February 22, 2013 | 12:02 pm

Is Haman alive today? Purim & Happiness!

Posted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

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The Jewish holiday of Purim, which begins tonight, is a joyous time of celebration. The story of the Book of Esther is familiar: In the 4th century BCE, the Persian King Ahasuerus fell under the influence of his evil prime minister Haman, who resented the Jews who refused to bow down to him. In revenge, Haman persuaded the King to issue a secret decree to kill all the Jews on the 13th of Adar, and he made preparations to hang Mordechai the Jew for his refusal to prostrate himself before Haman in submission. Fortunately, Mordechai, who found out about Haman’s plot, was in the king’s good graces, because he had helped thwart an attempt on the king’s life; in addition, Esther the Queen, who kept her Jewish identity a secret, was his cousin and foster daughter. At the risk of her life, Esther came to Ahasuerus and ultimately persuaded him to issue a decree allowing the Jews to defend themselves against their enemies and in addition to put the evil plotter Haman to death. On the 13th of Adar, the Jews triumphed over their would-be killers, and this victory is marked by the celebration of Purim every year on the 14th of Adar. We know this story.

Traditionally, Jews today use groggers or other noisemakers to drown out the mention of the name Haman during the reading of the Book of Esther (which occurs twice, once on Purim night and again during the day), but it is useful to examine the name of this hateful person. The Gemara [Chulin 139b] asks where we see an allusion to Haman's name in the Torah. The answer the sages give is from the Garden of Eden scene in Genesis (3:11): "Ha’min ha'eitz hazeh... – Did you eat from this tree?: The word ha’min consists of the same three Hebrew letters (heh, mem, nun) as Haman.

There is a deep connection between the first human mistake in the Garden of Eden and the life of Haman. Haman was a person, who the sages say had everything: wealth, prestige, family. He had it all. Yet Haman could not be happy. As long as Mordechai sat at the gate of the king refusing to bow down to him (Esther 3:2), he could not be happy. At one point Haman even says, “all of this is worthless to me” (Esther 5:13). He was only missing one thing and thus everything else – his fortune, his political influence, his large family – lost value and meaning.

When we find ourselves in this mindset, we can never be happy. We may have money, family, friends, and health, yet if we’re lacking one thing all the good things are for naught.

This is why Haman’s name comes from the tree in the Garden of Eden. Adam had everything one could want: the luxuries of Paradise, a wife, a direct connection to G-d, literally everything. But he lacked one thing, the experience of eating the fruit. And so he could not be content. This is the essence of Haman: Haman is a historical and literary figure, but even more Haman represents a concept that is part of the human condition.

Rashi points out that just as Haman’s name originates from “ha’min ha’eitz – from this tree,” so too, he ends up being hanged on a wooden gallows (eitz) (Esther 7:10). The thing we constantly long for beyond our reach ends up being our downfall.

We protest Haman on Purim because the mitzvah of the day is one of the most difficult of all mitzvot in the Torah: the mitzvah to be happy. It sounds easy – get a daiquiri and lie on the beach – but it does not work. Pleasure is one thing, but to achieve true happiness is much more challenging.

We can see this in the modern world. A WIN-Gallup poll released at the end of last year asked people from 54 countries if they personally were happy, unhappy, or neither. The happiest people were from Colombia, and five of the happiest 12 countries were in Latin America. On the other hand, in the lower half of the happiness list (below even war-torn Afghanistan) were people from Germany, France, the United States, Russian Federation, China, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Italy—nations we associate with greater wealth and power. Regionally, people from Latin America were roughly twice as happy as people from the seven wealthiest societies in the world. The futility of Haman remains valid today.

In a related poll, a joint Gallup-Healthways survey of more than half a million Americans found that American Jews were the highest ranking group in terms of “well-being” (emotional/physical health, work environment, healthfulness of behavior), with the very religious netting the highest scores within this group. As we know, religious Jews make many physical and financial sacrifices for their faith, so mere material wealth cannot account for this high level of well-being. Professor David Pelcovitz of Yeshiva University believes that the key to happiness for Jews is “the core ingredients of happiness—family, friends and faith.” In a comment in his work Ohr HaTzafon, Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel [the Alter of Slabodka], saw a universal possibility for happiness: “Every person is surrounded by limitless potential for pleasure and enjoyment. The world and all its details is a source of pleasure. A person’s experiences in physical and spiritual areas give him the potential for happiness without end” (Vol. III, p. 84).

