Rabbi's Week in Review Blog

As some of you know, I am on a rotating list of alumni and faculty from my seminary (the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York, not the one in Los Angeles) to write up a D’var Torah. Last week was my turn.  

Without going into great detail: Sarah, by offering Hagar to Avraham as a wife — leaving aside the offensive notions of bigamy and sexism for a moment — has been described by commentators as making a supreme act of sacrifice. This led me to think about how a sense of Jewish exceptionalism — the idea that we adhere to a higher standard of behavior — has shaped our conduct. I wonder whether having a sense of Jewish exceptionalism has led us to being haughty and/or holding ourselves out to an impossibly high standard of behavior, or if we need this sense of exceptionalism in order to hold ourselves to that high standard of behavior.

I frame the issue in regard to a defense of Israel’s conduct in the most recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict this past May. In defending Israel’s actions and policies, were we too focused on external criticism, thereby ignoring our obligation for Heshbon HaNefesh — an accounting of our souls — or, more to the point, engaging in the important work of self-reflection and self-improvement.  

I present these thoughts not so much with a definitive answer but rather as a point for discussion and maybe a challenge for all of us. Are we so concerned about how others critique us that we cheat ourselves of the opportunity to do better.