Torah from HACD
Learning from Jews by Choice, Parashat Naso, June 14, 2024
Torah from HACD
Learning from Jews by Choice, Parashat Naso, June 14, 2024
The medieval midrashic collection Bemidbar Rabbah on Parashat Naso, which we read this week, includes many of classical Judaism’s most interesting thoughts about Jews by choice. Numbers 5 addresses the case of providing restitution to someone who has been harmed, but is apparently no longer alive. The Torah assumes that in this case, restitution is paid to a family member, called a גואל, goel/redeemer. Then the Torah raises a potential problem with this idea that one can provide post-mortem restitution to a family member. .
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If that person [is deceased and] has no kin/redeemer to whom restitution can be made, the amount repaid shall go to the Lord for the priest |
וְאִם אֵין לָאִישׁ גֹּאֵל לְהָשִׁיב הָאָשָׁם אֵלָיו הָאָשָׁם הַמּוּשָׁב לַיהוָה לַכֹּהֵן |
The early midrash Sifrei Bemidbar asks what seems to be an obvious question:
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“If that person has no kin/redeemer…” R. Yishmael said: Is there anyone in Israel who has no kin?! So what is the Torah saying when it says “If that person has no kin”? Scripture is coming to teach you about the case of someone who has stolen from a convert who then dies. |
וְאִם אֵין לָאִישׁ גֹּאֵל ר’ יִשְׁמָעֵאל אָמַר וְכִי יֵשׁ לְךָ אָדָם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁאֵין לוֹ גּוֹאֵל?! וּמָה תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר וְאִם אֵין לָאִישׁ גֹּאֵל? בָּא הַכָּתוּב וְלִמֵּד עַל הַגּוֹזֵל הַגֵּר וְנִשְׁבַּע לוֹ וָמֵת |
Who is the only person in Israel who has no relatives? According to R. Yishmael, that would be the Jew by choice, who is considered a newborn upon conversion to Judaism. Reading that scenario back into the text of the Torah, in the case of a Jew by choice who dies, the role of kin is played by the kohen.
This connection in the early midrash between Parashat Naso and the person who chooses to become Jewish becomes the basis for the later medieval midrash, Bemidbar Rabbah to deeply explore the experience of the Jew by choice.[1] The midrash is deep and robust and I encourage people to explore the relevant passage thoroughly on their own. I will focus on one small passage, Bemidbar Rabbah 8:9. Another passage in our parashah is the Priestly blessing, Birkat Kohanim. Our midrash associates that passage, which begins “May the Lord bless you” with the only other time in the TaNaKh where that phrase appears, Psalms 128:5. Our midrash begins by quoting Psalms 128:5-6::
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[“May the Lord bless you from Zion. May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life” (Psalms 128:5)] “May you see the children of your children. Peace upon Israel” (Psalms 128:6) – is it because the convert will see grandchildren that peace will come upon Israel? Rather, the verse is speaking of a righteous convert, whose daughter marries a kohen, and then her sons, his grandsons, will stand as priests who bless Israel and say: “[The Lord] shall bless you.… the Lord shall shine.… the Lord shall lift…[and grant you peace]” (Numbers 6:24–26). |
[(תהלים קכח, ה): יְבָרֶכְךָ ה’ מִצִּיּוֹן וגו’ וּרְאֵה בְּטוּב יְרוּשָׁלָיִם כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ,] (תהלים קכח, ו): וּרְאֵה בָנִים לְבָנֶיךָ שָׁלוֹם עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְכִי בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁיִּרְאֶה הַגֵּר בָּנִים לְבָנָיו יָבוֹא שָׁלוֹם עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶלָּא בְּגֵר צֶדֶק הַכָּתוּב מְדַבֵּר, שֶׁזּוֹכֶה שֶׁמַּשִֹּׂיא בִּתּוֹ לְכֹהֵן וְזוֹכֶה וְעוֹמְדִים מִבָּנֶיהָ, שֶׁהֵם בְּנֵי בָנָיו, כֹּהֲנִים שֶׁמְבָרְכִין אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאוֹמְרִים (במדבר ו, כד כו): יְבָרֶכְךָ וגו’, יָאֵר ה’ וגו’, יִשָֹּׂא ה’ וגו’, לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר: שָׁלוֹם עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל.
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Perhaps because the extended midrash repeatedly comes back to the theme of the Jew by choice, the convert to Judaism, this passage from the Psalms is also associated with the convert, and it asks what seems to be a rather strange rhetorical question. Why should the convert who lives to see grandchildren bring a special blessing of peace on Israel? But rather, the midrash claims, the convert’s daughter can marry a kohen, and then she can have children who will also be kohanim and who bless Israel with the priestly blessing.
