{"id":19515,"date":"2014-11-06T16:35:36","date_gmt":"2014-11-06T22:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=19515"},"modified":"2014-11-06T16:35:36","modified_gmt":"2014-11-06T22:35:36","slug":"the-chosen-people-politically-correct-or-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/the-chosen-people-politically-correct-or-not\/","title":{"rendered":"The chosen people; politically correct or not"},"content":{"rendered":"

By TED ROBERTS, the SCRIBBLER ON THE ROOF<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Ted_Roberts\"

As a Bar\/Bat Mitzvah teacher, I share the Rabbi\u2019s sorrow. It is incredibly challenging to present this concept of moral elevation to our children in the face of such ugly headlines. We need pride, A\u00a0light should go out of Zion, as our Tanach tells us. Pride is definitely the right word. Not arrogance, but pride in our solitary uniqueness as the People of the Book – oops, may as well say it – CHOSEN people. How to explain this concept to a 12-year-old colt who wants to jump every fence his parents and I set up?<\/p>\n

How to explain to a member of the adolescent herd that there\u2019s a value in rareness. Don\u2019t be ashamed. This is no doctrine of superiority. Rather one of obligations. You gotta be – I tell the frisky colt – \u201ca light unto the nations\u201d. It\u2019s really unfair. He\u2019s bound by a covenant signed three millennia ago – 8000 miles removed from the USA. A covenant literally sealed in blood by a wandering band of Israelites who had no clue – couldn\u2019t faintly imagine – this child and his world to be. The yoke and blessings of Torah are his. He\u2019s a member of an exclusive Country Club, bound by all its by-laws, without application
\nor interview.<\/p>\n

To make this point about exclusivity to a shocked 12 year old, I use a parable that springs from a periodic discussion between me and my intellectually sprightly wife. It\u2019s about ethics and responsibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cSweet wife,\u201d I say, \u201cmay it never happen – G-d forbid – but what if our Rabbi stole a watch from the local jeweler?\u201d My wife gasps in disbelief.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, equally incredible, pretend that I do the same.\u201d I continue, \u201cwho is guiltier?\u201d<\/p>\n

My side of the argument maintains that there\u2019s an imbalance of guilt here. The rabbi has weightier responsibilities than me. When he stands at the pulpit – when he speaks publicly for the congregation, he waves our flag. He has not only betrayed his private covenant, but
\nhas weakened the faith of his followers and embarrassed Judaism because he\u2019s a public figure. I, too, have disgraced my faith, but not as widely.<\/p>\n

The wife disagrees. \u201cYou\u2019re both fallibly human,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

This debate bubbles in my head as I try to explain this politically incorrect phrase, \u201cChosen People\u201d, to my students. Aha, I see an analogy.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s pretend,\u201d I say to the student, \u201cthat the rabbi bought a new shirt and the clerk at Walmart (this always gets a laugh because our rabbi dresses like Elijah in his wilderness period) makes a mistake with the change. He gives him $10 too much. And our rabbi walks out of the store with an extra ten in his pocket.\u201d The child, like my wife, is shocked. \u201cJust pretend,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, let\u2019s assume your father does exactly the same thing.\u201d Again, wide eyes in disbelief.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust pretend, OK. Got it? Well, now you do the same thing. \u2018Of course you wouldn\u2019t shop at Walmart, but just pretend once more.\u2019<\/p>\n

I pause and let the child\u2019s mind linger awhile on the parallelism of the three criminal situations. \u201cOK, are all three equally guilty?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n

Usually, the kid gets it right – to my way of thinking anyhow. The rabbi is most guilty. He\u2019s a public personality with heavy ethical obligation. The parent is next because he\u2019s damaged his children who look to him for leadership. The child is less culpable of all because he or she is only responsible for his own immature, juvenile soul. I ask the bar mitzvah candidate to restate his hierarchy of guilt.<\/p>\n

When the student finishes intellectually digesting and then verbalizing the solution to my puzzle, I\u2019m waiting with the final flash of insight to reveal the heart of the chosen people concept. One more tale I tell.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, let\u2019s say you and a schoolmate who is not Jewish each receive $10.00 too much in change. You need the tenner for a present for your old bar mitzvah teacher (the ultimate charity). So you keep it. Who\u2019s guiltier – you or your pal?\u201d Without hesitation most of my
\ncharges reply that there\u2019s equal guilt.<\/p>\n

Then I remind them of the covenant – the obligation to be a light unto the nations. \u201cSee, like the rabbi you\u2019ve got a heavier load to bear. That\u2019s what it means to be CHOSEN.\u201d<\/p>\n

Try it on your 12-year-old. Better ask your wife first.<\/p>\n

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