Anthony Weiner and Sexting
June 17th & 18th, 2011
Rabbi Gary S. Creditor
[This past Shabbat through Q&A I taught about Jewish values that reflect on the disgraceful situation surrounding the recently resigned Congressman and the subject that is of tremendous importance. It is not only about teenagers. The misuse of electronic media spans all ages. I offer these Jewish teachings in the fight for what is decent and right. I cannot reconstruct the delivery of the remarks. These are just the points that I shared.]
Erev Shabbat [Friday evening]
1. Moses' greatest value/characteristic is humility – Hebrew – Anavah. We see it in the episode where his brother Aaron and sister Miriam attack him (Numbers 12:3) and he will not defend himself by attacking them.
2. When God first revealed Himself to Moses He did it at the Burning Bush, which is a very low plant. (Exodus) This is expanded in the Midrash Bereshit Rabbah 2:5 to stress the humility of God when revealing Himself and the proper physical posture as a spiritual model.
3. When God created mankind He said: "Let us…" which the Rabbis take to mean that God consulted the angels before creating us. (Genesis 1:26). Again, this illustrates God's humility.
4. The parallel Jewish value/characteristic to humility is modesty. It is sometimes translated in the Hebrew with the same Hebrew word –Anavah, but usually the Hebrew word is tzni'ut. It comes from the meaning "hidden." It only occurs twice in the entire Bible, once referring to wisdom and intelligence and the other "walking modestly with God." (Proverbs 11: 1-2 and Micah 6:8)
5. Tzni'ut is connected to holiness. When Moses first encountered God's holiness at the Burning Bush, he covered himself. (Exodus 3:6). Clearly Judaism enunciates an attitude that our holiness derives from God's holiness, as we are made in His image, and in reaction to His holiness we act with modesty and humility in all ways, our behavior, speech and dress.
In preparing these remarks I founding the following quotation:
"Hiddenness and privacy are the reaction to holiness."
6. In looking at the window in our Main Sanctuary from the prophet Ezekiel, we see that the angels had six wings. When they encountered God's glorious holiness they proclaimed: "Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh…Holy, Holy, Holy…." Accordingly, they used two wings with which to fly, and two wings to cover their legs, and two wings to cover their faces.
Clearly, where holiness exists, modesty and hiddenness exist.
7. We rarely open the Aaron HaKodesh, the Holy Ark, out of a sense of modesty and respect to the Torahs, God's words to us. Modesty and respect is shown and seen by being covered and not revealed.
8. Traditionally, when the reading the Torah, between aliyot when the Torah is not being read, it is covered by a cloth called the 'ben gavra' which means 'between each person'. The Torah is covered out of a sense of respect and modesty. We use the ben gavra when the Torah is not being read for a prolonged time.
Another quote I found:
"We are to imitate God in His Holiness and Hiddenness – leading us to humility and modesty.
[After mentioning the title for these remarks I never mentioned his name or the subject again. I stressed the cardinal Jewish values of modesty, humility, privacy, being covered, as how we connect to our holiness and to God. While these values might be counter-culture, they are our authentic and core values of Judaism. We must enunciate them to our children and grandchildren. They are vital for all of us.]
Yom Shabbat [Saturday morning]
We learn from the laws of Shabbat that there are two main realms – domains, with one of them being subdivided into three parts.
There is the private domain, namely our home. Within its precincts we may carry items that are Shabbat-permissible. The private domain is distinctly marked by either being the house, or the perimeter of our property.
There is the public domain, which is all the space outside our private domain. The public domain is subdivided into the general public space that is frequented by the public, a road, a square that is totally open. There is also the karmelit which is public space that is unfrequented. It is governed by all the rules of public domain. Lastly, there is free space which is a small part of the public domain and airspace above it.
On Shabbat, for reasons not to go into here, one does not take things from the private domain into the public domain. There is a clear separation between these two realms that is not to be violated. While the laws of Shabbat reflect the idea of 'doing business,' embedded in them is a value that particularly addresses the usage of electronic media.
In the private domain, behind closed doors there can be things appropriate for that realm, that domain, which are not appropriate for the public domain. Not all things are appropriate every. There is a difference. There are boundaries. There are things that should remain private and personal and there are other things that may be disseminated in the public domain. Through the laws of Shabbat we see how our Jewish values separate these two spaces. This Jewish value system has something to teach everyone, young and old. It is not just about carrying things from our homes on Shabbat. There are different reshuyot, spaces, and what is private should remain private. What is personal should remain personal.
These two teachings should be understood as two pieces of one whole teaching on the subject of the use of electronic media. Today, Monday, June 20, 2011, I listened to a discussion on the radio whether or not youngsters should have access to social media. While it might be impossible to disconnect them, we must connect them to a value system that puts forth a cogent, coherent rationale for specific behavior. I share this with you.
Shalom uv'racha,
Rabbi Creditor
Rabbi Gary S. Creditor
Temple Beth-El
3330 Grove Avenue
Richmond, VA 23221
Phone 804-355-3564
Fax 804-257-7152
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