The rhetorical move using the grandchild of the convert to connect these two passages is brilliant. But it also gets to one of the true challenges faced by the Jew by choice. Judaism is a family, and someone who joins that family may wonder when they will authentically become a real part of the family. The midrash makes the claim that in only two generations, not only can the convert be integrated into the people, but the convert’s descendants can be the most honored of Israel.
Throughout this article, I’ve been using the term convert and Jew by choice interchangeably. But the newer term, Jew by choice, means a lot more to me. I’ve spent a lot of time studying and teaching about conversion as well as working with people who have chosen Judaism. I chose to study conversion because I think the term Jew by choice describes the process of conversion better than the term convert. I also choose to focus on that term because it points to the truth that we all, in modern times, are Jews by choice. Theologically, many of us feel that we are compelled and committed externally to God and to Israel. But sociologically, we are all Jews by choice. Any of us could choose to leave. Fortunately, the people who are reading this article, choose to stay.
Like the convert, many of us have concerns about our authenticity, our connections with our tradition, our sense of commandedness and commitment. But over the past couple of weeks, we see grandparents (and other special visitors) coming to HACD. We see how they take joy in the learning that their grandchildren are engaging in. We see students receiving their siddurim and becoming part of a community of pray-ers. Nothing affirms our place in the people of Israel like seeing the old and the young learn together.
I want to thank all of the staff and faculty who have made all of these events possible and beautiful.
I also want to challenge us all to think of how and why we make the Jewish choices that we do. For some, being a Jew by choice is a single choice; once I acknowledge that I’m Jewish, my decisions of how to be Jewish are defined by my community and my rabbi. For many of us, how we are Jewish is an ongoing process of juxtaposing values and making creative and thoughtful choices.
This article was written before Shavuot, but by the time it comes out, we will have stood again at Sinai, choosing to be accept Torah. May our children follow our example and learn to choose Judaism actively, with love and commitment and passion. I know that this is the educational goal that I see every day in the classrooms of HACD. May we all be blessed to make that same commitment and those same choices.
This will be my last column of Torah from HACD. It has been a great privilege to work with this fine faculty, to get to know the many lay volunteers, and to learn from many community leaders, including the former head of school, about what HACD means to this community. As a Jew, all of our lives are shaped by the Jewish choices we make. I made a choice to come to Albany (every week!) to help this school. I appreciate the opportunity, and I express, on behalf of my faculty and myself, our deepest gratitude for entrusting your children to us and letting us express our creativity and commitments in helping them become citizens of the Jewish world and Jewish citizens of the world.
I wish HACD all the best as its new leadership, both professional and lay, its faculty, and its students grow from strength to strength.
Shabbat Shalom, and I look forward to seeing you at graduation,
[1] The fact that Parashat Naso usually falls right after Shavuot when we have another focus on the Jew by choice, that is, the reading of the story of Ruth who is seen as the prototypical Jew by choice may also have influenced the editor of Bemidbar Rabbah to include these materials about converts and conversion.
The Land as Caretaker, Parashat Behukotai, May 31, 2024
Torah from HACD
The Land as Caretaker, Parashat Behukotai, May 31, 2024
In the final parashah of Sefer Vayikra, Behukkotai, the Torah provides a special focus on the Land of Israel. Indeed, the Land is mentioned over twenty times in this parashah, beginning with this frequently repeated idea (Leviticus 26:2-3):
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If you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments, I will grant your rains in their season, so that the Land will give you its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. |
אִם בְּחֻקֹּתַי תֵּלֵכוּ וְאֶת מִצְוֹתַי תִּשְׁמְרוּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם: וְנָתַתִּ֥י גִשְׁמֵיכֶ֖ם בְּעִתָּ֑ם וְנָתְנָ֤ה הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ יְבוּלָ֔הּ וְעֵ֥ץ הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה יִתֵּ֥ן פִּרְיֽוֹ: |
This theme, which we see throughout the Torah, and which we repeat in the second paragraph of the shema, presents the Land as a moral actor. If we follow the law, the Land produces food and rewards our behavior. If we don’t observe God’s laws, the Land of Israel doesn’t produce food. And when these violations of God’s law are serious enough, we are, according to this theology, kicked of of the Land. That is, the Land becomes a moral actor and will not tolerate our misbehavior (Leviticus 26:43-44).