While misfortune is never welcome, we can sometimes learn to achieve happiness through such events. Consider a person who undergoes a critical surgical procedure or chemotherapy to treat cancer. This patient is often helped by family and friends who find the right doctor or hospital, drive the patient to and from medical appointments, and help with the recovery and medical expenses and paperwork. This patient, upon recovery, will understand how friends and family enrich us through their love, and he or she may have a rejuvenated appreciation for life and a feeling of happiness.

The rabbis teach us the key to happiness. One can only be happy when they learn to be “sameach b’chelko”—happy with one’s own lot in life. When we become so grateful for all we have and not focused on all the things we do not have, we can begin to achieve this. The rabbis teach that we should make 100 blessings a day (Menachot 42b). These are moments when we step back and reflect upon our good fortune and express gratitude to God for His bounty. Thus we can truly fulfill the Mitzvah of the day that we sing in havdallah every Saturday night from the book of Esther: “La'yehudim Hyta Ora Vsimcha Vsasson Vykor”"For the Jews there was light, happiness, joy, and honor" [Esther 8:16].

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz is the Founder and President of Uri L'Tzedek, the Senior Rabbi at Kehilath Israel, and is the author of "Jewish Ethics & Social Justice: A Guide for the 21st Century.” Newsweek named Rav Shmuly one of the top 50 rabbis in America!"

February 21, 2013 | 4:42 pm

The Force of the Orthodox Union

Posted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

The Orthodox Union (OU) is the leading organization supporting and building the American Orthodox community. Its teen and young adult engagement efforts stretch across North America through NCSY and JLIC; its lay and rabbinic community building efforts are significant, with its work in supporting synagogues around the country, those with disabilities through Yachad, and rabbinic leaders through the RCA; its advocacy work is also noteworthy, with significant resources devoted to domestic and Israel policy lobbying. Most recently the OU has been involved in advocacy for FEMA relief after Hurriance Sandy. The OU, led by the great Rav Menachem Genack,  is also (and most recognizably) the largest kosher certification agency in the world, certifying more than 500,000 food products in 80 countries. The OU helps to make it possible for religious Jews to survive and thrive in America.

With all leadership transitions, we can reflect upon our hopes for the next stages. The current prestigious president of the OU, Rabbi Dr. Simcha Katz of Teaneck, New Jersey, has been active with the organization for 25 years, mostly through OU’s kashrut division. Ordained as a rabbi, Dr. Katz also earned an MA in engineering, MBA, and PhD in Statistics and Finance from New York University. He has founded and served as senior executive for a technology firm, is a professor of finance at CUNY’s Zicklin Business School, and has helped found organizations to help the unemployed find jobs, which today has become the OU Jobs Board. In Teaneck, he was a founder of the Yeshiva of North Jersey and Congregation Keter Torah, and studies Jewish texts for hours each morning. Dr. Katz has prioritized affordable Orthodox Jewish living in America, reasonable yeshiva day school tuition, the right of every Jewish child to a religious education, and expanding accessibility to special education. He has been galvanizing everyone around this issue.

Dr. Katz has often decried the current day school tuition crisis, which threatens further erosion in attendance and community impact. While stressing that an Orthodox lifestyle demands sacrifice, he understands that families earning $200,000 annually find it difficult to afford day school, and most people earn much less. He has proposed a combination of reforms, including challenge grants; reducing administrative and infrastructure spending; and a willingness to adapt from the concept of hashkafot (personal religious philosophies), where multiple schools with small populations and huge costs are built, to a concept of achdut (unity), in which minor differences are passed over in order to build fewer schools that can accommodate more students in a more economical fashion.

When Rabbi Katz recently graciously invited me to meet with him at the OU I was struck by his passion and insight but also by his humility. He is an empathetic and inspiring leader who sees the big picture. There is an upcoming vote on March 10th to determine the next OU president and there are reports that Martin Nachimson of Los Angeles will be chosen as the new president. Dr. Katz will have made a significant impact at the O.U. and he will certainly remain a force in the community. 

