KI TEZE 5778
ILL BEGOTTEN CHILDREN?
August 23, 2018
12 Elul 5778
Primogeniture was widely practiced in antiquity. The Torah in this week's portion, grants the oldest son certain benefits and privileges including double portion of the inheritance. This was the law, and even were this son born to a less favored wife, he cannot be replaced by a half-brother born to a more favorite spouse. (Deuteronomy 21: 15-17)
This affirmation of primogeniture, however, clearly conflicts with the narratives in Genesis in which the younger son, the clear favorite of his parents, supplants the older brother. Thus Isaac displaces Ishmael; Jacob usurps Esau and Joseph replaces his older brothers.
The commandment that grants the older brother his inalienable right of primogeniture, regardless of the status of his mother, affirms that children ought not to suffer because of the lesser status of their parents or their moral shortcomings. The Torah makes this abundantly clear in its affirmation that fathers not be punished for the sins of their sons nor sons for those of their fathers. Each person is judged in terms of his/her own behavior (Ibid 24:16).
This affirmation, however, is singularly inconsistent in the case of the child who is a mamzer (commonly translated as bastard but rendered "ill begotten son" in contemporary Bible translations). He inherits this sad status because he was conceived in sin, specifically an adulterous relationship. This child is deemed a Jew in all respects except that he may only marry an "ill begotten daughter" or a convert. Furthermore a child born of that marriage is considered a mamzer, and this status is passed on for ten generations – a Biblical term for all time (ibid 23:3).
The Conservative and Reform movements have rejected the status, but it continues to be a halachic directive in the Orthodox world. Rabbi Dov Hayun, a Conservative colleague, was recently detained by the Haifa Police for having allegedly solemnized, in contravention of halachah that is currently codified in Israeli law, the marriage of a mamzer without any restrictions. Strange and sad as it may seem the Israeli Rabbinic establishment maintains a list of "ill begotten children," thereby severely limiting their choice of a spouse.
The Rabbinic tradition reinterpreted Biblical commandments that were deemed morally unacceptable. Thus, the troubling commandment of "an eye for an eye" was not taken literally, but reinterpreted to require the perpetrator to financially recompense his victim. Capital punishment was similarly abhorrent to the Rabbis who labeled a court that sentenced but one person's death in seventy years a murderous Court.
The restrictions on the mamzer, however, were never reinterpreted. It remains on the books despite being inconsistent with the affirmation that children are not to be held responsible for their parents' sins.
Every birth ushers into our midst a new and innocent human being. While he/she inherits the parental genetic makeup, moral status is not transmitted from parent to child. Rather we give the child the fresh beginning to mature into a moral and upright man or woman.
Mamzer is thus an anomaly that runs counter to the overall ethical and moral values that are the hallmark of our Tradition. Labeling a child as "ill begotten" is inconsistent with Judaism's moral values. The caveat, however, is that our discomfort with this Biblical labeling is hardly a reason to demean and reject the entire halachic model, with its potential to beautify and enrich our lives.
—
From the holy city of Jerusalem my best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach, a Shabbat of peace and of blessing.
Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman
SHOFETIM 5778
THE "TROUBLESOME"
August 16, 2018
5 Elul 5778
The Torah portion this Shabbat focuses on three types of leaders: king, priest and prophet.
The king is the head of the government. He was endowed with great power and was often the final arbiter of right and wrong. Moses warns the Israelites to restrain the king from accumulating great wealth, from subordinating women and from forming alliances that threaten the safety and security of the nation.
The priest was the spiritual leader, charged to help the community distinguish the ritually pure from impure. He was expected to be morally upright and careful not to abuse those who turned to him for encouragement, counsel and solace. He was to be sensitive to the emotional vulnerability of those who in their distress turned to him.
The prophet was society's conscience. His role was to challenge regent and priest whenever either or both failed to faithfully serve the community. The prophet was to ensure that those who exercise power conformed to the highest moral standards. Flash back to England in 1170 then ruled by Henry II. In the absence of prophets this role was assumed by men and women of conscience and notably among them was Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Beckett was a constant irritant to Henry–constantly calling him to task for his moral and spiritual failures. One day the frustrated regent cried out, "Who will save me from this troublesome priest?" The very next day Beckett was sadly assassinated by one of Henry's loyalists.
Today, in the absence of prophecy, the media strives to fulfill the vital role of community conscience. Not unsurprisingly it is often under attack by the contemporary power structures, be they the government or other institutions. These contemporary Beckets at their best are assuredly troublesome to all power structures that dismiss their critiques as being both prejudiced and untruthful.
They are not only pilloried as dispensers of "fake news" but even as "enemies of the people." They are no less troublesome to today's powerbrokers then Beckett was to Henry II.
The Torah's tripod leadership model is descriptive of our democratic government of three institutions exercising checks and balances upon one another. The press, often described as the "fourth estate," is the medium through which the people can be informed and then motivated to challenge its leaders. The media is especially troublesome to those in power when it adheres to the clarion call in this week's Torah portion "justice, justice you shall pursue." This call continues to echo and re-echo, as troublesome as this may be, to those who are currently in power.
Perhaps in the final analysis there is truth in the popular saying, "vox populi vox Dei" the voice of the people is the voice of God. An informed and engaged public is perhaps the true descendants of the prophets and nothing is more troublesome to those in power than the concerted voice of the people.
—
From the holy city of Jerusalem my best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach, a Shabbat of peace and of blessing.
Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman
