Today’s Civil Rights Movement
Friday August 17, 2023 – א׳ אֱלוּל תשפ״ג
שֹׁפְטִ֣ים וְשֹֽׁטְרִ֗ים תִּֽתֶּן־לְךָ֙ בְּכׇל־שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְהֹוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ לִשְׁבָטֶ֑יךָ וְשָׁפְט֥וּ אֶת־הָעָ֖ם מִשְׁפַּט־צֶֽדֶק׃
“You shall appoint judges and officers for your tribes, [to be stationed at] all of your gates of that your God יהוה is giving you for you to settle, and they shall govern the people with due justice.”
This past week, we marked the 2nd yahrzeit of Rabbi Richard “Dick” Hirsch who passed away just shy of his 95th birthday. Rabbi Hirsch demonstrated, through his Torah and his actions, the perfect balance between one’s American identity and one’s Jewish identity. He talked the talk and walked the walk. In 1961, bothered by the stark racial inequality in the United States, he became the founding director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, DC.
With the support and vision of Kivie Kaplan (the president of the NAACP), they acquired a building near Dupont Circle on Massachusetts Avenue which served as one of the headquarters of the Civil Rights Movement, from which he worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to spearhead the effort to pass the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. For Hirsch, it was clear that Judaism commanded us to work and fight for justice and equality.
As a continuation of his commitment to the values of justice and equality, Rabbi Hirsch moved with his wife Bella and their four children to Israel in 1973 to become Executive Director of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Hirsch insisted on moving Progressive Judaism’s international headquarters to Jerusalem – which many consider to be Reform Judaism’s most significant decision of the 20th century – as he recognized the significance of the Zionist Movement. He believed that we, as Reform Jews, must be part of building the Jewish State, and thus be built by it. Known as the grandfather of Reform Zionism, Rabbi Hirsch was also the prime mover in affiliating Reform Judaism with the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency for Israel – a milestone for both the WZO and the Reform Movement. [1]
The Torah of Rabbi Dick Hirsch was, at its foundation, about the balance between Universalism and Particularism. He taught that Reform Jews should, on the one hand, be deeply rooted in Jewish Peoplehood and see the Jewish people as a nation, and on the other hand, that our nationalism should be used as a vehicle or tool through which we reach the Universal. The most meaningful lesson that I learned from him comes from this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Shoftim.
“When we marched in Washington D.C. with Dr. King, we, as Jews, quoted the book of Deuteronomy with the famous line ‘צֶ֥דֶק צֶ֖דֶק תִּרְדֹּ֑ף – Justice, Justice you shall pursue’ (Deut. 16:20),” he would reminisce fondly. “But!” he would often exclaim with fervor, “what about the second half of the verse?!? It’s just as important as the first half! And hardly any Reform Jews know it or speak about it…”
The whole verse says:
צֶדֶק צֶדֶק תִּרְדֹּף לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה וְיָרַשְׁתָּ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ (דברים טז:כ)
“Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may thrive and occupy the land that your God יהוה is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 16:20)
Our commitment to justice is directly ingrained in our connection to the Land of Israel. Zionism is a Social Justice Movement. We were meant both to inherit the Land that God has given us AND establish a just society there.
So WWDS???
What would Rabbi Dick Hirsch say about this particular moment in history where the fabric of Israel’s judiciary is under attack and at risk of losing its independence, opening up a pandora’s box of dangerous outcomes due to a confluence of overlapping agendas from the ultra-Orthodox and the ultra-Nationalist camps?
While it’s impossible to say for certain, I think that Dick Hirsch would say that we have to pour out into the streets and do all that we can to prevent the judicial overhaul from going through. But he would also say that Diaspora Jews need to wake up and embrace the centrality of Zionism in the Jewish story. It is not enough to talk about justice in broad strokes.
We have a role to play.
We need to continue to champion justice as we learn from the first half of the verse. And we ought strongly to push back against those who only read the second half of the verse, operating as though they are masters of all of the biblical Land of Israel.
The violent crimes perpetrated by members of the “Jewish Power” party and extremist settler camp are now being defended and legitimized by ministers in the Government. What was once a fringe part of society is now being legitimized by those in the highest echelons of power.
Zionism today is about a narrow balance. It is about fighting for justice and knowing that our inheritance of the Land is conditional upon the establishment of a just society. Both Zionism and the idea of a just society are rooted in our most holy text, the Torah. According to Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut, “no people gave as much loving attention to the overriding importance of law equitably administered and enforced as did Israel.”
The word Tzedek occurs 68 times in the entire Tanakh and is prevalent in Moses’ speech to the people of Israel as they prepared to enter the Land. We fight for justice because of the imperative from our Torah commanding us to pursue justice. The Torah here is a source of inspiration, but not necessarily a source for the establishment of a modern nation-state. While many of us would argue that the Torah commands us to pursue and strive for justice, we might also reject the notion that we should live currently according to all of the laws of the Torah. Justice is one of the most important moral values in the spheres of law and politics. Legal and political systems that maintain law and order are desirable, but they cannot accomplish either unless they also achieve justice.
The same can and should be said regarding Zionism. The Torah – from Abraham and Sarah to Moses and Joshua –establishes the centrality of the Land of Israel for the Jewish people. Entering and inheriting the Land is, one could argue, considerably more prevalent than the imperative to pursue justice.
As journalist and author Yossi Klein Halevi reminds us, “… this struggle doesn’t belong to us only in Israel. This is a struggle for the whole Jewish people. … We see ourselves as a repository of 4000 years of Jewish history, values, and ethos…” that include both the building and development of a Jewish State and ensuring that that state is a just society.
In thinking about the thousands of Reform Jews who were influenced by Rabbi Dick Hirsch let us take away this central message (articulated by his friend and Zionist hero in his own right Natan Sharansky):
“The struggle for Zionism and the struggle for human rights are one and the same.”
Without real democracy (that allows for majority rule but vigilantly protects the rights of minorities) we cannot have a true Jewish state. Today, the challenge to liberal democracy is coming from leaders claiming that they — not the traditional democratic institutions — are the true spokesmen for the people, not the “liberal elite.” This is an attack on democracy in the name of democracy, and it poses difficult challenges to anyone seeking to defend liberal democracy and its institutions: political parties, the courts, academia, and the free press. Zionism afforded the Jewish people the ability to establish these institutions. We now have our own political parties and courts. Those who are threatening these institutions are also threatening the foundation of Zionism itself.
In Rabbi Hirsch’s memory may we, who believe deeply in the essential value of Justice and the centrality of Israel and Zionism to the Jewish story, show our support and solidarity to all those fighting for the soul of the Jewish State. Mark your calendars for Sunday, October 1st when we, as a North American Jewish community, will show our support and solidarity for Israel as a Jewish and democratic State (details to come).
The Torah tells us this week that we shall govern the people with due justice. That’s it, no more, no less. This is the mission of every Jew no matter where you live.
Pursue Justice in our Land. Let’s do that which would have made Rabbi Dick Hirsch proud.
Shabbat Shalom and Hodesh Tov!
[1] Rabbi Richard Hirsch was the author of two books, both of which are worth reading: From the HILL to the MOUNT – A Reform Zionist Quest (Gefen Publishers: Jerusalem and New York, 2000), and For the Sake of Zion – Reform Zionism: A Personal Mission (URJ Press: New York, 2011)