The OU, like all major communal institutions, has a lot of potential for growth. It must set the example by leading not only to protect our own self-interest (Israel, day schools, kashrut, etc.) but also ensure that the Orthodox community is showing global leadership to protect the vulnerable and further more just societies. There should be more leadership on social justice and global issues, like ensuring that the American kosher industry operates justly with more concern for workers, animals, and the environment. The public affairs branch needs to transition beyond the parochial and be a force for good on a much broader level in addition to its current noble efforts. Outreach efforts should be as concerned with leadership development and moral and spiritual development of students as they are with growth in ritual observance. Further, the Orthodox Union should maximize its zerizut (alacrity) to be on the front lines whenever there is crisis. It was inspiring to see Israelis arrive immediately in Haiti after the earthquake, for example, but the American Orthodox leadership were once again absent.

When leaders at the Orthodox Union take the lead on these issues, it is good for the Jews and for the world we live in. Orthodoxy is growing and the Orthodox Union has a crucial role to play going forward in collaborating to bring hope and redemption to the world.

 

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Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz is the Founder and President of Uri L'Tzedek, the Senior Rabbi at Kehilath Israel, and is the author of "Jewish Ethics & Social Justice: A Guide for the 21st Century.” Newsweek named Rav Shmuly one of the top 50 rabbis in America!"

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February 21, 2013 | 4:06 pm

Combatting Sloth!

Posted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

Classically, the vice of sloth (laziness) had two components:

1. acedia – a lack of caring or indifference
2. tristtitia – sadness, sorrow, or despair   

I would argue that the negative aspect of individualism that exists today in 21st century is furthered by acedia. The sociologist Robert Bellah says it well:

The individualism that’s on the rise recently in the U.S. is one of “What’s in it for me?” with immediate gratification of one’s needs coming before all other loyalties. Commitments like marriage only hold while they pay off….in earlier days the individualism in America was one that also honored community values. Today we have an ideology of individualism that simply encourages people to maximize personal advantage….considerations of the common good are increasing irrelevant.
 

A brilliant Midrash explains how the traps of laziness affect one’s learning:

They tell the sluggard “Your teacher is in a nearby city, go and learn Torah from him.” He responds “I fear a lion on the highway.” “Your teacher is in your own city.” I fear a lion in the streets.” Your teacher is near your home.” “I am afraid a lion is outside.” Your teacher is in a room inside your home.” “I am afraid that if I rise from the bed the door will be locked.” But the door is open.” “I need a little more sleep.”

How many of us just want “a little more sleep!” There is no viable excuse for anyone of us to not be addressing global poverty for at least 5 minutes each week (the time of clipping our nails) yet we manage to find 20 excuses while maintaining the memory of our soup-kitchen volunteer experience from 3 months earlier as our justification to comfort ourselves from facing our entrapment in sloth.

The great mussar teacher R. Chaim Luzzato (Mesillat Yesharim) paints the picture well: 

We see with our own eyes, on numerous occasions, how a person who is already cognizant of his duty and who already knows what is appropriate for the salvation of his soul and what his obligation is to his Creator, can nonetheless neglect his duty, though not because of a lack of awareness of his obligation or for any other reason. Rather, his lethargic indolence dominates him. And this is what it says (to him): “I’ll eat a bit” or “I’ll sleep a bit” or “It’s hard for me to get out of the house,” “I took off my shirt, how can I put it back on?” “It’s very hot outside,” “It’s very chilly,” or “rainy” and all such other pretexts and excuses that the mouths of the indolent are filled with.

It is, of course, not only the privileged and powerful who struggle with energizing themselves to transform the world. The oppressed are also plagued with this complex problem. The great Brazilian educator and author of the Pedagogy of the Oppressed Paulo Freire wrote:

The oppressed, having internalized the image of the oppressor and adapted his guidelines, are fearful of freedom. Freedom would require them to eject this image and replace it with autonomy and responsibility. Freedom is acquired by conquest, not by gift. It must be pursued constantly and responsibly. Freedom is not an ideal located outside of man; nor is it an idea which becomes myth. It is rather the indispensable condition for the quest for human completion.

Now this is certainly not sloth but rather a different example of one of the many inhibitors placed in our minds and souls that prevent liberation. Hegel called it our subordination to the consciousness of the master.

The Christian philosopher Thomas Aquinas argued that sloth can be sinful in two situations: when one is in despair to perform what is spiritually good or when one is so regretful about their wrong-doings that it becomes preventative for them. I personally believe that we can think of a number of other psychological reasons outside of the “sin” category and perhaps our framework can be more positive focusing on alacrity and motivation rather than our sinfulness.

