A Time to Speak Up
24 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in Holy Land Moments Tags: Anti-Defamation League, Antisemitism, Chicago, Ezekiel, God, Jew, Neo-Nazism, Semitism
“When I say to a wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.” — Ezekiel 3:18–19
More than thirty years ago as a newly ordained rabbi, I was sent by the Anti-Defamation League to raise community support to protest a proposed march of a neo-Nazi group in Skokie, Illinois, a Chicago suburb where a large number of Holocaust survivors lived. Do you know who were the most willing to stand against this march? The Christian community. Why? Because of their love for the Jewish people and their sense of responsibility to stand against anti-Semitism.
One of the best ways to combat anti-Semitism — or any form of prejudice — is with love. A loving attitude toward others ensures that you will think the best of them and treat them well. If you “love your neighbor as yourself” you will not “seek revenge or bear a grudge” (Leviticus 19:18). But what if you don’t harbor any ill thoughts toward others, but you encounter someone who does? Again, love is the best response.
Oftentimes, a loving but straightforward reply is all that is needed. People might not realize that what they have said is offensive unless someone tells them. And sometimes people will stop speaking hatefully if they know that such remarks do not gain them approval. Leviticus 19:17 reminds us to “Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.” But why would we share in the guilt of someone else who harbored anti-Semitic attitudes?
By doing nothing to stop it, we bear the responsibility. God said that if you do not warn a wicked man “or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways . . . I will hold you accountable for his blood” (Ezekiel 3:18).
The Bible says to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves” (Proverbs 31:8). When you hear someone speak hatefully, you can speak up in love. There may not be anyone else present to speak up for people being verbally attacked, so we may be only ones to speak up on their behalf.
It may be difficult or uncomfortable to speak up against hatred, and it may take some courage. But it is our God-given duty to defend those who cannot defend themselves. If we all made a loving, but firm response to anti-Semitism, we could make great strides toward eliminating this harmful attitude.
http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/a-time-to-speak-up-2
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An Irrational Hatred
22 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in Holy Land Moments Tags: Antisemitism, God, Israel, Jew, Judaism, Race-Ethnic-Religious Relations, Racism, Semitism
“Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.
From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
their evil imaginations have no limits.
They scoff, and speak with malice;
with arrogance they threaten oppression.”— Psalm 73:6–8
Have you ever felt like someone didn’t like you — maybe even hated you — for no particular reason? It’s puzzling, isn’t it? You wonder what you did to provoke a strong reaction, and if you can’t think of anything you did, it seems irrational. We Jews often find ourselves as the objects of such irrational hatred.
For example, at various points in history, Jews have been accused of being too poor or too wealthy; too politically domineering or too politically uninvolved. We’ve been accused of being too spiritual and too secular, unambitious and overly aggressive, too separated from others and too assimilated. Does that make sense? How can we be all those things?
Anti-Semitism, like other forms of racism, is a condition of the heart. It reflects a callous heart that has lost sensitivity to others. The writer of Psalm 73 says that “from their callous hearts comes iniquity” (v. 7). A hardened heart that has lost sensitivity to others is a breeding ground for evil.
In addition to a callous heart, anti-Semitism forms in a conceited mind. At the base of racism is the conceited belief that one person or group is better than another and “their evil imaginations have no limits” (Psalm 73:7). Rather than listening to the voice of reason, irrational thoughts prevail, driven by passionate hatred. For those who promote anti-Semitism, their hatred is simply hatred, without any reason or justification for it. This irrational racial hatred has often led to inconsistent accusations against the Jews — such as those above — because the accusations are not based on logic or merit, but hate.
Finally, the psalm writer says that those with callous hearts and conceited minds also have threatening lips, for “they scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression” (Psalm 73:8). Anti-Semitism, and other racial prejudice, often expresses itself in threats, intimidation, and oppression. Acts of terrorism against Jews and Jewish icons are an attempt to instill fear in the lives of Jews.
As the psalm writer concludes, when faced with unreasonable and unmerited prejudice, there is only one place to find hope and to remember, “Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you?”(vv. 23-25). We can have confidence that in God’s presence and guidance no matter what our circumstances or difficulties we face.
http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/an-irrational-hatred-2
