PRAYER OF HEALING (In the spirit of non-theistic religious naturalism)

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

(Our prayer is starting to take shape, thanks to the input of Edmond H. Weiss, Hillel Cohn, and others. )

רוח העולם ומקור כל יקום

Nature has provided our bodies with the means to keep us vital. We hope these will prove effective and that our doctors, nurses and other healers will have methods and insight to strengthen those means when the afflictions are too powerful for us to battle them alone. Illness and suffering are not punishments, but rather an inevitable part of life itself.

We invoke God, the ordering mind of the universe, and express our gratitude for our health and wellbeing. We also think of our friends and relatives who are suffering. In particular. We think of…..(names here). We hope they will be restored to health, both physical and spiritual, in due time. We want them to know that we are thinking of them and will keep them in our mind continually. May they see release soon and may we continue to enjoy their company in better times. And for those with a terminal illness, we hope they will leave life with the gentle kiss of peace.

Amen.

A JEWISH VIEW OF JESUS

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

 Every year on Dec. 25, most Christians around the world celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Jesus, the founder of their faith, with elaborate religious services, family gatherings, the display of the Christmas tree and various local traditions. I grew up in Turkey, a Muslim country. I remember the Greek Orthodox of our community celebrating the birth of Jesus with much singing and colorful rituals within their churches. Outside, however, life went on, without much fanfare.

For centuries, scholars have been debating the question of who was Jesus, the individual? In reality, we know very little about his life. As I wrote in my Modern Judaism (Cognella, 2013, p. 182), “There is no contemporary evidence of Jesus that refers to him or to his activities. It is presumed that he was a Galilean (Jew), born in Nazareth around 4 BCE, and killed by the Romans around 30 CE….From all we know, he was a Pharisee, and most likely belonged to a group of visionaries who predicted the end of the Roman Empire, causing the ire of the Roman authorities in Palestine.”

          The problem is compounded by the fact that the Gospel accounts in the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus, were written many centuries after his death and are in many places contradictory, such as the time of his crucifixion (Mark 15:25, at 9 am vs. John 19:14, at noon), his healing of blind people (Mark 10:46, one person vs. Matt 20: 30, two men), and many others. Most New Testaments scholars agree that the Gospels reflect the piety of the Church regarding Jesus more than they reflect the individual Jesus.

          Throughout the years, Jewish researchers have developed various images of Jesus. According to the historian Heinrich Graetz (19^th cent), he was an “Essene” (namely a member of one of the Jewish sects that emerged in the first century CE); Abraham Geiger (d. in 1874) , a German Rabbi and scholar, viewed him as a Pharisee with “Galilean coloring.” The British thinker, Claude Montefiore (d. in 1938) considered him a prophet; Joseph Klausner (d.1958), an historian, portrayed him as a great teacher of morality and an artist of parables; the philosopher Martin Buber (d. 1965) called him “my great brother.” Samuel Sandmel, an expert in the New Testament, (d.1979) thought “he had gifts of leadership and was something of a  teacher.”  

In reality, it was Paul, the apostle, who brought Jesus to the attention of the gentiles in Asia Minor. Consequently, Christianity grew and became a different religion from Judaism , stressing the concepts of salvation, Jesus as the intermediary between God and the people ,and not only as a prophet who predicted the fall of Rome, but also as the long awaited Messiah, even the son of God. Many early Christians also believed that Jesus, who died at the cross, will come back again in the future.

Muslims, too, have high respect for Jesus: they believe that, born of the virgin Mary (Sura, 19:20), he was a messenger of God (Sura 4: 171), but not divine. Mohammad also maintained that he was not crucified, as another man was made to resemble him but that Allah took him to Himself (Sura 4: 157).

          For me, Jesus stands as a Jewish teacher and a preacher of antiquity, who opened the door to a new understanding of the human existence. He appears to be a person of piety and kindness, but not a divine being. This makes for a wonderful dialogue between Jews, Moslems and Christians.

 

MY RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY-PART THREE

 

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

 

MY CONCEPT OF GOD:

In my book, The Many Faces of God (2004), I have summarized my view on God in these words:

“Like others, I, too, went from stage to stage in my theological development. I consider myself more of a researcher and teacher rather than a systematic theologian. I like to look for legitimate options, and make them available to my students and readers as viable and authentic responses to matters of life and death. As an individual I, too, had to struggle with questions of existence, and looked for explanations that made sense to me. I gave up my childhood notion of classical theism, because my logical mind and inquisitive nature would not yield the conclusions I was asked to accept. I find mysticism appealing but not totally compatible with my rationalistic tendencies. I am not satisfied with the claim of the religious humanists that God, as the highest image of ourselves, is capable of answering our queries. Also, I cannot conceive of a theology that looks at the universe from the divine perspective. I believe theology starts with our own questions, and ends with our tentative answers.

I am more attracted to the views of the religious naturalists who maintain that there is an energy that sustains the universe. Based on observation and analysis, I see a certain order in the world around us, and conclude, much like some of the medieval thinkers and even a few early rabbis, that this order implies an ordering mind, or in my case, an ordering power and energy that stands for God. The laws of nature, I argue, are simply a manifestation of this universal energy that makes possible for me to exist. And for this, I am very appreciative, and express my thanks to God through prayers of gratitude and works of loving-kindness that benefit my family and community. I affirm the freedom of the human will, and can live with the realization that I don’t have all the answers for the tension that exists between the realities of good and evil, because I do not know all the inner workings of the universe. In the spirit of Spinoza, I say that if we knew how the world operates, we could predict our next move. But alas, this is not within our ability. So, we live in an imperfect world and with limited abilities to understand the mysteries around us, while desperately looking for meaning and purpose in our daily struggles” (pp.250-1).

 

WHAT PRAYER ACCOMPLISHES

 

Of the three major types of prayer (i.e., praise, gratitude and petition), it is the prayers of petition that create problems for many people. The reasons vary: we expect an immediate answer that fails to materialize; the text of the prayer is inadequate either because of its archaic nature, patriarchal language or non-inclusive character; sometimes we even equate nobility of expression with profundity of thought. In reality the crux of the problem is theological. Heschel once said, “The issue of prayer is not prayer; the issue of prayer is God” (Man’s Quest for God. New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1954, 58). Consequently, if you believe, you can then pray. For a long time I, too, subscribed to this notion. However, recently, I realized that people could struggle with prayer and theology at the same time. As theological views become clearer, prayers too become more authentic. Prayer is a natural need of every human being. The question is what to expect from it? Here below are my conclusions:

1.     To help create a good prayerful mood, one needs an inspiring text and an uplifting music within an appropriate physical setting.

2.     Prayers should be read not as legal briefs but as poetry pointing to something higher.

3.     One should refrain to pray for the impossible, for God works through the laws of nature, and God is not likely to change the course of events no matter how fervent the prayer or pious the individual.

4.     It is more important to express one’s goals and aspirations through prayers than to expect an answer for them. If we are able to formulate our thoughts clearly and turn them into a program of action, the action itself becomes our answer.

5.     Prayers do not change the world outside, but give the worshipers a better insight into themselves. As the Gates of Prayer had it, “Who rise from prayer better persons, their prayer is answered.”