Psychologists have found that life satisfaction is 22 percent more likely for those with consistent minor accomplishments (victories) than for those who express interest only in massive accomplishments (Orlick 1998). Laziness is not conquered as a major life goal but every moment of our existence. We must seek little victories and the research shows this can lead to a more meaningful and happy life.

To this effect the Grah (Vilna Gaon) found it meaningful to argue that the reward of doing mitzvoth is so much greater than the effort expended.

How difficult it is to leave this world. In this world for a few kopecks a person can purchase tzitzit, and as a reward for that simple mitzvah merit to experience the Divine Presence in the World to Come. But in the Upper World, he can no longer earn anything, even if he exerts all his energies.

May we all be blessed with the passion, motivation, and will to conquer the inner force demanding complacency, conformity, and ease of existence.

 

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Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz is the Founder and President of Uri L'Tzedek, the Senior Rabbi at Kehilath Israel, and is the author of "Jewish Ethics & Social Justice: A Guide for the 21st Century.” Newsweek named Rav Shmuly one of the top 50 rabbis in America!"

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February 20, 2013 | 10:35 pm

Activisms of Love and Hate

Posted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

Should we fight for justice with hearts full of love or hearts full of anger? Which is more rewarding? Which is more productive? Which must we cultivate as religious activists?

Rav Soloveitchik argued (A Theory of Emotions, 183):

Of course, love is a great and noble emotion, fostering the social spirit and elevating man, but not always is the loving person capable of meeting the challenge of harsh realities. In certain situations, a disjunctive emotion, such as anger or indignation may become the motivating force for noble and valuable action.

Some have argued that hate may be constitutive of love. The great German philosophy Nietzsche wrote: “He who cannot hate, also cannot love.” The French writer George Sand, on the other hand, argued that hate can itself be an expression of love and that the indignation over oppression and injustice is the highest expression of love.

Perhaps, at times, we can not be commanded or persuaded to emote and that we must merely obey our ontological situation and affective destinies? Could it be that the emotional life that accompanies our service in the world is all just relative to our different personalities? If so, are all personalities equally fit for hitting the streets?

Lewis Goldberg proposed a five-dimension personality model, nicknamed the "Big Five":

1. Extraversion - outgoing and stimulation-oriented vs. quiet and stimulation-avoiding
2. Neuroticism - emotionally reactive, prone to negative emotions vs. calm, imperturbable, optimistic
3. Agreeableness - affable, friendly, conciliatory vs. aggressive, dominant, disagreeable
4. Conscientiousness - dutiful, planful, and orderly vs. laidback, spontaneous, and unreliable
5. Openness to experience - open to new ideas and change vs. traditional and oriented toward routine
Can it not be that (on scale 3) both a “dominant” personality and a “conciliatory” personality are equally capable of bringing about great revolutions? How about (on scale 4): the spontaneous and the orderly? Don’t we need them both?

Stripping our guilt for the emotional lives that we find ourselves destined for, we can embrace and elevate our personalities and their concomitant emotional realities to become who we must and fight for who we must. They are crying out to us! Momentarily we transcend ourselves with exhilaration but then we inevitably retreat to find ourselves within our familiar souls. Ultimately we only have one heart to guard and it is here to stay. Rav Shlomo Carlbach would say:

If God had given me two hearts, I could use one for hating and the other one for love. But since I was given only one heart, I have only room for love, (Holy Brother, 179).

While we may differ in our traits we must unite in our love thereby actualizing the human spirit and giving merit to our creation.

 

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Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz is the Founder and President of Uri L'Tzedek, the Senior Rabbi at Kehilath Israel, and is the author of "Jewish Ethics & Social Justice: A Guide for the 21st Century.” Newsweek named Rav Shmuly one of the top 50 rabbis in America!"
 

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February 19, 2013 | 9:08 am

The mitzvah of Adoption, Denied Orphans in Russia, and The Baal Shem Tov

Posted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

A Chabad family in Nepal recently made a great public Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of G-d’s name) by adopting a starving child. While definitions for these terms vary, what is clear is that there are millions of orphans around the world and we must all do our part.

What recently happened in Russia was shameful, with wicked legislators denying the more than 700,000 waiting orphans from potential adoption to the United States due to petty political considerations.
 

