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of the hallmarks of Yom Kippur is recounting our sins. And what is one of the greatest of sins according to our Jewish tradition? It is the sin of idolatry. And what is the greatest story ever told of this sin? It is that of the Golden Calf, found in the Book of Exodus. Here is that story. It occurs soon after the revelation at Mount Sinai. Moses is again on the mountaintop communing with God. He takes too long, at least in the peoples estimation. So they clamor against Moses brother, Aaron, who was left in charge. When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain the people gathered against Aaron and said to him, Come, make us a god who shall go before us, for that man Moses, who brought us from the land of Egyptwe do not know what has happened to him. Aaron said to them, Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me. (Exodus 32:1-2) Some of you might be saying, Wait does it really say that their sons had earrings? Yes, it is not such a new style after all. More importantly, we should be asking, Did I hear this right? God tells the people there is no greater sin than idolatry. And then as soon as Moses leaves them alone, the people build an idol. Back to the Torah text: And all the people took off their gold rings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. This he took from them and cast in a mold, and made it into a molten calf. And they exclaimed, This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt! (Exodus 32:4) It is a fascinating and troubling story. God says dont and almost immediately the people lose faith in their leader and Gods laws. Almost immediately they transgress. It is so tempting, and so easy, to break promises. More interesting is Aarons role in this episode. Imagine this. Moses says to his brother, Brother (bro), I am going up the mountain to speak with God. Take care of the people. Dont let them get into any trouble. And then when the people gather against Aaron, what does he say? Take off your gold! No discussion, no cajoling, no advising. Take off your gold. The Torahs estimation of those who led the people down this road is unforgiving. They are severely punished. Moses in his great anger smashes the tablets. We see that Moses is given to a raging temper and stern lecturing. Aaron gets a slap on the wrist and some harsh words from his brother. The ancient rabbis notice this incongruity. They in fact reinterpret the story and label 1

Pursuing Peace Yom Kippur Evening 5772 Jewish Congregation of Brookville

Aaron the hero. What? How can this be? Some might be saying, It is because he told the boys to take off their earrings. No, that is of course not it. Instead they argue that Aaron is the model of peace-making. What was the greatest sin is now transformed in the rabbinic imagination into a model of peace-making. What was arguably the worst moment in the Torah became Aarons greatest and most heroic achievement. The great first century rabbi Hillel said: Be of the disciples of Aaron. Love peace, pursue peace (ohev shalom, vrodef shalom). (Avot 1:12) And so I have been thinking. We need more Aarons and less Moses. Our age needs less lecturingand even sermonizingand more peace-making. Think about our remarkable example. There is no greater sin than idolatry. And yet Aaron is in effect praised by our great rabbis for his role in building an idol. He is called a rodef shalom, a pursuer of peace. Often our tradition chooses shalom over emet, peace over even truth. A few examples from the rabbis. On a wedding day, when asked if the bride is beautiful, you should always answer yes. The truth, the facts, is irrelevant. She is beautiful in her grooms eyes so it does not really matter what you think, or what the facts might be. In case you are wondering, I am pleased to say that at every wedding I have ever officiated at, the bride has been exceedingly beautiful. Did you know as well that such white lies are permitted in order to preserve peace between husband and wife? The classic example is from the Torah. God tells Sarah that she is going to have a baby at the young age of 90and she of course bursts into laughter. She says, Now that I am withered, am I to have enjoyment with my husband who is so old? (Genesis 18:12) She says in effect, What! I am going to have a baby with that old geezer of a husband of mine? God gets a little upset with Sarahs lack of faith and especially with her criticism of Abraham, with whom God has a special relationship. What does God say to Abraham when recounting Sarahs words? Why did Sarah laugh and say, Shall I really bear a child given how old I am? (Genesis 18:13) The rabbis notice Gods omission. God does not tell his friend Abraham that his wife thinks he is too old of a man. Look, they say, even God fudges the truth in order to preserve shalom bayit, peace in the home. Peace between husband and wife is worth it. How many times does the truth destroy families? Our tradition teaches that family harmony, shalom bayit, is more prized than even the facts. The rabbis teach that the truth can be sacrificed for the sake of peace. Look at God as an example. Find inspiration there. Look at Aaron. Be of the disciples of Aaron. We need more disciples of Aaron. We need more peaceand a little less truth Let me add one clarification before continuing, especially for my students. I would not want you to hear, The rabbi said I could lie. Let me be clear. You cannot 2

