A Story of Two Brothers: Not Friends, But Family
Yom Kippur Sermon 5772/2011
Delivered by Rabbi David Baum
Today, I would like to tell you the story of two brothers.
Once there were two brothers who inherited a farm and worked together for years in brotherly love. After a time, one of them found a wife, so the brothers divided up the farm. The married one built a new house and lived with his wife, while the single brother lived by himself in the old house. The brothers farms flourished and became wealthy
The one who had a wife eventually had a large family, ten children, but the other brother was still looking for a wife; he was alone.
One day, the unmarried brother thought to himself: “I’ve got this whole farm and all this money, but I only have myself to take care of. My brother has the same amount as me, but he has twelve mouths to feed.” So in the middle of the night he took some bundles of wheat, climbed up the hill that separated the two farms, then over into his brother’s farm – putting the wheat in his brother’s silo.
One night the married brother was thinking to himself, “You know, I’ve got ten kids, I’ve got a wife. My world is rich. But my brother, he’s all alone. What does he have? All he has is wheat.” So, in the middle of the night, he took a bundle of wheat, climbed the hill, and carried it over to his brother’s silo.
Back and forth each of the brothers went. Every night each one would climb the hill, pass over to the other side and put wheat in the other’s silo. And the next morning each one always wondered, how come I have the same amount of wheat?
One night, while they were passing over to bring the other their bundles of wheat, the two brothers met at the top of the hill. And immediately they understood what had been happening. They fell into each other’s arms, hugging and kissing.
It is on this site that the Almighty chose to build the Holy Temple.
This story is an old Jewish folklore, but there is a modern version of this story told by Israelis. This story has the same characters, two brothers, one brother with a wife and 10 children, and one single. During the night, the unmarried brother had a thought, “You know, I live alone, without company. I have nobody to help me farm or to console me when I’m tired; it is not right that my brother, who has a wife and large family should take as many bundles of wheat from our common field as I have. In the middle of the night, I will get up, and take some of his bundles of wheat; he won’t suspect a thing, so he can’t blame me for it.’ The same night, the other brother awoke and said to his wife, ‘I have to feed you and 10 children. It is not right that his share should be as large as mine; I’m going to take some of the wheat out of his bundle and secretly add them to mine; he won’t suspect a thing, so he can’t blame me for it.’
Back and forth each of the brothers went. Every night each one would climb the hill, pass over to the other side and take wheat in the other’s silo. And the next morning each one always wondered, how come I have the same amount of wheat?
And, you guessed it, one night, while they were passing over to take the other’s bundles of wheat, the two brothers met at the top of the hill. Immediately they understood what had been happening and they started hitting each other.
The story ends, “Now a place where so conniving a thought came at the same time to two brothers must be a very special spot. And so they chose it to build the Knesset.”
In these two stories, we see two extremes. The story ends by telling us that it is was on that site that the holy Temple was built. It tells us that God chose that piece of land because it represents everything that we find to be the ideal. The first story is an idealistic story of Israel that many of us who live in America dream that Israel is.
It is an Israel of brotherly love, where everyone is unified in the pursuit of justice and peace. The Rabbis called it ‘Yerushalayim shel Mala’, the Jerusalem that is on high. This Jerusalem is a Jerusalem of Gold as coined by the famous singer, Noami Shemer.
The second story, which is told as a joke in Israel, tells us about the reality of a real democratic nation. It is a story of mistrust amongst brothers, of conflict and messiness. The Rabbis also had a name for this Jerusalem, ‘Yerushalyaim shel Mata’, the Jerusalem that is below.
Today, on Yom Kippur, a day devoted to memories of the Holy Temple in Jersualem, we will find the answer to the question: which one is the REAL Israel?
Many of us grew up seeing Israel as a miracle. The land of Israel was barely habitable in the mid 1800’s, but after years of hard work and settlement by early Zionists, Israel had become a place where the dessert bloomed. She has fought numerous wars against overwhelming odds.