Adoption today, especially on an inter-country basis, is undergoing tremendous change. Jewish law has always defined an orphan as one who has lost one parent and thus they recite the kaddish yatom, the orphan’s memorial prayer, (Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 29:19). In the industrialized world, we define an orphan as a child without either of his or her parents. However, especially due to the AIDS epidemic, millions of children in Africa and other areas have lost at least one parent and have been plunged into deep poverty. As a result, UNICEF now defines an orphan as someone who has lost one or both parents. It estimates that in 2005 there were more than 132 million orphans in the mostly non-industrialized areas of Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean. (Of these, 13 million had lost both parents). UNICEF promotes international adoption in accordance with the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoptions. Only eighty nations have ratified this Convention, which is designed to safeguard the interests of the children and ensure transparency for both the children and prospective adoptive parents from different countries.

Unfortunately, due to changing regulations, suspensions of adoptions, the use of surrogates, and the recession’s effect on the ability of couples to afford the adoption process, the recent trend has been to decrease adoptions. The number has decreased from 45,000 in 2004 to 25,000 in 2011. After scandals involving the selling of children, the United States suspended adoptions from Vietnam and Guatemala (although Vietnam ratified the Hague Convention in 2012, so adoptions from there may shortly resume). In Haiti, where many poor parents bring children to orphanages when they cannot afford to support them, the ambiguity surrounding which children are actually orphans has muddled the picture dramatically. A government survey revealed that about 80 percent of the 30,000 orphans had one living relative (which qualifies most as UNICEF orphans), and as a result some orphanages have been closed.

Recently, a crisis was manufactured in Russia over adoptions by American citizens. In 2009, Sergey Magnitsky, a whistleblower and anti-corruption lawyer, was imprisoned, and then died in a pre-trial detention facility in Russia. In reaction, the Magnitsky Act was passed in the European Union in 2011 and in Congress in late 2012. The act prevents about 60 Russian officials (those believed to be implicated in Magnitsky’s death) from obtaining visas to the United States and European Union, and freezes their assets. In retaliation, Russia passed a resolution banning all adoptions of Russian children by American citizens as of January 1, 2013, cynically named the Dima Yakovlev law, after a 2-year-old Russian child who died after being locked in a hot car by his parents in America for 9 hours. In statements to the foreign press, Russian President Vladimir Putin justified the law as an “adequate” response to the Magnitsky Act, and further denounced America for criticizing Russia for ill-treatment of prisoners while torturing prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. In a January interview with CNN, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev justified the bans by claiming that Russia had adequate resources to care for all its orphans, and then added: “…we know of a lot of cases when children adopted by American parents died or were tortured or lost their health in the U.S.”

This was an obvious appeal to Russian chauvinism at the expense of the welfare of thousands of children. Russia claims that 19 adopted children have died in America, but they neglect to mention that more than 60,000 Russian children have been adopted by Americans. Unfortunately, while the U.S. State Department estimated that about 50 American couples would be able to adopt Russian children (as their papers had been approved by Russian courts before the new law took effect), the remainder of the 1,000 couples awaiting adoption are without legal recourse. We hope that Russia reverses course and stops playing politics in the near future.

Orphans around the world who are not adopted undoubtedly suffer social isolation and miserable treatment in underfunded institutions that often lead to increased risk for disease and malnutrition. In the United States, studies have revealed that orphans who are not adopted have an average IQ 20 points lower than those raised in foster homes, and fewer than a quarter have a high school diploma. Of those who “age out” of foster care, nearly 60 percent of males are convicted of a crime, fewer than half were employed, and half were substance abusers. Clearly, adoption offers benefits to the orphan, the adopted parents, and society as a whole.

The Chofetz Chaim, in Ahavat Chesed, tells a tale that illustrates the power of adoption.

A childless couple came for help to the Baal Shem Tov. They accompanied him to a distant vil¬lage, where he asked each child’s name. Nearly all the boys were called Moshe, and nearly all the girls were Devorah Leah. The Baal Shem Tov explained why with this story:
A village couple—Moshe and Devorah Leah—were childless. In passing by the beit midrash (study house) one day, Moshe heard a passage: when one teaches a child Torah, it is as if he gave birth to the child. Moshe proposed an idea to his wife. There was no reliable Torah education for the village children; rebbes would teach whatever they wanted, leading to confusion and more harm than good. Therefore, Moshe proposed that they set up a proper system for Torah study.  They found the best melamdim (teachers) and paid them well, kept them supplied, and offered this to every village child.
Since every child was "their" child, the couple provided other needs. For some families, they helped with household expenses, weddings, and anything else a child required. Before long, the town recognized the beautiful generation emerging thanks to this couple. In the children's love of Torah, refinement, and intelligence, they outshone the chil¬dren of their region.
As Moshe and his wife grew older, they wrote a will leaving money to their relatives, setting up a home for the poor and donating the rest of their estate to maintain the children's education. When they died, the town’s great affection and high esteem for Moshe and Devorah Leah manifested in a special way. Almost every child born in those years was named after these "honorary grandpar¬ents," who with endless love and concern brought the town's children into a life of Torah and mitzvot.
"Now, let me ask you," said the Baal Shem Tov, “Was this couple childless, or did they have more children than anyone else?"

