December 31, 2012 | 2:44 pm

Affirming Life: The Eternal Recurrence

Posted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

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In his work The Gay Science (Aphorism #341), the renowned 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) explained his theory of the “Eternal Recurrence”:

What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: 'This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more' ... Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: 'You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine.'

Nietzsche has us imagine what our reaction would be, if we were told that we were to relive our lives repeatedly for all time, and whether this would be heaven or hell, based on the life we had lived, including all the choices we had made in life and their consequences. Nietzsche believed that we must learn to embrace the radical freedom we have in every life choice we make, so we can make the right choices. To Nietzsche,  living life to the fullest possibility was critical, as this was the only life, and eternal recurrence measured one’s progress. Ironically, shortly after his revision of The Gay Science, Nietzsche suffered a severe physical and mental breakdown and never wrote again.

In contrast, the classic and controversial text of Jewish mysticism, the Zohar (70, 132a), explains that we will indeed return to this world in a state of reincarnation as many times as are needed until we have perfected ourselves, and thus made ourselves fit to return to our Creator:

If there is even one organ in which the Holy Blessed One does not dwell, then he [the person with such organ] will be brought back into the world in reincarnation because of this organ, until he becomes perfected in his parts, that all of them may be perfect in the image of the Holy Blessed One.

In order to perfect ourselves and affirm our lives, we must heighten our awareness of ourselves through deeper contemplation and affirmation of life, gradually rising in levels of spirituality through a mystical study of the Torah. In doing this, we must also be perpetually aware of new ideas, senses, and emotions, always ready to reinvent or reawaken ourselves. Interestingly, the Zohar may be compared with Buddhism, where a soul is reincarnated until it is extinguished into the oneness of the universe. In the Zohar, however, the gradual rise leads to the Creator.

The prominent Transcendentalist American Henry David Thoreau (1816-1862) expressed a similar vision in his seminal work Walden (1854):

We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of the arts. Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour.

Thoreau’s approach was from a belief system closest to the Unitarian church, along with a prophetic love of nature. In spite of long periods in isolation at Walden, Thoreau did believe in active reform. He was a prominent abolitionist, and his short pamphlet on civil disobedience greatly influenced Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the tactics of the American civil rights movement in the 20th century.

To live a contemplative life, then, we must affirm not only the major things, such as family, health, and happiness; we must rather affirm all of our life decisions and actions. This idea of recognizing the importance of all of our actions is expounded in Pirke Avot 2:1:

“Rabbi [Judah HaNasi] said: What is the proper path that a person should choose to follow for oneself?... Be as scrupulous in observing a minor mitzvah as in a major one.”

All of these major thinkers stressed the importance of our life decisions. Nietzsche challenges us to approach each moment of our lives with full freedom and responsibility, as if we were to relive each moment for eternity, an idea later espoused by existentialists. Thoreau tells us to make every moment in the life of a person “worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour,” which has inspired people to cultivate inner spirituality in addition to causes such as nonviolent resistance and ecology. While these thinkers offered powerful insights, Judaism reminds us that all of life is important, both the big things and the seemingly small things. The Rabbis tell us that nothing is insignificant, that both minor and major mitzvot merit our full attention and dedication. We need not wait for the next life, as the Zohar says we might, to affirm our lives; we can take the next step toward perfection in every single moment in this life.

 

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!"

December 27, 2012 | 9:36 pm

Looking Back at 2012 - And Forward To Building Communities of Hope in 2013!

Posted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

This week, we close out 2012 and celebrate the start of the New Year. It is worth pausing to reflect upon this past year before we enter 2013.

Across the globe, we witnessed events both positive and negative, tragic and inspiring. Occurrences included the continuing effects of the "Arab Spring" in the Middle East, such as in Egypt, which ratified a more Islamic Constitution, and where elections brought Mohamed Morsi to power; police opening fire on striking mine workers in South Africa; the Sept. 11th attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya; Felix Baumgartner's space jump; an increasingly isolated and nuclear-ambitious Iran; a military flare-up between Israelis and Hamas forces in Gaza; the massacres in Syria’s civil war ;and the continuing effects of the Great Recession on the United States, Europe, and around the world.

Moving closer to home, we have seen the unprecedented damage across the Northeast resulting from Superstorm Sandy; a contentious and hard-fought campaign which resulted in the re-election of President Obama; and most recently, the horrific tragedy in Newtown, CT, the 16th mass killing in America this year, leaving a total of at least 88 dead and more than 100 wounded. To add to our apprehension, Congress has yet to come to an agreement on a deal to avoid the “fiscal cliff”; failure to do so before the end of 2012 means massive tax hikes and government budget cuts will kick in as soon as 2013 starts. This could have major ramifications for many Americans; for example, without a deal, unemployment benefits for 2 million Americans next week, and some economists believe going “over” the cliff could trigger another recession.

In our Torah portion this week (Vayechi), we are also at a major transition point, from ending Bereishit (Genesis) and starting Shemot (Exodus). Yaakov gives his final words on his deathbed and his final blessings to his children and grandchildren. The Jewish people (Bnai Yaakov, Bnai Yisrael) must now move forward in a post-Patriarch era. Yaakov looks back at his origins, sees how far he has come in his life, and then looks forward in giving blessings for the future of his children and his people.

