From the Rabbi
Rabbi Robert L. Wolkoff
Previous Messages
Yom Ha’aztmaut Sameach!
Please join me in wishing the State of Israel “Mazal Tov” for its 74th birthday. A breeze of freedom is blowing through this season, from the ancients to modern times. We remember the rescue from Egypt on Passover, a week later the liberation from Nazi claws, and today, the Day of Independence for the State of Israel.
We don’t take anything for granted. In Israel, Independence Day immediately follows Memorial Day. They are back-to-back so we can remember those who paid for our freedom with their blood. As the Torah tells us, “O nations, acclaim God’s people! For He’ll avenge the blood of His servants, wreak vengeance on His foes, and cleanse His people’s land.” In Israel, all activity stops at noon for two minutes — even cars on busy streets stop, drivers and passengers reflecting on the blessings of a free people – a national silent prayer.
Today, at our synagogue, we installed a new flag to fly from the pole at the front of the park. As we were retiring the old flag and unfurling the new one, I realized we had to trample on a few delicate and beautiful flowers in order to access the flagpole. The lesson was right there at our feet. Protecting the flag comes with a price. We are reminded that freedom is not free. We lose delicate flowers we send to fight for it.
We pray for the flowers to come back, just as we had prayed for the resurrection of the State of Israel for 2,000 years. As Ezekiel prophesied: “Thus said the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves and lift you out of the graves, O My people, and bring you to the land of Israel.” This year, many cities in Israel opted to forgo the fireworks in order to respect those for whom those sounds are a traumatic reminder of a battleground. A beautiful gesture of maturity.
Now that Israel is entering its 75th year — the diamond jubilee — let’s move from fireworks to fireplace, striving for a calmer and more accepting existence. Yom Ha’atzmaut Sameach!
“Between a Rock and a Smith Place”
I don’t watch the Oscars, but the slap that Will Smith wielded to Chris Rock’s face is still reverberating. One could ask if it’s worth dedicating a monthly message to this bygone news. Shouldn’t it be relinquished to the pages of history as a negligible episode, especially against the backdrop of current wars and a global pandemic? In other words, shouldn’t we just move on? The answer I gave myself is, no.
It’s important to address these actions because whenever a recognized and well-regarded person does such a thing, he or she sends a wide and ringing message. Will Smith slapped more than one face that night, including his own. The act might have been small, but the cameras are big. After so many years of trying to send a message of non-violence, he slapped the face of the young generation, which I believe, had an unwritten agreement with Hollywood: it’s okay to have violence in our movies and video games, not in real life.
On the other hand, one can claim that violence is sold as entertainment to our young people, so what should we expect? When two out of every three shows or movies are endlessly violent or maintain a violent spirit, it was just a matter of time. Chris Rock might have been surprised, but society shouldn’t be. Regretfully, Will Smith was able to remain in the theater, not immediately escorted outside. And even worse, in order to “save face,” the crowd cheered him a little while later, when he was called to the stage to receive the Oscar as Best Actor. It is a sad moment to applaud.
At the end of the movie, “A Time to Kill,” a black man stands trial for murdering the two rednecks who raped his daughter. His defense attorney, played by Matthew McConaughey, is recapping for the jury what happened to the young Black girl that day, while asking them to close their eyes and imagine it. And then at the end of his gory account, he asks them to imagine she was a white girl. Now, can you imagine Will Smith slapping a woman? Or if he had slapped a white man? What would have happened if a white man had slapped Chris Rock? Would we have reacted the same way?
Slapping occurs several times in the Bible, always in a degrading rebuke for something that shouldn’t have been said or seen. For those still trying to rationalize Smith’s actions, and whether Chris Rock crossed a line — whether he deserved a slap in the face for what he saw, or a smack on the mouth for what was said — Will Smith became at once the plaintiff, the judge, and the executioner. Another example of lawlessness and bullying, in a world already saturated with violence.
Think of Moses striking the other famous rock. For this act of defiance, God denied him entry to the Holy Land. In the Hollywood story, Will Smith was dismissed from the Academy. He, too, will have to gaze at it from afar.
May this spring bloom with peace.
—Rabbi Gadi Capela
“When the War Started”
I’ll always remember where I was when the war in Ukraine started. I was in HEL (airport lingo for the Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport), exactly a month ago. The night before, I was on a connecting flight to Tel Aviv, diverted back to HEL after an hour in the air. After a long wait, the airline provided us with shuttle transportation to hotels for an overnight stay. Navigating through mountains of snow, and now dragging the extra suitcase I had checked earlier, I felt like a refugee.
The next morning, I was hoping to take advantage of the delay for a little lackadaisical excursion, before my rescheduled flight. But when I turned on the TV, I discovered that while I was sleeping, Russia had invaded Ukraine. As a Jew and an Israeli, I’ve learned from our history that when someone consistently threatens, believe it. As an immigrant son of refugees, the sight of those many thousands of refugees was gut-wrenching and intensely personal.
In one instant, my mindset changed. This was no time for touring. When I arrived back at the airport, it was swarming with people. Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, had to cancel many flights and divert many others from crossing Ukrainian airspace. My flight to Tel Aviv now was re-routed through London.
My stay in Israel reminded me of the Gulf War, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait 31 years ago. I joined the Israeli army that year, right out of high school, and for four years dealt with the threat of chemical weapons. Just like now.
At his conference meeting today, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the use of chemical weapons would be the red line, would force NATO to retaliate with direct military force. Is that where we are now? Should Russia use chemical weapons, as it did in Syria, we are in a world war again? Have we regressed that far? Is Putin stepping back in this dance of history.
It’s always the same war. Someone invades someone else’s space. But, in fact, war really started with Cain and Abel. Cain thought he could overcome the spirit of Abel, powerless to overcome his own inclination. As God said to Cain, be less possessive of others; first possess yourself.
On my way back to New York, I again had a layover of several hours in Helsinki. This time, I was determined to see the sights. It was Purim, so I went to synagogue, hoping to hear a reading of the Megillah — another story of a threatened nation. But the synagogue was closed for security reasons. Instead, I went to the famous Kamppi Chapel of Silence — a quiet sanctuary for self-contemplation. The structure is a modern architectural marvel, a different experience from praying to God at the Kotel, the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Yet, it was similar to the inner experience. A trip that started with a loud bang, was coming to a quiet close. I wanted to hear the delicate voice of God. I sat there for half an hour, until a question came to my mind: How do you really know your mind is silent? The answer came almost instantaneously: when you hear the music. And then my mind was singing.
The message for me was that God is present in the darkest places, too. Sometimes, we need to go to hell, or to HEL as I did, to see what people are truly experiencing. But we don’t have to stay in dark and divisive places. As we prepare for Passover this year, planning to leave Egypt again, let us hope it is for the last time. For me, I’ll always remember where I was when the war started. This year, I’d like to remember that it ends.
—Rabbi Gadi Capela
Get Social