Five years ago I met with Amir Tibone, who was a correspondent for Haaretz newspaper at that time stationed in Washington DC. Amir was working on a story for the Haaretz Hebrew Edition about the 2018 midterm elections. He had been a speaker for AIPAC, and AIPAC’s Florida office gave him my name. In our conversation we agreed that synagogues- especially diverse Modern Orthodox synagogues like ours – are one of the last places that people congregate with others with whom they strongly disagree on issues, especially political issues. We put aside our differences at shul because of the common values that we hold dear, including kehilla. Tzibur, Beit Knesset.
Amir told me how one time he and his wife were invited by neighbors for dinner. They were talking about Israeli politics and he casually mentioned that he has friends on the other end of the political spectrum. His American neighbors had a hard time believing that people with differing opinions on important issues could be friends.
I suggested that this is the case in Israel because you can still finds Israelis with an array of diverse positions: like those who are conservative when it comes to Israeli security but liberal when it comes to social issues.
Amir agreed, but he also suggested that it goes back to Israel’s mandatory army service. In Israel, you might disagree strongly with a position and with a politician’s platform. And just when you’re about to flip your lid you remember your friend from the army, with whom you served side by side. You remember that your friend holds those views with which you firmly disagree. But you can no longer disparage those views because you know someone, a good guy/ gal, who subscribes to the same view. You are no more convinced of that opposing view. But once you remember your army buddy you can no longer completely disregard those views.
While it may still hold true to some extent, I fear that Israeli partisanship has dramatically increased in the ensuing years. Politics have become increasingly polarizing. People can live their whole lives in an echo chamber, never hearing from people with differing views and never even spending time with people with whom they disagree. In this environment it’s easy to demonize positions because they are not associated with actual human beings. When we get to know people on a personal level we often realize that they are not so different than we are. We might realize that they are thoughtful people. They want what’s best; it’s just that their ideal outcomes look different than ours.
Only when we stick together are we in a position to know each other well enough to listen, even when we disagree. The Baal HaTurim teaches that this lesson is hinted at in this morning’s Parsha: (10:22)
בְּשִׁבְעִ֣ים נֶ֔פֶשׁ יָֽרְד֥וּ אֲבֹתֶ֖יךָ מִצְרָ֑יְמָה וְעַתָּ֗ה שָֽׂמְךָ֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ כְּכֽוֹכְבֵ֥י הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם לָרֹֽב:
“With seventy souls, Your forefathers descended to Egypt, and now the Lord, your God, has made you as the stars of heaven in abundance.”
In his careful reading of the pasuk, the Baal HaTurim notes that that this Pasuk begins and ends with the letter Bet
. הפסוק מתחיל ומסיים בבי"ת, לומר שיעקב הזהירם שידבקו איש בביתו ולא יתערבו במצרים, ולכך נקראו בית יעקב
Yaakov taught the lesson and Moshe is reinforcing it. For the Jews to survive through it all- we need to stay close to our Bet/ Bayit (home): we need to stick together. Even when we disagree.
One of the features of Egyptian slavery was that it sowed discord among the Jews. Oppression has that effect. Moshe reminds Bnai Yisrael that the only way they made it through Egypt- the only way that they can survive exile and oppression- is if they stick to their Bayit, and stick together.
It’s no coincidence that this lesson is learned from a pasuk that describes Jews as stars. We are supposed to be a light onto the nations. The only way we can effectively do so is when stick together, despite our differences. It has been the secret sauce of the Jewish People, Beit Yaakov, and we must not forget this secret sauce today in our own times and in our own Beit Knesset.
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