Rabbi
Mishael Zion | Text and the City | Moonshine Heshvan
Dedicated
to a theme in the Jewish month, Moonshine is a combination Dvar Torah
and springboard for learning in the coming 30 days. Moonshine - in honor
of the Hebrew month’s commitment to the lunar cycle, with a hint of distilling
fine spirits off the beaten track and - perhaps - intoxication. I’ll be hosting an online
text study about the most clicked on texts towards the end of the month.
Details forthcoming.
After the intense cycle of Jewish holidays, and with winter
peeking around the corner, the mont
h of Heshvan is all about returning to
routine, to the simple repetitive tempo of life. No frills - life itself. Menawhile
the Torah portions of Heshvan raise the root questions of human existence,
wrapped in the stories of a primordial world. From Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, the
Torah outlines the complexity – and darkness – of Humanity, and God’s attempts
to work with it. 
Noah.
This year I find myself appreciating the Noah narratives anew thanks to the
recent blockbuster
commentary by Reb Darren Aronofsky. In studying the Deluge I always focused
on God’s vindictiveness or Noah’s disappointing silence, not to mention the
cute animals coming two by two. But returning to the tale of the Flood after a
bloody summer, Aronofsky’s film puts a painful truth center stage: that Human
beings left to their own devices are horrific. It is a Hobbesian tale of the
deepest Human moral bankruptcy. Of a world turned from “very good”, to: “Great
was humankind’s evildoing on earth, And every form of their heart’s planning, Was
only evil all day. Then God was sorry that he had made humankind on earth, And
it pained his heart.” (Genesis
6:5-6)
Something about this perspective rings disturbingly true
this fall. How do we face Humanity’s murderous and destructive nature? It once
seemed that the Enlightenment saved us from our darker demons. Yet the 20th
century made us doubt if progress makes the world a more civilized place; now
the 21st century brings to the fore those who shun progressiveness,
turning the world back to more medieval fundamentals. And that is only in the
realm of man to man (and woman?). In the realm of our relationship to the
Earth, to Creation, we seem to be failing even more. Is it too late to heal our
relationship to nature, to the world, to eachother?
Rain. Ideally,
we should live in deep symbiosis with the earth. Humanity’s name, Adam,
derives from the Hebrew word for earth, Adamah. Yet we fear the earth,
for it reminds us that not only have we come from it – but that in the end, we
will return to it. Earth symbolizes our death, our limits, our finitude. When
Adam is banished from the garden, the Adamah becomes damned on his account. The
word itself – Adamah - leers at Humanity: “Adam–Mah”, says Earth, “Human,
what is Human?” Can we redeem our relationship to Adamah?
Heshvan, in which Nature molts its dried leaves and begins
its slow process of hibernation and renewal, is also the month of rain. Rain,
as opposed to Flood and Deluge, is a sign of blessing. Rain heals the curse of
Adam/Adamah, offering a promise of divine collaboration with Humanity in the project
called Life on Earth. Rain is about relationship. Just as Noah offers us a
“pleasing smell” to the Lord after the Flood, so the rains of Heshvan leave the
earth with a “pleasing smell” for us, Humans, to believe in the possibility of
renewal and relationship, growth and change.
Great
Father. In the move from Adam to Noah and ten generations after that, God
mostly hides his face from Humanity. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t kill ‘em. Until
a new figure enters the scene. Avram of Ur, who somehow forces God out of His
divine hiding place. What did Avram do that got God to seek out a new
relationship with him? The Torah never discloses directly, but perhaps it lies
in his name: Avram, Av-Ram, Great-Father. For the first time a human being
stopped acting like a child, and assumed a parental stance towards the world. God
later says as much:“For I have chosen him in order that he teach his children and
household to do justice and righteousness” (Gen 18:19), choosing to share with Abraham news of
the upcoming destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham, unike his ancestor
Noah, challenges God. This is the essence of the Abrahamic path – joining God
in looking at the world as a parent, stepping up for others and expecting
accountability – even from the Creator. Lets hope we see those walking in
Abraham’s path today continuing this tradition in the coming month of Heshvan.
It’s not too late.
Hodesh Tov,
Mishael
Heshvan
Learning Links:
A
collection of accessible and provocative Biblical, Rabbinic and Modern texts
for the coming 30 days.
“And
he called him Noah, saying: May this one comfort us from our sorrow…” (Gen 5:29)
Rereading the biblical story of Noah, the best companions
are Nechama
Leibowitz’s study into the portion, or Avivah
Zorenberg’s deep psychoanalytical reading (and now, Aronofsky’s film). But
the simple text is powerful too, especially with Robert
Alter’s literary translations. Or, better
yet, R.
Crumb’s Genesis who illustrates Alter’s full text. Be prepared for lots of
nudity.
“Like
clouds and wind without rain is one who boasts of gifts never given” (Proverbs 25:14).
What do you do if it doesn’t rain? Most turn to miracle
makers and rain dances. The Mishna
of Taanit, however, seeks to transform the drama of rain-dancing into a
drama of social change. In a gradual process of public and private fasts,
sit-ins and protests, the Rabbis delineate a process by which the failure of
the elements brings humanity to introspection and self-improvement. Study the first two of Mishna
Taanit, noticing how the process employs different spheres of power, public
space and liturgy in its vision of social change as the key to climate change.
“Ten Generation From Noah to Abraham” - If the
move from the very humanistic and universalistic tales to a narrow chosenness
is on your mind, Rabbi
Jonathan Sacks’ “Dignity of Difference” continues to be the best
exploration of the tension of particularism and universalism in the
post-modern, post-industrialist world. To follow in the steps of Abraham in
Judaism, Christianity and Islam, read Jon D Levenson’s new “Inheriting
Abraham: The Legacy of the Patriarch in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.”
Moonshine: A Monthly
Springboard to Jewish Learning
In the age of the
instant, who has time for things that take 30 days?
In the age-old human
project of infusing time with meaning, the month is an underappreciated unit.
Weeks, years, days all get much focus, but in modern life we mostly ignore the
months, Julian or Hebrew. Yet 30 days is an amount of time in which something
substantial can take place: a journey, a process, a cycle. As the moon waxes
and wanes, we too transform in a way that other time units lack.
After a few years of
following the weekly portion, this year I hope to focus on the Hebrew months as
a meaning-making unit. The hope for this piece is to be a spring board to a
journey, a cycle, inspiring learning, exploring or conversation that can fill
the upcoming month. Each installment will consist of a few short explorations,
suggesting various reading and follow up. I’d love to hear if you find this useful, or simply file
it in your “Read Later” folder for it to rot in gmail oblivion…
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