Israel is also an economic miracle which we many of us read about in the book Start Up Nation by Dan Senor and Saul Singer. It is home to more start up companies percentage wise than any country in the world. Everyone’s cell phone and computer has a part that was invented in Israel. Israel’s economy was barely touched by the global economic collapse because of its strong foundation. A little country, just 7 million people strong, surrounded by enemies and isolated, is not only surviving, but thriving.
But there were some things that were left out of the book, but first, I want to share a story from the midrash. There was once a rabbi during the 3rd century, Yehoshua ben Levi, who traveled to the mighty city of Rome, the greatest city of its time. There were many amazing sites, as anyone who has been to Rome knows, but he was struck most by the marble pillars. One day, he noticed that the marble pillars were covered by sheets to guard it from heat and cold. Then he looked down and saw the poor people, naked, without even a sheet. When he saw this he said, “a civilization whose statues are treated better than its poor will not last.”
Israel has a problem. Israel has the fourth largest disparity in the world between rich and poor, unfortunately, America is ahead of Israel by one place, we are 3rd. Prices of goods that we take for granted are out of control in Israel, and housing is unattainable for most youth. All of this, and more, came to a head this summer in Israel.
The Arab world had its Arab Spring, where Arab dictators were overthrown and the fighting continues. But do you know that Israel had its own ‘spring’ – it was called the Cottage Cheese Spring. The Cottage Cheese Spring began with an ultra-Orthodox Jew named Itzik Elrov stormed out to his local grocery store, incensed at the jacked-up price of cottage cheese. He ran home and set up a Facebook protest page, “Let’s boycott cottage cheese for a month.” The boycott of the Cottage Cheese had almost 100,000 followers. This led to another Facebook page that urged to pitch tents to demand affordable housing amid the million dollar apartments in Tel Aviv. At first, these protestors were dismissed, but the tents grew, and more and more people came. Nadav Eyal, a writer for the Israeli newspaper Maariv wrote, “The demonstrators, are not just ”sushi eaters” from Tel Aviv, as one Likud politician called them; they are middle-class Israelis — taxi drivers, doctors, and mothers who are angry about a variety of issues, including working hours, the rising cost of living, and the growing gap between rich and poor.” Recent polls showed that 85% of Israelis supported the protests. They culminated with a march where close to 500,000 Israelis, on a Saturday night in September, took the streets to demand social justice. To put it into perspective, it would be the equivalent of 18 million Americans all protesting in one night.
So which one is the real Israel? Israel as Start Up Nation, or an Israel of economic injustice, is it the Israel shel malah, an idealized and perfect Israel, or Israel shel matah, the nation like every other nation?
To answer the question, I would like to share my own story:
In 2006, when Alissa and I were living in Israel, we took a cab ride that along with my in-laws from the Old City of Jerusalem. We were lucky to catch a cab driver, and even luckier for my family that he spoke English so they could experience the Israeli cab driver experience. Cab drivers in Israel are not like in NYC, they actually talk to you… a lot. They tell you about themselves, their lives, usually too much information. So this cab driver picked us up and he told us his life story. How he was set up by the police here, and he went to court, and he fought the corrupt government, and how the people are becoming so disconnected with their Judaism here that it scares him. Mind you, this was a long cab ride and we couldn’t get a word in edge wise. We finally arrived at our apartment and I asked him one question as I exited the cab: If Israel is so difficult, why not go somewhere else? He answered me, “I can’t live anywhere else, I love this country!”
This summer, we saw London being looted and burned by protestors. In the Arab world, protesters were met by live bullets.
In Israel: hundreds of thousands of people in the streets called for economic fairness and social justice. Not one rock was thrown, no pepper spray or tear gas used, and there no arrests. Furthermore, major protests did not take place on Shabbat so that religious could join hands with secular.