We can emulate the path of Yaakov, being more reflective about where we came from, and giving blessings for a more positive future. Even more, we can emulate Yosef. When there is a change in leadership, many fear that change and they long for things to stay the same. After Yaakov passes, the brothers of Yosef become very afraid for their future, fearing that, with their father gone, Yosef will take revenge upon them for selling him into slavery so many years before. But, far from anger, Yosef tells his brothers that, though they meant him harm, G-d planned all along to turn that deed into good; Yosef ended up going down to Egypt and conceived of storing grain to save the people from starvation during the years of famine. And as he cared for the Egyptian people, so too he will care for his brothers and their families: “Yosef spoke to them… ‘And now, do not fear—I will sustain you and your children.’  He comforted them and spoke to their heart” (Genesis 50:19, 21). In a time of great transition, he calmed and assured them.

In our times, as we enter 2013, full of both light and darkness, hope and fear, we need communities of hope that can reassure us that our good work for change and our constant acts of giving are not in vain, and that good will ultimately prevail over evil in the world at large.

Many in recent times have predicted that religion would eventually fade away. A 2011 survey conducted in Great Britain showed that a quarter of the population claimed to have no religion, almost double the figure of 10 years ago. And, while the United States remains the most religious country in the West, 20 percent identify themselves as being without religious affiliation this is double the percentage from a generation ago.

However, these numbers fall quite short of telling the whole story of the place in religion in our societies.

Amidst the competing ideologies and schools of thought from the last few thousand years, few have endured. But religion has prevailed as perhaps the strongest survivor at all. Great nations may last centuries; but the great religions have survived for millennia. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the outgoing Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom, in his recent op-ed in the New York Times, wrote that religion “reconfigures our neural pathways, turning altruism into instinct, through the rituals we perform, the texts we read and the prayers we pray. It remains the most powerful community builder the world has known. Religion binds individuals into groups through habits of altruism, creating relationships of trust strong enough to defeat destructive emotions.”

The Harvard University political scientist Robert D. Putnam, famous for his 2000 book Bowling Alone, which detailed an increasing trend toward isolation in America, argued in his new book, American Grace, that there is one place where social capital can still be found: religious communities. Professor Putnam, himself a convert to Judaism, found that frequent church or synagogue attendees are more likely to donate to charities; help the homeless; do volunteer work; donate blood; spend time with someone who is feeling depressed; help a neighbor; help someone find a job; or offer a seat to a stranger. He found that religiosity, measured by the frequency of attendance at the house of worship, is a better predictor of altruism than all other variables (e.g., income, age, gender, race, education).

Yes, there were catastrophes in 2012, and grim reality threatens. Nevertheless, there is substantial evidence that religious groups in particular are addressing major problems. In November, Jewish and Catholic charities joined forces to help feed the victims of Hurricane Sandy, as well as provide Thanksgiving food baskets for the poor. In December, religious leaders representing Christians, Jews, and Muslims joined together to argue for a ban on assault weapons, as well as high-capacity clips, restricting gun show sales, and improving treatment for the mentally ill. Among other issues, more than 300 religious groups are working to end torture by U.S. intelligence agencies as a method of obtaining information In short, religious groups are in the forefront of nearly every major social justice campaign in America.
 

2012 has been a tough year on many levels. But as people become more and more divided due to technology communication, longer work hours, and the breakdown of community, we must maintain hope and confidence, and we must hold our communities close. Religious community is not the only source of hope we can find, but it may very well be the strongest option of all.

 

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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December 25, 2012 | 6:01 pm

The Lost Art of Small Talk

Posted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

During airplane travel, not only do I fail in limiting my consumption of bags of airplane peanuts, I’ve also never quite mastered the art of how to successfully avoid long conversations with talkative strangers sitting next to me on the plane. Sometimes these conversations can be forced and awkward, but other times, I must admit, these conversations can be pleasant small task and surprisingly insightful.

The art of small talk is a skill I started to really notice at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. There were numerous formal, organized intellectual presentations at the Forum. Former President Bill Clinton challenged world leaders, CEOs, faith leaders, and others gathered at Davos to think about how to maximize the effectiveness of the Forum. I found one of his most eye-opening ideas was his suggestion that the discourse of the formal presentations must also overflow into the halls. The opportunity to work through the great moral and societal problems of our time when such opportunities present themselves-as at Davos, with numerous world leaders and figures in one place- needs to be maximized to its potential. And even at such high-powered events as the World Economic Forum, there is plenty of vitally helpful small talk to be had.  It is not only the official and formal events, but also the casual work of the hallways, the small talk between the formal talks, that can a long distance in influencing policy.

In Davos, and also at the White House Chanukah party earlier this month, I was fortunate to witness interactions between some of the greatest world leaders. I was amazed by the ability of President Obama, and many others, to connect so quickly with strangers through a certain style of small talk. 