lie when you have done something wrong. You cannot lie to get out of punishment. You cannot lie to cover up your mistakes. Your mistakes will then only pile higher. When you do make a mistake, you only have one choice: own up and correct your failings. So you better tell the truth when your parents ask, Have you been drinking? You better tell the truth when your teacher asks, Did you copy from SparkNotes? Better you should never do such things. But in case you do, remember it is always best that you rely on your parents and your teachers for support and guidance when you make such mistakes. Besides you can always start your confession with, Mom you look beautiful It seems to me that we have plenty of truth telling and screaming, but little compromising. If you joined us for Erev Rosh Hashanah then you studied with me a fascinating rabbinic text. It is the story of Kamza and Bar Kamza, two Jews, living in first century Jerusalem. It is a story in which hatred and anger grew so intense and out of control that it led to the destruction of Jerusalem The abbreviated story is as follows. A man wants to invite his friend Kamza to a party. His servant makes a mistake and invites his enemy Bar Kamza. Bar Kamza shows up and the man eventually throws him out. Bar Kamza gets so angry that he goes to the Romans and tells the emperor that the Jews are rebelling against him. And the rest is pretty much history as they say. The Romans then destroy the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. In our discussion no one suggested that maybe when Bar Kamza opened the invitation he started crying and said my enemy seeks to make amends. He is inviting me to the party so that we can repair our broken relationship. Then when he was thrown out his tears turned to anger. The rabbis frame this story with the words of sinat chinam, baseless hatred. This story stands as the counterpoint to their value of making peace. They seem to be suggesting that we must go to great lengths to bring shalom to our world. This summer I watched as if Democrats and Republicans were reliving this Talmudic story. They debated the budget deficit as if they each wanted to throw the other from the party. The vitriol, the baseless hatred, appeared palpable. I could imagine a Republican or a Democrat turning to the other and saying, You are Bar Kamza. You are my enemy. Get out. But how different is a Kamza from a Bar Kamza? How different Democrat from Republican? Some might be saying, Now our rabbi has lost his clear thinking. The ideologies of our American parties could not be more different. But all our politicians love this country. Such is my belief! Were not Kamza and Bar Kamza both Jews? The lesson of this Talmudic text is how many opportunities were missed to create peace. At how many moments could 3

someone have stopped the downward spiral? The rabbis were also of course at that party, but they turned aside. Even they refused to get involved; and their own book damned themselves. How many times could we have made peace? Instead we chose principle over peace. The lesson of Aaron is that even our greatest principles can be sacrificed for peace. The lesson of the Talmud is that making peace might save our nation from destruction. We seem to forget our traditions lesson. We should make war with ideas and make peace with those around us. We must begin with these sentiments in our hearts. Then we can sit down together and argue about the issues. Then we are more apt to compromise for the sake of the greater good. That is the message of our ancient rabbis We must compromise with each other. Otherwise we might not only destroy our enemy but ourselves as well. The other message of the Talmuds story is that how can someone whose name means the son of your friend really be your enemyBar Kamza of course means the son of Kamza. Thus like the rabbis, we misuse the term enemy. How often do we think, anyone who disagrees with me is a traitor. Political opponents are not enemies. Disagreements do not transform friends into enemies. When did we lose the ability to honestly disagree? Everyone argues as if they are Moses, waving a finger in righteous indignation, as if they too have an intimate relationship with God and know what God wants. Moses is uncompromising and stubborn; he is given to anger and lecturing. Aaron in contrast is the peace-maker. He appears more concerned with the people than even the details of the law. Here is but one more reason why a Reform and Conservative congregation should come together and share a building. We must make peace within our community. Honest debates begin with the value of shalom Our times desperately need less of Moses and more of Aaron. I long for more disciples of Aaron. I long for more who love peace and pursue peace. This brings me of course to Israel and recent events there. As you are aware Mahmoud Abbas brought a petition to the United Nations asking that that UN recognize a Palestinian State that would define that states borders along the 1967 lines. Both PM Netanyahu and President Obama spoke out against this plan. It is terribly ironic that the institution created to foster peace has had little success fashioning durable peace agreements. How many times has the UN missed opportunities to make peace? How many times has it fostered further conflict by its actions and inaction? One example. Its creation of a separate and distinct UN Palestinian refugee agency has served to perpetuate the Arab-Israeli conflict rather than alleviate it. Only Palestinian refugees are served by this agency. All other refugees are served by one other UN agency. Only with regard to Palestinians is the goal the continuation of the refugees status. With other refugees the goal is resettlement in another country after several 4

