“Deja Jew all over again”
To keep us with writings, readings, prophecies, and the world around us, and in order to help us better ponder “today” . . . let’s have another look at Esther, who for a variety of reasons, some might say political, maybe even social, and certainly emotional reasons, momentarily has forgotten that she is a Jew.
Mordechai reminds Esther, a Jewish woman who is either hiding her Jewish identity or is frightened due to her Jewish identity, Chapter 4: 14
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר מׇרְדֳּכַ֖י לְהָשִׁ֣יב אֶל־אֶסְתֵּ֑ר אַל־תְּדַמִּ֣י בְנַפְשֵׁ֔ךְ לְהִמָּלֵ֥ט בֵּית־הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ מִכׇּל־הַיְּהוּדִֽים׃
Mordecai had this message delivered to Esther: “Do not imagine that you, of all the Jews, will escape with your life by being in the king’s palace.
כִּ֣י אִם־הַחֲרֵ֣שׁ תַּחֲרִ֘ישִׁי֮ בָּעֵ֣ת הַזֹּאת֒ רֶ֣וַח וְהַצָּלָ֞ה יַעֲמ֤וֹד לַיְּהוּדִים֙ מִמָּק֣וֹם אַחֵ֔ר וְאַ֥תְּ וּבֵית־אָבִ֖יךְ תֹּאבֵ֑דוּ וּמִ֣י יוֹדֵ֔עַ אִם־לְעֵ֣ת כָּזֹ֔את הִגַּ֖עַתְּ לַמַּלְכֽוּת׃
On the contrary, if you keep silent in this crisis, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another quarter, while you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows, perhaps you have attained to royal position for just such a crisis.”
And here, this coming Shabbat (from Isaiah 51:3) – we are able to peer into the thinking of those who, for a variety of reasons, have forgotten who they are . . .
וַתֹּ֥אמֶר צִיּ֖וֹן עֲזָבַ֣נִי יְהֹוָ֑ה וַאדֹנָ֖י שְׁכֵחָֽנִי׃
Zion says,
“ GOD has forsaken me,
My Sovereign has forgotten me.”
הֲתִשְׁכַּ֤ח אִשָּׁה֙ עוּלָ֔הּ מֵרַחֵ֖ם בֶּן־בִּטְנָ֑הּ גַּם־אֵ֣לֶּה תִשְׁכַּ֔חְנָה וְאָנֹכִ֖י לֹ֥א אֶשְׁכָּחֵֽךְ׃
Can a woman forget her baby,
Or disown the child of her womb?
Though she might forget,
I never could forget you.
הֵ֥ן עַל־כַּפַּ֖יִם חַקֹּתִ֑יךְ חוֹמֹתַ֥יִךְ נֶגְדִּ֖י תָּמִֽיד׃
All of which, begs the question, as to how we perceived in the world . . . . and equally, how do we, in turn, perceive and understand ourselves?
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It is interesting what has become of Identity in the 21st Century in America, especially in comparing our understanding of Jewish Identity to that of 3rd and 4th Century Persia.
Seems like it’s “Deja Jew all over again” (with apologies to Yogi Berra: Most popular Yogi-ism after Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris hit back-to-back home runs during the 1961 season).
Identity / NYT Aug 17th / Op Ed:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/17/opinion/josh-shapiro-democrats-israel.html?unlocked_article_code=1.D04.S1vT.-ZNb8a_sWJXn&smid=url-share
[do] Democrats Have a Josh Shapiro Problem
Excerpts:
- a) One reason Kamala Harris is on the Democratic ticket is because of her identity. One reason Josh Shapiro isn’t on the ticket is because of his.
- b) The matter of identity arose again in this year’s Democratic veep stakes, but in a subtler, more insidious way. In this case, the candidate in question doesn’t possess an identity trait preferred by the left, but one the left increasingly views with suspicion.Among the possible reasons Ms. Harris chose Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota over Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, according to a report in The Times, was that Mr. Shapiro’s selection could “inflame the left.” And chief among the reasons given for this potential inferno was Mr. Shapiro’s allegedly extreme pro-Israel views. An article in The New Republic called Mr. Shapiro “the one vice-presidential pick who could ruin Democratic unity” and claimed that he “stands out among the current field of potential running mates as being egregiously bad on Palestine.” A writer for Jacobin, a socialist magazine, labeled him a “genocide apologist.” A group of far-left congressional staffers and the Democratic Socialists of America teamed up to produce an open letter demanding that Ms. Harris “say no to Genocide Josh Shapiro for vice president.”
- c) Some of the attacks on Mr. Shapiro were highly personal, suggesting that his identity as an observant Jew with a connection to Israel means he has dual loyalties. “I am aware that Walz (and Harris) have far from perfect records themselves,” David Klion, author of the aforementioned New Republic piece, admitted on X. “But I think we were within our rights to highlight Shapiro’s deep, lifelong commitment to Israel.” If having a “commitment” to Israel, deep or otherwise, is a barrier to being on the Democratic presidential ticket, it bodes ominously for future Jewish participation in Democratic Party politics.
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Op Ed ^ Background usage: The Hill, Van Jones, Wasserman Schultz . . . and Jews:
Van Jones calls for conversation about ‘anti-Jewish bigots’ after Walz picked over Shapiro
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4813529-van-jones-kamala-harris-tim-walz-josh-shapiro-antisemitism-criticism/
Exceprts:
- a) CNN commentator Van Jones called for conversations about antisemitism in the Democratic party after Vice President Harris announced Tuesday that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) would be her running mate on the November ballot.
- b) However, younger voters and progressives in the party balked at the Pennsylvania governor, who is Jewish, for his stance on the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, as well as past support for the country.”
A number of voices on the far left have also attacked Shapiro in recent weeks, accusing the governor of blindly supporting Israel’s aggressive military campaign in Gaza, a war that has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry. Some have labeled him “Genocide Josh.” - c) During the process, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) called out the critics for dissecting his resume in a way the other shortlisted VP candidates did not face.
- “It has been very noticeable that of all of the people that she is carefully considering, that the only Jewish candidate is getting excruciating, very specific scrutiny, particularly around his positions on Israel,” Wasserman Schultz said, a dynamic she called “deeply concerning.”
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During this ‘time period of consolation,’ we are given an opportunity to better understand who and what we are — i.e. an understanding of our identity . . .
For the record: we are not merely adherents of a faith tradition, (something that many wish we would “just be” — or as just another American faith movement would have it). We are a people (understood as an ‘Am’).
One of the things we have learned is that we are a ‘people’ charged with caring about Jewish people everywhere, both in America and around the world. It’s been a 20th-century learning curve that we have even tried at times to ignore, and when we have done so, it has been to our own detriment.
We are am ‘Am’ — a people that will not go away, nor be cowed, nor will we willingly abdicate our place in the wider world around us . . .
I close with an understanding that we live and we thrive when we are clear as to who we are: when our responsibilities to ourselves now become more equal to how we have understood our responsibilities to the world writ large. For many of us, it’s been a long time coming.
It is now a time to pay closer attention . . .
