Page 19 - Issue 15

It’s the happy ending of a gnostic film as the wedding
carriage carries off into the distance as the words ‘The
End’ appear at the bottom of the screen in some sort of
floral font. It’s that feeling you get when you buy your
$10 Action Kit to play your part in some viral 2012
campaign. It’s a feeling that you are pure.

We Jews have never been awarded this vice.

From our Tanakhic beginnings, we emerged as a people
who rejected our father’s idols and who objected to him
knowingly selling them to unsuspecting customers.
From our sovereign beginnings, we emerged as twelve
divided tribes, sometimes brimming with antipathy and
disunity. From our national beginnings, we emerged as a
people expelled from our land.

As time went by, we Jews fell in love with this
discomfort.

It made its way into our texts as we were told to pursue
justice. As we were told to love our fellow as ourselves.
As we were told to do one thing on one page, but the
opposite on the next.

It made its way into our conversations as we began to
cherish the value of ת ֶקוֹלֲח ַמ machloket – actively seeking
dispute as a means of reaching a deeper connection and
understanding.