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PARASHAT NOACH 5785
Building Our Ark
Rabbi Andrew Shaw Chief Executive, Mizrachi UK
It is 1984 and in school we are debating whether George Orwell’s novel bares any simulation to the world we are living in
It is October 1984 and I am very excited and nervous, it is my bar mitzvah – Parshat Noach at Kingsbury Shul.
As we all know, after the creation of the world in the last Parsha, things turn sour right at the start of the parsha, in just the rst few Pesukim when Hashem informs Noach:
Now the earth was corrupt before Hashem, and the earth became full of lawlessness/ violence.
And Hashem said to Noah, "The end of all esh has come before Me, for the earth has become full of lawlessness/ violence.
(Bereishit 6:11, 13)
When I rst leined this is 1984, the word Hamas, meant nothing to me It would have meant nothing to anyone because Hamas was not founded till 1987. Hamas is the acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya (Islamic Resistance Movement).
Even after 1987 and onwards, when I leined it year after year, it still basically meant nothing. One word is referring to the lawlessness and violence in the generation of Noach and the other is a terrorist group in Gaza. Agreed, both words are not particular positive, but there is nothing really in common between them, and of course one is an Arabic word.
Even on October 7th last year I would have seen nothing that remarkable in the two identical words. However, from October 8th and onwards it all changed. Suddenly the Torah became incredibly relevant in the similarity of the two words.
Let me explain.
On October 8th BEFORE Israel even responded, there were marches everywhere, suddenly all around the globe, in London, New York, Sydney, hate- lled, angry, antisemitic protests, in support of the atrocities.
Suddenly the pasuk was spot on סמחץראהאלמּתּו – the world was lled with Hamas!
It certainly was lled. In the media, in universities, in the UN, across large swathes of the UK, the USA and western world.
A world lled with sympathy for Hamas.
And then came last weekend here in London. Once again, there were Hamas supporters, pure Jew haters at JW3 screaming hate against Israel, while the police watched calmly. Why were they there? Because inside, there was an Israel conference organised by the Haaretz newspaper in conjunction with the New Israel Fund and Yachad
There was controversy when Amos Schocken, the editor of Haaretz spoke. He said Israel was committing apartheid, he called terrorists, freedom ghters, said Israel was committing a second nakba and called for sanctions against Israel.
Had the people outside only have known what was being said, they surely would have SUPPORTED those inside!
Of course we know, that is absolutely not true – there are no good Jews or bad Jews for these antisemities, just Jews whom they hate We would all go down together in a ood of hatred, if the antisemites got their way.
So, what is our response? Not to the haters on the outside, there is no point engaging with them. What about those in the inside, to our people, speaking like they did.
Before I answer that question, I must tell you how the Simchat Torah Project has affected me.
I remember when we were just starting, I was speaking to Rav Hershel Schechter and asked him if a Reform or Conservative community wanted to purchase a me’il, what should we do? He told me that they should be able to purchase their me’il and be a part of the project His line to me then was really powerful ‘It is not just Orthodox shuls that are bleeding and mourning’.
As I mentioned last week, I had many conversations with Reform and Conservative Rabbis, several came to the project launch in Israel and felt very much included in the powerful mission that Mizrachi had organised.
So, I have very much tried to accentuate the idea of the Jewish people, united in grief and united in support for Israel as they ght for their survival against murderous enemies who surround them.
I have so many moving stories from reform and conservative shuls, many were emailed to me. We disagree with a lot of how they practice and observe Judaism, some of which we nd very upsetting, but we are united as the Jewish people, especially at this time, and we love them as family.
So, what about our fellow Jews, like last Sunday, who seemingly do not support Israel and indeed on the contrary say such damaging and hateful things, giving fuel to our enemies who will celebrate the words being said.
It is very dif cult but in the same way that we disagree with Reform and Conservative Jews about Judaism – but our love for them remains. Similarly, we will disagree vehemently with these Jews about Zionism and Israel and we must speak out and argue passionately - but our love for them remains.
That is what it is to be one people – not always easy.
Additionally, our overwhelming emotion about the statements made at JW3 by the Haaretz editor should be sadness. How can Jews say that about Israel? At a time when soldiers are dying ghting the terrorists, this is a time to accuse Israel! How tragic. What has gone wrong that Jews can think like this?
In the JC this week, a 6th former - Benjy Levy - writes a very powerful piece entitled ‘Why are young British Jews feeling alienated from Israel? The strapline read ‘Social media and far-left ideologies are pushing young people away from Zionism.’ https://www.thejc.com/community/why-are-young-british-jews-feeling-alienatedfrom-israel-w18g7l6j
Again, it is an article that expresses sadness at the situation we nd ourselves in.
His statement at the end is very powerfully put.
If we don’t care about Israel, who will? If young Jews distance themselves from our ancestral homeland, what will remain of our identity? Israel may seem distant, but it is who we are as a people. The future of Zionism depends on us – on our ability to ensure that Israel remains the living part of our Jewish identity.
Noach built his Ark, as Hashem commanded, to save him and his family from a world lled with Hamas.
So too, we must construct our own ‘ark’ to nurture a strong inclusive Religious Zionism that can spread out and inspire the Jewish people. We can make sure that we are strong in our defence of Medinat Yisrael and a lot of that comes by strengthening our own connection to Hashem and Torah.
As we begin our 4th year of Yehudi, this is one of the most important tasks we have set ourselves. To make sure that our young people are growing up with strong Jewish and Zionist values.
Forty years ago, that young man leining Noach, was blessed to have Kingsbury Shul, Bnei Akiva and his family to help him build his ‘ark’ to navigate the stormy world.
Forty years later, that storm has got much more severe, but the solutions have remained the same.
We must aim to increase our efforts in the task of the hour, to educate and inspire the Jewish world with the truth about both Judaism and Israel.
Even those we fundamentally disagree with.
Shabbat Shalom
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