6.     Even if, at the moment, it is not possible to enter into a prayerful mood, one can and should identify with the community as part of the worship experience. By praying together we can strengthen one another.

 

 

MY RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY-PART TWO

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

THE SENSE OF WONDER

When I wake up in the morning and realize that I am alive in a world that operates in a reliable yet mysterious ways, I am moved to express gratitude to God that has made me part of it. Abraham J. Heschel once wrote, “Wonder or radical amazement is the chief characteristic of the religious man’s attitude toward history and nature.” (See, God in Search of Man; Philadelphia: JPS, 1962, 45). The awareness that the universe has an intricate composition has led many, including me, to revere life. Not only am I in awe before the workings of the world, even during a pandemic such as the Corona Virus of the 2020’s, but I am equally struck by the way our bodies operate harmoniously most of the time. I view human beings as bulks of energies stimulated by forces within and without. How does the heart know to beat regularly? How does our digestive system work so properly most of the time? The ancient rabbis, noting this wonder, even penned a prayer to be said after one wakes up: “Blessed are You, God, who has formed the human body in wisdom, and has created in it intricate passages, vessels and openings. It is clear to You that if one of them is blocked or opened, we could not stand before You. Blessed are You, God, who heals all flesh in a wondrous way.” 

RELIGION 

The universe operates in wondrous ways. However, this recognition does not eliminate the problems we face in our daily life, either because of the limitations of our  bodies, the unfairness we encounter in our dealings with others, or even when we fight natural disasters not of our own making. We are devastated when tragedies mar our existence. Most of us can understand and accept that people will eventually pass away, but we find it very difficult to deal with the death of a loved one, either at the hands of others or because of natural causes. We do not live in a perfect world, and certainly do not know all the intricacies of the universe.  Life is mysterious, and, at times, even unpredictable, requiring a wholesome perspective. For many, including me, religion does that.

But what does the word “religion” mean? Some people derive it from the Latin “relegare” meaning to re-examine carefully, and others from “religare” meaning to connect (with God). Even though the second one is the most popular understanding of the word today, it is still vague. What does it mean to connect with God? What does God mean? Hebrew does not have a proper word for “religion.” In medieval times, we find the word dat, which can mean law, custom or faith. In modern Hebrew a dati is a religiously observant person.

Of the various definitions of religion, I believe, Erich Fromm (1900-1980) has provided the broadest one. He argued that religion gives the individual a “frame of orientation” as well as “an object of devotion.” Each of us has a “frame of orientation” through which we view the world, and “an object of devotion” to which we pledge ultimate loyalty. The question is how to identify these “frames” and “objects?” 

Maimonides (d. 1204) defined religion as “to know God (intellectually).” For Mordecai Kaplan (1881-1983) “the essence of every religion is the human quest for salvation (i.e.., self-realization).” In Abraham J. Heschel’s (1907-1972) view, “Religion is an answer to man’s ultimate questions.” Roland Gittelsohn (1910-1995) proposed one in line with his religious naturalism: it is “the study of the mutual spiritual relations between human organisms and their total cosmic environment.”  Alvin Reines (1926-2004) suggested: “Religion is the human person’s response to the conflict of finitude;” namely, how do we deal with the realization that we are all limited and are destined to die one day?  For me, religion needs to be defined broadly as a way to help us find our place in the world, with all its limitations and possibilities. In this sense, I consider everyone religious because we all have the same concerns and expectations. Whether we are Jewish, Christian, Muslim (or other), how we personally respond to our existential questions becomes our religion. For me, Judaism, provides the best interpretation of human life, with its plusses and minuses,  and that is why, in addition to being part of the Jewish people, I choose to remain a religious Jew.

The term “religion” is much wider than “observance.”  The second one deals with practices, the first refers to one’s attitude to life in general. Also, even though most religious people are moral individuals, “religion” and “morality” are not one and the same, because plenty of people have claimed to be religious while engaging in unethical behavior.

Dec. 7, 2020

 

 

HOW TO TEACH ABOUT HANUKAH?

 Rabbi Rifat Sonsino , Ph.D

This year, the Jewish festival of Hanukah begins on Thursday night, Dec. 10, and lasts 8 days. It commemorates the military victory of the Jewish rebels (the  so-called Maccabees),  against the Syrian-Greeks, in 167 BCE. After a few fierce battles, the Jews, under the leadership of Judah the Maccabee, defeated the enemy and rededicated the Temple of Jerusalem to the worship one God, which had been desecrated by Antiochus IV, the king of the Syrian Greeks and his army. In fact, the Hebrew word “Hanukah” means dedication.

We do not really know why it lasts 8 days, and early sources do not tell us why. However, over the centuries, various explanations have been proposed, including the theory that it was a late Sukkot (Festival of Harvest) (See, II Mac. 10) or simply that when the rebels entered the temple they found eight iron spears. They stuck candles on them and lit them (Pesikta Rabbati). And, then there is the so-called “miracle” of Hanukah, proposed by the Talmudic Rabbis, centuries after the event: a miracle occurred and one candle lasted 8 days (Shab. 21b). We don’t know why the Rabbis came up with this explanation, but perhaps it was because they did not like the rebel Maccabees and wanted to attribute the great event to a divine power. Thus, for example, the 16th-century Maharal of Prague, Rabbi Judah Loew, suggested, “The main reason that the days of Hanukkah were instituted was to celebrate the victory over the Greeks. However, so that it would not seem that the victory was due only to might and heroism, rather than to Divine Providence, the miracle was denoted by the lighting of the Menorah, to show that it was all by a miracle, the war as well”.

I am very uncomfortable with this miraculous explanation, not only because, as a religious naturalist, I do not believe that miracles, as a divine intervention into the acts of nature, can or do happen  but also because it may be misleading to the younger generations who expect incredible events to save them through supposedly God’s deeds. What happens when you pray and the so-called “miracles” do not occur? Does that mean that people were not deserving or that God was being capricious? God, as the energy of the universe, does not change the course of nature. I think it is better to deal with Hanukah as a great military victory that altered the course of events and allowed the Israelites of the 2^nd cent. BCE to live in freedom, in their own land, keeping their traditions as they saw fit. 

 

POLITICAL FANATICISM

 

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

I grew up in Turkey but I am an American citizen. Recently, I experienced political fanaticism among some Turkish Jews, living either in Turkey or elsewhere, and it is ugly.

A few days ago, I sent a blurb to a chat group, managed by a Turkish Jew in Istanbul, indicating my preference for Biden, and told my readers that in America, Israel is not our only priority. We are also dealing with blatant racism, with the terrible consequences of the Corona virus, with slowing of the economy, with a president who does not support science etc. and who should be replaced by Biden who cares for these issues as many of us. Boy, I opened the flood gates! A tsunami of accusations. I was told that I am a socialist, that I am almost a Nazi sympathizer, a terrible teacher, etc. by people who know nothing about me, all because I did not support Trump who, according to them, was a God-sent for Israel. 

