|
From the Rabbi:
שֹׁפְטִ֣ים וְשֹֽׁטְרִ֗ים תִּֽתֶּן־לְךָ֙ בְּכׇל־שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֨ר ה' אֱלֹקיךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ לִשְׁבָטֶ֑יךָ וְשָׁפְט֥וּ אֶת־הָעָ֖ם מִשְׁפַּט־צֶֽדֶק׃
You shall appoint Judges and officers for your tribes, in all the settlements that Hashem your God is giving you, and they shall govern the people with righteous jurisprudence.
When you think of a 'tribe', what comes to mind? And, does that image apply to us today? Are we still a tribal people?
Perhaps "tribal" brings up images of indigenous people, living on the Land? Perhaps a less regulated social structure in which there are no social security numbers political parties and congressional districts? Perhaps "Tribal" stands in contrast to "Empire". When large empires conquer vast territory and swallow up diverse people into one homogenous mass of humanity, something gets lost, and it's the particularity and uniqueness of distinct cultures that is 'assimilated'. Pax Romana rather than 'barbarian tribes'. Or the great American melting pot. God seems not to like that. If we look at the story of the Tower of Babel in we see a monolithic society that was homogenizing humanity, making people into 'bricks". God responded by confusing their language, splitting up society into 70 distinct ethno-linguistic groups which spread out throughout the whole world. Looking at Torah, Humanity and the natural world we can only conclude that God LOVES diversity.
Google Dictionary defines "Tribe" as "a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader."
So when we look at the opening line of our Parsha, it seems that Hashem has a vested interest interest in us maintaining our tribal distinctions even though much of the parsha deals with the centralization of authority. Despite having one King, one High Priest, one Temple, we mustn't lose the distinct substrata of Jewish society. "For your tribes" means don't let being in "The Land" turn you into a melting pot in which your distinctions are lost. A body has distinct organs, don't become a gelatinous mass of undifferentiated cells.
On Shabbat I spoke about the importance of religious leadership reinforcing unity rather than taking sides, but this week, there's a counterpoint. Stay Tribal!
So what are our tribes today? We have Kohanim and Levi'im, but we identify everyone else simply as Yisrael. While there are some ethnic, linguistic and cultural distinctions remaining - Moroccans, Ethiopians, Ashkenazim, etc. By and large, in both Israel and the US, these lines are becoming idiosyncratic more than genuinely distinct tribes. Our primary distinctions today are drawn along much different lines.
Today we primarily have ideological tribes. From movement affiliation surveys to dating apps to ZOA and Knesset elections, our identity often becomes a multiple choice question. What kind of Jew are you? Conservative, Reform, Orthodox, Modern Orthodox, Dati-Leumi, Charedi, Chabad... Then there's subdivisions. Progressive-Conservative, Centrist-Orthodox, Zionist-Charedi, OTD-Chabad... More and more there's greater and greater specificity of ideological identity. And I don't think that's a bad thing. Just like having distinct families within tribes, being able to sharply articulate one's beliefs and doctrines is actually a very helpful exercise in self-knowledge so long as, like Hashem, WE also value and celebrate diversity. It's not just OK for someone to disagree with us, it actually highlights the richness of Torah to have people committed to different paths of interpretation and observance who all recognize one another as part of the same people. Unity and Diversity is an all-star pairing, right up there with peanut-butter and jelly.
While learning for Smicha, I was privileged to be in a shiur with Rav Riskin in which he was asked "what's the core difference between 'modern Orthodox' and 'Charedi' ideologies?" I expected something about social norms, attitudes towards the greater world or participation in the arc of history. His answer was absolutely astonishing to me, and it came straight out of this Parsha. (17:8-10)
If a case is too baffling for you, be it a controversy over homicide, civil law, or assault—matters of dispute in your courts—you shall promptly go up to the place that Hashem your God will have chosen, and appear before the levitical priests, or the Judge in charge at the time, and present your problem. When they have announced to you the verdict in the case, you shall carry out the verdict that is announced to you from that place that Hashem chose, observing scrupulously all their instructions to you.
Rav Riskin explained that we all agree on the general principal outlined here of rabbinic authority. The question is where do we put the emphasis. The Charedi approach focuses on the 'at that time', meaning that the 'gedolei hador' the rabbinic leaders of the generation hold ALL the authority, and one must defer to them on ALL decisions and emulate them in dress, culture etc. Conformity to central authority is the prime value. Rabbi Riskin articulated HIS position which he identifies as "Modern Orthodox" as emphasizing the opening clause, "If a case is too baffling for you". The obligation is upon the individual and the community to delve deeply into learning and make their own determinations. He said, "When you have a halachic question, if you have the ability to open a sefer and find the answer you are obligated to do so and it is prohibited to ask the rabbi. Learning Torah is a prime obligation on each of us, and deferring to centralized authority is only a last resort when conflict arises.
Religious Zionism or Dati-Leumi is itself something else which, although often superficially similar to Modern Orthodoxy, makes the point of emphasis in this verse 'The place God will have Chosen'. This emphasis places the central focus of our halachic conversations and pinnacle of our societal values Eretz Yisrael. I think most American Jews (excluding Chabad and some Yeshivish types) are actually more Leumi in their focus than they are Reform, Conservative or Orthodox. For many of us, our attachment and focus on Israel (be it positive or negative) has far eclipsed our interpretation of Torah or level of halachic observance in our hierarchy of personal values.
What's important to remember in the context of this Parsha (which intersperses themes of centralized authority with exonerations to avoid idolatry in various forms) is that we not let our ideologies become idolatries. And the litmus test for that is divisiveness. There's no condemnation in someone being of another tribe. Similarly, there must not be condemnation in disagreement. The Torah is meant to bring us together, AND individuate us. Do we see our intellectual, social and cultural diversity as a celebration of Divine Creativity, or are our opinions more important to us than our neighbors?
Shabbat Shalom,
Reb Shlomo
| 
