Standing Up Straight

Hapax legomenon.

A hapax legomenon, sometimes abbreviated as hapax, is a Greek word which means “being said once.” It refers to a word or an expression that occurs only once within a context: either in the written record of an entire language, in the works of an author, or in a single text.

This week, we encounter a hapax in the parsha: קוֹמְמִיּוּת

אֲנִי ה' אֱ-לֹהֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִהְיֹת לָהֶם עֲבָדִים וָאֶשְׁבֹּר מֹטֹת עֻלְּכֶם וָאוֹלֵךְ אֶתְכֶם קוֹמְמִיּוּת׃

“I am Hashem your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be their slaves no more, who broke the bars of your oppression and made you walk komemiyut.” (Vayikra 26:13)

What is komemiyut?

The root of the word is to “get up.” Rashi explains komemiyut means upright stature. One who is burdened cannot stand straight. God freed us from Egypt, allowing to stand tall. The Netziv goes one step further. Removing the heavy burden of slavery is not enough for the Jew to stand tall as there remains the fear of re-enslavement. Komemiyut means confidence and pride. This verse teaches us all that Jews must stand tall with confidence and pride in who we are. It is part of who we are, and it is up to us to display it.

Rabbi Yaakov Galinsky, was born in Poland, studied in the famed Novardok Yeshiva, and spent World War Two exiled in Siberia before settling in Israel. He was well-known for his Torah talks and stories. During his time in Siberia, he would rise early in the morning to daven before the other prisoners woke up. One day, he noticed a fellow prisoner, a Polish non-Jew, would also wake up early. Each morning, he would remove a folded uniform from under his bed, put it on, stand up straight and salute, and then quickly take off the uniform and replace it under the bed. Extremely curious, Rabbi Galinsky asked his fellow prisoner about this enigmatic daily ritual. The Polish prisoner replied:

“My whole life I have been committed to serving my country. Ever since I was a little boy, I dreamt of becoming a general in the Polish army. I finally achieved the rank of general — just before I was captured by the Russians. Now in captivity, everything I had worked for, everything I wanted to become, was gone. So early in the morning, I don my uniform, and I am my true self. Regardless of how the Russians or our fellow prisoners see me, for those few moments when I am wearing that uniform, I am not a lowly, broken inmate, but a proud general in the Polish army.”

Komemiyut.

This word sticks in my memory. Over a decade ago on Shabbat Bechukotai, Ramaz seniors spoke at Seudah Shlishit about their recent class trip to Poland and Israel. (The trip is always around this time of year, and we’re having some current seniors present in Shul at Seduah Shlishit this week.) One student spoke about his emotions after seeing Auschwitz and all the death that took place in Poland and then immediately traveling to Israel. He spoke about the pride and gratitude he felt in family members and survivors in general picking up the pieces after the Shoah. He summarized it all with the word “komemiyut.”

Jews must stand tall. We need to have confidence in who we are. It is needed now more than ever. One of my favorite Rabbi Jonathan Sacks quotes is, “Non-Jews respect Jews who respect Judaism, and they are embarrassed by Jews who are embarrassed by Judaism.” (Radical Then, Radical Now, Chapter 15) These past 8 months have rattled our confidence. The war in Israel and the rising hatred towards Jews in America, have made standing up for what we believe in harder. Some Jews are lowering their voices and visibility. We cannot let that happen.

Thankfully, there are inspiring examples of standing tall.

This week, Natan Sharansky wrote about the 500 Columbia students who signed an open letter defending their support for Israel and decrying harassment they’ve faced by pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel groups and activities. “We are here, writing to you as Jewish students at Columbia University, who are connected to our community and deeply engaged with our culture and history,” the letter says. “We would like to speak in our name.”

