Parshas Shemos: Moshe Teaches Us to Never Get Too Comfortable
At a protest in Miami, Florida, an Arab man attacks Jewish pro-Israel protesters - then turns his wrath on police
I find it’s best never to get too comfortable in whatever location I’m visiting. What’s the point? Soon enough it will be time to move on. I spent nearly a year in Sydney, Australia (during my pregnancy and shortly after Akiva’s birth), but I still never got all that comfortable. I always knew I would have to move on eventually, and I was right.
It’s so tempting to want to feel “permanent,” but as Jews, we are all nomadic at heart, in some sense. We’ve been on the move for so many generations that it’s hard to remember what really getting comfortable feels like. Even Jews living in modern-day Israel can’t feel comfortable. After all, at any moment a rocket could land on their house or, as in the case of the Jews who lived in Gaza, you could be forcibly removed from your home. There is no place in the world where it is safe to be a Jew and get comfortable.
Oh, it’s tempting. Of course it is. We have been lulled into such a false sense of security in much of the Western world. In places like America and Australia, the governments and most of the citizens are so very accepting of Jews that they don’t even mind our complete assimilation (but we do – assimilation “kills” more Jews than the Holocaust, sadly).** It’s easy to feel like we could get comfortable there.
But you never know how quickly things could change! Moshe (Moses) was brought up in the house of Pharaoh. He was like one of the king’s adopted grandchildren. If anyone should have gotten comfortable, it’s him. I mean, he won the Egyptian adoption lottery! Yet, Moshe never got comfortable. His heart was always with the Jewish people. He was raised in luxury, but he never for a moment stopped feeling the pain of his people who were enslaved outside of the palace walls. And when he struck down an Egyptian, he did not even wait around to see what would happen. He just picked up and started running. He didn’t stop to say, “Oh my, I had better go inside to pack up my jewels and gold and fancy linens.” He just left.
Arab children, raised in the US, dress up as terrorists and are educated that Israel is occupying even places like Syria and Lebanon. They are raised with hatred for the Jews and they are our next-door neighbors even in the USA.
We all have to live like this, with our bags perpetually packed. We cannot allow ourselves to get so comfortable that we cannot or do not move when we should. Imagine being in Germany in the 1930′s. In 1932 you buy a nice, big comfortable house. In 1933 Hitler comes to power and establishes the first concentration camps. Someone offers you a one-way ticket out of Germany. Do you close your eyes to the danger and say, “But I just bought this wonderful new home! I’m staying!”???? Of course in hindsight none of us want to admit we would have done that. But so many Jews in Europe did exactly that. “This is our home,” they cried – and then they died. It’s a tragedy and one we all ought to avoid in our own lives and futures.
So don’t get too comfortable. Just look at what is happening in Europe today – places that were once safe for Jews are now dangerous. Trains are bombed and anti-Semitic attacks happen all the time. Don’t feel safe just because you are in the US or Australia or anywhere else in the world. When it is time to get up and move, be ready. Because, like us, you may find yourself on the road one day.
Read more on Parshas Shemos: Remember Who Your Family Is! (And the Role of Women in Judaism)
**An edit from Rabbi Ben explaining the meaning of this statement more eloquently than I could:
“The saying “assimilation “kills” more Jews than the Holocaust,” simply means that more Jews are lost to assimilation than that were killed in the holocaust. Be the numbers right or wrong, I think it is a simple statement that says nothing more than, ‘Judaism is dying a slow death do to assimilation.’
For ‘halachic Judaism,’ to exist ‘halchicly Jewish women need to have babies.’ If a million Chinese study Talmud and keep Shabbat, halachic Judaism will not exist anymore.
‘Cultural assimilation,’ have been continuously used throughout history. Sometimes it is done tactfully, and at times it is forced. From the treatment of the aboriginal people in Australia, the Native American Indians in the United States, to going back thousands of years to ancient Rome and Greece, governments have, and continue to find ways to transform minority beliefs to that of the majority.
Jews in France practically disappeared in the nineteenth century because of assimilation. The Jews in France today are mostly of North African descent. This happened because of the openness of the French culture and Jews marrying out.
Thus Judaism can still exists without Jews, as much as a movie can exist without anyone watching it. However, eventually, if no one watches the movie it will be forgotten. Jewish people without the practice of anything Jewish, would disappear.”
16 Responses to “Parshas Shemos: Moses Teaches Us to Never Get Too Comfortable”
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
- Parshas Shemos: Of Births and Babies | Travelling Rabbi - [...] Read more on Parshas Shemos: Moses Teaches Us Never to Get Too Comfortable [...]