In these banquet halls, I was frequently reminded of the epic scene of the meeting of Yaakov and Pharaoh which is found in Genesis 47:7-10. With Yaakov—the great theologian—and Pharaoh—the great political leader of the time—one might wonder what these great world leaders of their time would discuss. Theology? World politics? The meaning of life? Fallout from the famine? Nope! Something much more mundane. Rather, “Vayomer Paroah el Yaakov, kama yamei shnei chayecha?” Pharaoh (in this great moment) asked Yaakov: “How old are you?” A question which seems much more fit for a chat between kids on a playground than between two figures of immense importance.  Why begin such a charged conversation with such a small and insignificant question?
The Ketav V’Kabbalah (Rav Mecklenburg of 19th c. Germany) suggests that there are two ways we must speak. First, there are times when we use language to communicate specific ideas, wishes, hopes, prayers and teachings.  Second, there are times that we use language simply to serve as the bridge that connects us to another; the substance and content of the conversation are secondary to the goal of connecting and relating.

Rav Mecklenburg refers to the nature of this dialogue between these two giants as “devarim shel mah b’kach”; this can loosely be translated as what we would call small talk. He is satisfied with the value and significance of ordinary social discourse and regular human interaction as a valid and legitimate form of conversation for Yaakov and Pharaoh to share. We don’t always have to look for great profundity and complexity in every conversation and every relationship. Yaakov and Pharaoh were simply making small talk, and that too is virtuous and valuable as a way to connect. 

In general, Jewish law and values teach that we should limit our speech to points of moral and spiritual significance. Our significant relationships should not be based around conversations about the weather, the sports scores, or the celebrity gossip pages, but rather around deeper reflections, feelings, and insights. However, Rav Mecklenburg also teaches that some speech can, and should, prioritize connecting to the other over expressing the content of an idea.

We can see this phenomenon in prayer as well. Sometimes, the goal of praying is to convey the right words and specific messages. Other times, the goal is about the connection between a person and G-d, and the specific words used are of lesser importance.
The Mishna, in Pirke Avot 6:6, tells us that there are 48 tools which can be used to acquire Torah. One of them is “mi’ut sicha,” traditionally translated as “limiting idle conversation.” If we limit our mundane conversations, the Rabbis teach, we will become closer to Torah. I learned an intriguing explanation about this phrase which suggests that the word miut not be translated as telling us to limit, but rather that the only type of conversation we should engage in is mi’ut sicha or small talk; that this type of talk is healthy and generative. Connecting with others, having human interaction, is an important and integral part of achieving real growth and small talk can be an important method in achieving those goals.

Business people have long known that small talk is an opportunity for marketing. It is also known, making small talk effectively can make you popular, as people respond to those who give them attention. In addition, a series of scholarly studies in 2010 revealed that small talk can boost cognitive ability, especially executive functions. Thus, success can often depend on one’s ability to convey simple messages. Nowhere is this more evident than in the case of two Presidents and their fates in the Presidential election of 1932.

Herbert Hoover was regarded as a hands-on businessman who, among other things had run the successful American food relief program during and after World War I, saving millions in Belgium, Russia, and elsewhere in Europe from starvation. This established his reputation as an efficient organizer and helped secure his election to the Presidency in 1928. However on October 25, 1929, with the stock market already fluctuating wildly, President Hoover issued a statement asserting that the American economy was “on a sound and prosperous basis.” After a few dry statements about construction and wages, he concluded with a reference to wheat bushel production, adding that this would “result in a very low carryover at the end of the harvest year.” This message ,with its uncaring tone and complete disconnect from what was causing a panic, did not resonate with the American people; 4 days later the stock market crashed, signaling the start of the Great Depression. Hoover’s inability to deal with the crisis, or communicate an effective strategy to combat the Depression, led to a dramatic plunge in his popularity, as well as in the confidence of the American people in their government, their country, and themselves.

In contrast, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was a man of enormous personal charisma, who made those interacting with him feel like he truly cared for them and was concerned with their plight. For example, he possessed an amazing ability to remember the names of people he had met only once. When asked how, he claimed that he saw their names on their foreheads. However, a more likely explanation is that he developed a method of remembering people through nicknames; thus, one adviser was “Harry the Hat” Hopkins; even  the infamous Soviet leader was “Uncle Joe” Stalin (though he was not called that to his face!). Roosevelt knew how to really engage and connect with people, on both large and small scales-an important criterion for a leader.

Immediately upon taking office, President Roosevelt had to deal with the collapse of the American banking system it, and restore a sense of security and hope to the banking system, as well in the hearts of so many Americans. He seized upon the method of a direct radio appeal to the American people. His “Fireside Chats” featured a small talk format, in which the President referred to his radio audience as “you,” and in which the talk revolved around basic explanations of problems. They were simple and casual, and made the audience-America-feel at ease. Most importantly, they were successful: after his “Chat” on the banking crisis on March 12, 1933, things began to turn around immediately. American quickly began making far more deposits instead of withdrawals from banks, and the American banking system was saved. President Roosevelt only made eight of these Fireside Chats during his first term, yet they had an enormous influence on the American public, and undoubtedly contributed much to his unprecedented four successful Presidential campaigns. The American people at large regarded President Roosevelt as a person who cared about them and their well-being; thus, was the   social skill of making small talk used to help rescue a nation and its people in the midst of an unprecedented crisis.

