“You Are The Strongest Link!”

Rabbi Gary S. Creditor
June 21, 2001

 

I saw first Anne Robinson when she was being interviewed on a talk show. Contrary to her public persona, she is a personable, affable and friendly woman, with a fine sense of humor. We usually see her dressed in her dark garb, spewing forth piercing witticisms and insults when she interrogates the contestants, culminating in her famous quote: "You are the weakest link! Good-bye!" Once I saw her have true admiration for the one voted off, and she said it very quietly. The show itself is fascinating. You have to know a lot of trivia, answer quickly, bank the money smartly, and at one and the same time, work in coordination with the others so that you can earn the most money, figuring out who is weak that is causing you to lose money, and also who do you want to get rid of because they are a threat to you because they are smart, so that in the end you can win the whole pot. It makes Jeopardy look tame by comparison!

The media grabbed our attention by its catchphrase. The producers of this show have captured our imagination by selling us negativity in a bottle. They play on the supposition that we want to see somebody put down. The entire stage is set not to win money. They give very little away. It is not to add to our knowledge. Jeopardy is much better at that. Rather, everything is orchestrated to come to this great moment when Anne Robinson will pronounce, like a Divine edit, "You are the weakest link."

Often TV shows can and must be viewed from a higher plane because they are or can be a commentary on life. So I have a few questions for this show.

Who says I am weak?

If I am weak in one department, am I therefore necessarily weak in everything else?

On what does weakness depend?

What makes me weak?

What is weakness?

Should we stress negativity in life, or, to borrow a phrase, "Accentuate the positive?"

I'll answer my questions in reverse order.

Judaism's revolution to the world was the accentuation of the positive. While other religions and cultures stressed that certain days were dangerous and perilous, Judaism said that they were holy and celebratory. When other religions said that people could not redeem themselves from sin because they were tainted, Judaism said that we were born with a clean slate and have the process of repentance so that we can live without guilt. Judaism teaches us that the cup is always half full and not half empty. It is always partly sunny and not partly cloudy. It is true that part is diminished, in the cup or the sky, but that is neither the essence nor the focus. When looking at creation, with its inherent imperfections God said, "It is good." We learn to stress the positive and not the negative in life and in ourselves.

What is weakness? It depends on the category. I remember in gym class having to scale a rope to the roof of the gym. I never made it all the way up. I made it half way. Was I weak or was I only so strong. Was I weak against my potential or was I strong vis-à-vis my potential? I thought that I was pretty strong. What about knowledge? Can any of us memorize the encyclopedia, almanac and every piece of trivia of about everything under the sun? Or is it a measure of how much I as an individual can learn? Or is it what I do with the knowledge I have acquired? Do I keep it to myself or share it with others? Does it enhance my relationship to people and the world? If I don't know some little piece, am I a failure? So much for the rest of us who did not get 4.0 GPA's. What about morality? Does one lapse on one thing one time say that I am morally weak if I meet the tests of honesty and integrity all other times? We are tested numerous times every day of our lives. I'd like to think that more of us are moral giants, even though we still need Yom Kippur. I think that our moral dimension is the true test of weakness and strength. Some of us can memorize details better than others. Some will hit home runs and others singles. We learn: Home run hitters can strike out while singles hitters will win the game.

Who says that I'm weak? My teachers told me how well I passed their tests. My gym instructor gave me a "C" for only going half way up the rope. Yet in the end I believe that there will be only two judges. We will judge ourselves, if we have any conscience. We will stand in front of the mirror, looks ourselves in the face and look into our own eyes. Then we will know if we are strong or weak. And on our personal Yom HaDin, Judgment Day, I believe God will judge us in our weakness and our strength. No comedienne or game emcee will tell me that I am weak in the sphere that really counts.

I would like to share with you the Jewish expression that is the diametrical opposite of the game show slogan. It comes from the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes 4:12: "A threefold thread is not quickly/easily broken." This phrase appears into two particular places, once in the Gemara and the other in the Mishna.

In the Talmud, tractate of Ketubot, it states that Rabbi Hama bar Bisa went away to study for twelve years. When he returned he went to the local bet midrash and sent word home that he had arrived. Meanwhile a young man enters, his son Rabbi Oshaia, who was born after he left, and engaged him in legal conversation. Rabbi Hama says to himself "Had I been here, I could have had a son like this." He goes home, is reunited with his wife, and this young man enters, now for father and son to meet. Here the Talmud applies the verse that a threefold thread is not quickly broken, because we know from another place in the Talmud, obviously from a later time, that father and son were disagreeing over a point of law. They went to Rabbi Bisa, the grandfather, to discuss the matter, who ruled for his grandson. The commentators called Tosafot lauding the three-generation span of Jewish learning and devotion and from this said, that when a person learns Torah it is then learned by the child and then by the grandchild. It becomes the personal heritage of that family. They refer to Isaiah 59:20-21 where it refers to the Covenant with God continuing from generation to generation forever, by referring that His words would be maintained by a person, their child and grandchild.

In the Mishna, tractate Kiddushin it says: "He who is conversant with Scripture and Mishna and correct conduct will not speedily sin, as it is said, 'And a threefold cord is not quickly broken'." Here Rabbi Judah who edited the Mishna makes the link between Torah, Rabbinics and behavior that is a unity.

Both the Mishna and Gemara place before us a challenge greater than the threat of Anne Robinson to her game show contestants. Her quip is "Who is the weakest link?" Reflecting on the positive orientation of Judaism for our own selves, the true challenge is:

"Who will be the strongest link?" Our heritage speaks to us on many levels:

to be the strongest link morally – the Mishna's "correct conduct", which is the real test of our strength, the litmus test that we set for ourselves and have to pass by ourselves, and face up to ourselves;

to be the strongest link in knowledge of our tradition – to study the Torah, liturgy and Rabbinics, to see the sea of Judaism and, even if near the shore, jump in and swim;

to be the strongest link in our faith to God and Torah – strong in our commitment, strong in our observance, strong in our beliefs.

I am sure that Anne Robinson and "You are the weakest link" will make a lot of profit and gain high ratings. I would like to imagine that someone will come up to each of us, to our Bat Mitzvah, and say: "You are thestrongest link!" "Upright/ unwavering/ resilient/ proud – You are the strongest, unbroken link!" And if we are, we will insure that the golden link, the threefold thread, of God, Judaism and the Jewish people will last forever. Amen.