A Turn-Up: For The Books!
The banning and censorship of sacred Jewish texts especially the Talmud by external authorities, notoriously the Catholic church, is a well-known blight in Jewish history. From the mid-13th century onwards in all countries where Catholicism held sway, our holiest books were subject to church censorship of the most intrusive, intolerant and often whimsical kind. Banning was the successor to burning. An improvement of sorts!
Christianity has always felt threatened by its parent religion and the cowardly and fear-fuelled policy of bans and text-censorship was the way it dealt with it in mediaeval times. What however do we say about the banning or censorship of books written by contemporary rabbis in modern times. Not by the church. But by other Orthodox rabbis!
In 2002, Rabbi Nathan Kamenetsky, son of the famed Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky ztl, published a book entitled The Making Of A Godol. in which he explored the lives of 19th and 20th-century Torah sages including his own father. However soon after it was published it provoked the extreme disapproval of some leading rabbis who felt that some of the comments in the book relating to episodes in the youth, growth and development of these rabbis were disparaging. It is uncertain exactly how the book came to be “banned” especially in light of the fact that Torah luminaries such as Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch reportedly exhorted him to “keep on writing – for no-one can do as good a job as you!” The fact remains that only 1,000 sets of both first and second editions are extant and are available on order only from the writer and at a cost of some $200 per copy!
Rabbi Kamenetsky in his “defence” (and supported by Rabbis Sternbuch and Zelik Epstein among others) claims that all he was trying to do is to show that these great rabbis were human. “Knowing the truth about the Gedolim” he states “only increases one’s respect for them and for their vast accomplishments, despite facing life’s trials and being human”
Without wishing to become embroiled in this controversy (and I have not read the book), it would appear from our most fundamental sacred source, namely Sefer Bereshit, the Book of Genesis, that this approach is followed by the greatest of authors, G-D Himself.
The sidrot of this week and last are quintessential paradigms of this. We encounter five of Jacob’s sons, Joseph – who acquires the title Yosef haTsadik – Judah, Reuven, Shimon and Levi in “learning-curve” episodes. A youthful Joseph boasts about his grandiose dreams and shows excessive zeal and judgementalism in relating to his brothers.(Gen 37:2, 5-11). Judah “descends” morally, spiritually and status-wise after his leading role in the sale of Joseph (38). Reuven intrudes upon the marital life of his father (35:22) while Shimon and Levi present as teenage firebrands out of control when they avenge their sister Dina’s rape by massacring the entire male population of Shechem (34:25).
In later life, Reuven, alone of all the brothers, attempts to save Joseph from both death and slavery (37:21-22). Joseph himself achieves a level of moral steadfastness and rectitude that is unsurpassed. Judah demonstrates courageous and selfless leadership in putting his life on the line for Benjamin (44:18-34). And a chastened Shimon and Levi express unambiguous remorse for their leading role in Joseph’s sale (see Zohar to 42:21)
Should the earlier less savoury episodes in the lives of these tsadikim (righteous men) have been omitted from the Torah, the Book of Books?. Its Divine author evidently did not believe so. Indeed the Torah even sees fit to exaggerate Reuven’s offence (Shabbat 55b).
Our tsadikim and tsidkonios are not infallible gods. They are fallible mortals who can and do nevertheless rise mercurially up the metaphorical learning-curve of life. Many experience a watershed turning-point in their lives following which they soar spiritually higher and higher. Such a “turn-up” (or upturn) surely cannot fail to be eminently suitable “for (inclusion in) the books”!