I am a retired Rabbi who has spent my life dealing with Judaism and Israel, but I am also a realist. I strongly believe that Israel will never have peace until the Palestinian problem is resolved, and therefore I am very much in favor of open negotiations and, perhaps even accept certain compromises that are not preferable. Unfortunately, the Palestinians are not in the mood to negotiate, and they will be the losers in the end. But my so-called Turkish-Jewish friends are not in the mood to hear these realities either. They want to support Israel using the rhetoric of the right.

So, in anger, I sent a note to the editor of the chat group and told him that I will no longer contribute to his pages. However, I did not expect the response. Many Turkish Jews, disturbed by my decision, urged me to continue to write and express my opinions, because they enjoyed a good debate, and told me not give in to the crazy fanatics who accused me of all types of sins. I ,therefore, decided to rejoin the debate.  

What did I learn? 1. There are political fanatics everywhere, and it is difficult to debate with them in a civil matter, but we should not give in to them. One can disagree without being disagreeable.  2. I am very concerned about the future of Turkish Jews, my old community; they are living in a country with anti-Semitism all around them, from the top down. Though they speak Turkish and not that much Ladino, they are, still, at best, being tolerated as outsiders. No wonder, they attach themselves zealously to Israel.

Revivo Project-Music in Hebrew and Arabic

 One of my favorite Israeli musical group, Revivo Project, singing popular songs in Hebrew and Arabic. Enjoy!!

DOES PRAYER WORK?

 Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

I love when people say, “I am sending you my thoughts and prayers.” What exactly do they mean by it?

Many people pray on the assumption that God hears them and, if the praying individual is worthy, God will respond positively. The Bible clearly states that God “hears my voice, my pleas; for He turns His ear whenever I call” (Ps. 116: 1), or, “The Lord hears and saves them from their troubles” (Ps. 34: 18). Similarly, during the Jewish daily service, one praise God, “who hears prayer” (Amidah).

Today, almost every Jewish religious service ends with a prayer (in Hebrew called “Mi Sheberah- He who blessed…,”) calling upon God to bring healing to individuals mentioned  verbally by the worshippers. In traditional settings, this prayer is recited during the Torah service, with the scroll covered, but recently it has proliferated to the point that it is being offered at almost every congregational prayer, often using the melody by Debbie Friedman. The question is, does it work?

There are basically three types of prayer: petition, praise and thanksgiving. The issue is not with the last two; it is with the first kind. Theologians and psychologists have debated the question of the efficacy of petionary prayers for centuries, some arguing in favor and others in the negative.  Those who define God in theistic terms believe that petitionary prayers work, because God is a Persona who cares, loves and responds. On the other hand, religious naturalists, like me, claim that God, as the energy of the universe, does not respond to petitionary prayers, because that would imply that God interferes with the normal operation of the universe. God does not do that. God keeps the world going through its own internal energy, which is still not totally understood.  Furthermore, if these prayers are not heard or responded to, it would turn God into an uncaring, and worse, cruel being.  

I believe that prayers help the individual who prays. There are indeed many benefits to prayers, because they help the individual or the community to focus on the subject matter at hand; they deepen their understanding of how the world realy operates; they give voice to the desires and expectations of those who pray with a sense of reality; they strengthen the bonds that bind one person to another during worship, and help them develop a positive outlook on life. Obviously, prayers have to be realistic and not beyond the realm of possibility. Even the Rabbis of old have maintained that “to pray over the past is to utter a vain prayer” (Ber. 9:3).

So, let us concentrate on prayers of thanksgiving, expressing gratitude for everything we have; on prayers of praise that highlight the wonders of the universe, and accept the reality of life with modesty and humility. The world is not perfect, and it is our job to make it better and better. Prayer can give us that insight to do our share.

 

 

 

 

 
 

BEING A SEPHARDIC JEW

 Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

There are two main groups in the Jewish world today. Some are called Ashkenazic Jews, namely those who come from Eastern Europe, and Sephardic Jews, that is those who are of Spanish origin. (The word SEFARAD means "Spain" in Hebrew). This division is old and goes back to the early medieval times.

A large number of Jews arrived in Spain in 711, after Tarik ibn Ziyyad, a Berber Moslem, and  his army crossed the Straits of Gibraltar, and conquered southern Spain. When North African Jews got there, they found a small Visigothic Jewish community, but they quickly overwhelmed them with their numbers and high culture. During the next few hundred years, Jews created a “Golden Age” in Spain, which included great luminaries, such as the biblical commentator, Abraham ibn Ezra, the Aristotelian philosopher, Moses Maimonides and the great Hebrew poet, Judah Halevi. However, their lives began to sour with the Reconquista, when Christian forces began to push down the Arabs. In 1391, many Jews were killed in Seville during a riot. Finally in 1492, claiming that the Jews were a bad influence on the new Christian converts, King Ferdinand and his wife, queen Isabela, issued a decree of expulsion for all Jews. From then on, Spanish Jews started to spread all over Europe and north Africa. A number of them eventually arrived in the Ottoman Empire ,which gladly welcomed them because of the special skills they possessed. (By the way, Spain revoked the decree in 1968).

There are a number of cultural and religious differences between Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews. The first used Yiddish, based on German, as their daily language, whereas Sephardic Jews, developed Ladino, based on Spanish. They also differ on the special chant each one uses for the weekly chanting of the Hebrew Bible, the great variety of foods they are proud to have, and the inclusion of different Hebrew poetry in their daily liturgy.

In addition to Sephardic Jews, who are of Spanish/Portuguese origin,  there are many other Jews, like Iranian Jews, Yemenite Jews, Ethiopian Jews, who are often called Mizrahi (Middle Eastern) Jews, and follow the Sephardic customs but they are not technically Sephardic, because they did  not come out of Spain. 

Today, Sephardic Jews can be found in many parts of the world, many in Israel, but also in South America, Europe and Turkey. Most Sephardic Jews tend to be more traditionalist. However, with greater intermingling between these two groups, the differences are beginning to diminish. For example, I, a Sephardic Jew from Turkey, married an Ashkenazic Jewish woman from Argentina, and we happily keep a mixed house.

WHAT DO WE REALLY KNOW ABOUT ABRAHAM?

 Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

In reality, very little!

In the Hebrew Bible, Abram, later called Abraham, appears as the first of the three patriarchs, and the founder of the Israelites. We are told that he was born in “Ur of the Chaldeans” and, that at God’s bidding, he left for the land of Canaan (Gen. 11:31). God also promised that his descendants would own this new land (Gen. 12: 7). Famine, however, forced him to go to Egypt (Gen. 12: 10). When he returned to Canaan, he appears to be a very wealthy man (Gen. 13: 2). He had two wives (Sarah and Keturah), and a concubine, Hagar (Gen. 16: 3) as well as a few children, including Isaac and Ishmael. God set up a covenant with Abraham, promising him that he will be “the father of a great multitude” (Gen. 17: 5). At Sarah’s death, he bought the Cave of Mahpelah near Hebron as a family burying place, and when he himself died, he was buried in it, at the age of 175, next to his wife, Sarah (Gen.25).

The stories about Abraham in the Bible read like an elaborate legend about a leader who is not a perfect individual: He is a righteous person, compassionate and  hospitable with strangers (Gen.18), but also an unscrupulous liar when he tries to pass off his wife, Sarah, as his sister in order to save his skin (Gen. 12: 13). “He believed in God” (Gen. 15:6), we are told, and was blindly loyal, to the point of willing to sacrifice his son Isaac to God (Gen. 22).

