30 Aug HAVE WE BECOME TOO TRIBAL?

First anecdote: A

man goes out with a

woman on their first

date. For the first

three hours he talks

only about himself,

his history,

accomplishments

and interests. Finally, he turns to her and says:

“Enough of me speaking about myself; let me

hear what you have to say about me.” Second

anecdote: The rabbi was hospitalized

recovering from a heart attack when the

president of the congregation visited him. He

said: “Rabbi, I have good news and bad

news.” “First the good news” the rabbi said.

“On behalf of the board of directors I am here

to wish you a speedy recovery.” “That’s

wonderful” said the rabbi, “and what’s the

bad news?” “The vote was 7 to 6.” Despising

Single Stones This week’s Torah portion,

Shoftim, communicates the following

commandment: “You shall not erect for

yourself a pillar. This is something which the

Lord your G-d despises.” The most basic

biblical commentator, Rashi, explains this as

a prohibition against erecting an altar of a

single stone, even if the intent was to use this

altar as a place where offerings were

presented to G-d. Though the Torah

elsewhere clearly allows the existence of

altars made of stone in the Holy Temple in

Jerusalem and in the Tabernacle in the desert,

Rashi explains that this is only true of altars

made of many stones, not of a single stone.

Yet one wonders about the logic of

distinguishing between an altar built of many

stones that is deemed desirable by G-d vs. an

altar built of a single stone which the Torah

defines as an object of G-d’s hate. Does it

really make a difference whether you present

an offering on an altar of one stone or of

many stones? Rashi explains that the

difference is not intrinsic but historical. In the

times of the Patriarchs, Rashi writes, they

would build single stone pillars for the sake

of presenting offerings to G-d, and “it was

beloved by G-d.” However, once the

Canaanites adopted this practice and began

building single-stone altars for idolatrous

offerings, G-d rejected them. Yet the question

remains, why did the Canaanite idol

worshippers embrace thesingle-stone altar?

Logically, the converse should have

occurred: An altar of many diverse stones

seems consistent with the polytheistic

approach—worshipping many diverse

gods—while an altar made of one piece is

more reflective of the monotheistic

Jewish faith that insists all worship

must be directed to a single, universal

G-d. Why did history dictate that the

pagan polytheists embraced the

single-stone model? Shunning

Diversity What this prohibition against

the single-stone pillar may be teaching

us is that though there is one G-d, the

altars constructed by man to serve Him

need not—Indeed should not—be of

one stone, of one color, or one

dimension, shape and quality. Perhaps

the greatest challenges facing

humanity today is the ingrained belief by

many a Muslim that those of us who do not

embrace Islam as a faith and a lifestyle are

infidels who need to be converted or killed.

Many Muslim leaders are laying the

groundwork for a grand war between Islam

and the West (and of course Israel), in order

to restore the world to its appropriate

equilibrium, a world dominated by Islam. On

another level, and in a far more subtle and

fine way, one of the challenges facing many

Jewish communities today (a challenge that

has pervaded the history of all religion from

the beginning of time), is a sense of tribalism

that found a nest among many devout Jews.

This is the feeling that my way of serving G-d

is the only true way, and if you have a

different path, you are on the “wrong

team.” Many of us feel that in the

construction of the “altars,” the

structures in which we serve G-d, there

is room for only a single stone, a single

path, a particular flavor and style, to the

exclusion of anything else that does not

fit our religious imagination or

upbringing. Yet, paradoxically, it is

precisely the path of paganism and

polytheism that invite a singular altar,

made of one stone, while the

monotheistic path of a singular G-d

welcomes the diverse altar, made of

many distinct stones. Why? Embracing

Diversity Paganism is founded on the

notion that a human being creates god in

his own individual image. When G-d is

a product of my image, that G-d is

inevitably defined by the properties of

that image. Since no two human images

are identical, it follows that your god,

the god of your image, cannot serve as

my god as well. My god must be

worshiped in my way, based on my

perception of who he is and what he

stands for. Therefore, my altar must be

constructed of one stone: my own. The

faith of Israel – the progenitor of

Christianity and Islam – on the other

hand, declares the oneness of G-d and

the plurality of man. The transcendental

G-d of Judaism is the G-d, who not only

transcends the natural universe, but also

the spiritual universe articulated in

every single heart, and who imparts

fragments of His truth into every human

spirit. The challenge set forth by

Judaism is to see G-d’s image in one

who is not in my image. Judaism teaches that

every person knows and feels something no

one else does. None of us knows all the truth

and each of us knows some of it. Like a

symphony composed of many notes, each of

us constitutes an individual note in the divine

symphony, and together we complete the

music. If G-d wanted you and me to

experience Him and serve Him in the same

way, one of us would be superfluous.

Diversity within religion is not only a factor

we must reluctantly accept; it is a cause for

genuine celebration. It grants us the

opportunity to encounter G-d, since it is only

in the face of the other that we can discover

the part of G-d that we lack in our own face.

The result of a relationship with a

transcendental G-d is a growing appreciation

of people’s differences, not merely as

tolerable, but as the essence of a rich and

rewarding human and religious experience.

“Diversity is the one true thing we all have in

common, celebrate it every day,” a wise man

once said. There is a profound truth to this:

Diversity is the trace of an undefined G-d on

the human species. Diverse Models of

Worship This may be the reason the Torah

teaches us that the altar to worship G-d must

be constructed from many different stones.

This represents the Jewish vision that the

structures constructed by man to serve G-d

ought to be diverse and individualistic. This

does not mean that G-d condones every act

done in His name. The G-d of the Bible

created absolute universal standards of

morality and ethics that bind us all. At times,

people allow evil choices to totally eclipse the

trace of G-d within them. To the Jewish

people, G-d presented an absolute system of

Torah and mitzvos. Yet within this

framework, every human possesses his or her

unique path to Truth. One of the great masters

put it this way: “The concrete laws of Torah

are the same for us all, but the spiritual

experience of Torah, the feelings of love and

awe, contain infinite pathways, one for each

person, according to his individual identity.”

We may compare it to the 88 keys of the

piano that lend themselves to infinite

combinations. Authentic religion must

welcome, not fear, diversity and

individualistic expression. When you truly

cultivate a relationship with G-d, you know

that in the presence of other-ness, you can

encounter a fragment of truth that you could

never access within your own framework.