Do non-Jewish actions count for anything?

Sometimes Facebook status messages and subsequent comments deserve more attention, and greater longevity, than they would get if hidden away on someone’s ‘Wall’ beneath hundreds of other messages.  This is one such status message.  Someone who has “Unofficial Jewish tendencies” and greatly attracted to Chassidut and Kabbalah became disheartened on hearing their views of non-Jews.  I believe the discussion bears on important issues. 

Please note: I have edited the discussion, changing names apart from my own and taken out the numerous personal comments.  It is not about the person involved but the issues involved.

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Jane Jackson learnt today that my deeds "do not add or subtract from the state of creation, nor do they cause Gd to reveal itself or withdraw. All they can do is bring about their own gain or loss..." and is feeling more than a little disheartened.

Neil Clarke On the other hand, Rambam says "With a single good deed he will tip the scales for himself, and for the entire world, to the side of good."

Jim Bowen Bye, bye Chassidus

Jane Jackson Is Rambam referring to Jews perchance?

Jim Bowen This week Ramban calls Rambam a heretic. Judaism can descend into racism pretty quickly when you make an ontological commitment to certain chassidic ideas.

Jane Jackson Are you saying from a NON chassidic viewpoint that my deeds do effect a change in the spiritual realm? Or that there is no connecton between physical deeds and changes in the spiritual realm at all? Hmmm?

Neil Clarke As to your earlier question, Rambam does say "all men", as opposed to "all Israel" when talking about our customs during ten days of repentance. Plus, Rambam never makes an absolute distinction between Jews and Gentiles. We will find it easier because of the Torah but everyone has the same potential. He believes non-Jews have the same capacity for prophecy.

Neil Clarke As to your question about "spiritual realms" a non-kabbalist (let us leave chassidim out of it, because you can have non-chassidic kabbalists) wouldn't talk about 'spiritual realms' in the same way. But they would definitely say our actions have an effect in a) this world b) our soul c) G-d's accounting of us. Rav Hirsch, for example, thinks it makes mitzvot 'amulets' if you want them to effect (what he calls) 'dream worlds'. The Torah allows us to make spirituality a living reality

Jane Jackson So are you saying (or Rambam saying...) that non-Jews have a neshama with the same potential as a Jewish neshama in terms of spiritual growth and attainment (ie. in olam haba)? And would a non-kabblist say that a non-Jew's actions have the same effects in this world/our souls/Gd's accounting of us? Or lesser?

Jim Bowen Bilam is the key Torah example of a non-Jewish capacity for prophecy. Regarding your last question, the latter option is the more likely, owing to a fundamental disagreement in the nature of the spiritual realm. To clarify, I thought your... original quote was non-chassidic, referring to everyone. Neil, I refer to chassidus because it incorporates the kind of ideology which I'm assuming Jane is being exposed to here; I could be wrong. A non-chassidic kabbalist worth looking at if you want another take would be Rav Yitzchak Kook; I don't know if he would say something similar to what you've heard here, but somehow I suspect not. Where did this come from? A more level playing field is created by dispelling the notion of the divine spark within a Jew (something inherently present) and considering instead the divine potential of a human to become like Gd through their actions (which emulation we would say is possible through study of the Torah as an instruction manual to guide decisions).

Jane Jackson Non Jews do not have a divine spark then? I was reading Derech Hashem....

Jim Bowen I've always had a problem with the racist undertones when I've been told that non-Jews are fundamentally different and in some way 'spiritually' inferior to Jews. Don't have the sources to counter it to my satisfaction though I'm afraid; maybe Neil does. :)

Jim Bowen The question is not whether non-Jews have a divine spark, but whether such a thing as a piece of Gd exists in people at all. Rather, do we not all have potential to fulfil Gd's will? The non-Jew has fewer obligations, making it easier I suppose, but the more mitzvot required of a person the more difficult it is to do what Gd wants of you, thus the more praiseworthy it is to do it. I think. Does that make sense?