There are a number of textual and historical inaccuracies in the biblical description of Abraham, which would indicate that the stories about him most likely circulated orally and were finally written down after a long period of time: for example,

aa. He is not mentioned in any other ancient Near Eastern texts. We do not even know when he actually lived.

bb. The expression “Ur of the Chaldeans” (Gen.11:31) is problematic, because we do not know where the city is located. Furthermore, when the city of Ur existed, there were no Chaldeans, and vice versa. 

cc. There seems to be an internal discrepancy within the text that deal with Abraham’s departure. In Gen.11:31, he departs from Ur with his family, but in Gen.12:1,4, he seems to leave only with his nephew, Lot. Modern scholars ascribe each story to a different literary source (namely P and J).

dd. When the Bible states, “The Canaanites were then in the land” (Gen. 12:6), it implies that they do not exist now. However, when Abraham allegedly lived, there were indeed Canaanites in the land. (9) Clearly, this text was written much later when the Canaanites had disappeared as an identifiable group.

ee. The Bible claims that Abraham died at the age of 175. This number, obviously, cannot be taken literally. In fact, none of the numbers in the Hebrew Bible can be taken as historical fact. They are mostly symbolic and have cultural significance.

The legends about Abraham continued to evolve in time, with a clear tendency to portray him as perfect as possible. In the New Testament, Abraham appears as a dominant figure: Matthew traces Jesus back to him (1:1); in fact, according to John, Jesus was present even before Abraham (5:58). James stresses Abraham’s faith and says that his was so great that he would have offered his son willingly to God (2:21).

The Book of Jubilees (c. 2nd cent. BCE), describes Abraham as a famous astronomer (Chap. 12). Its author also believed that Sarah was taken from Abraham “by force” (Chap. 13) and not as the result of Abraham’s plea that she should pass herself as his sister (Gen.12).

 Josephus, the Jewish historian (born in Jerusalem in 37 CE and died in Rome in 100 CE) considers Abraham as “a person of great sagacity” (Ant. Book I, 7:1), a man of “incomparable virtue” (Ant. I:17) and an astronomer (Ant I.7:1). He discovered monotheism on his own (Ant. I.8: 1). According to Josephus, Isaac willingly went up to the altar to be sacrificed (Ant. I.13:4). Furthermore, the Pharaoh never abused Sarah, and when he discovered that she was his wife and not his sister, he excused himself to Abraham and showered them with all kinds of gifts (Ant. I. 8:1). For Philo, the Greek-Jewish philosopher of Alexandria (c. 15-10 BCE- 45/50 CE), Abraham stands for the person who has total faith in God (Virt. 39).

In the Quran, Abraham appears as a grand personality, who was “a man of truth, a prophet” (Sura 19). He was viewed as the patriarch of the Islamic faith: “the Father of Muslims” (Sura 22) as well as the “imam of the nations” (Sura 2). To him is attributed the construction of the Ka’aba and the pilgrimage rites to it (Sura 2). God, according to the Quran, ordered him to sacrifice his son, left nameless (Sura 37). Muslim tradition, however, stresses that this was not Isaac, but his brother Ishmael, the patriarch of Islam and the forefather of Muhammad.

In the rabbinic literature, the number and the intensity of the legends about “Abraham our father,” reach their highest level. For example, we are told that when he was born, a star rose in the east and swallowed four stars in the four corners of heaven. He discovered monotheism on his own. He learned Torah all by himself. He almost sacrificed Isaac when Satan appeared and shoved Abraham’s arm aside so that the knife fell out of his hand. He was tested with ten trials and stood firm in all of them. 

Abraham most likely was a real person, but, it is almost impossible to ascertain the historical details of his life. His legendary stature increased as time went on.

 

WHITE LIES

 Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

In my professional life, either as an author or as a speaker, I try to be very careful about what I say and what I write. I am also trained as a lawyer and know that every word counts, because words, I believe, have power of action. According to the Bible, when God began to create the world, the text says, “God said: let there be light , and there was light” (Gen.1:3). So, God created the universe (allegorically) with the power of words. In ancient times, borders were secured by placing curses on signs, on the assumption that if one crossed illegally, the curse itself would take effect. Following the teachings of the biblical Book of Proverbs that state, “Death and Life are within the power of the tongue” (18:21), I try to use the media truthfully, not to destroy but to build. I am aware of the fact that it is easier to criticize and to denigrate, and it takes a greater effort to support, encourage or uplift the other. Ultimately, lies beget other lies, whereas truth prevails. Remember, words can be forgiven but can never be forgotten.

Yet, there are occasions when truth can be very hurtful, and can destroy friendships and family bonds. So, at times one resorts to a white lie. What is a while lie? It is an untruth told to spare feelings. The difference between a “black lie” and a “white lie” is that one uses a “black lie” to gain a personal benefit, whereas a “white lie” is often used to please another. The Torah records a good example: In Genesis 18, when God promised Abraham that he would have a child in a year’s time, Sarah, his wife, said to herself, “Now that I am withered, am I to have enjoyment-seeing that my husband is so old” (v.12). Yet, when God repeated these words to Abraham, he changed them to say, not that Abraham was old but that Sarah was old. Thus, as the medieval rabbinic commentator Rashi points out, God saved the good relationship between husband and wife.

The ancient Rabbis also knew of white lies and allowed them in limited circumstances. Here is an example. In the Talmud (Ket. 17a) we are told that the Rabbis were discussing the issue of how to describe the bride in a marriage document. The followers of the school of Shammai argued that the bride should be described truthfully, “as she is.” Whereas the followers of the school of Hillel maintained that the bride should always be described as being pretty. The Sages concluded that in marriage one praises the wife as being fair and attractive.

According to the ancient Rabbis, it is permissible to even exaggerate the facts in order  to establish peace between individuals. Here is an example:

When two people had a dispute, Aaron [the High Priest] went and sat near one of them and said to him: "My son, see what your friend is doing? He is beating his heart and tearing his clothing saying: "Woe is me. How can I lift up my eyes and look at my friend. I am ashamed of myself since I was the one who offended him." Aaron would sit with him until he removed the hatred from his heart. Aaron would then go and sit next to the other and say to him: "My son, see what your friend is doing? He is beating his heart and tearing his clothing saying: "Woe is me. How can I lift up my eyes and look at my friend. I am ashamed of myself since I was the one who offended him." Aaron would sit with him until he removed the hatred from his heart.When the two met, they would they hugged and kissed each other. (Avot de Rabbi Natan 12:3).

Modern writers very often support the use of white lies to promote goodwill. Doing some research online, I found a source that lists 60 popular white lies, whereas another one has 15. Some white lies save relationships, others ease a hectic situation and yet others buy us some time. Among them, we have, “Yeah, you look great in this dress,” “I have no idea how fast I was going,” “I’ll start working on that ASAP,” “He/she was with me last night,” “I thought I already sent that email out.” I would also add, “the check is in the mail.”

