COMMUNITY VIEWS
Achieving Peace
In the Jewish Tradition
being religiously reprehensible.
eace is a central tenet of
Similarly, according to Jewish tradi-
Judaism. Both the concept
tion, refusal to resist an aggressor is
of peace and the word for
not the mark of sainthood but a griev-
peace pervade liturgy, litera-
ous violation of religious imperatives.
ture and Jewish thought.
In the final analysis, we
The quest for peace occu-
maintain that even human
pies a preeminent position in
beings do not have absolute
the Jewish hierarchy of val-
rights over their own bodies.
ues. This is evidenced by the
The human body belongs to
use of the word shalom as a
God and we are mere custo-
dominant greeting in Israel
dians of that God-given gift.
and in some places in the
We must defend ourselves
Diaspora whenever Jews
when necessary.
meet.
Judaism has recognized
Shalom, hello; Shalom,
the legitimacy of warfare.
good-bye — peace be with
RA BBI
When war is the only alter-
you in your coming in and
HERB ERT A.
native, it is considered to be
in your going forth. Peace
YOSK OWITZ
a necessary evil but it can
with you until we meet
never be treated as a good in
Spec ial to
again. We greet each other
itself. The Bible teaches us
the Jew ish News
with a blessing that is the
that King David was
word shalom.
admired for his achievements for the
As devoted as the Jewish tradition
people of Israel and for the world.
is to the attainment of peace, there
Nonetheless, he was denied the privi-
may be situations when violence must
lege of building the Temple because as
be resisted by armed might. Judaism
I Chronicles 28:3 puts it, "His hands
advocates pacification but not pacifism
were too involved in bloodshed."
or appeasement.
Almost 3,000 years after King
In certain situations, non-resis-
David led the Jewish people tri-
tance to evil may be a greater moral
umphantly into Jerusalem, another
or religious evil than violence perpe-
Jewish military hero of Israel, in con-
trated in the defense of human
trast to King David, has been called "a
rights. Refusal to resist evil by force
man of peace." Israel Prime Minister
when this is the only alternative in
Ehud Barak was given that endorse-
cases of aggression is deemed as
ment by Hosni Mubarak, president of
po
Herbert A. Yoskowitz is a rabbi at
Adat Shalom Synagogue.
Egypt.
What may help the Israeli prime
minister to attain a secure peace with
his neighbors is to study and to apply
the lesson of the story of reconcilia-
tion between Jacob and Esau, a story
that is found in Genesis 32.
What made the reconciliation
between Jacob and Esau possible?
They had been brothers in conflict.
Esau is perceived by Jacob as a not-
very-bright outdoorsman who likes to
hunt and Jacob is looked upon by his
brother as a schemer who exploited a
brother's weakness to rob him of his
inheritance.
The night before the encounter of
Jacob and Esau, Jacob had a Wrestling
experience with a mysterious being
and emerged with a new name. He
became Israel, a name
change that symbolized the
change in his person.
Jacob (Israel) had matured.
The person Israel, who
encountered his brother
Esau, was able to see Esau
as a man with legitimate
grievances and as a man
with dignity.
Rabbi Samuel E. Karff
comments that until that c.—\
evening of struggle, Jacob's
fear of Esau had led him
to think only about ways
to defend his camp. He
had expected the worst.
After his evening of strug-
gle, Jacob was open for the
possibilities of an embrace
with his brother. "The
brothers could now meet
not as supplicant to over-
lord, but as partners ..."
At his inaugural address, Ehud
Barak appeared to learn this lesson
from Jacob when he said, "I am not
only cognizant of the sufferings of my
own people, but I also recognize the
sufferings of the Palestinian people."
A similar cognizance is urged by
author Ehud Sprinzak in a recently
published book, Brother Against Broth-
er. The author, a political scientist who
teaches at the Hebrew University,
wrote, "A magnanimous government
policy toward Arab citizens, expressed
COMMUNITY VIEWS ON PAGE 30
LITTERS
Levin's Vote
And Intolerance
Our entire community should be out-
raged that on July 15, U.S. Rep.
Sander Levin voted against the Reli-
gious Liberty Protection Act. This bill
would better protect the religious
rights and freedoms of Americans of
all religions from governmental abuse.
Sander Levin's vote against it illustrates
his apparent intolerance to those who
are observant in our community and
all other faiths.
Of particular importance to our
community, the law would allow Jew-
ish prisoners to eat kosher food and
observe Jewish religious holidays, it
would allow Jews to be free from
autopsies in violation of Jewish law, it
7 /23
1999
28 Detroit Jewish News
would allow Jewish males to wear
yarmulkes in public schools, it would
protect synagogues from local zoning
laws that would otherwise force them
to close down after certain hours, it
would protect Jews from being denied
employment because of refusing to
take loyalty oaths, and it would allow
Jewish policemen to grow beards,
among many other protections.
In short, this bill would restore a
historical American principle that laws
and regulations may not interfere with
the exercise of religion unless there is a
compelling government interest in
doing so. There is, and was, no legiti-
mate reason for Sander Levin to
oppose it.
This bill was supported by the
Clinton administration and many
major religious organizations,
including the Anti-Defamation
League. A majority of House
Democrats voted for it, in addition
to an overwhelming majority of
House Republicans. All of Michi-
gan's Republican delegation voted
for the bill as did a majority of
Michigan's Democratic delegation.
Yet, Sander Levin chose to oppose it.
Luckily, the Religious Liberty
Protection Act passed with an over-
whelming majority in the House,
without Sander Levin's vote. This
bill is now headed for a Senate vote.
Let's hope U.S. Sen. Carl Levin
demonstrates better judgment than
his brother did. We should all be
watching.
Debbie K. Schlussel
West Bloomfield
Excellent Coverage
Of Film Event
We would like to thank Gail Zimmer-
man, Suzanne Chessler, and the Jewish
News for their excellent coverage ("An
Ancient Mystery," June 18) of our
movie benefit "The Quest for the Lost
Tribes."
More than 400 people attended as
director Simcha Jacobovici took them
on a worldwide journey in search of
the 10 lost tribes of Israel.
Phyllis Meer
president,
Children of Chernobyl/
Michigan Region