Neil Clarke I can't speak on behalf of all non-kabbalists! For Rambam, yes- a non-Jew has the same potential. Only Jews have a "divine nation" where all these things are written into our everyday laws and lives, and so we will be more likely to be successful. But 'the righteous of all nations have a place in Olam Haba'

Plus, 'neshama' may be a slightly different concept for non-Kabbalists. Kabbalists have it that a neshama is literally part of G-d. Adam Kadmon was an entirely spiritual being, and when he sinned the 'vessels shattered' into millions of pieces and got caught in the sitra achra- our bodies. 'Knesset Yisrael' is the totality of all these divine sparks trapped inside a Jew's body. Therefore: Jews souls = Knesset Yisrael = Adam Kadmon = Shechina.

In this picture, a non-Jew only has an animal soul because, whilst he can be as good as a Jew, he doesn't have part of that original divine spark.

A non-kabbalist wouldn't take that view of a neshama. The neshama is our purpose, that which animates our body and gives it 'the breath of life'. Non-Jews can elevate the physical as much as anyone else, as they also have a divine purpose. For a kabbalist, the physical is the sitra achra- "the dark side". For a non-kabbalist, the physical is neutral: we can either live an unredeemed animal existence, or use the physical in a spiritual G-d given way.See More

Neil Clarke Although, Jim in bringing up Rav Kook- yes, he was clearly a kabbalist. And he definately believed in "divine sparks".
He does write that he saw a Rembrandt painting, and thought that when the vessels shattered, he gave some of that light to Rembrandt to put in his paintings.

Also: Through dispersion among gentiles, [Judaism] gathers and incorporates the fragments of truth wherever it finds them scattered- Rabbi Elijah Benamozegh (1823-1900)

Neil Clarke Also, as for Bilaam the Sifrei says:

"There has arisen no prophet in Israel like unto Moses" but in the Gentile world there has arisen[such a prophet]. And who? Balaam the son of Beor

So, he had the potential, but he blew it!

Jim Bowen See Derech Hashem as a good representation of a kabbalistic world view, but not the be all and end all of orthodox Jewish thought; it's one version of Judaism, but is not the whole. Ramchal's writing is rooted in a kabbalistic and chassidic tradition which you are under no obligation to adopt or accept.

Jane Jackson Yes, that goes make sense, non-kabbalists see it as though there isn't necessarily a divine spark in Jews or anyone... and that anyone - Jew or non-Jew - has the potential to realise Gd and elevate the physical and use it for it's spiritual purpose? But it's harder for a Jew as they have more 'rules'. Ok. I like kabblistic thought but at this time... it's quite hard for me to feel so pointless...

Neil Clarke I just want to end on a positive- sometimes when one spends their time arguing against something, they end up sounding negative...

As such, I certainly do believe in a 'divine spark' within us. It is t...hat spiritual element G-d has given us (whatever that might be) which allows us to be more than just an animal, and allows us- through our actions- to resemble the divine.

As it says in Tanach, in the Book of Kings/Melachim:

"I call heaven and earth to witness, BE A MAN A JEW OR A NON-JEW, man or woman, manservant or maidservant, only according to their actions will the spirit of G-d rest upon them"

Working Life…

Working life certainly takes some getting used to!

The earliest I’ll finish work is 5.30- and only because I have just started the job.  This is followed by an hour and a quarter squashed commute back on the underground.  Then, after I have done a few sits up and had a shower, gobbled down some delicious pasta topped with ketchup in 5 minutes flat and gone to synagogue for evening prayers, it is already 8 in the evening! 

I then, depressingly, only have two hours to myself to do something.  One thing.  I have the choice of watching Star Trek or doing some reading or see a friend for an hour or playing an instrument or writing something interesting or do some learning.  But only if I’m decisive.  If I just mill around for a bit- say, half an hour- I find its already getting too late to do anything.  The instrument will disturb the neighbours, it will be pointless seeing the friend for such a short time, I’ll be too tired to learn and I’ll miss the beginning of Star Trek. 