As long as we are not hurting others or breaking the law, these white lies make life more pleasant. However, if they become routine, and are used all the time, we undermine the trust that others have in us. In the Talmud, Yeb.63 a, we are told that Rav (3^rd century, Amora) did not have a good relationship with his wife. In the words of the Talmud, “She would constantly aggravate him.”  When Hiyya, Rav’s son, grew up, he would alter his father’s words so as not to anger his mother. When Rab became aware of his son’s tactics, he told him to stop doing that, less it becomes a life pattern for his son.

In our time, some politicians make use of white lies so often that we do not know where the truth is and where the lies begin. So, we don’t trust them. But that is not the correct way to communicate with others. We have to be truthful and reliable. So, my advice for you is to follow the teachings of Ecclesiastes that tells us to keep our words few in number (5:1), and to use white lies only in extreme cases. Please don’t forget to tell me you absolutely loved my short essay!!
  

 My newly edited book, published by Cognella. 

This is an introduction to Judaism that deals with history, basic beliefs, festivals and life-cycle rituals. 

FROM ISTANBUL TO CINCINNATI; LIFE AT THE COLLEGE

 PART VI

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D  

LEAVING CINCINNATI

Towards the end of my fifth year at the Hebrew Union College, the question arose as to where  would I serve the Jewish community. There was no future for Reform Judaism in Turkey, so I had to find another country. France had limited possibilities. I did not care for a position in England or South Africa.  So, it was either Australia or New Zealand. But the College had other ideas. One day I was asked to meet with Dr. Sandmel, the provost. He told me, “Rifat, you are going to Buenos Aires.” I was shocked! I said, “Why Argentina? I don’t know anyone there.” “Well,” he added, “the World Union for Progressive Judaism that paid for your education needs you there, because you can speak Spanish.” I was not very happy, but did not have another choice. I asked for his personal advice. He suggested that I apply for an American citizenship before leaving the country. (Regrettably, I did not do that at the time). I told him that I would like to visit my parents before traveling to Argentina. He said he would facilitate this. Rabbi Haim Asa, who was the first Rabbi of Temple Emanu-El in Buenos Aires, was leaving at the end of June. The congregation would have to wait until late August for my arrival.

            In the meantime, I prepared myself for my ordination and eventual departure. The Consecration program took place at Rockdale Temple on Friday night June 3, 1966. The 82^nd Ordination service was held at the Isaac M. Wise Temple on Saturday morning, June 4. At the beginning of a very impressive ceremony, 17 of us walked down the aisle with academic garb. Provost Samuel Sandmel presented the hoods to us, and Nelson Glueck conferred our degrees. He blessed each one of us in front of the ark, sharing personal thoughts privately with us. Rabbi Isaac Jerusalmi gave the final benediction. Then we all went to a downtown hotel for a luncheon.  Because I did not have any family that would sponsor the lunch for me, I invited the Guttmanns, (He was my Talmud professor), the president of my congregation in Kokomo, IN and few others local friends. 

            Shortly after, I said good-bye to Cincinnati and all the people I knew in the States, and left for Turkey. My parents were glad to see me, and I was happy to be back with the family. However, I was anxious to start my work in Buenos Aires. An important incident prompted my departure from Istanbul. At that time, Turkey and Greece were at each other’s throats over Cyprus, and there was a great likelihood that they would go to war over it. I decided to get out before being called up as a reserve officer. I departed a few days earlier than expected. It was a smart move, for a few hours after I left home, the Turkish military came home to look for me. By that time I was on my way to Argentina, a move that represents a pivotal experience in my life.  It was in Buenos Aires that I revived a small congregation, Templo Emanu-El, got married to Ines and became a father. On Aug. 1969, we left for Philadelphia to begin work as Rabbi-Educator at Main Line Reform Temple,  and to obtain my doctoral degree at the University of Pennsylvania in Bible and Cuneiform studies. In 1975, after I got my Ph.D , we left for North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe, IL and in 1980, we came to Needham, MA, and I became the Rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom, from which I retired in 2003.

 

FROM ISTANBUL TO CINCINNATI; LIFE AT THE HEBREW UNION COLLEGE; THREE VIGNETTES

 PART V

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

In addition to our studies at the Hebrew Union College,  each student worked outside, on a part-time basis, in order to make a few dollars. Most of us taught in Sunday schools. I got a job at Rockdale Temple in one of the suburbs of Cincinnati. Since I did not have a car, I depended on others who taught there to drive me back and forth. In my third year, at a student lottery, I ended up with Meir Chayim Temple, a bi-weekly congregation in McGehee, Arkansas. This was a small synagogue in the middle of the South-about 30 families. Twice a month, on Friday mornings, I used to fly to Little Rock, and then take a bus for “whites only”!!! (This was terrible, but those were the days). My responsibility was to lead services on Friday night and to teach on Sunday mornings. I was also asked to join the Rotary luncheons on Fridays. For this I was paid $75 per trip plus expenses, enough to give me some spending money. In my fourth year, I went to Temple Israel in Jonesboro, Arkansas (about 75 families), and for my last year I went to Temple B’nai Israel in Kokomo, Indiana (about 100 families). By that time, the stipend had gone up to about $150 per trip. It was in these congregations that I learned how to function as a congregational Rabbi.

During the summer of 1962 I went to Europe, Israel and Turkey. I was in touch with my family on a regular basis by mail, but had not seen them in person. So, it was nice going back to be with Mom, Dad and Joe, my younger brother. Mom, however, had other plans for me: she wanted to marry me off. In preparation, she had already lined up a few candidates. In those days, I was worth about $100,000 in dowry, a huge amount of money. The minhag in Turkey was for the family of the bride to give a large sum of money to the groom in order to make sure that he would take care of her in the manner in which she was accustomed.   The higher the groom’s education, the higher the dowry. I could not believe what my mother had done, all with good intentions, of course. Yet, I broke her heart when I refused to see any of the candidates, arguing that I would be in Turkey for a short time, and could not possibly make a lifetime commitment to anyone, no matter how wealthy or how beautiful. My mother and, they tell me, the expectant brides, were disappointed. After a short visit, I left Turkey and returned to Cincinnati.

           

My social life at the College was rather poor. I did not have a car- a major disadvantage- and, therefore, had to depend on others for double dating. Furthermore, I was a foreigner, who most likely would have to leave the country for some God forsaken place. The scholarship I received obligated me to serve a progressive congregation outside of the States for a period of two to three years. In those days, what Jewish girl would, in her right mind, leave America, the goldene medina, to go to a third World country? Once in a while a group of us tried to date women from the University of Cincinnati‘s SDT sorority (Jewish). However, it had a reputation of being a place where girls were “seldom dated twice.” Though many of my friends ultimately met and married wonderful women from this sorority, I did not. So, I spent most of my time, either thinking about girls (Remember, I was about 28 years old)  or, most productively, studying, because I knew that this would secure my future. 

Next: Leaving Cincinnati

 

 

FROM ISTANBUL TO CINCINNATI; LIFE AT THE HEBREW UNION COLLEGE; PART iv.