Sharansky, no stranger to standing up for Jews and Israel, may prove to be the turning point in the struggle for American Jewry’s future. Recalling his own experiences and those of the Soviet dissident struggle, he writes that “in order to defend your rights, you have to first define and claim them. Until America’s Jewish students publicly claim their right to their Jewish and Zionist identity, they will continue to fight at a disadvantage.” He urges students at other universities to follow the Columbia students’ lead. If more students at more campuses “stand up for their own truths—they stand a real chance to revolutionize the campuses, defeat the antisemitic forces that have occupied them, and win the battle for American Jewry’s future.”

In Israel, there are numerous examples of courage, heroism, and resilience. Here’s one that literally invokes komemiyut.

Sgt. Maj. Aviad Cohen, a young father and soldier in the Etzioni Brigade, was killed battling terrorists on October 7. In advance of Purim, his widow posted a notice on the door of their home: “Happy Purim! You are asked to enter this home with your head held high and standing tall! Fill yourself with strength and happiness; only then may you knock on our door. We are the family of a hero who spread light and hope during his life and with his death. We are proud of all of you.”

Standing tall is the posture demanded of us from the time we left Egypt. For much of Jewish history, there have been many forces bringing us down and impeding on that posture. In recent years, we have reclaimed our confidence. Thanks to the State of Israel and an America which has been kind to Jews, we have the ability to stand tall again. In particular, Israel’s victory in the Six Day War had a major role in energizing in Jewish pride and straightening the Jewish posture. As Rabbi Haskel Lookstein often says, “Before 1967, Jews were akin to question marks – stooped, bowed, lacking confidence. After 1967, Jews became exclamation marks – ramrod straight, confident, and loud.”

As we march down Fifth Avenue on Sunday and celebrate Yom Yerushalayim next Wednesday, we recall and recommit ourselves to the promise, blessing, and responsibility of komemiyut, of Jewish dignity, self-confidence, and pride. Like they declared back at Solidarity Sunday marches for Soviet Jewry, “We are Jews; we couldn’t be prouder. If you can’t hear us, we’ll shout a little louder!”

What Are You Doing on Monday?

What comes to mind first when you think of Memorial Day?

Many people respond barbecues, beach, or a long weekend that marks the beginning of summer. This is no accident. In 1971, Congress passed a law to schedule four national holidays on Mondays to give federal workers a three-day holiday weekend. 

While Memorial Day in the US may have morphed into a day more known for parades and pleasure, it has a long history of reflection and commemoration. Did you know that Congress authorized a national moment of remembrance to take place at 3:00 pm?

Personally, I have vivid memories of watching the scenes from Arlington National cemetery including the laying of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. There is something powerful about the formality, dignity, and gravity that mark these memorial ceremonies. We encounter the sacrifice of those who allow us to live freely, and we have the chance to ponder those events and ideals which are greater than ourselves. Even if we did not serve to defend our country or even know people who did, we are clearly the beneficiaries of their sacrifice.

Such is the power of memory. Memory connects us with the past and unites those with a shared experience or history. Think of a conversation you may have had that brought to mind something from the past. All of a sudden, you are transported back to that place or time to relive a formative experience or reconnect with people who made an impact on you.

As Jews, memory is not only a function of the mind; it is a sacred obligation. We invoke memory in our religious observances and to connect with our past. We recently observed Yom HaShoah and Yom Hazikaron, two modern days of memory and purpose. We channel that exercise in memory to celebrate Israel’s independence more meaningfully on Yom Ha’atzmaut. America would benefit from a more meaningful Memorial Day.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks captures the power and essential role of memory:

“There is a profound difference between history and memory. History is his story – an event that happened sometime else to someone else. Memory is my story – something that happened to me and is part of who I am. History is information. Memory, by contrast, is part of identity. I can study the history of other peoples, cultures and civilizations. They deepen my knowledge and broaden my horizons. But they do not make a claim on me. They are the past as part. Memory is the past as present, as it lives on in me. Without memory there can be no identity.” 

(The Chief Rabbi’s Haggadah, p. 29)

At its core then, Memorial Day is a time to rededicate ourselves to who we are and the values that are important to us.