years of trying to repatriate to their country of origin. And yet I still read Abbas speech to the UN. I choked on nearly every sentence and word. It was filled with statements such as: The core issue here is that the Israeli government refuses to commit to terms and that it frantically continues to intensify building of settlements on the territory of the State of Palestine. Listening to his speech it is as if the Palestinians and their leadership bear no responsibility for the current impasse and the lack of peace. It is only Israel and its building of settlements that are to blame. How about this for a core issue? Abbas continues to refer to the creation of the Jewish state as Al Nakba, the catastrophe. Perhaps the core issue is your refusal to come to terms with a Jewish state. Say that loudly and clearly, President Abbas. The UN did recognize two states in 1947. That is why it was called a Partition Plan. The Jewish leadership accepted it. The Arab, and Palestinian, leadership rejected it. The history of this conflict begins more with the Palestinians than Israelis. Netanyahu is clearly right about these facts. My blood pressure skyrockets every time I listen to Abbas and his distortions, especially of his denial of the historic Jewish connection to the land of Israel. Israel faces enormous challenges and grave threats. AIPAC is in fact correct about its assessment of these threats. It is correct about the dangers of the accumulation of missiles in the hands of Israelsand Americasenemies. I do believe however that the Palestinians are deserving of a sovereign state. If Zionism is the recognition of the right of Jewish sovereignty it must also recognize the rights of others for national sovereignty. And so I wish that Netanyahu instead of choosing to emulate Moses looked instead to Aaron. Once Abbas submitted his request to the UN, Netanyahu had only one choice. Once the people clamored against Aaron, he too had only once choice. Netanyahu should have affirmed the Palestinian request in bold, unmistakable language. When, and if, the votes come before the General Assembly, he should be the first to vote for it. He could have highlighted the few positive notes in Abbas speech. Abbas did in fact speak against violence. I admit, I am deeply skeptical about such promises. And yes, I know, it bears little resemblance to the realities of Gaza. But highlight the positive especially when standing on the international stage. Israels increasing isolation should be cause for concern. It may not in fact be Israels fault but it is for Israel to address. This summer I sensed that many Israelis feel that time is slipping away. There is an insidious cynicism that is creeping into Israelis hearts. Zionism is about not accepting the status quo; it is about change. It is about moving history and bending it in our favor. We must never give up trying to pursue peace. History must not be used as a justification for inaction. 5

