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Motti Wilhelm

Singing in the Face of Antisemitism

In Portland, OR, children illuminate candles before the city's Public Menorah lighting, hosted by Chabad of Oregon. As Chanukah approaches, there's a concerted effort to draw larger crowds to this year's Menorah lightings, fostering a vibrant celebration of Jewish pride and spreading the illuminating message of light. (Photo by RobProPhoto shared with permission)
In Portland, OR, children illuminate candles before the city's Public Menorah lighting, hosted by Chabad of Oregon. As Chanukah approaches, there's a concerted effort to draw larger crowds to this year's Menorah lightings, fostering a vibrant celebration of Jewish pride and spreading the illuminating message of light. (Photo by RobProPhoto shared with permission)

For as long as Jews have existed, there’s been antisemitism. As we declare at the Seder:

“In every generation, they rise against us to destroy us; and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hand!

To illustrate the point, we go back to a time when only a single Jewish family existed:

“Go forth and learn what Laban the Aramean wanted to do to our father Jacob.” During his twenty years in the Southeastern Turkish city of Charan, Jacob endured humiliating mockery, abuse, and manipulation by his uncle and the townspeople. He was cheated in marriage, exploited in wages, and made to believe he owned nothing after toiling to the point of frostbite. “Pharaoh only decreed against males, whereas Laban sought the destruction of everyone,” the Haggadah recounts.

Yet, amidst these dire circumstances, the first all-Jewish family was formed. The children who witnessed this abuse became the twelve tribes of Israel.

The Midrash poses a question: “What sustained him?” Faced with anti-Israel boycotts, protests, and disparaging remarks wherever he went, what kept Jacob going?

“The Fifteen Songs of Ascents in Psalms,” says the third-century Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi.

The Fifteen Psalms 120 – 134 begin with “A Song of Ascents.” They correspond to the fifteen years that patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived together and contain some of the most powerful prose in Jewish liturgy:

“A Song of Ascents. In my distress, I called to the Lord, and He answered me… I am a man of peace: but when I speak, they are for war.” (Psalm 120)

“A song for ascents. I shall raise my eyes to the mountains, from where will my help come?… Behold the Guardian of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep…” (Psalm 121)

Jacob, by reciting these texts, wasn’t solely praying; he was tapping into the strength inherited from his father and grandfather during their years together. Alone, the pressure might have overwhelmed him, but with the sacrifices and merits of those before him, he knew his message and purpose would endure.

Jacob also wasn’t angry, immobilized, or sick with worry. He was singing “A Song of Ascents.” He recognized that inexplicably, this was the path to building the Jewish family and securing its future prosperity.

Knowing who he was, he survived the intimidation. Understanding what he was doing, he sang his way through it.

***

For a full exposition on this medrash, see Singing in Battle and Likkutei Sichot Volume 20, Vayeitze 1

About the Author
Rabbi Motti Wilhelm received his diploma of Talmudic Studies from the Rabbinical College of Australia & New Zealand in 2003 and was ordained as a rabbi by the Rabbinical College of America and Israel’s former chief Rabbi Mordecha Eliyahu in 2004. He was the editor of Kovetz Ohelei Torah, a respected Journal of Talmudic essays. He lectures on Talmudic Law, Medical Ethics and a wide array of Jewish subjects and has led services in the United States, Canada, Africa and Australia. His video blog Rabbi Motti's Minute is highly popular as are his weekly emails. Rabbi Wilhelm and his wife Mimi lead Chabad SW Portland as Shluchim of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
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