Small talk is how we make others feel more comfortable connecting with us. We don’t just approach others with big issues, but also value them enough to approach them over smaller issues as well
The Gemara tells us that nobody ever initiated a greeting to Rav Yochanan ben Zakkai, since he was always the first to greet them. The Gemara concludes “v’afilu nachri b’shuk,” one should even greet an unknown non-Jew in the mall-an encounter of seemingly little consequence in that time. The ability to greet and engage others warmly is at the core of Jewish virtuous living. One need not have a great intellectual master plan for conversation when approaching someone to meet them or greet them. Rather, one can merely seek to offer a smile and a warm connection.

While our intellectual conversations about our grand ideals are crucial to our self-definition, the conversations we have in the hallways and streets can be just as, if not more, important in defining us as both individuals and as a community.

This is not only true locally, but globally as well. Any student of social change who has been watching the revolutions in the Middle East over the last few years in countries including Egypt, Libya, Syria and Tunisia knows that so much of the great impact and social change emanates not from boardrooms or palaces, but rather from hallways and streets and factories, and even from social media, places where people of all walks of life come together. This power of small talk can bring about deep, transformative connections. We are in an era of heightened small talk that will produce ripple effects around the world, where hundreds of thousands of people can be mobilized to action almost immediately. Repressive governments can no longer rely on censorship of print media and the use of armed force to be sufficient to oppress their people. The proliferation of social media has greatly weakened their power to do so, as we have seen across the Middle East and elsewhere.

We can also reflect upon moments where we have opportunities for small talk, and thus opportunities to establish relationships, in our lives.

• Kiddush at shul: A sign of an inclusive community is not just if one is welcomed when they initially enter the building, but if they feel welcomed and cared for when the food comes out. Are elbows thrown? Is one offered a seat? Is this a place for meaningful small talk and connection, or merely a place of rapid consumption?
• With the homeless —whether or not one chooses to give money, food, or other tzedakah to those they find in the streets, just interacting with our fellow human brethren who find themselves on the streets can be holy opportunities for smiles and perhaps small talk.  When we stop to talk with a homeless individual instead of just passing them by, we are validating their presence and inherent human dignity—we are showing them that we see them, and that we acknowledge that they are just as human as we are.
• In the workplace—so much of the crucial relationship building happens in passing between meetings, at places like the water coolers.
• For family there are countless ways to use small talk. Ideology and meaning can be constructed at the elaborate Shabbat table-and while doing laundry or washing the dishes. The Rabbis even taught the importance of small talk between spouses before reuniting in intimate ways, offering a chance to reconnect more simply and softly.

Small talk can be fitting at many times in life. Personally, when I think back to my grandmother on her death bed, it was our final small talk rather than some profound statement that connected us even more deeply, even in those last moments of her life.
It is not only in the work of trying to change the world in Davos or Washington that requires change-makers and social activists to engage in small talk . It is also necessary in our intimate and everyday relationships, and in our sacred communal relationships, in what Buber calls “I / Thou” encounters, that offer deep spiritual connections.

May we all merit to make all of our words count: both our words of meaning, and our words of connection. 

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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December 24, 2012 | 4:28 am

Microfinance, Kiva, and Uri L’Tzedek

Posted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

Jewish tradition focuses heavily on the importance of gemilut chasadim, or charity. One way today’s globalized world engages in large-scale charity is through microfinancing, a way of offering financial services to the poor or those without access to typical bank lending. The movement is based upon the belief that low-income people can achieve their goals and lift themselves out of poverty if given access to loans. Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) help people in developing countries as well as in developed ones, including the United States. Microfinance includes a number of financial services, such as microcredit, micro-lending, micro-insurance, savings, and money transfer. Today, anyone with access to the Internet can join and contribute to an MFI.

Microfinance is not new. For example, a group of 15th-century Franciscan monks founded community pawnshops, and a European credit union movement began in the 19th century. Jews have also been involved in microfinance for millennia. A gemach (abbreviation for gemilut chasadim, or acts of kindness), interest-free loan fund, is the quintessential example of Jewish microfinancing. The gemach fulfills the positive mitzvah of lending money (Exodus 22:24) and the negative mitzvah against charging interest (Leviticus 25:37). Jews also established some of the first MFIs in America, referred to as Hebrew Free Loan Societies.

Today, Microfinance has grown into a global movement comprising thousands of institutions, each with its own lending practices. Microfinance currently empowers approximately 160 million people in developing countries.

There are three general microfinancing methods: 1) formal financial institutions, including banks and insurance companies, which have been reluctant to service poor populations due to high transaction costs and other risks; 2) non-governmental organizations (NGOs), such as Grameen Bank  (created by Prof. Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Prize winner, author of Banker to the Poor,)and head of BRAC in Bangladesh), which currently lend to more than 100 million clients worldwide, and whose safe, secure deposit services make them very popular (though NGOs are not permitted to collect deposits in some countries); and 3) informal organizations, including moneylenders, informal associations, cooperatives, and community-based development institutions, often managed by the poor themselves, which provide flexible, convenient, and fast services, but are highly risky and much harder to study formally.

