Rabbi's message- November
Rabbi’s Message:
Kristallnacht—Night of the Broken Glass
Remembering what is really important in life
On November 9th and 10th, Kristallnacht will be observed. Kristallnacht is a German word meaning “Night of the Broken Glass” and commemorates the Jewish homes that were ransacked, as well as shops, towns and villages. SA stormtroopers and civilians destroyed buildings with sledgehammers. 1,668 synagogues were ransacked and 267 set on fire. In Vienna alone, 95 synagogues or houses of prayer were destroyed.
When I read about these hate crimes, I am stirred by many different emotions. One of the hardest issues to grapple with is the stark realization of the mindset that had overtaken Germany at that time viz. that human life was not important anymore; life took a back seat to the relentless machinery of the state and to Nazi glory. As the eloquent scholar and statesman of Israel, Abba Eban of blessed memory once wrote: "First the Nazis said to the Jews: 'You cannot live as Jews.' ... Then they said: 'You cannot live among us.' ... Finally, they simply said: 'You cannot live.”
While, God forbid, killing is not a part of us, that particular mindset -- where things become more important than life itself -- is something that we always have to guard against, for it can easily creep into our psyche. Several years ago, author Robert Putnam wrote an acclaimed book called Bowling Alone. He related how we are so wound up in the frenetic chase for things -- our expensive toys, electronic and other materials -- that we don't connect with people with the concern we should. He called it a lack of social capital, versus the physical capital we have acquired.
In a couple of weeks, we will be reading the monumental Biblical portion, Genesis 22, in which Abraham proceeded to the mountain of Moriah and was asked to sacrifice his son. When the moment was at hand, God, through his angel, called out: "Lay not your hand upon the lad, nor do any harm to him!" As our commentators point out, the teaching was that above all things -- Abraham's flocks, possessions, his wealth — human life was crucial, to be put above all else. We need to be sure that the proper mindset is firmly in us, life above things !We need to say to our family members, "I value you more than any of the things I so feverishly pursue in my life. And, I will treat you as such, always being a support." And, most importantly, we need to teach our children this proper state of mind. To say to them, "What is most important in you is not the gadgets I give to you -- your iPods, cellphones, laptops -- but how you value human life, how you see people's humanity, how you are a help to them when they are down.
Devotion to things or devotion to life, of being a support to lives around us -- which is more important to us? As was taught to Abraham by God, that is how God will ultimately judge us.