In the Washington Post, historian Howard Mansfield considers the meaning of Memorial Day, using as an example an “invisible” Holocaust memorial in Germany. The Platz des Unsichtbaren Mahnmals, the Place of the Invisible Memorial, is a memorial to Jewish cemeteries destroyed by the Nazis. Located in Saarbrücken, capital of the German state of the Saarland, the memorial is completely invisible to the visitor. There is nothing noticeable there other than a sign identifying the place.

In April 1990, art professor Jochen Gerz and several of his students began to secretly dig up cobblestones from the plaza in front of the Saarbrücken castle. The underside of the stones was then engraved with the names of thousands of German Jewish cemeteries, and afterwards they were returned to the place with the inscription facing downwards. How exactly, then, is this a memorial?

James E. Young, a Holocaust historian, explained in a talk at Yad Vashem, “[Artist Jochen] Gerz hoped they would realize that such memory was already in them. The visitors would become the memorials for which they searched.”

We are the memorials.

Memorial Day does not require anything external. The parades and ceremonies are meant to reinforce the values and ideals for which those who came before us were willing to sacrifice their lives. Memorial Day is about our commitment to live by those values and not let them be forgotten.

These days, values like truth, justice, and sacrifice have lost their meaning. Instead, protestors, the media, and even international courts of justice forget about the crimes of the terrorists and describe defensive wars as genocide. Last night, I helped our daughter with an assignment relating to “Newspeak” as portrayed in 1984. Orwell describes a society that limits language to control people and their thoughts. I thought a contemporary application of “Newspeak” is how the chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” has been transformed from a declaration to eliminate Jews from Israel into a pithy, catchy slogan of supporting Palestinians by students who don’t know which river or sea they’re even talking about!

We need a true Memorial Day more than ever. We need to become memorials dedicated to the values that built America and sustain the free world. Thank God, we are part of a community that “gets” all this, but it’s not enough. We need to make more friends and allies. We need to speak about this with colleagues and neighbors. We need to stand up for these values as Jews and Americans whenever and wherever we can.

We are blessed to live in the United States. On Monday, we have an opportunity to honor the sacrifice of so many in shaping and maintaining this great country and to reflect upon the need for us to channel and elevate those values to a world so desperately in need of them.

God bless America!

The Message of 5 Iyar

When is Yom Ha’atzmaut?

Like every other Jewish holiday, it has a date on the calendar: 5 Iyar.

As Rabbi Meshulam Roth (1875-1962), one of the prominent rabbinical supporters of celebrating Israel’s independence, noted:

“Indeed, there is no doubt that the 5th of Iyar, which was established by the government and the members of the Parliament, who are the elected representatives of the people, and the majority of the great Rabbis to celebrate through the land, to commemorate our salvation and our freedom – it is a mitzvah to make it a day of happiness and Yom Tov and to recite Hallel.” (Kol Mevaser 1:21)

This year, though, we will celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut on 6 Iyar.

The Knesset decided that the national commemoration and celebration of Yom Hashoah, Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut should never begin or end in proximity to Shabbat. This was to ensure no preparations or arrangements would ever take place in a way that would violate Shabbat. In the event that any of these days would fall on Friday or Sunday, then the holidays would be pushed off a day or moved earlier. While the dates are significant, in a Jewish State, Shabbat must come first.

The commemorations of Yom Hashoah and Yom Hazikaron don’t engender any significant discussion of Jewish Law. They’re “easy” to move. Celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut, however, involves religious rituals like reciting Hallel as well as festively celebrating during the Omer period, when such celebrating does not take place. Doesn’t the day matter?

Some rabbis say the date matters.

If 5 Iyar is the date of Yom Ha’atzmaut, then that is the only day to celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut. This means there are some communities who will celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut this year on Monday, while Israel – and most other communities - celebrate on Tuesday. Sounds pretty Jewish, no?