Of course, if I am sociable and go straight out for a few pints after work with my colleagues, then it is literally back to bed slightly woozy without even doing any exercise, going to synagogue or having a shower.

Today I wrote this. Better luck tomorrow.

Delivering Value

“Adding Value” is one of those potentially vacuous pieces of business talk that one has to grow accustomed to.  We need to focus- so the jargon goes- on the “Value Zone” and deliver our resources there.  My development goals will be around how I can “deliver value” for the company.  The steps from procurement through to sales is a “physical value chain” which can be modelled by a “virtual value chain”

Of course, there is nothing wrong with the idea, as such.  It’s just about the competitive edge that comes from adding something that will deliver great benefits for little costs.  It is the extra feature that makes something greater than the sum of its parts.  Basically, add a lick of paint to the walls of your house and you’ll get a much better price for it!

However, when I see a Royal Mail van with “Delivering Value” emblazoned on its side, I tend to think that it would be much better if they could just “Value Delivery” instead!

10 Books to Buy….

…if I had the money and time.

1. My Journey- Tony Blair

2. Heavenly Torah: As Refracted Through the Generations- Abraham Joshua Heschel

3. Jerusalem: Or on Religious Power and Judaism by Moses Mendelssohn

4. On Certainty-  Ludwig Wittgenstein

5.  The Complete Novels of Kafka- Franz Kafka

6. Essays (Penguin Modern Classics) - George Orwell

7. A New History of Western Philosophy by Anthony Kenny

8. Why Evolution is True by Jerry A. Coyne

9. The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness by Simon Wiesenthal

10. Awakenings by Oliver Sacks

Who Reads the Papers?

Once true, always true.

Jim Hacker: "Don't tell me about the press. I know exactly who reads the papers:
- The Daily Mirror is read by people who think they run the country;
- The Guardian is read by people who think they ought to run the country;
- The Times is read by people who actually do run the country;
- The Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country;
- The Financial Times is read by people who own the country;
- The Morning Star is read by people who think the country ought to be run by another country;
- And the Daily Telegraph is read by people who think it is."

Sir Humphrey: "Prime Minister, what about the people who read the Sun?"

Bernard Woolley: "Sun readers don't care who runs the country, as long as she's got big tits."

Over 1500 Days Without a Visit

This Saturday is Gilad Shalit's 24th birthday, has been in captivity for four years and has been living without basic humanitarian rights.  The Red Cross, who are meant to ensure such rights, have yet to visit him.  Here is a letter that a cousin of mine who works for the Jewish Agency in Israel has written.  She suggests that it can be adjusted to your personal feelings and send it to one of the addresses at the bottom.

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I cannot express too strongly my disappointment at the clearly feeble and half-hearted attempts made by the ICRC to visit Gilad Shalit.

To claim on your web-site that you are still “working just as hard” to visit Gilad when you first failed 4 years ago only means that you have not increased the pressure nor have you shown- for years- any creative initiative.  For one small soldier the effort is apparently not worthwhile.

You have clearly never countered Hamas’ refusals by trying to “upgrade” your own efforts but have just carried on as before, knowing that you will continue to fail. When asked “What exactly have you asked Hamas to do?” you simply ignore your own interviewer’s question and give no real detail whatsoever, just the same old generalisations and platitutdes.  The conclusion must be that there is no detail to give.

To admit on your website that “there is only so much that we can do for them” is a total abandonment of your creed.  You no longer have true belief in your mission, and your double duties as messenger to one Israeli soldier and as protector of the poor and hungry in Gaza have led you into the worst ways of expediency, well on the road that leads to total defeat.  You have lost your own self-esteem and, I am convinced of it, that of many thousands of others.

