Wednesday, July 10 – Hartman Day 2
One of the joys of studying in Jerusalem is the people I encounter. Studying at Hartman I’ve reconnected with colleagues and met new people. I declined an invitation to continue chatting over drinks, but outstide my hotel, a voice called, “Michael Ragozin.” For an instant I had no idea whom the person was, but then he introduced himself. We’d studied together almost 20 years ago and now he is a professor of ancient Judaism at the University of British Columbia.
Now to learning. Trauma can be the first (even necessary) step towards growth. Out of the trauma of October 7, how will we grow? Whom do we want to be?
This question was explored through the lens of Bilaam’s blessing of the Jewish people (Numbers 23:9), “There is a people that dwells apart, not reckoned among the nations.” The basic reading of this verse is that Israel should feel blessed to be separate, alone, apart from the family of nations. The policy implication is that Israel should ignore the UN or America. At the same time, the rabbinic tradition discusses mitzvot (religious commandments) precisely in our relationship with others which undermines the supposed pursuit of separateness.
Viewing the current war as a war between Hamas and Hezbollah (to an extent) was rejected. Rather it is a war over whether Islam, a century after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, can accept the presence of a Jewish state in the land of Israel. Or, more generally, can Islam accept the presence of a nation in the Middle East that is different. The war, therefore, is being fought over whether we can establish a Middle East in which difference is accepted.
In light of this, “There is a people that dwells apart” is re-read as “There is a people who live for particularism.” Bilaam’s words are not a blessing, but a calling. We, Jews, whether Israeli Jews or American Jews, should stand for each people’s uniqueness (and self-determination) being accepted, a co-existence of tribes. For American Jews this means that we should not only be proud and visible as Jews, but our Judaism should be, first and foremost, particular and not lost to the universal. For Israeli Jews this means accepting the Palestinian right to self-determination.
That is how we can achieve post-traumatic stress growth, by embracing our particularism.