Netanyahu appears to believe that the status quo is sustainable. It is not. Let me tell you why. Watch out, here I go again. Even though I may be criticized for saying these words I feel called upon to share them. Perhaps I should say, let us not label those with whom we disagree an enemy, especially when its your rabbi. There is not only one way to love and support the State of Israel. The New Israel Fund loves Israel just as much as AIPAC. Here are the facts. In the West Bank there are 300,000 settlers. There are nearly an additional 200,000 in those parts of Jerusalem captured from Jordan in 1967 and that are now part of Israels unified capital. I do not see areas like Gilo, Pisgat Zev, French Hill and Har Homa as controversial. I have never believed that these areas are settlements; the world however does. It is true that Jordan illegally occupied these lands prior to 1967. Why not be a disciple of Aaron? Why not try to advance peace? Love peace, pursue peace. Halt building in order to try to advance peace, even when it is part of a Jerusalem neighborhood like Gilo and even when it is for the tenth time. I do not imagine that Aaron said to himself, Wow this idolatry thing is really wonderful. He asked himself instead, What will better preserve my peoples future? Aaron must have compromised almost everything he held dear for the sake of peace. Why cant we at least try to do the same? For Netanyahu his greatest moment of leadership came in 1991 when he appeared on CNN during Iraqs Scud attacks against Israel. He helped to convey the sense of fear and dread in Israel. He helped to show the world how Israel was being victimized. I fear however that Netanyahu is still in that moment. It is now 20 years later. While I share his fear of Iranian missiles, and of Hezbollah and Hamas rockets, we should not remain in safe rooms to weather the storm. I am convinced that Zionism is about not accepting todays realities. It is about working tirelessly to change those realities and move history. We built our own country so that we could write our own history, so that we could write a better history for our people, so that no longer would history be perpetuated against us. Instead we would shape our collective destiny. The Rabbis saw in Aaron the realities of the painful choices leaders must make. They must often sacrifice ideology for the sake of peace. We cant wait for the Palestinian leadership to say all the right wordsor even do all the right things. We did not create a sovereign Jewish state so that it might hide in fear. Israel is only a besieged state if we see it as such. We must pursue peace; we must run after it. The term in Hebrew is rodef shalomyou must run after shalom. It will not come to you; it requires effort, it requires strength. 6

Thus the pursuit of peace begins first at home. We can try to rewrite our future. When we are sovereign we need not be historys victims. Aaron said to himself I must keep this people together. If it were about the truth then he would have remembered the laws and history of idolatry. And said to the people, What are you nuts? Instead he said, I must make peace for the sake of my peoples future. Thus I want that Israel forever remain Jewish and democratic. This requires the choices of Aaron more than Moses. My teacher, Tal Becker, who served as Israels lead negotiator at Annapolis, suggested that it is dangerous to believe that we can no longer do anything to advance peace. He argues that we must remain hopeful; we must continue to believe that we can do something to change the situation. Some might be ready to tell me that I have confused making peace with appeasement. But making peace also promises to save Israel as a Jewish democracy. Israel was founded on being both a Jewish and democratic state. I want it to forever remain both. Yet in Jerusalem, Israels capital, only 40% of its residents celebrate Yom Haatzmaut, Israel Independence Daya day that celebrates these twin values. Between the Arab population who has no interest in the Jewish part of the equation and the ultra- Orthodox population who abhor Israels democratic commitments Israels July 4th is no cause for celebration among the majority of its residents. I think that is great cause for worry. If you think that is not a problem for the future of the Jewish state then you are sadly mistaken. This is part of the status quo that is unsustainable. It is in danger of eroding either Israels democratic or Jewish character. If Israel were to absorb the West Bank and its 2.5 million Palestinians Israel will in the not too distant future have an equal number of Arabs and Jews. Then Israel will be faced with the choice of choosing its Jewishness over its democracy or its democratic character over its Jewish. We have people in Israel who do not love Israels Jewish character. We have radicals within our midst who do not believe in democracy. This weeks burning of a mosque is but the most recent, horrifying evidence of this trend. How we make peace with ourselves might in fact be our greatest challenge. I love Israel with all my heart and soul. I love its democracy. I love its Jewish character. I want it to forever remain both Jewish and democratic. God knows we need more peace. We learn that making peace is not always about the truth. It is not always about history. It is not even always about being right. Palestinian intransigence must not be used as an excuse for inaction. Making peace is about compromise and accommodation. It is about learning to live with the stark realities of 7

the world. Being right does not always serve the future. It does not always keep families together, or countries strong and at peace. Be of the disciples of Aaron. Love peace, pursue peace. Shalom is the only thing that promises to keep us whole. Let us be more like the disciples of Aaron. Because we need far more peace. Our families depend on it. The Jewish nation depends on it. Be of the disciples of Aaron. Love peace. Pursue peace. Ohev shalom. Vrodef shalom. Rabbi Steven Moskowitz www.rabbimoskowitz.com