Let us take this message to heart and remember the millions of needy children in the world whose lives we can make better through adoption.

 

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Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz is the Founder and President of Uri L'Tzedek, the Senior Rabbi at Kehilath Israel, and is the author of "Jewish Ethics & Social Justice: A Guide for the 21st Century.” Newsweek named Rav Shmuly one of the top 50 rabbis in America!"

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February 14, 2013 | 9:41 pm

Mamie Currie Hughes and Today’s Civil Rights Struggle

Posted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

I am a hero junkie. I look to meet heroes to learn about what they have done and what makes them tick. I am very blessed when they accept my invitation to become activist partners and soul-friends. This morning, I had coffee with my new friend Mamie Currie Hughes, an 83-year-old mother of five. Ms. Hughes shared with me that not so long ago she was not allowed to come into a coffee shop like this one unless she was brought in by a white man. The humility and modesty I saw in Mamie belie the unbending determination she has exhibited for decades as a bold community and civil rights activist.

Mamie has long been prominent for her political service. She represented the 4th district in the Jackson County Legislature for 6 years in the 1970s, and eventually chaired its Health and Welfare Committee. During this time, Ms. Hughes was chosen by her peers for the honored position of Vice-Chair of the Legislature, and a few years later she was appointed by President Carter to be Regional Director for ACTION, a Federal Volunteer Service Agency, where she oversaw more than 20,000 volunteers in four states. She was also an Ombudsman for Bruce R. Watkins Roadway and a Founding Member of the Central Exchange. Mamie Hughes is one of the only women in Kansas City who has a bridge named after her. During the 71 Highway road construction, her assistance with negotiations on behalf of the residents of the area inspired the city to come together to make the project successful. She calls it a “people bridge” and notes that it’s for all of us, signifying people tearing down walls.

Mamie has served on the administrative boards of an impressive list of organizations. Today she serves on boards of the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center, and the Historic Jazz Foundation. She serves on the advisory boards of Friendship House/Catherine's Place, and is an active member of the Panel of American Women and the Women’s Public Service Network. The Midwest Center for Holocaust Education honored Mamie as the center’s 2006 “Community Champion.” Ms. Hughes was the first African-American in Kansas City to receive the “Woman of the Year” award by the Central Exchange.

Even taking into account the heroic efforts and accomplishments already cited, it is as a teacher that she has truly shown her heroism. At one point, she had 72 students in one classroom at her segregated school, in a room built for only 32 students. Throughout her life, Mamie has been an active teacher on how discrimination, racism, and bigotry have affected lives and notes that “there’s work that still needs to be done.” She has been recognized as a woman who has “changed the heart of [Kansas City].”

Many Americans mistakenly believe that racial segregation was prevalent in the deep South but not in Missouri, the geographical center of the United States. However, Missouri started out as a slave territory: The Missouri Compromise of 1820-1821 brought Missouri into the Union as a slave state. In addition, the Dred Scott case of 1857 revolved around a black man who had lived in free territory, and had then been taken to the slave state of Missouri. The Supreme Court’s decision declared that no black person could become an American citizen, and made slavery virtually legal in every state, adding to the sectional tension that would precipitate the Civil War. Interestingly, Missouri did not join the eleven states that seceded to form the Confederacy, and joined Delaware, Maryland, and Kentucky as border slave states to stay within the Union. Even after the Civil War, racial segregation continued to be the norm throughout the region. Indeed, the modern civil rights movement is widely believed to have taken off after the Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954; the first racially segregated school system cited was Topeka, in the neighboring state of Kansas.

