Parshat Bereshit - 5764

The Debate with Yishmael

The New York Times of October 21, 2003 cited the following excerpts from a speech by Malaysian P.M. Mahathir Mohamad at the Islamic Conference in Putrajaya, Malaysia:

“The Europeans killed 6 million Jews out of 12 (sic) million, but today the Jews rule the world by proxy: They get others to fight and die for them... We are up against a people who think. They survived 2000 (sic) years of pogroms not by hitting back but by thinking. They invented socialism, communism, human rights and democracy so that persecuting them would appear to be wrong, so that they can enjoy equal rights with others. With these they have now gained control of the most powerful countries and they, this tiny community, have become a world power... Of late, because of their power and their apparent success, they have become arrogant...”

Ah, cousin Yishmael, it is true that you, as we, acknowledge G-d as the Creator of the universe. But from the time of the weaning of Yitzchak, when Sarah saw you mocking us, you have not understood us, and perhaps you never will.

Did you say that we became arrogant? We just finished reciting the prayer, “A man’s origin is dust and his destiny is back to dust;... he is likened to a broken shard, withering grass, a fading flower, a passing shadow, a dissipating cloud, a blowing wind, flying dust and a fleeting dream.” (from the Rosh HaShanah Prayers)

You say that our secret of survival is that we think. That is a small part of the truth. But there is much more:

“A Psalm of David. HaShem is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? HaShem is the strength of my life; whom then shall I dread?... One thing I asked of HaShem, that shall I seek: that I dwell in the House of HaShem all the days of my life; to behold the sweetness of HaShem and to contemplate in His Sanctuary. Indeed, He will hide me in His Shelter on the day of evil; He will conceal me in His Tent; He will lift me upon a rock...” (Tehilim 27)

And in Hallel, we speak of our secret weapon, Prayer: “From the straits did I call upon HaShem, and HaShem answered me with relief. HaShem is with me, I have no fear, how can Man harm me?... All the nations surround me; with the Name of HaShem I cut them down! They encircle me and surround me, with the Name of HaShem I cut them down! They encircle me like bees, but they were extinguished as fiery thorns, with the Name of HaShem I cut them down!” (Tehilim 118)

We learned the secret of sacrifice from our father, and yours, Yishmael, when he bound Yitzchak upon the altar, suppressing his great love and mercy to do the bidding of HaShem. From that experience, we gained knowledge of the power of the ram’s horn, “Fortunate is the people who knows the Shofar blast; HaShem, by the light of Your countenance will they walk.” (Rosh HaShanah Prayers)

The elemental sound of the Shofar arouses within us thoughts of Repentance. “Even though the blowing of the Shofar is a decree of the Torah, it has a symbolic meaning, ‘Wake up, those of you who are sleeping and arouse yourselves from your deep slumber. Search your ways, return to your Source in Repentance, and remember your Creator...’ ” (Rambam, Hilchot Teshuvah 3:4)

The sound of the Shofar was what we heard at Sinai: “From the heavens You made them hear Your voice and revealed Yourself to them in thick clouds of purity. The entire universe shuddered before You and the creatures of Creation trembled before You during Your Revelation, our King, on Mount Sinai, to teach Your People the Torah and Your Commandments. You made them hear the majesty of Your voice and Your holy utterances from fiery flames. Amid thunder and lightning You were revealed to them and with the sound of the Shofar You appeared to them...” (From the “Shofarot” Prayer of Rosh HaShanah)

The blast of the Shofar is the sound of freedom. “Our G-d and G-d of our forefathers, sound the great Shofar for our freedom, and raise the banner to gather our exiles...” – as we have begun to see in our own time – (from “Mussaf of Rosh HaShanah and the Daily Amidah)

And as His Presence is invoked by the sound of the Shofar at the start of the Month of Elul, so at the very end of Yom Kippur, a “Tekiah Gedolah” signals the departure of the “Shekhina,” the Divine Presence, that has been intimately close to the world during the High Holy Days and the Period of Repentance.

During that period, we asked HaShem to remember for us our loyalty to Him at the beginning of our relationship, “And by Your servants, the prophets, the following is written, ‘So said HaShem, ‘I remember for your sake the kindness of your youth, the love of your bridal days, how you followed Me into the wilderness in an unsown land’ (Yirmiyahu 2:2) And it is said, ‘Is Ephraim (a synonym of the People of Israel) My most precious son? Is he not a delightful child, that whenever I speak of him I remember him more and more? Therefore, My Inner Self yearns for him, I will surely take pity on him – says the L-rd.’ ” (Yirmiyahu 31:19)

You speak of our inventions (socialism, communism, human rights, democracy) as self-serving. Even if we did invent all those, which is unclear, we certainly didn’t invent G-d. Rather, He invented us, to represent Him in the world, and to teach His holy Torah, its holy commandments, and holy standards of behavior.

Rabbi Pinchas Frankel
Rabbi Frankel is an Educational Coordinator at the OU

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