 A FEW VIGNETTES

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

In the 60’s, first and second year rabbinic students were required to lead services in the Chapel. Upper level students preached on Shabbat morning, and then on Monday there was a sermon evaluation. When it was my turn to lead the service for the first time, I realized that I had a slight problem. Even though we all studied modern Hebrew in class, the minhag (“custom”) of the Chapel was to recite the Hebrew passages of the liturgy in Ashkenazic. I did not know how to do that, nor did I want to learn it. It sounded strange to my ear. So, I went to see Dr. Glueck, and told him that, being a Sephardic Jew, I did not know how to read Hebrew with Ashkenazic pronunciation. He demurred for a minute but then said, “Rifat, OK, you can read Hebrew in Sephardic.” From then on, using me as an example, other students pressed him for a change. Within a short time, all services in the Chapel were switched from Ashkenazic to Sephardic Hebrew. 

- Many prominent scholars passed through the College. Among them one person stands out: Prof. Gershom Scholem, the great German-Israeli scholar of Jewish Mysticism. One year he came to do some research at our library. He was by himself and stayed in the dorm, in the room next to mine. On the weekends, because there were fewer students around (they were either at their by-weeklies or with their families), Prof. Scholem and I became kind of friendly. I am saying “kind of” because, he was a stern man with a dry sense of humor. He spoke English well, though with a heavy German accent. Once in a while, he and I used to go out to the movies. I must be honest that at the time I did not realize what a giant he was in his field. Now I know better, and I will always cherish the times we spent together.

- Another person whose memory stayed with me was Hiroshi Okamoto, later Rabbi Okamoto, originally from Japan. He and his family came to the College to pursue graduate studies in Judaism. After a few years, however, he decided to convert, and underwent circumcision. His wife, too, converted. I befriended Hiroshi and his family. I remember going out with them to drive-ins on Saturday nights. One summer, Hiroshi and I were teaching at “Towanda” (the preparatory summer Hebrew classes at the HUC)- he dealing with beginners and I with more advanced. When his students transferred into my section, I noticed that they were not pronouncing the Hebrew letter “R” (the letter “resh,”) correctly, saying “L” (the letter “lamed”) instead. For example, they would say “Losh” instead of “Rosh” (“head” in Hebrew). They were, in fact, copying Hiroshi who did not pronounce his “R’s very well. (Japanese does not have the equivalent of the American “r.”). When I realized that, I told Hiroshi, “Let me teach the beginners, and you handle the more advanced.” He agreed, and we made the change. Now the students had a solid foundation. After his ordination in 1964, Hiroshi took an academic position in Florida. Sadly, he died a few years after that. He was a wonderful man, one of the most decent human beings I knew.

- Another person I remember was Prof. Abraham Cronbach, who had by that time retired from the faculty. He was a saint! He was also a pacifist. After the Rozenbergs were put to death in 1953 for spying against the US, it was Dr. Cronbach who officiated at their funeral. One Saturday afternoon he came to the College and met with a group of us in the “bumming” room, a foyer outside the dining room. His message to us stayed with me until now. He told us not to judge another without knowing all the facts, and gave us two examples: At a ball game, everyone stood up for the National Anthem, except for one. A spectator got mad and insulted him, until he realized that the person who remained seated was in a wheel chair.  Another story: he had a luncheon date with his son-in-law who came half an hour late. He did not say a word. His son-in-law asked, “Aren’t you going to get mad at me because I am late?” “I will,” answered Dr. Cronbach, “after I find out the reason why!”

 

FROM ISTANBUL TO CINCINNATI; LIFE AT THE HEBREW UNION COLLEGE, PART III

 

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

 

MY TEACHERS

During my stay at the College (1961-66), I had a number of teachers who shaped my thinking. Among them, I can mention the following: Dr. Samuel Sandmel, Bible professor and an expert in the New Testament, infused in me the love of Torah and particularly the study of Bible and Biblical criticism. I studied Bible and New Testament with him, and did an “honors” elective on the development of the Graf-Wellhausen theory. Dr. Julius Levy, professor of ancient Near Eastern studies, and his wife Dr. Hildegard Levy always answered my questions about Hebrew grammar or ancient history. Dr. Jacob Marcus, professor of American Jewish history, used to invite me to his house for lunch, and served me steak and potatoes, while pacing up and down the dining room. He always called me, “Rifat, my boy.” He had met my parents in Israel once, and always asked me about them. Dr. Nelson Glueck, the president of the institution and a well-known archaeologist, knew me well, and asked me over to his house a number of times. Dr. Alvin Reines, professor of Jewish Philosophy, was a very demanding teacher. He had us memorize his class notes, whether we were studying a medieval Jewish philosopher or his own polydoxic approach to theology. But he made us think, and opened our eyes to the intricacies of Jewish thought like no other teacher before. Dr. Jakob Petuchowski, a German born professor who taught liturgy, had a sarcastic approach to everything, but he knew his material well. We learned a lot from him. Dr. Sheldon Blank, Bible professor, was a sweet old man who had a passion for the prophets. He and his wife used to invite students to their home on Shabbat afternoons for tea and conversation. I considered Dr. Ellis Rivkin, history professor, more of a philosopher of history than a mere historian. I learned from him how to look at history from an economic point of view. Dr. Alexander Guttmann (the “Goose”), Talmud professor, tried to make the classes lighter by concentrating on sexual matters. (By the way, I dated his daughter for a while). Dr. Eugene Mihaly, our Midrash professor (called the “Duke” or “the Grease Gypsy” by the students), introduced us to the developmental thinking of the ancient Rabbis. He used to insist that one should never preach “against” the traditional text. If you cannot use the text for a positive message, don’t use it at all, he would say. At that time, we all agreed. [I don’t anymore]. And then we had Mr. McCoy, a wonderful gentleman who was a protestant minister before he gave up service in the church to teach rabbinic students how to preach and how to speak properly. He also taught us how to behave on the pulpit (“Make sure your zipper is up”). 

FROM ISTANBUL TO CINCINNATI; PART ii, LIFE IN CINCINNATI AND AT THE COLLEGE

 Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

 In the 60’s, Cincinnati was a quiet mid-western city with a beautiful downtown. Shillito’s department store was located in the center of town, with Skyline Chili, a famous eatery, in one of the side streets. Trolley buses connected to overhead cables ran through Vine Street. In the summer, it was usually hot and humid, and in the winter, it got pretty cold. The city had a major University, the University of Cincinnati, a wonderful Symphony Orchestra, and an established Jewish community of mostly German Jews. At one point it was considered one of the hubs of Reform Judaism. That is one of the main reasons why Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise established the Hebrew Union College (called simply, ‘the College” or, HUC, for short) in this city in 1875.

Cincinnati had two large Reform congregations, Isaac Mayer Wise Temple (with Rabbis Samuel Wohl and Albert Goldman), Rockdale Temple (with Rabbis Victor Reichert and Murray Blackman), and a medium size congregation, called Temple Sholom (with Rabbi Stanley Brav). (Now there is The Valley Temple too). There were also a few conservative and Orthodox congregations.

            Late Aug. 1961: When I got out of the train in Cincinnati, two rabbinic students, who became good friends of mine, met me at the station: Richard Levy (future president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the CCAR) and Sandy Ragins (who chaired the CCAR’s Ethics committee for many years). They drove me to the HUC campus, located at 3101 Clifton Avenue, down the street from the University of Cincinnati. There I was ushered into the dormitory located in the Main building, on the third floor, facing Clifton Ave. The room was meant for two students, but I occupied it alone for a year. 

