The Jew in the Lotus - Part 4
Rabbi Yitz Greenberg gave the next lecture to the Dalai Lama. He, unlike Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, did not speak about esotericism. He discussed G-d as the G-d who acts within Jewish history. His goal was to show how to survive outside of one's homeland. The event he chose to expound upon was the destruction of the second Temple in 70 CE. Kamenetz claims Rabbi Greenberg chose this event because he felt that the Tibetan exile might be long, so the most parallel event is the destruction and exile of Jews from Israel.
While he believes in the idea of a "voluntary" convenant, it is voluntary in the sense that human beings must take an active role in continuing the divine plan. We need to keep the covenant even if G-d did not appear to during the Holocaust. The covenant is the essence of Judaism. It has never been breached, even at Auschwitz (it is interesting to note that for some reason the Holocaust is associated specifically with Auschwitz when we discuss theology). It is human being's role, not G-d's, to perfect the world.
With the destruction of the Second Temple, the Jews, the covenantal people, lost their direct access to G-d, which was through the Temple and the sacrifices. If this wasn't bad enough, within a couple of centuries, we no longer had our homeland. Most Jews by 200 CE were living outside of Israel. Many Jews felt that the destruction was a breach in the covenant. They eventually either assimilated into the Pagan world or became part of the new religion of the time, Christianity. Others tried to recapture Jerusalem after its destruction in 70, but they failed.
A third approach was taken by Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakkai. He was able to convince Vespasian to allow the Jewish scholars to relocate to Yavneh. He believed that if we preserved the Torah, the tradition, Judaism would outlast the exile. He also placed a burden upon his fellow scholars. Judaism needed to be renewed for the world outside of Israel. It was humanity's job, and specifically the Jewish role, to continue raising the world to greater heights.
Rabbi Greenberg also stressed the need to educate everyone. In order to survive in exile, away from our direct access to G-d, everyone needed a method to communicate with the divine. Furthermore, the education, while coming from the Rabbis, was not completely removed from reality. Since the Rabbis also live in the world, they are better able to communicate with the masses. I think that this is something we need to remember today. While it is very important for our rabbinic leaders to be talmidei hakhamim (scholars), they also need to be able to relate to the world, understand the world and know how the average person lives.
Judaism changed after the exile. The Dalai Lama asked a very insightful question about this. If this is the case, has anything changed since the return to Israel in 1948? Rabbi Greenberg explained how there is a divide among the Orthodox about the status of the State, whether it represents the beginning of the redemption or not.
A second question posed by the Dalai Lama, and potentially the most important, theologically, within this dialogue, was; When did the idea of Jews being the chosen people become central? Rabbi Greenberg's response was that it always existed from the time of Abraham, but this chosenness doesn't exclude G-d having a special relationship with other groups. All people in the world have a role to play. The question is, what is that role? This is one of the unknowns, but ultimately, G-d loves all his creations. I would just like to add that there is a Midrash that also indicates this. When G-d destroyed the Egyptians at the Red Sea, the Israelites rejoiced. The angels wanted to sing praises but G-d did not like this. G-d said, "My creations are drowning and you are singing praises (BT Megillah 10b)." In G-d's eyes, at some level, we are all equal. It is simply our tasks that are different.
While he believes in the idea of a "voluntary" convenant, it is voluntary in the sense that human beings must take an active role in continuing the divine plan. We need to keep the covenant even if G-d did not appear to during the Holocaust. The covenant is the essence of Judaism. It has never been breached, even at Auschwitz (it is interesting to note that for some reason the Holocaust is associated specifically with Auschwitz when we discuss theology). It is human being's role, not G-d's, to perfect the world.
With the destruction of the Second Temple, the Jews, the covenantal people, lost their direct access to G-d, which was through the Temple and the sacrifices. If this wasn't bad enough, within a couple of centuries, we no longer had our homeland. Most Jews by 200 CE were living outside of Israel. Many Jews felt that the destruction was a breach in the covenant. They eventually either assimilated into the Pagan world or became part of the new religion of the time, Christianity. Others tried to recapture Jerusalem after its destruction in 70, but they failed.
A third approach was taken by Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakkai. He was able to convince Vespasian to allow the Jewish scholars to relocate to Yavneh. He believed that if we preserved the Torah, the tradition, Judaism would outlast the exile. He also placed a burden upon his fellow scholars. Judaism needed to be renewed for the world outside of Israel. It was humanity's job, and specifically the Jewish role, to continue raising the world to greater heights.
Rabbi Greenberg also stressed the need to educate everyone. In order to survive in exile, away from our direct access to G-d, everyone needed a method to communicate with the divine. Furthermore, the education, while coming from the Rabbis, was not completely removed from reality. Since the Rabbis also live in the world, they are better able to communicate with the masses. I think that this is something we need to remember today. While it is very important for our rabbinic leaders to be talmidei hakhamim (scholars), they also need to be able to relate to the world, understand the world and know how the average person lives.
Judaism changed after the exile. The Dalai Lama asked a very insightful question about this. If this is the case, has anything changed since the return to Israel in 1948? Rabbi Greenberg explained how there is a divide among the Orthodox about the status of the State, whether it represents the beginning of the redemption or not.
A second question posed by the Dalai Lama, and potentially the most important, theologically, within this dialogue, was; When did the idea of Jews being the chosen people become central? Rabbi Greenberg's response was that it always existed from the time of Abraham, but this chosenness doesn't exclude G-d having a special relationship with other groups. All people in the world have a role to play. The question is, what is that role? This is one of the unknowns, but ultimately, G-d loves all his creations. I would just like to add that there is a Midrash that also indicates this. When G-d destroyed the Egyptians at the Red Sea, the Israelites rejoiced. The angels wanted to sing praises but G-d did not like this. G-d said, "My creations are drowning and you are singing praises (BT Megillah 10b)." In G-d's eyes, at some level, we are all equal. It is simply our tasks that are different.
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