Do MFIs help people get out of poverty? David Roodman, of the Center for Global Development, is critical of the microfinance movement’s ability to alleviate poverty. He believes that with the rise of large bank participation in microfinance, the world’s poor are encouraged to borrow repeatedly, with increasing liability. Instead, Roodman believes that the poor should be offered ways to save money as a way out of poverty. He is also critical of certain microfinance groups that hold groups of borrowers liable for all the loans, thus putting pressure on members to sell or barter all their possessions in order to come up with the money to repay the loans. Kadita Tshibakaof Opportunity International counters by noting that MFIs are beginning to offer interest-bearing savings accounts, low-cost insurance plans, and financial education programs for the poor that will help them start businesses, hire people from the local population, and help the community rise out of poverty. In addition, Tshibaka argues that pooling borrowers (who are overwhelmingly women) does not lead to desperate borrowers, but has led to a 95 percent repayment rate in 4-month cycles, contributing to stability. Thus, while there are still problems with some MFIs, the overall effect is beneficial.

Kiva is the world's first person-to-person microlending website, relying on a network of microfinance institutions to allow people to donate in small amounts and build community in the process. Kiva partners with MFIs (or “Field Partners”) to find individuals in need of loans. The Field Partner disburses the loan to the individual and passes information about the individual and the loan to Kiva. To support this, Kiva lenders browse available loans online and select a loan they wish to fund. As the borrower makes payments, the Field Partner pays Kiva, who repays the lender. The lender can then choose to make another loan, donate to Kiva, or withdraw the money. Thus far, Kiva has made loans of more than $386 million to more than half a million lenders in 67 countries, with an average loan of about $400, and a 99 percent repayment rate. You can find out more about the way Kiva loans work on its website.

The Rambam famously stated that the best way to give someone charity is to give him a loan, enter into a partnership with him, or give him a means to an income (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Matnot Aniyim 10:7). Microlending is one of the most important ways we can work to eradicate poverty and empower those in the developing world to build their lives and dreams on their own terms. As a former Uri L’Tzedek fellow Talia Cottrell Furleiter wrote an important article on the importance of microlending and its place in the Jewish tradition for the E-Jewish philanthropy blog.

Uri L’Tzedek has proudly maintained a Kiva lending team since November 2008, with 133 current team members and 847 completed loans, comprising $28,825.

Consider joining the Uri L’Tzedek’s Kiva Lending Team to become part of this larger movement. Encourage your community to purchase products associated with microfinance, including goods made in enterprises funded by microfinance or retailers that donate a percentage to support microfinance. And please help to spread awareness: Tell others about microfinance and encourage them to get involved. For poverty is a solvable problem, and microlending is a great tool to get our world to the point of complete eradication.

To put Uri L’Tzedek’s motivation in Muhammed Yunus’ prophetic words: “Poverty does not belong in civilized human society. Its proper place is in a museum. That’s where it will be. When schoolchildren go with their teachers and tour the poverty museums, they will be horrified to see the misery and the indignity of human beings. They will blame their forefathers for tolerating this inhumane condition and for allowing it to continue in such a large segment of the population until the early part of the twenty-first century.”

 

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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December 23, 2012 | 2:49 pm

Fighting for the Innocent!

Posted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

We all agree that a stable society must have a strong, punitive justice system that maintains order and security. One flaw in every justice system, however, is the perpetual possibility of mistakenly punishing the innocent. Unfortunately, in our justice system, this happens too often.

There are six primary reasons for wrongful convictions:

1. Eyewitness misidentification: Eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable. It is difficult to recall exactly the circumstances of any situation, especially one that catches a person by surprise. For example, do you remember the exact wording of every interaction you had yesterday?  As time goes by it becomes even more difficult to recall what happened.

2. “Snitch” testimony: Witnesses, usually those already in prison, come forward claiming to have heard the suspect confess in order to get favorable treatment on their own cases.

3. Police and prosecutorial misconduct: Examples of this include crime labs claiming that they had test results when no tests were actually performed, and prosecutors and police hiding evidence pointing to another suspect. Unfortunately, these occurrences, if discovered, happen long after the trial, and those who commit such obstructions of justice are rarely punished.

4. False confessions: Authorities are often eager to close a case and thus put pressure on those accused to admit to a crime they did not commit. The accused, scared and feeling overwhelmed by the odds against them, admit to the crime, figuring that they will be punished anyways and that this will result in a less harsh sentencing. A recent example of this is the case of the Central Park Five, in which four of the five then-teenagers confessed to raping and killing a woman in Central Park years ago, and recently were proved innocent through DNA testing.

5. Poor defense counsel: Lawyers can, and often do, make many mistakes when defending a client. This is especially true in the case of public defenders, who receive enormous caseloads and are so overburdened that it is impossible to do a thorough job on each case.

6. Junk science: This applies both to methods that are not really science when empirically tested, and to legitimate science performed poorly. Poor evidence, later disproved with stronger science, has led to too many incarcerations.