LIFE AT THE COLLEGE 

In the 60’s the Hebrew Union College-the Jewish Institute of Religion had three campuses: Cincinnati (1875), New York (1922), and Los Angeles (1954). In 1963 the Jerusalem campus was added.

During my stay at the College in Cincinnati the overwhelming majority of the students lived in the “Sisterhood dormitory.” Only few, mostly upper classmen, were married, and lived off-campus. Each of us had a single room, and used a communal bathroom for showers. We hardly had any privacy.  But that is how we got to know each other really well. At the time, there were no female students at the HUC. Also, women were not allowed in the dorm during the week.  So, when a student invited a girlfriend or a date to his room, he had to shout, “Woman on the floor!” Often, we opened our doors to see what she looked like.

Looking back, I now realize that we lived in luxury. We ate all our meals together in the dining room, except for Sunday nights when we went out to get a bite either at the “Busy Bee,” located at the “Short Corner” down Clifton Avenue or at one of the fast food restaurants found at the “Long Corner,” up Clifton Avenue, close to the University of Cincinnati. Once in a while I ate at the cafeteria of the Hospital next to the HUC. But in our College dining room we were served royally by waiters wearing white gloves. Larry was in charge of the dining room. If one of us got up to get salt or pepper, he would scold us saying, “All you have to do is ask, but don’t get up.” Our laundry was done, our beds were made, and our rooms cleaned. We had a gym, but no pool.

We also had a House Mother- Hattie Schiff. She was a matronly lady, who acted as a mother-substitute for many of us. We shared personal problems with her, and vice versa. When she went on a diet, our meals were also affected. Some people, like Howard Bogot and Arthur Bielfeld, always sat at her table. I preferred to sit with my classmates or hall-mates.

I adjusted to American life rather quickly. I liked my friends at the College, enjoyed the routine at school, and was fascinated by the spirit of freedom in the country, especially the freedom to declare myself Jewish without any reservation and without having to look over my shoulder (like I did back in Turkey). The HUC promoted critical study, fellowship and inquisitiveness. Topics were treated from a rational point of view. There was little talk about “spirituality” or “inwardness.” We did not study Kabbalah and mysticism. Reform Judaism, we were told, reigned supreme, and represented the future of Judaism. The concept of k’lal yisrael [“The Community of the Jewish People”] was not part of our daily language. “Social action” was. Most of us either grew up in Reform Jewish homes or, like me, came to Reform by rejecting Orthodoxy. In my case, if it had not been for Reform, I doubt that I would have remained a practicing Jew. So, I was very grateful for the liberalism of the HUC. Being trained as a lawyer, I liked the critical approach to issues. I was also eager to seek individual authenticity by searching for options within the Jewish continuum. Reform gave me that opportunity. It was only later that I realized that Reform Judaism had not paid sufficient attention to the needs of the spirit, and, in fact, had ignored the sense of duty that all Jews should have towards their community and tradition. How to balance autonomy and obligation still remains a constant challenge for modern Reform Judaism.

At the College in those days, “ritual” was not a positive term. We dealt with ideas and concepts, and rarely stressed the daily discipline of Jews. As far as I can remember none of my classmates at the College kept Kosher, wore a tallit or kippah (a round head covering) or put on tefillin (phylacteries) . The dining room was not Kosher, but no pork products or shellfish was served. Even though I came from an Orthodox home in Turkey, I quickly adjusted to the College life, and dropped my kippah, tallit and tefillin. However, I had a hard time relating to what people called “traditional Jewish food.” To me it tasted “foreign.” I had never seen gefilte fish, matzah ball soup or lox and bagels before. At my first Passover Seder in Cincinnati, I did not recognize any of the foods as “traditional.” However, I learned fast and developed a new taste for them.

We started classes in September 1961 with 27 people, out of about 120 students in the seminary. Among my classmates, I became closer to Ken Roseman, Phil Berkowitz, Sion David (from India), Sol Greenberg, Peter Kasdan, Joe Melamed (from Israel), Hank Zoob, Bob Scott (from England), Merle Singer and Ian Wolk (who later on was expelled from the rabbinate on moral charges). I also kept my friendship with Alan Bregman (z’’l), who at the time was an undergraduate at the University of Cincinnati but took some courses at the HUC. I had come to Cincinnati with a pretty good Jewish and Hebrew background, so studies were not so difficult for me, but I had to work on my English.

 

SONSINO'S BLOG: FROM ISTANBUL TO CINCINNATI; A MEMOIRE

SONSINO'S BLOG: FROM ISTANBUL TO CINCINNATI; A MEMOIRE:   PART ONE:  Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D. I grew up in Istanbul, Turkey in the early 40’s in an Orthodox Jewish home. As a teen-ager, I be...

FROM ISTANBUL TO CINCINNATI; A MEMOIRE

 

PART ONE: 

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

I grew up in Istanbul, Turkey in the early 40’s in an Orthodox Jewish home. As a teen-ager, I became the hazzan kavua (“permanent prayer-leader”) of my youth congregation. At law school, I discovered American style Reform Judaism, and decided to come to the States to become a Rabbi. This is the story of my arrival at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio:

In 1961, after completing my military service in Turkey and a short stint in Paris at the rabbinic school (the now-defunct Institut International d’Etudes Hebraiques), I started to make plans to come to America. I was about 21 years old.  In Istanbul, my parents got me a huge suitcase that was so heavy that only a giant could lift it. (One of the first things I did when I arrived in America was to get rid of this monstrosity).  As I was packing my clothing and books, I had to decide what else to take along with me. One item presented a dilemma: I had become a shohet (ritual slaughterer), and had a special knife for slaughtering chickens. I asked myself, would I ever use it again? Furthermore, how am I going to explain to the customs agents the purpose of this particular knife? So, I decided to leave it behind.

            How to travel to the US? Rabbi Isaac Jerusalmi, a Hebrew Union College graduate and my rabbinic mentor then, suggested the least expensive way: by train and boat. So, I got on the Oriental Express to France, crossed over to England, and from there I boarded the Queen Mary, one of the most luxurious ships of the time. I had a small cabin in one of the lower decks, and spent a miserable time traversing the Atlantic Ocean. The waves were high; I did not know anyone; I could not relate to the food. I remember staying in the Library reading whatever I could find.

            After a week at sea, I arrived in New York late August, 1961. A group of women, among them Jane Evans and Ellie Schwartz, representing the Union for Reform Judaism’s (then called Union of American Hebrew Congregations) National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods, came to meet me at the dock. They invited me to lunch at a local restaurant, and then put me on the first train to Cincinnati, Ohio.

America was at that time in turmoil. On the one hand, there was great excitement in the country because of the youthful image of President Jack Kennedy. He inspired many young people to strive for the best. On the other hand, however, the country faced serious international and local problems. The Cuban missile crisis of October 1962 almost brought the USA and Russia to the brink of war. The battle for civil rights for African-Americans was raging furiously. In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I have a dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. Then there was the beginning of the Vietnam War, which escalated during the presidency of Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon B. Johnson. In the beginning, I supported the war based on the commitment that the US had made to its allies. But in time, along with many others, I, too, could not find a justification for the ongoing presence of the American military in Vietnam, and slowly distanced myself from my initial position.

