Is The Flag Sacred? Can You Burn It? Should We Change the Constitution?

June 24^th, 2005 

Rabbi Gary S. Creditor

It is bold, brash and even chutzpadick to say that without Judaism, Jewish law and principles there wouldn't be theAmerica we know. It is also the truth The idea that each human being is "endowed with inalienable rights" is a direct derivative from the Jewish principle that each human life is holy. We are holy because the Torah teaches that God, who is holy, is the creator of all humanity. The authors of the Federalist Papers and the Declaration of Independence read our Torah, albeit together with another document called the New Testament. Yet without us and the Torah they wouldn't have had that either.

 The idea that dictatorship is an unacceptable evil stems directly from the Exodus from Egypt and the lesson that no one may be a slave to another person. We are only subservient to God. That is the root of democracy, the idea of term limits, of a check and balance system in government. In truth democracy was born at Sinai and Jerusalem, and not like an old advertisement claimed, in Greece. The idea that there is an immutable sacred document derives directly from the Ten Commandments and the Torah. Even if subsequently laws in the Torah were adapted, developed and changed, the Torah document was not rewritten. Later documents were added to the layers of Jewish jurisprudence, namely the Mishna, Gemarrah (the Talmud), and later law codes. No other living civilization has such a concept. The existence of the Constitution, as the sacred document of the United States, enshrining our cardinal principles only changed through amendments is due to us and Torah. And lastly, only because this is a sermon and not a lecture, as the list is even longer, the idea that the sacred is something above and beyond the limited human condition, that endows this human existence with a sense of eternity and transcendence is derived directly from the Jewish belief in God. We are not the source of holiness. We are holy as we are God's creatures. The Torah is holy as the parchment contains God's message. Time, Shabbat is holy, because it mirror's God's creation of existence. We have a limited and restricted usage of the word Kadosh, as is preserves and focuses its meaning.  So maybe it is not so bold, brash or chutzpadick to say that without Judaism, Jewish law and principles there wouldn't be the America we know. It is the truth, in which we should be proud and honored. The perpetuation of Judaism by the Jewish people propagates and presents our principles into the marketplace of America and through the dialectic, shapes the country that we love.  So what Jewish value do we add to the discussion about the proposed amendment that would give Congress the power to ban the desecration of the American flag? It passed in the House of Representatives this past Wednesday and pundits give it a good chance to pass in the Senate. Who knows its chances in the States? What is the distinctly Jewish contribution to the debate? I offer the following thoughts.  

1. We understand the power of special symbols that arouse passion, either positively or negatively. Symbols have evocative power. Last week I spoke about the Magen David Adom, Israel's emergency services, and solicited everyone to electronically sign a petition for its admittance into the International Red Cross. We put the star as an insignia of honor on the flag of Israel and the Nazis tried to put it as a badge of shame. We see a swastika and our blood curdles. When you see the pictures of the flag raising at Iwo Jima and the World Trade Center it evokes the entirety of the American experience, the patriotism of the G.I.'s, and the idealism of America to never be defeated. The flag of Israel evokes four thousand years of history. Symbols have and will always rally people to transcend their limitations and reach unendingly for the skies.

 

2. "Desecrate" is the opposite of "consecrate." "Consecrate" means to declare something to be holy, namely,share in the ultimate of existence. "Desecrate" means to invalidate, to declare null and void its holiness. With all the understanding of the power of symbols, the flag isn't holy. The flag doesn't come from God and doesn't represent Him. As much as seeing the flag burned or stomped on infuriates us, from a Jewish perspective that isn't an act of desecration. The Hebrew word for sacred is kadosh and the opposite, the word for desecrate ischillul. The Torah is our most special object. If we, God forbid, mishandle it or something wrong happens to the scroll we don't use the word for desecrate, we use the opposite of kosher which is pasul. The scroll isn't desecrated, it is unfit for use. We use the word chillul for three subjects: God's name, time, and the human body, all derived from God. That is where the words sacred/desecrate apply. From a Jewish perspective, while you can show it disrespect, dishonor and abuse, you can't desecrate the flag.

 

3. While an earlier generation of Jews might have answer "because it is written" to any question asked, in truth,Judaism is the religion of constant questioning. Dr. Heschel taught that many answers are present; you just need to find the questions. The Talmud is the ultimate book of disputations, claims and counter claims. While we have fundamental faith statements, there is an openness to discussion. In essence the courts have previously found that the attempt to ban flag burning was an attempt to limit free expression, the bedrock principle of the First Amendment. From our faith and from our history, namely, all those Germans and the rest of Europe who were intimidated to speak out, and that the Nazi conquest began with control of human rights and free speech, need to assert the protection of these rights, even if it means witnessing a spectacle that turns our stomachs. We must strenuously object to the squelching of debate, for it is what protects us from the tyranny of either the majority or the minority.

 

4. Lastly, every fragment of the Bible from antiquity that has been found matches identically with those scrolls in our aaron kodesh, Holy Ark. As our Torah is God's words and thus holy, sacred, kadosh, the text is not subject to change. While subject to the interpretive process, the original text has never been changed. From our perspective, there should be the strongest reticence to amend the Constitution. In looking at Judaism, we have evolved and changed through a process of great introspection and due deliberation. This response is not solely for this issue but as a general application. It is possible to amend the Constitution at great peril, for while it too is not holy, it contains principles that elevate this country as the most unique experiment protecting the holiness of humanity.

My/our Judaism leads directly, in my vision, to rejecting this amendment to the Constitution. Being in college during theViet Nam era and participating in the politics of the time, I saw flags burned. By the way, that is the proper way to dispose of a ruined flag. In Judaism we bury the Torah. And when Ruby and I have flown back to the United States, there is always a rush in my body when I see the flag for the first time. We bring to the table a unique, special and necessary Jewish view and vision for many issues that are on the public agenda. We should be knowledgeable and raise our voices. To the country that sheltered my immigrant grandparents, but for whose daring my family would have still been inEurope

and probably murdered along with the six million, we will always look to the flag as a cherished and dear symbol. May it always wave "oer the land of the free and home of the brave."                         

Shabbat Shalom.