Matot-Masei: Nobility of Difference

Carol Greider is one of America’s greatest scientists. A molecular biologist and biochemist at Berkley’s University of California, Greider discovered telomerase, an enzyme that protects chromosomes and is an essential component of cancer research, bone marrow, and lung disease. In 2009, Greider received the Nobel Prize for her discoveries. 

Recently, when asked about what led her down the path of success and scientific discoveries, Greider shared the story of her childhood, struggling in school with her dyslexia and sometimes feeling socially isolated. Greider shares the story of the time her father, an academic as well, has taken a year in the University of Heidelberg, Germany. If she had trouble in school with one language, struggling in a school with two languages was even harder. Greider shared the following:

“The other confusing thing about school for me was the “religion” class. You had to declare if you were Catholic or Protestant (as if those were the only choices), and then each group had their own class. Back home, my father was music director for the Unitarian Church, but as kids, we rarely went to church. It was too hard to translate what Unitarian meant to the Germans, so my father asked the school to excuse me from this religion class and instead have a free period to do homework. This is how I met my friend Jiska, who was one of the few Jewish kids in the school and who was also excused from religion class. In my friendship with Jiska, both of us different from the rest, I began to develop an appreciation for people who were not like the others and who stood a bit outside the mainstream. This understanding of and affinity for people outside the mainstream served me well later in life. In high school and college I never felt the need to be part of a popular group, but rather sought out friends for their personal qualities. This appreciation may have also shaped many choices later in life; for example, working on the unusual organism Tetrahymena.”

While smart, productive, and forward-thinking people understand the beauty of the Jewish people’s refusal to blend in and disappear, intolerant destructive forces in society often declare war on the right of the Jewish people to maintain our unique identity.

We have seen this in the Dark Ages with the persecution of Jews in Christian societies, being targeted for not accepting Christianity. We have seen the persecution of Jews in Muslim societies for not accepting Islam. We saw it later in the eighteen and nineteen hundreds on a racial level in Germany, France, and throughout Europe, persecuting Jews for not being racially European. 

We see this war waged against Israel as the only non-Muslim, non-Arab country in the Middle East. We see it on campuses, with the targeting of Jewish students often under the guise of anti-Zionism and sometimes right out in the open. We see it in American politics with the assault against Jewish candidates attaining high office, and we see it on the streets where visibly Jewish people are attacked. 

In his book The Dignity of Difference, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks speaks about the existence of Jews as a challenge to the world, demanding for societies to accept those who are outside the fold, refusing to conform to the majority. 

Yet despite all the progress the world may have made, this war on the Jews and refusal to accept those who do not fit in continues. A rabbi I knew traveled to Ireland during the time of high conflict between Catholics and Protestants there, attempting to mediate between the two. When he arrived, one of the Irish people spoke sharply at him, questioning whose side he was on and whether he was Catholic or protestant. The rabbi was taken aback by the question, saying: “What do you mean?! I am Jewish!” To which the Irishman continued asking: “Yes, but are you a Catholic Jew or a protestant Jew.” 

It is this insistence on remaining proudly Jewish, not meeting any criteria, that our people have insisted on throughout our history, and it is this uniqueness that requires our continuous efforts to secure. 

While the Torah usually disparages and even forbids revenge, in Parshat Matot, Hashem tells Moses: “Avenge the Israelite people on the Midianites; then you shall be gathered to your kin.” (Bamidbar 31:2). God tells Moses to avenge to take “the Israelite” people’s revenge from Midyan. Yet when Moses passes on this commandment to the people of Israel, Moses says something else. “Moses spoke to the militia, saying, “Let troops be picked out from among you for a campaign, and let them fall upon Midian to wreak Hashem’s vengeance on Midian.” Moses tells the fighters of Israel they are going to take “Hashem’s vengeance” on Midyan. So which was it, the revenge of Israel or the revenge of Hashem?

Addressing this contradiction, Rashi, in his commentary on this verse, quotes a Midrash saying: “Because whoever attacks Israel is as though he attacks the Holy One blessed be He.” Yes, God tells the Jewish people to take revenge on Israel from the Midianites, but Moses knows that when he sometimes rises against Israel and attacks Bnai Yisrael, it is an attack on God Himself. 

The great scholar Nechama Lebowitz, cites the Midrash here in the form of a conversation between God and Moses. The Midrash says: “The Holy One blessed be He said: “The vengeance of the children of Israel,” but Moses said: “The Lord’s vengeance.” The Holy One blessed be He said to them: ‘It is nothing other than your justice, as they caused Me to harm you.’ (i.e., in the sin of the daughters of Midyan). Moses said: ‘Master of the universe, were we uncircumcised, idolaters, or deniers of mitzvot, they would not hate us. They persecute us only due to the Torah and mitzvot that You gave to us. Therefore, it is Your vengeance’ – “to wreak the Lord’s vengeance against Midian.”

While God tells Moses they will be avenging what was done to Israel, Moses tells God that had it not been for Jews being different by keeping God’s commandments such as circumcision, not worshiping idols, and or keeping the Mitzvot, the persecution Jews endure would not come to begin with; therefore it is the honor of God that is being avenged. 

Throughout history, there we have seen both of these persecutions come against us; on the one hand “Nikmat Yisrael” the persecution of Jews of being Jewish, on the other hand “Nikmat Hashem”, Jews being persecuted because of our faith. 

The war against the modern state of Israel, against Jews by Nazi Germany, Dreyfuss in France, Jews being persecuted in Soviet Russia, and countless other examples of Jews have been persecuted merely for being Jewish. We have also seen antisemitism that goes after Jews for our faith–for not accepting Christianity or Islam, for insisting on eating Kosher or doing anything differently, and for keeping to our faith. 

Like Moses and the people of Israel, we must be ready to fight both fronts. We must be ready for “Nikrmat Hashem”, to fight for our right to keep our faith as Jews. We must also be ready to fight “Nikmat Yisrael”, the right of Jews to exist. We never have the right to declare the battle not to be our own. When secular Jews are attacked for who their very existence, we must stand with them. When religious Jews in Europe fight for their right to Kosher Shechita, for circumcision, and for the right to lead a Jewish life, we must stand with them as well. 

The Parsha of Matot is often read on the same week as Parshat Masei. The Parsha of Matot, is addressed to the heads of each tribe. We see the people of Gad and Reuven bringing on them the fury of Moses, when they request to settle down on the Eastern side of the Jordan River. Moses scolds them: “ will your brethren go to war and you will sit here? “. Yes, we do come from different tribes, but we are one nation. 

Parashat Masei, does exactly that. It reminds us that although we are tribes, we travel through history together. While we each have our uniqueness and special interests, for us to survive we must travel as one. And when we do so, we arrive at the promised Land. Chazak Chazak Ve’Nitchazek.