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Then will I remember My covenant with Jacob; I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham; and I will remember the Land. For the land shall be empty of them, making up for its sabbatical years by being desolate of them, while they make up for their sinfulness since they rejected My rules and spurned My laws. |
וְזָכַרְתִּי אֶת בְּרִיתִי יַעֲקוֹב וְאַף אֶת בְּרִיתִי יִצְחָק וְאַף אֶת בְּרִיתִי אַבְרָהָם אֶזְכֹּר וְהָאָרֶץ אֶזְכֹּר: וְהָאָרֶץ תֵּעָזֵב מֵהֶם וְתִרֶץ אֶת שַׁבְּתֹתֶיהָ בָּהְשַׁמָּה מֵהֶם וְהֵם יִרְצוּ אֶת עֲוֹנָם יַעַן וּבְיַעַן בְּמִשְׁפָּטַי מָאָסוּ וְאֶת חֻקֹּתַי גָּעֲלָה נַפְשָׁם. |
The covenant, as described in the opening lines of the parashah, is that God will reward us on the Land if we observe God’s rules, AND that God will punish us if we disobey those rules. These verses describe the second situation. God will remember the covenant with the ancestors, and God will remember the Land, And the Land itself will be barren because the people failed to observe the laws that was described in last week’s parashah Behar about the sabbatical year.
The midrash notes a wide variety of strange aspects about verse 43. The ancestors are listed in reverse order as well as other strange features. But the most strange thing is that the Land is listed alongside the ancestors. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish states a mashal, a parable to explain this strange inclusion of the Land alongside the ancestors.
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When [the Torah] mentions the Avot/fathers (at Lev. 26:42) why does it mention the land with them? Said R. Shimon b. Lakish, [This may be compared] to a king who had three children and a servant who raised them all. Whenever the king was wondering about how his children were, he would say, “Ask for me about the welfare of the one who raises them.” So whenever the Holy Blessed One mentions the Avot, he mentions the Land [of Israel] along with them, as it says, “Then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, [and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham,] and I will remember the land” (Lev. 26:42). |
וְלָמָּה הוּא מַזְכִּיר זְכוּת אָבוֹת וּמַזְכִּיר זְכוּת הָאָרֶץ עִמָּהֶם? אָמַר רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ מָשָׁל לְמֶלֶךְ שֶׁהָיוּ לוֹ שְׁלשָׁה בָּנִים, וְשִׁפְחָה אַחַת מִשֶּׁלּוֹ מְגַדַּלְתָּן, כָּל זְמַן שֶׁהָיָה הַמֶּלֶךְ שׁוֹאֵל שְׁלוֹם בָּנָיו, הָיָה אוֹמֵר שַׁאֲלוּ לִי בִּשְׁלוֹם הַמְגַדֶּלֶת, כָּךְ כָּל זְמַן שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַזְכִּיר אָבוֹת מַזְכִּיר הָאָרֶץ עִמָּהֶם, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: וְזָכַרְתִּי אֶת בְּרִיתִי יַעֲקוֹב וגו’ וְהָאָרֶץ אֶזְכֹּר. |
R. Shimon ben Lakish’s parable is striking. Rather than ask about his children directly, the king asks about the one who is tasked with taking care of them. Presumably, the King can tell how the children are doing by looking at the adult who spends time with them. This seems a little strange, but as I walk the halls of HACD, and look at the expressions of the teachers, one can see excitement and passion, and I can usually assume that the teacher has had a good lesson, and a quick look in at the students can confirm that. The reverse is not always the case. Occasionally, one sees a teacher whose face seems a little drawn; not every lesson goes perfectly, and no group of students is always “easy.” But frequently a teacher looks tired not because a lesson went poorly, but because teaching takes a lot of effort. So I don’t know if one can, as R. Shimon ben Lakish suggests, discern the state of the children from just looking at the caregivers.
What I do know is that the teachers at HACD are incredibly hard working and one can see the results of their work in the faces of the children and in the way the children build on what they’ve learned to ask more questions. I also know that I am truly grateful to our faculty for their efforts in raising our students and helping them learn. I look forward to seeing you at the Gala where we will, as a community, be able to honor them for the work they have done and continue to do.
Is the same true of the Land of Israel? Can we sense how well the people of Israel are doing by the state of the Land? I haven’t experienced that. I nonetheless think it is a powerful metaphor for the people of Israel to imagine that our actions have a direct impact on the Land. The particular reference to exile as a result of the violation of the Sabbatical year makes us attuned to the ways in which extracting too much from the resources of the Land can have that direct impact. May our actions as individuals and as a people give God joy and assure God’s favor so the the Land of Israel can also be satisfied with the morality of the people of Israel, that our place on the Land is secure and that we dwell in peace without fear. And may our actions outside of the Land also find favor in God’s eyes so that we can sense in the earth as a whole, a satisfaction that we are doing right by it as well.
Shabbat Shalom,
Jeffrey Spitzer