How many prisoners in the American justice system are actually innocent? While it is impossible to truly know, over the past decades, experts have offered varying percentages: Samuel R. Gross and Barbara O’Brien estimated “at least 2.3 percent”; Jon B. Gould and Richard A. Leo put it at 3 to 5 percent; James S. Liebman et al. place their estimate at 7 percent; and the newest estimate, by John Roman et al, places its estimate at 5 percent, except for sexual assault, for which the wrongful conviction rate may be as high as 15 percent!

Jewish law strongly upholds the principle that the innocent should not be punished. When G-d reveals to Abraham his plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:17-33), Abraham challenges G-d: “Will you also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” When G-d offers to spare the cities if there are 50 righteous people, Abraham solicits for forgiveness if there is a number slightly lower; eventually, G-d decides that if there are even 10 righteous people, he will spare the cities. Thus, from the time of Abraham it was important that punishment should be reserved for the guilty, and the innocent should be spared, even, sometimes, to the extent that it may mean letting the guilty go unpunished.

Today, there are those who are dedicated to ensuring that the innocent do not languish in jail. The National Registry of Exonerations, a joint project of the University of Michigan Law School and the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law, in less than a year of investigating data, has now recorded the occurrence 1,040 exonerations since 1989. The Registry helps highlight the need to scrutinize convictions (especially in states with the most exonerations, such as Illinois and Texas) to make sure that they were honestly obtained and that the defendants had sufficient and competent defense.

The Innocence Project, founded by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld of Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1992, is a group that uses the relatively new science of DNA testing to establish the innocence of many prisoners. The staff of lawyers and Cardozo clinic students, and allies in many states, has thus far exonerated 301 prisoners, who had served an average of nearly 14 years (and 18 of whom had been on death row), using DNA evidence. One wonders what may have happened to so many other innocent prisoners had such technology been available earlier.

One case illustrates the great value of the Innocence Project for American society. In 1974, James Bain was convicted of raping a 9-year old boy in Florida. The primary evidence at the time revolved around the blood type of the semen on the victim’s underwear. The jury believed the prosecution’s claim that Bain’s blood type was AB, even though the blood sample was group B. Once DNA evidence became available, Bain tried five times to get the Circuit Court to examine his case, but was rejected each time. Finally, after the Innocence Project became involved, DNA evidence was examined, and confirmed that Bain was not the rapist. James Bain was exonerated and released on December 17, 2009, after serving 35 years for a crime he did not commit.

The case of the “Central Park Five,” the subject of a recent documentary by Ken Burns, illustrates the continuing difficulty of former prisoners even after they have been exonerated. In 1989, a young white investment banker was found unconscious after having been raped in Central Park. The police quickly focused on five black or Latino mid-teen boys who had been in the park. After each of the accused underwent 14 to 30 excruciating hours of intense interrogation, each of the boys either confessed, or said that others had been involved in the rape. Apart from that, there was no physical or DNA evidence that linked the boys to the rape, and the victim had no memory of the crime. Ed Koch, then the Mayor of the City of New York, as well as law enforcement officials and the media engaged in a campaign of vilification against the five, and they were quickly convicted and jailed. After their release, their conviction was vacated in 2002, as a serial rapist who eventually committed three more rapes and a murder eventually confessed to the crime, and his DNA matched the 1989 rape. As a result, in 2003 the Central Park Five filed a $250 million suit against the city officials responsible for violating their civil rights. Far from seeking a settlement, New York City has challenged the suit, and even filed suit against Ken Burns and the others involved in the making of the documentary to surrender all the notes and video not shown in the documentary. To this day, the New York Police Department stands by its 2003 review which concluded that the police did nothing wrong in their handling of the case.

We need a justice system, and we need to punish those who disobey the law, but we must ensure that the rights of the innocent are protected, and that if a prisoner is found to be innocent, that prisoner should be set free and given compensation. Earl Warren (1891-1974), who served as a District Attorney, Governor of California, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, was well aware of the often coercive methods by which law enforcement obtained confessions and convictions, and how careful scrutiny needed to be applied to ensure that only the guilty were convicted and incarcerated. As he said, “Life and liberty can be as much endangered from illegal methods used to convict those thought to be criminals as from the actual criminals themselves.”

There are more than 50 Innocence Projects in the United States, under the umbrella of a network called the Innocence Network, and they can use our help. This is nothing short of the championing of justice over injustice, and as a community, we must support their work.

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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December 21, 2012 | 10:50 am

Putting Ethics into our Celebrations: The Launch of “Just Simchas!”

Posted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

Jewish celebrations are not merely about throwing a party but rather can be transformational events that express our core values. For this reason, Uri L’Tzedek, the Orthodox Social Justice Movement, has launched Just Simchas to educate, inspire, and empower others to include more social justice into their lifecycle celebrations. Whether one is celebrating the birth of a child, a wedding, or a bar or bat mitzvah, one can now learn how to add more meaning and impact with a “Just Simcha.”

When making decisions about the caterer, the food, the venue, the gifts, the invitations, and the apparel among many other decisions, one should inquire about social justice enhancements. One’s celebration should attempt to honor the dignity of workers, the sentience of animals, the impact on the environment, the problem of slave labor, and the power of giving.