It took you four years of failure before you even realised that “working behind the scenes” is a pointless, hopeless way of dealing with Hamas.  FOUR YEARS!!  Against this background, you could never persuade any reasonable man that you have been really trying at all.

Please think of these things…

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Suggested addresses:

For Near & Middle East:  dkrimitsas@icrc.org (Dorothea Krimitsas- Media Relations Officer)

Jerusalem: jerusalem.jer@icrc.org (Ms. Barbara Amstad)

International Office: Review@gva@icrc.org

Scary Thought

A soldier cannot absolve himself of an immoral act because he was only following orders. Equally, bystanders bear some responsibility if they know some evil is going on and yet do not protest. After all, “all it takes for evil to prevail, is for good men to do nothing”. Yet, would I be one such bystander? How can I even declare a mild confidence as to what I would do?

Most people would like to flatter themselves and think they would protest evil. They are horrified by accounts of atrocities, aim to do good in their own lives and will sincerely rattle off the same platitudes that I did in my first three sentences. “Of course I would do something”. Yet I feel this is just an example of the “above average effect”. If you ask someone to rate how good they are at driving, the vast majority of people will rate themselves as “above average”. Statistically improbable indeed! Equally, most people believe that they will stand above the crowd and act on principle, whilst I contend that most people are the crowd.

Of course, people won’t do something bad if told to do so out-of-the-blue but they can be influenced step-by-step in that direction. Consider the famous “Milgram Experiment”. Could anyone be induced, straight out, to administer a potentially lethal 450 volt shock to an unwilling participant for getting a question wrong? Of course not. How about a harmless 15 volt shock to a willing participant in a learning experiment? Yes. Starting from that point, Milgram wanted to see if, by raising the voltage in increments of 15, people could be induced through verbal pressure alone, to give the possibly lethal shock. A staggering 65% gave the full shock; a result confirmed in repeated examples of the test in different times and places. You don’t need to be below average in morality to be capable of unbelievable evil.

What is more scary is that I could see myself being influenced in some way by extremist literature. People will see Mein Kampf for the drivel it is, and will wonder how people could believe such things. Academics inter that, even from a literary point of view, it is dreadfully written. Whilst this is absolutely true, I, for one, found it incredibly compelling [something can be absolute drivel and compelling at the same time- cf. Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code]. Even I found myself hating Jews after reading it! My critical thinking kicks in quickly and any such thoughts are banished. However, how about in abnormal circumstances where it confirms a prejudice I have, emotional thinking is encouraged, it conforms to what everyone else thinks and I’m going through hard times? Even though I wouldn’t agree with the excesses, would I concede that “he has a point” [much the same reaction people often have on reading Dawkin’s “The G-d Delusion”]? What effect would that have on me?

Perhaps the very fact that I am a reflective person, as evinced by me having these thoughts, would prevent me from falling into this abyss. However, this is fallacious. Some of the most reflective people- scientists, philosophers, religious men- were prominent members of the NAZI party. Most members of the committee who proposed the ‘Final Solution’ were Doctors, and one even insisted on being called Dr. Dr. because of his two PhDs. On the other hand, one of the ‘righteous gentiles’ I learnt about in Yad Vashem was a common thief. How we act in normal times is not a good indicator of our behaviour in the abnormal times.

No doubt, my potential to be evil may seem to myself and others as counter-intuitive. Yet, what is my record like in contemporary times? There is constant and unacceptable de-legitimisation of the State of Israel, but how much do I speak up in defence? On the other hand, an Israeli soldier gloats about her Palestinian prisoners on Facebook, yet how much are these abuses non-apologetically acknowledged in our community? Moreover, what about situations like that in Darfur? I’ve signed a petition and attended a meeting or two. Yet, to be honest, I can’t even really remember anything about it- apart from the word “Janjaweed”. Nor could I say what happened in Rwanda or Bosnia/Serbia. I have read some things about them, but “living your own life” usually cancels out fighting evil. So, what would happen if evil was transferred to my doorstep? I don’t know.