It is the love of Israel that the people have that make all of her many problems manageable. I mentioned to you that over 500,000 Israelis protested. This was in September, but the original date for the protest was in August, but the organizers cancelled the protest. That weekend, there was a coordinated terror attack in the south that led to 8 dead and 30 wounded Israelis. They knew that the police and army were needed elsewhere. In a statement, the National Union of Israeli Students said the protest movement was “lowering its head on this difficult day, joins the families in mourning, and wishes the wounded a speedy recovery.”
I cannot imagine any other country, especially a country that should be numb from the many terrorists attacks perpetrated against them, acting in this way.
It is akin to a family.
That is the real Israel.
Rabbi Daniel Gordis told us the story of St.-Sgt. Dvir Emanuel. Dvir was the first casualty of Operation Cast Lead, the operation launched by Israel in the Summer of 2009 to put an end to the 1000’s of missiles being launched from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel. Dvir lost his life to Hamas mortar fire just as he entered Gaza early in the offensive. His mother’s name is Dalia. A year after his death, after a year of mourning, her family began to live again.
A week later, she found herself in the bleachers of a concert, waiting with her daughter for an Israeli rock concert to begin. Suddenly, Dalia felt someone touch her shoulder. When she turned around, she saw a little boy, handsome, with blond hair and blue eyes. A kindergarten teacher by profession, Dalia was immediately drawn to the boy, and as they began to speak, she asked him if he’d like to sit next to her.
By now, though, the boy’s mother had seen what was unfolding, and called over to him, “Eshel, why don’t you come back and sit next to me and Dvir. Dvir was his little brother who was about 6 months old. Stunned, Dalia turned around and saw the mother holding a baby. “What did you say his name is?” she asked the mother.
“Dvir,” responded the mother whose name is Shiri
“How old is he?” Dalia asked.
“Six months,” was the reply.
“Forgive my asking,” she continued, “was he born after Cast Lead, or before?”
“After.”
Whereupon Dalia continued, “Please forgive my pressing, but can I ask why you named him Dvir?”
“Because,” Shiri explained to her, “the first soldier killed in Cast Lead was named Dvir. His story touched us, and we decided to name our son after him.”
Almost unable to speak, Dalia paused, and said, “I am that soldier’s mother – I am Dvir’s mother.”
The young couple, Shiri and her husband Benny, had some medical problems with the baby, and although they intended to call Dvir’s mother Dalia, they never did. Life took its course and they told no one about the origin of Dvir’s name, for they hadn’t yet asked Dalia’s permission.
These two women –Dalia -the mother of the slain soldier Devir – and Shiri – the mother of this six month old who was moved to name her child after that soldier – had an extraordinary bond. One woman was religious and the other one secular. One who had lost a son named Dvir and one who is raising a son named Dvir.
Unconnected in any way just a year ago, their lives are now permanently connected. A friend having heard the story from the two of them while sitting in the living room said – almost whispering, “This is an Israeli story, par excellence.”
As if they’d rehearsed the response, they responded in unison, “No, it’s a Jewish story.”
Israel is a small country, and we are a small people, but we have a story.
Our story is a story of unspoken and inexplicable bonds, of shared destinies – its more than people hood, its family.
In Judaism, we name our children after a deceased relative. This family looked at this young soldier as their relative, and he is. When we see a picture of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who has been held captive by Hamas for over five years, we Jews cannot look at him as just another soldier. If he grew up in the U.S., he would have gone to college, but he grew up in Israel, so he did his duty to defend our state. Gilad Shalit is one of our sons.
When we read about Israel, the modern state, in the news, we sometimes forget that it is not a place in the heavens, nor is it just another country, it is our country, it is our family.
The American Jewish community is the most fortunate that has ever existed, living amid great wealth, safety, and security. So what do we do with this gift?
Our Rabbis often played with the names of Yom Kippur and Purim and compared the holidays, calling Yom Ha-Ki-Purim – the Day that is like Purim. On both days, we stood in limbo – will the Jewish people be destroyed or saved?
On Yom Kippur, the high priest approaches the holy of holies to beg for our communal safety knowing that he represents all of Israel. But on Purim, Esther, the queen, fears approaching the king Ahasverosh. She has riches beyond her dreams and she has access, lives in the palace. Mordechai tells her that perhaps this was all given to her for this crisis, so she could act on our behalf. All of us must emulate Esther. We have tremendous influence in the most powerful country in the world. In the Torah, there were two and a half tribes that did not wish to cross the Jordan with the rest of the tribes because they had land on the West Bank of the Jordan. Moshe does not argue with them, but he tells them that they must fight alongside Israel. As Jews, we have the freedom to settle where we want, but it doesn’t mean we are absolved of the responsibility for our family living in Israel.
Today, I come to you with a proposal; I want you to help your family. This year, I want you to do at least two of these three things: Give you time, talent and treasure to Israel.
You can give your time to Israel:
It is not cheap to fly to Israel, but there are many educational opportunities that you can find, and many missions that are subsidized. If you are a young Jewish person under 26, or know a young Jewish person under 26, go on Birthright. Any one of us can learn for a couple of weeks at the Conservative Yeshiva, an institution that is close to our family’s heart, or you can volunteer. There is an even an opportunity for seniors to volunteer in the IDF.
Do not wait until the ‘right’ time to visit – now is the ‘right’ time.
If you cannot visit, you can learn about Israel. This year, at Shaarei Kodesh, we will be watching and discussing Israeli films, having open and frank discussions about Israel on Friday nights, and learning about Israel as Holy Space as part of our spring adult educational program.
You can give your talent to Israel:
This year, I had the amazing opportunity to attend AIPAC’s National Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. along with close to 20 of our congregants. At this conference, with over 10,000 people in attendance, we learned about the situations facing Israel today, but more than that, we advocated for Israel. We visited our congressmen and lobbied for Israel in order to ensure that Israel receive the foreign aid it desperately deserves, and to help push our government to lay sanctions on Iran to prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran is led by a modern day Haman, Ahmidinajad, who has threatened to wipe Israel off the map on many occasions.
At the conference, I was amazed to see all the major leaders from both parties, Democrat and Republican, speak and pledge their support for Israel. When Prime Minister Netanyahu visited Congress during the conference, he was applauded by both sides of the aisle.
Israel has achieved many miracles in her years, but perhaps its greatest miracle in our country is that it is the only bi-partisan issue in an increasingly divisive government. This did not happen over night, and we need to help continue this cooperation.
Finally, all of us can give our treasure:
On Rosh Hashanah, Doug Bender gave a passionate appeal for Israel Bonds. Each one of us can invest in Israel. This is not giving charity, it is an investment. There are also numerous Israeli organizations that need our help, including the Masorti Movement, the Conservative movement in Israel that is fighting to receive the recognition that it deserves.
Israel faces many challenges this year, she is surrounded by the uncertainty of the Arab Spring, will her neighbors in the Arab world who she has made peace with, mainly Egypt, stand with her? The Palestinians have decided to forgo direct negotiations and attempt to create a state at the United Nations. Israel has repeatedly said that she wants peace and is ready to negotiate, but the other side, as of now, refuses. In this New Year, will Israel live in the peace she so desperately seeks?
Over this holiday, we look at our sins, but we also must look at our accomplishments. Israel, this tiny country, is still the only stable democracy in the Middle East, a country that has helped other countries recover from huge disasters such as the tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan this year, and the devastating earth quake Haiti last year. Her people do their part as well as seen by Dan Shechtman, a professor of materials science at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, who just won the Nobel prize in science.
In so many ways, Israel has shown herself to be an Or LaGoyim, a light unto the nations.
Yom Kippur is a time of uncertainty – we do not know the future, no one does, but we can affect the future, the harshness of the decree, with our time, our talent, and our treasure.
There are many non-Jewish organizations out there that are called ‘friends of Israel’, but we are not friends of Israel, we are family.
At this time, we, the Jewish people, and Israel, admit we may not be perfect, but we are always striving for perfection, and we must do so together, as a family.
That is the Israeli story, that is the Jewish story