Just Simchas offers a welcome response to the astounding consumerism that dominates American culture in the holiday season (the months of November and December), almost exclusively for holiday gifts. Consumerism has exploded in the U.S. at all times in the year and in all communities but most especially during holidays. The amount of money spent, and pressure put on consumers to spend, is enormous. During the 2012 holiday season, the following predictions have been made:

• Americans will spend about $586 billion during the holiday period in 2012, an increase of 4 percent since last year. 
• In 2011, holiday sales represented 19.5 percent of total sales, and in some retail areas it ranged as high as 40 percent of total annual sales.
• On the positive side, it is predicted that retailers will hire about 600,000 workers for the season.
• On the negative side, many retail workers are subject to extreme pressure to work long hours during the holiday season (for example, Macy’s will remain open for 48 consecutive hours during the days leading up to December 24). Despite the long hours, about 1.5 million retail workers remain at or slightly above the poverty level.
• The average American is expected to spend $854 for gifts this holiday season, an increase of 32 percent over last year. Many Americans will go into debt as a result.

As these statistics show, consumerism can overtake the original meaning of holidays that used to represent a cessation of work and a chance for families to gather together. Today, many workers must leave their family and face verbal and even physical harm from customers and management. Many of these problems persist throughout the year, and they cross religious lines, including into our own community. However, we have a chance to reverse this trend. We can purchase items, but why not purchase Fair Trade gelt or greeting cards that support social justice causes? Why not use our Hanukkah observance for tzedakah? Why not use a gift as an occasion to teach justice values and raise awareness? Why not expand social justice awareness and impact into our weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, and other joyous occasions?

In addition, we can spread the goodness by sharing these ideas with others. With Just Simchas as a resource, we can use our life cycle celebrations as stimuli for our own growth and the growth of simcha attendees. We can also make sure that our simcha not only avoids harm but also serves as a model for leading and giving.

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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December 20, 2012 | 2:30 pm

The Assault on Rabbi Rosenberg: Ignoring Sex Abuse

Posted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

Rabbi Nuchem Rosenberg is a refreshingly bold advocate against child sexual abuse which occurs in the ultra-Orthodox world. He works within his own Satmar Hasidic and other communities across the ultra-Orthodox spectrum, publicizing claims of sexual abuse and providing victims with the strength and support to speak out about what was done to them. This brave and courageous man was recently a victim himself – of an attack in which chemicals were thrown in his face with the intent to harm or kill him. Thankfully, Rabbi Rosenberg survived the attack, and he is in recovery in the hospital.

It seems highly unlikely that it was just a coincidence that this attack occurred in the same week as the conviction of Nechemya Weberman. Mr. Weberman is, or perhaps was, a leading Satmar community member and unlicensed therapist who was “found guilty of repeatedly sexually abusing a girl who came to him for counseling.”

Sadly, when it comes to sexual abuse, many insular communities, such as the ultra-Orthodox, prefer to cover up such heinous crimes, shielding the perpetrators and attempting to silence the victims. Of course, this is exactly the opposite of how such situations should be handled; those who are guilty of such abuses should be exposed and condemned, and their victims should receive the unconditional support of their communities.

If a religious community prefers to knowingly hide sex offenders in its midst, and suppress efforts by victims and their advocates to come forward with the truth, then the secular authorities becomes the best hope of dealing with this grave problem. There have long been attempts within ultra-Orthodoxy to cover up incidences and perpetrators of abuse, and it is past time for justice to fully be done. Unfortunately, sexual abuse can be found in every type of community in the world, but responsible communities are outspoken and active in punishing those guilty and supporting those wronged. These are the types of behavior only too rarely exhibited in the ultra-Orthodox world today by brave people like Rabbi Rosenberg, who has learned the hard way what can happen when a person confronts powerful forces aligned against justice.

It is bad enough when one of the three cardinal sins of Judaism, sexual immorality (the other two being murder and idol worship), is so flagrantly violated. Now, rather than being applauded for their efforts,  those who fight against this abuse find themselves being victimized in different ways. Sadly, the Talmud teaches that there is only one thing equal to these three cardinal sins, and that is “sinat chinam”—warrantless hatred— which, when it occurred between Jews in ancient times, is seen in Yoma 9b as one of the main reasons for the destruction of the Second Temple 

This is not the first case of this kind to come to light in an ultra-Orthodox community. On July 11, 2011, in a separate Hasidic community in Brooklyn, 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky was abducted, drugged, and suffocated to death by Levi Aron, another member of the same community; pieces of Kletzky’s dismembered body were found by the police in Aron’s freezer and a nearby trash bin. In spite of their having been “all sorts of rumors about” Aron, the community was in shock that “one of their own” had committed the murder. Poor Leiby paid the price for his community members’ failure to act on their suspicions.

Whereas rumors about Aron had floated about for years, the New York Police Department acted with considerably greater speed: Within 36 hours of Kletzky’s disappearance, Aron was identified as the kidnapper, tracked down, and arrested; he confessed on the spot to Kletzky’s murder. There have been times in Jewish history when Jews had good reason to distrust, or even fear, secular legal, judicial, and police authorities. But this is America in the year 2012; there are no Cossacks coming to attack us, or KGB agents coming to arrest us. We can trust in, and should cooperate with, the police and local authorities. Indeed, when there is greater cooperation between police forces and various communities, the more trust they build between each other, and the effectiveness of policing increases as well.

The recent allegations of past sexual abuse against Yeshiva University (confirmed by the university’s chancellor and former president) serve as yet another example of an individual religious community’s, this time among the Modern Orthodox, inability to police itself effectively. The statement by Yeshiva’s current president, and the spirit behind it, is impressive and important, but it is only the beginning of the sea change we must see in our communities.

May we, as American Jews, do all we can to eradicate abuse in our communities, and may we make clear to all that Judaism is against all abuse, is in favor of attacking this ill with all fervor; and sees those who commit or cover up such as crimes as going against the laws and spirit of the Torah. May Rabbi Rosenberg be speedily and completely healed and continue his fight for justice with success and in peace; and may he find many to join him in his holy quest.

 

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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December 15, 2012 | 6:16 pm

Levinas: On Ritual and Justice

Posted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

The great French Jewish philosopher and Talmudist Emmanuel Levinas, in his Difficult Freedom (pp. 176-177), taught about the power of Jewish ritual to inform and inspire our work to make the world more just, which is of paramount importance. He wrote: “The Justice rendered to the Other, my neighbor, gives me an unsurpassable proximity to God… The pious person is the just person....For love itself demands justice and my relation with my neighbor cannot remain outside the lines which this neighbor maintains with various third parties. The third party is also my neighbor.” Thus, when we pursue justice in a Jewish way, we come closer to G-d. This is because “The ritual law constitutes the austere law that strives to achieve justice. Only this law can recognize the face of the Other which has managed to impose an austere role on its true nature…”

This discipline found in religious life through ritual is needed in our daily lives: “The way that leads to God therefore leads … to humankind; and the way that leads to humankind draws us back to ritual discipline and self-education. Its greatness lies in daily regularity…” One cannot rely on an occasional, passive religious service, but on daily ritual. To Levinas, ritual tames man and calms the spirit: “The law is effort. The daily fidelity to the ritual gesture demands a courage that is calmer, nobler and greater than that of the warrior…. The law of the Jew is never a yoke. It carries its own joy…” Far from religion as dour, drudge-like labor, ritual is joyful labor.

We can see this truth in other areas, as well. Social workers have seen the beneficial effects of rituals on youths who have grown up with poverty, domestic violence, sexual abuse, drug addiction, crime, and parents who either abandoned their families or have been incarcerated. Mark Redmond, Executive Director of Spectrum Youth and Family Services, observed: “Rituals, whether religious or not, are vital to family life. Having dinner together every night—without any television, cell phones or e-mail present—is extremely important. Bedtime rituals are also important. And making a big deal about birthdays and anniversaries and holidays—all important.” These rituals, and religious rituals, provide safety, stability, and purpose to children who otherwise would live in a world of anxiety and hopelessness.

In a similar vein, Levinas argues that the human-Divine relationship formed in ritual gives us the strength to fight for justice: “The fact that the relationship with the Divine crosses the relationship with people and coincides with social justice is therefore what epitomizes the entire spirit of the Jewish bible. Moses and the prophets preoccupied themselves not with the immorality of the soul but with the poor, the widow, the orphan and the stranger.” This human-Divine relationship should not be characterized as “spiritual friendship,” but one “that is manifested, tested and accomplished in a just economy for which each person is fully responsible…” Ritual, therefore, is hopeful, joyful, and necessary to create a just world.

The Jewish sense of slavery, which we return to so frequently in Jewish prayer and ritual, defines our narrative and ethical consciousness. “The traumatic experience of my slavery in Egypt constitutes my very humanity, a fact that immediately allies me to the workers, the wretched and the persecuted peoples of the world. My uniqueness lies in the responsibility I display to the Other…Humankind is called before a form of Judgment and justice that recognizes this responsibility…” Once again, Levinas challenges the view of ritual as insular and passive, recasting it as central in raising our awareness of our commonality with all the poor and vulnerable. 

Rituals are non-utilitarian, symbolic acts that involve and promote the cultivation of mindfulness. The transformative power of ritual is achieved when we take the opportunity to explore ourselves, our hearts, and our ideals. We step out of this world to cultivate a meaningful experience and then to return to life changed. This is why we seek to perform ritual on our own and not by proxy. The greatest power of religious ritual, in my view, is the opportunity to deepen awareness about one’s own moral and spiritual values. In ritual, we slow down, refocus on the big picture, and reaffirm our core values. Sometimes we do this in sacred privacy but more often we do it within the spiritual partnership of community.

Levinas reminded us that when we honor the dignity of the other we are also honoring the Other. And when we embrace the Other we are preparing for our work in social justice for the other. May we return to Jewish ritual with fervor and determination, and may we allow its spiritual power to transform us to be agents of love and justice in emulation of the Divine.

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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