Rachel said that she has taken this sermon from me. This is true about the general content. I often talk about how a person must never get to comfortable with anything in life. As for mentioning of “(but we do – assimilation “kills” more Jews than the Holocaust, sadly)” I do not recall having ever used this phrase.
The saying “assimilation “kills” more Jews than the Holocaust,” simply means that more Jews are lost to assimilation than that were killed in the holocaust. Be the numbers right or wrong, I think it is a simple statement that says nothing more than, ‘Judaism is dying a slow death do to assimilation.’
For ‘halachic Judaism,’ to exist ‘halchicly Jewish women need to have babies.’ If a million Chinese study Talmud and keep Shabbat, halachic Judaism will not exist anymore.
‘Cultural assimilation,’ have been continuously used throughout history. Sometimes it is done tactfully, and at times it is forced. From the treatment of the aboriginal people in Australia, the Native American Indians in the United States, to going back thousands of years to ancient Rome and Greece, governments have, and continue to find ways to transform minority beliefs to that of the majority.
Jews in France practically disappeared in the nineteenth century because of assimilation. The Jews in France today are mostly of North African descent. This happened because of the openness of the French culture and Jews marrying out.
Thus Judaism can still exists without Jews, as much as a movie can exist without anyone watching it. However, eventually, if no one watches the movie it will be forgotten. Jewish people without the practice of anything Jewish, would disappear.
This is from my father. He wanted to comment. I have typed up what he has written.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe explained the difference between the Greek war against our people (Chanukah) and the Persian (Purim): The Greeks desired a spiritual destruction through assimilation (Hellenism) to be Jews, but observe only rational Mitzvos, while the Persians, Haman and company wanted the Physical destruction of our people. This is also reflected in Pharoh’s decree to physically destroy all our male babies in the Nile and spiritually destroy our daughter “Kol Habas Tichayun,’” Enliven all our daughters with the Egyptian culture.
The ratio of our people to the gentile population is 1:400: the ration of the moon to which we are compared and the sun (the gentiles) – this ratio has been quite accurate for the last 2,000 years.
Our Rebbe, quoting the Rambam insisted that we must teach the gentiles their 7 General Mitzvos (which are actually about 62): if we act like them (assimilation)- we are not fulfilling our mission – which is essentially like a gyroscope on a spaceship or a ruder on a ship – the world can not maintain a minimum level of moral equanimity.
We can not separate a Jews soul from his body – It has not worked and will never succeed –G-d forbid –It was typically the superpower of the world which tried to destroy us, weather physically or spiritually or both, but they were ultimately destroyed.
Watch your roots and observe how your lives will flourish.
Orthodox Judaism has “killed” more Jews than Hitler. Through their excommunications, through their Halakhic prohibitions on accepting the children of Jewish male and Christian females as Jews, through their long history of sitting shivah whenever a child intermarries.
Through the numerous Hasidic sects, who as late as 1945, refused to accept Zionism and called those who sought to create a Jewish state “worse than Hitler.” Read Chaim potok’s The Chosen and you will see this in action.
Statement of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Shulem Schneerson on Zionism (1903):
“Naturally, all who are caught in their toils, are lost without hope. Everyone who has even a little knowledge will admit the fact that the agitation of Herzl and Nordau in favor of Zion is not attributed to any religious feeling stirred in their souls. … It is surely clear that the Zionists not only are not approaching Judaism, but that they entirely destroy Jewish souls…”
Religious Jews have always been strong Zionist. In almost every prayer Jerusalem is mentioned. Many of the Chassidic Rabbis of the past would send money to help support those living in Israel. What They were worried about was, People like Herzl who were ready to have a Jewish state in Uganda and a state that would not be build on Jewish values. If such a thing happened Jewish life would die a slow death.
Aliyah today is largely from religious Jews who are going to Israel from a religious point of view. Why should any secular Jew now living in a beautiful house with a great job, their two cars etc. In the United States, Australia, Canada etc. Leave it behind to go live in the complicated and challenging environment of Israel?
My wife and plan to make Aliyah soon and I assure it is not for business opportunity or for improved lifestyle. For Quality of life we can stay in Australia, Canada or the US. Why go to Israel? Because it is the spiritual homeland of the Jewish people. The founding fathers of the Zionist state could not care less about the spiritual homeland. they wanted a place to insure the physical well-being of the Jewish people. And this was certainly a good thing I believe, and needed at the time. However today secular Zionism is dead or dying.