            In America I found that the large Jewish community of five million plus was secure and successful. One could live as a Jew here with openness and pride, unlike any other country in which I had lived up until then, or since. The lines between the major trends of Judaism, namely, Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist and Reform, were clearly delineated. (Today they are not so clear).  Anti-Semitism was present here and there but it was not politically acceptable.

WHO INFLUENCED YOU?

 I have been thinking....I do not believe in resurrection and hold that once I am gone, I am gone forever. So, why not acknowledge those who have influenced you and made you who you are? Tell them while you are around.They will then know that their lives mattered.

So, I will start:

Three people had tremendous influence on me:

1. 1. My High School French teacher. I those days, I was bothered by the fact that I was not getting taller, and told my teacher. She said something that stayed with me all my life: Height is measured from the shoulders up!!! Haha, I said, I will never be tall, but I can develop my mind. And that is what I tried to do.
2. Dr. Isaac Jerushalmi. He was my neighbor in Istanbul, my teacher in Turkey and my teacher in Paris. It was he who told me that I should become a Rabbi, and I did.
3. Rabbi Gittelsohn of Temple Israel in Boston, validated my theological inquiries and helped me become a proud religious naturalist. I owe him my long-awaited theological perspective with which I am at peace.

So, who influenced you? Don't wait for the eulogy. Tell him/her!!!

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

Boston, USA

שרית חדד ואייל גולן - הקשיבו חבריי מתוך המופע פעם בחיים-One of my favorite love songs in Hebrew and Arabic

SONSINO'S BLOG: Great leaders-Great legends

SONSINO'S BLOG: Great leaders-Great legends: How Did Our Biblical Characters Gain Legendary Status? BY:  RABBI RIFAT SONSINO PRINT      ·          Moses and King Solomon a...

Great leaders-Great legends

How Did Our Biblical Characters Gain Legendary Status?

BY: 

RABBI RIFAT SONSINO

PRINT 

  

·        

Moses and King Solomon are two of the most popular figures in the Hebrew Bible, but what do we really know about their lives, and how did they reach such legendary status?

Let’s begin with Moses.

According to the Bible, Moses led our ancestors out of Egyptian bondage and received the Torah from God on Mt. Sinai. Historians, however, have found no evidence of a real Moses in any of the ancient Near Eastern texts. There seems to be a parallel between the birth stories of Moses and of the Assyrian king, Sargon the great (third millennium BCE), including how they were each placed in a basket and found in a river by a young woman.

Rabbinic literature is replete with stories about Moses that are not found in the Bible.

The sages say he was born and died on the 7th of Adar, that he was born six months after conception already circumcised, and that he rejected many Egyptian women who wanted to nurse him. As a young child, he would grab Pharaoh’s crown and put it on his own head. To determine if baby Moses was a threat, the rabbis tell us, Pharaoh ordered a shining piece of gold and a hot coal placed before Moses to see which of the two he would choose. The angel Gabriel guided Moses’ hand to the coal, which Moses put into his mouth – burning his tongue but saving his life.

In the New Testament, Moses is quoted frequently and always positively.

In Acts 26:23, it is even claimed that Moses foretold the arrival of Jesus. In the Quran, Moses (“Musa”) is mentioned 115 times, more than any other person in the book. Even though it repeats some of the most popular stories about him, there are striking differences between the Quranic and Biblical versions. For example, in the Bible it is the daughter of the Pharaoh who acts as a savior (Ex. 2: 5 ff); in the Quran, it is Pharaoh’s wife, Asiya, who tells her husband to adopt the baby (28:9).  

Moses, the charismatic leader of the Israelites in the Exodus story, became the subject of numerous legends across religions and time.

As for King Solomon, another legendary hero…

According to the Hebrew Bible, King Solomon was the son of King David and the second son of Queen Bath-Sheba. He reigned for 40 years (a popular number of years attributed to other kings, like Saul and David), and died at the age of 80.

He built the first temple of Jerusalem and represented the Golden Age of the United Kingdom in ancient Israel. Because of his reputation as a wise person, a number of books were attributed to him, such as the Song of Songs and the Book of Ecclesiastes, and The Wisdom of Solomon (second century BCE). The Jewish historian Josephus (first century CE), portrays King Solomon with a great deal of exaggeration: Not only was he one of the wisest men on earth, but he was also known as an exorcist, knowing how to expel demons.

Like Moses, King Solomon is not mentioned in any ancient Near Eastern text; yet both the Talmud and the Quran consider him a major prophet.

The Greek Orthodox Church views him as a saint. In the Midrash, rabbinic imagination about Solomon knows no bounds. According to Genesis Rabba, he was so wise that he even knew the mysteries of heaven. Deer and gazelles were his forerunners, lions, and tigers his armor bearers. Rabbinic legend also tells us that Solomon was punished for his overbearing pride and removed from the throne by the demon king, Ashmedai.

Also like Moses, King Solomon became the subject of legend across religions and time. What we know (and don’t know) about them raises some fundamental questions about who is ushered into the great hall of heroes in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Let’s take a look at some of those questions now.

“Who wrote the Bible?”

Most traditional commentators argue that the books of Hebrew Scriptures were written by the person that appears in the title. Namely, Moses wrote the Five Books of Moses, Joshua wrote Joshua, Isaiah wrote the Book of Isaiah, etc.

The majority of modern biblical scholars would disagree, maintaining that scriptural stories were transmitted orally for many generations, building upon legends upon legends. Some parts, they argue, were composed before the others, reflecting the ideologies of different schools of thought (known as Jahwist Elohist, Deuteronomist, and Priestly) before the entire text was finally written down by unknown individuals. 

“Is the Bible historically accurate?”

The Bible, as we know it, was completed sometime around the second century BCE. Modern liberal biblical scholars maintain that it is impossible to assume the accuracy of biblical stories because we have no way to verify them.

Were Moses and Solomon perfect leaders?

No personality in the Hebrew Bible is flawless. Moses comes off as an angry leader who berates his own people and, as punishment, is denied entry into the Land of Israel (Num. 20:10ff). Similarly, King Solomon is chastised for building temples to idols (I K 11: 7) and for associating with foreign women (I K 11:1).

“Does it matter that Moses and King Solomon may not have actually existed?”

Even if we can never prove that these biblical characters actually existed, they can still serve as role models for us. Despite their shortcomings, they became paragons of perfection.

In Rabbinic literature, for example, Moses is described Mosheh Rabbenu as our teacher par excellence, and King Solomon emerges as the personification of wisdom.

“If the biblical text is not historically accurate in all its details, how should we read it?”

When we attempt to understand and interpret an ancient text, such as the Hebrew Bible, we must first figure out its meaning and scope within the context of the ancient Near East, follow the literary development of the main personalities involved, and pay attention to their positive as well as negative traits.

It is only then that we can begin to figure out what their relevance may be for our time.

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D., is the rabbi emeritus of Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, MA, and teaches Ethics at Framingham State University. He also writes at Sonsino’s Blog.

Published in reformjudaism.org on 7/16/20