key area where this exercise is performed relates to our commandment to understand the meaning of Chesed in our time, in our place, in our economic condition, for ourselves, for our families, for our communities, for our nations and peoples. In doing so, individually or as a community, we are not only enriching Judaism or serving our people and nation, but we are enriching humanity, and making our little service to the mission of our people to build a model society and to be a light unto the nations. 
• I am deeply grateful for the opportunity and the invitation to try to modestly do so here, from this Bimah with this great congregation. 

Shabbat Shalom.