Rabbi Shlomo Goren noted that Yom Ha’atzmaut is bigger than a date on the calendar. We have a religious responsibility to celebrate the miracle of Israel in our time. That’s not about a date. It is about the fact that we have a State of Israel.

What exactly happened on 5 Iyar in 1948?

That is when David Ben-Gurion and the Provisional Council declared a State of Israel. It was an exhilarating moment, but it was immediately followed by war. Why did the Rabbis declare this date the holiday? Why not celebrate the end of the War of Independence?

5 Iyar marks a miraculous moment in Jewish history.

The declaration of the State of Israel was a display of courage that transformed the Jewish people. It was the moment – just three years after the destruction of the Shoah – that facilitated an ingathering of the exiles and triggered the building of a country that boggles the mind to this day. It was also the unleashing of a spirit that we still use today that can never be extinguished.  

Celebrating the events of 5 Iyar - regardless of whether we celebrate on 4 or 6 Iyar – is an annual reminder that we need bravery, perseverance, and faith. Especially after October 7, in the midst of the fighting, pain, heartbreak, and despair, we need to recognize and, yes, celebrate, that the courage needed to declare a state is the courage that will ensure we prevail and always have a state.

Rabbi Yehuda Amital, founder of Yeshivat Har Etzion, would often speak about people’s impatience as reflected in various movements and slogans with the word “Now.” Peace Now. Moshiach Now. He advised some perspective from his own personal experience of surviving the Holocaust and then fighting in Israel’s War of Independence. Have some patience. During the Shoah, he would never even have dreamt he’d be fighting in the army of a Jewish State. That miraculous transformation, that powerful ability to transcend is only possible with 5 Iyar.

On Monday, President Biden gave a strong speech condemning antisemitism and supporting Israel. He decried people forgetting the Holocaust and already even forgetting the horrific events of October 7. Then, on Wednesday, he said he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if it launches a major invasion of Rafah. It’s outrageous and betrays the sentiments of the first speech. Thankfully, many members of Congress have pushed back against the President’s speech, and we must all encourage our leaders to support Israel having what it needs to defeat Hamas.

These days, it can feel like one step forward; two steps back. But nothing can undo what happened on 5 Iyar. Thank God, we have a State of Israel. There is no turning back. There is only going forward.

When we celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut on Tuesday, it will feel different. We feel weighed down by the current situation in Israel and by what seems like less support and stability for Israel and Jews here in America. Nevertheless, when we celebrate, we should think back to the incredible courage and strength unleashed on 5 Iyar in 1948. The genie is out of the bottle. We have that power, and, with God’s help, Israel and the Jewish people will keep moving forward to better times and even greater redemption.

Happy Jewish Heritage Month! (Did You Even Know?)

“For centuries, the perseverance, hope, and unshakeable faith of the Jewish people have inspired people around the world. During Jewish American Heritage Month, we celebrate the immeasurable impact of Jewish values, contributions, and culture on our Nation’s character and recommit to realizing the promise of America for all Jewish Americans… NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2024 as Jewish American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to learn more about the heritage and contributions of Jewish Americans and to observe this month with appropriate programs, activities, and ceremonies.”

Did YOU know May is Jewish American Heritage Month in the US?

Most Jews pay little attention to this annual occurrence. It was initiated by President George W. Bush in 2006 following Congressional resolutions for such an annual commemoration to be created following the successful celebration of the 350^th anniversary of American Jewish History in 2004.The rich Jewish American experience deserved such recognition, and each May, hundreds of organizations and Americans of all backgrounds join together to discover, explore, and celebrate the vibrant and varied American Jewish experience from the dawn of our nation to the present day.

That is everyone except Jews, who mostly ignore the month.

We’re busy! May is always filled with Yom HaShoah and Yom HaZikaron commemorations and Yom Ha’atzmaut and Yom Yerushalayim celebrations. There’s Shavuot, graduations, and summer preparations. I’m not complaining that the powers that be chose May. It’s just that they can’t expect the Jewish community to add more to our busy calendars.