During the often dangerous history of the civil rights struggle, Ms. Hughes was an activist on voter registration issues and was a part of protests and boycotts for equality. She told me that they were unable to try on any clothes in department stores and there were no restaurants they could eat at (except for one small hot dog stand). She served as a Community Planner for the Black Economic Union of Greater Kansas City, and later as its President and Chief Executive Officer. She has been a lifetime member of the NAACP, and was very involved with the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) and the SNCC (Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee).

While legal, institutional racial segregation is no longer an issue, there are tremendous challenges ahead for black Americans, particularly during this recession. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in January 2013 the seasonally adjusted rate of unemployment among black people was 13.8%, and among black teenagers (age 16-19) it was 37.8%, both nearly double the rate for white Americans. Even more challenging, Census Bureau statistics revealed that by 2010, the median net worth of white households was $110,729, over twenty times as much as the median black household net worth of $4,955. This gap has widened considerably since 2005. In addition, many social services are under attack, and the layoffs of hundreds of thousands of government workers has further diminished the ability of the government to help. Clearly, there is an economic divide today as pernicious as segregation.

In spite of all the reasons that Mamie has to resent white Americans, she has resisted stereotyping all people. We would do well to consider the wise advice that Mamie’s grandmother taught her: “All white people are not your enemies and all black people are not your friends.” We await the next Mamie Currie Hughes, whose contribution and approach is singular in our own time, to help set things right for a new generation, in coalition with all who seek to promote social justice.

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz is the Founder and President of Uri L'Tzedek, the Senior Rabbi at Kehilath Israel, and is the author of "Jewish Ethics & Social Justice: A Guide for the 21st Century.” Newsweek named Rav Shmuly one of the top 50 rabbis in America!"
 

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February 14, 2013 | 11:46 am

Justice in this World!

Posted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

Where do we look for justice?

The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, the 19th century work of Jewish law by Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried, teaches that “it is prohibited for a person to appeal for judgment from Heaven (i.e., Divine retribution) against his fellow who wronged him. This prohibition applies only if he has recourse to attain justice here on earth. And anyone who cries out to Heaven about his fellow, he is punished first” (29:14).

The lesson we take from this law is that while it is true that there is an ultimate judge after this life, during this life we must do the hard work to make peace and pursue justice in the here and now. Throughout history, there were times where we had no access to fair procedural justice, but today we live in a different era. We have religious courts, secular courts, and effective grassroots justice potential.

However, there are times when even wise people in authority make the wrong decision. There is a tragic Talmudic episode where the sages decreed after the destruction of the Temple that Jews should no longer marry, since it was the end of the Jewish people. The people, however, ignored this decree and were insistent on continuing to build their families (Bava Batra 60b).

There are other times when we must defy decrees because they do not represent true justice. The Talmud tells a story about how Moshe’s sister Miriam convinced their father, Amram, to have children with her mother, Yocheved, in spite of Pharaoh’s decree that all Hebrew male children were to be killed at birth. Amram had insisted that they should have no more children to avoid more death. However, Miriam rebuked him, saying that even worse than Pharoah’s decree was a decree that children should not be given life at all (Sotah 12a). The government was extremely unjust, and the Hebrews were determined to win out in this world over that injustice. This concept was expressed in the modern era by Henry David Thoreau, in his 1849 essay on civil disobedience, who wrote that if injustice “is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then I say, break the law.” From Mohandas Gandhi’s campaign for Indian independence to civil rights struggles in the United States, millions have been stirred by this idea in the fight for social justice.

In the United States, racial segregation was the law of the land for over fifty years starting in 1896. During the last century, courageous people on multiple levels, from lawyers working within the system to nonviolent demonstrators who were arrested, beaten, and even murdered, worked to change the law. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 eradicated many of the obvious abuses; however, the recent election, in which voters in predominantly black areas had to wait up to 8 hours to vote due to state government efforts to discourage them from voting, illustrates that the struggle is far from over. In President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union address, he cited the case of Desiline Victor, a 102-year-old black woman from North Miami, Florida, who endured a wait of 6 hours to vote in 2012, and then proudly wore a sticker that said, “I Voted.” She attended the President’s address and received a standing ovation for her determination to stand up for justice. Today, we look to our government to uphold the right of all Americans to vote, but we reserve the right to challenge a government that does not respond to demands for justice.