With everything going on in America right now, a Jewish American Heritage Month is helpful in raising the profile for what Judaism is and how Jews have contributed – and continue to contribute – to America. Just because we Jews will be busy with our Jewish events in May doesn’t mean we shouldn’t welcome events that draw attention to the positive role Judaism plays in America. Thankfully, there are numerous programs all around the country – from Congress to museums to local towns – that will allow Americans to encounter Jews and Judaism.

Anyone who has watched or listened to some of the campus protestors knows how much ignorance exists. Students don’t know which river or sea they are chanting about, and, beyond the protests, it is scary how little people (especially millennials) know about Judaism or the Holocaust. We can try to educate America, but a little boost from a national effort supported by our government can do more.

Are we Jewish Americans or American Jews? I have always felt that our Judaism should play the primary role in shaping who we are. Accordingly, my Judaism shapes my being American. My Judaism isn’t modified by my being an American. Whether you agree or not, too many Jews do not take their Judaism seriously enough. I cringe each time I see the Jewish names of the anti-Israel protestors and those Jews who support enemies of the Jewish community in Congress.

Jewish Americans can use more Jewish Heritage.

This month – and particularly during the next two weeks, we will have an intense encounter with Jewish heritage and Jewish history. We will recall the darkest, deepest depths of the Shoah and speed directly into marking the establishment – three short years later – of the State of Israel by remembering the sacrifices of those who allow us to celebrate an independent Jewish homeland today.

How are this year’s “Yom’s” different from other years? The answer is, of course, October 7.

The horrors of that day, and the subsequent 200+ days of war, uncertainty, hostages, pain, and suffering have been historic, life-altering events. I remember during the worst of COVID thinking of the verse (Shemot 12:30): “For there was no house where there was not someone dead.” There were so many families affected that there was, at most, one degree of separation from the disease. In the aftermath of 10/7 and during the first months of the war, I thought the same thing. We all knew someone or were one degree removed from someone impacted by October 7. Each of our lives has changed.

Yet, as is the story of our people, we move forward. We double down as best as possible on tradition, on family, on community, on each other, on faith, and on life.

Rabbi Moshe Isserlis, known the Rema and the source for much of Ashkenazi practice, teaches a little-known piece of shiva visit etiquette. One is not allowed to tell the mourner “What can you do? You couldn’t have changed anything” since this is akin to blasphemy.

What’s wrong with such a sentiment? Many of us have found ourselves at a shiva wondering what to say next. “Nu, what can you do? God is in charge” has come to mind. It’s actually true! What CAN we do?

Rabbi Isserlis is teaching that it is wrong to despair of being able to do something. There is always something to do. To say, “Oy! What can you do?” is to say that, in reality, our lives don’t really make any difference to what goes on in this world and that there is nothing we can do to change it. Judaism rejects this kind of thinking.

There is always a way forward. Jews believe that even death is not the ultimate end. In our daily prayers, we invoke techiyat ha-meitim, resurrection of the dead. It is one the Rambam’s thirteen fundamentals of Jewish faith. How do we understand such a complex principle? Keeping the memory and legacy of the Jewish past alive is techiyat hameitim. We are the resurrection. I can think of no clearer expression of this than the week between Yom HaShoah and Yom Ha’atzmaut. We, the generation after the Holocaust, are witnessing the Jewish people moving forward despite any difficulties and setbacks.

This month is Jewish American Heritage Month, and we should recognize and celebrate what Jews have contributed to America. This month, Americans and the Jewish community will focus on commemorating and celebrating the Jewish Heritage of Jewish survival and accomplishment. As a colleague likes to note, “The response to antisemitism is semitism.” Living Judaism is the response to those who hate us.

Here’s to a month of Jewish heritage, solidarity, pride, accomplishment, progress, healing, relief, redemption, and resurrection!