The “Torah is not in heaven” (Torah lo bashamayim hi), and the sages taught that we must accept human responsibility for law and ethics in our lives (Bava Metzia 59b). When the Hebrews arrived at the sea, there were four choices: 1) Go back and become slaves again; 2) fight; 3) commit mass suicide; or 4) pray to G-d for salvation. None of these were the right answer; Nachshon ben Amminadav’s response, “go forward, into the sea!” was the right one. From G-d’s response to the Hebrews’ prayers, “Why do you cry out to me?” (Exodus 14:15), we see that this was not the right course, and we learn the important lesson that we must take human responsibility and go forth with courage.

We take responsibility and pray for strength from our Creator, but we do not cry out to G-d for justice. We must take issues of justice to our religious courts and secular courts, we organize on a grassroots level for change, and we do the hard intellectual and spiritual work to take courageous responsibility for injustice in our society. Sometimes that is in line with law and sometimes it is acting against the legal system. In either case, pursuing justice in this world today is the value that wins out.

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz is the Founder and President of Uri L'Tzedek, the Senior Rabbi at Kehilath Israel, and is the author of "Jewish Ethics & Social Justice: A Guide for the 21st Century.” Newsweek named Rav Shmuly one of the top 50 rabbis in America!"
 

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February 13, 2013 | 9:16 pm

A Reflection on the Actualization of Human Potential

Posted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

Our work is never done! This is what makes Jewish activism so intimidating and also so invigorating. We never complete the larger goals. We are never whole. Until the day that we pass from the earth, we are unable to fully step back and “throw the towel in.” The Maharal M’Prague taught:

Man is not created in his final wholeness. Man was created to actualize his wholeness. That is the meaning of the verse ‘Man was born to toil.’ Man is born and exists for the aim of this toil, which is the actualization of his potential. He can, however, never attain the state of actualized being. He must toil forever, to actualize his wholeness. That is the essence of his final wholeness. Even when he attains a certain level of actualization, he still remains potential, and will forever have to go on actualizing himself, (Tiferet Yisrael).

Born to toil, we must constantly strive to actualize our wholeness. I would argue that this human need for a sense of completion and wholeness can only be achieved through partnership where finite souls embrace in search of love, care, and justice. Wholeness is found in the uniting of disparate souls. 

James Fowler attempted to articulate the highest faith stage of human development that one could reach (stage 6) in one’s spiritual growth:

Fascinated with the charisma, the authority and frequently the ruthlessness of such leaders, we must not fail to attend to the descriptions of Stage 6 to the criteria of inclusiveness of community, of radical commitment to justice and love and of selfless passion for a transformed world, a world made over not in their images, but in accordance with an intentionality both divine and transcendent.

In addition to working to improve the world, as spiritual wrestlers, we can also crave feeling whole and spiritual fulfilled. This spiritual yearning should further our attachments to justice. The Gemarrah says (Avoda Zara 19a) that Ain adam lomeid Torah ella mee’makom sh’libo chafaitz. One only learns Torah in areas where one’s heart has desire (interest). So too in our leadership-justice work! Too often, we choose service that deadens us rather than awakens us. Awaken! Awaken today! Awaken everyday! There is no time to wander or escape! It lies right before us! We must pursue the work that our souls crave. We must build our spiritual activist communities around an inclusion that allows for this diversity of desire.

This spiritual hedonism may be justified when the radical joy produced from is converted back into more freedom fighting. This is the underlying value of what Rav Soloveitchik argued (Out of the Whirlwind, 206):

Compassion is the socialized expression of joy. A person is summoned to serve G-d by serving his fellow man when he is least inclined to place himself at the disposal of others, when he is preoccupied with himself and the only service to which he attributes any value is self-service. He is contented with himself; he has been successful, he rejoices at his own great achievements, and he is ready to shut out the world in his exultation over his marvelous self. Exactly then, the call to service sounds.

This is complex and contrary to what we’ve been taught! There is virtue that can be produced from egocentrism, self indulgence, and perhaps even arrogance (obviously within limit). Perhaps it is even the ideal religious path? When spiritual fulfillment and self actualization is sought and elevated to the most pressing moral tasks, even via taking one self too seriously, perhaps some of the most holy work can be done. The other should still remain our primary focus but, at times, we must embrace what enables our actualization to properly reach the other. Let’s go to it!
 

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz is the Founder and President of Uri L'Tzedek, the Senior Rabbi at Kehilath Israel, and is the author of "Jewish Ethics & Social Justice: A Guide for the 21st Century.” Newsweek named Rav Shmuly one of the top 50 rabbis in America!"
 

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