Dear Friends,
What is the American birthright?
Firstly – I think we know the Jewish birthright (not the student trip to Israel, but the intrinsic gift of expectation which comes with our place in our People) – it is partnership with God, commitment to justice, a system of Mitzvot to ground us, a Land and a language which sustain us, abiding compassion for another, and the foundations of Torah, learning and growth. There may be more – I’d be eager to hear your thoughts.
So, the American birthright – we’ll return to this question momentarily.
In this week’s Torah portion, we read of the pregnancy of Rebekah, the birth of the twins, Esau and Jacob, their struggles in and out of the womb, and how Jacob maneuvered to trade a bowl of lentil stew for their birthright, which had devolved to Esau as the firstborn son. Esau readily traded away the birthright’s gift of legacy, responsibility and inheritance, for the food, as he was hungry from an unsuccessful hunt.
Completing the narrative of Jacob and Esau, the Torah states, “Vayivez Esau et ha’b’chorah” – And Esau spurned his birthright.” (Genesis 25:34) Esau scorned that role and right, and surrendered what it meant to be the inheritor and steward of a people’s essence: he spurned his birthright.
We raise this in the context of the national and political churning which America has witnessed, leading up to and following recent elections. And, we prompt this concern: allow the image of disdainfully trading the eternality and majesty of a people’s national essence in order to simply receive immediate, temporal gratification – a people’s legacy for lentil stew.
Does the image of Americans seeking to reverse, undermine or subvert elections reflect spurning an American birthright? Irrespective of one’s politics, the machinations and violence from January 6, voter suppression efforts, and arguments that thoughtful, election workers (of which I was one such worker a few weeks ago!) are manipulating the system to recast ballots, is in my understanding of the Torah’s larger message, nothing less that scorning our birthright as Americans: the privilege of electing our leaders and accepting the will of the voters. It is trading centuries of legacy and democracy, which are the essence of America, for immediate victory and gratification.
Yes, liberty, freedom and independence are all part of the American birthright, but so too, is democracy. To proclaim the primacy of liberty, freedom and independence, just to spurn democracy, is comparable to asserting that partnership with God, Mitzvot and justice are the Jewish birthright, but omitting Torah.
Thus, let’s allow Torah to offer a commentary on contemporary life. Let’s be B’nai Ya’akov – Children of Jacob, learning our legacy, cherishing our birthright, and never spurning it – both as Americans, and as Jews.
Happy Thanksgiving, and Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
What is the American birthright?
Firstly – I think we know the Jewish birthright (not the student trip to Israel, but the intrinsic gift of expectation which comes with our place in our People) – it is partnership with God, commitment to justice, a system of Mitzvot to ground us, a Land and a language which sustain us, abiding compassion for another, and the foundations of Torah, learning and growth. There may be more – I’d be eager to hear your thoughts.
So, the American birthright – we’ll return to this question momentarily.
In this week’s Torah portion, we read of the pregnancy of Rebekah, the birth of the twins, Esau and Jacob, their struggles in and out of the womb, and how Jacob maneuvered to trade a bowl of lentil stew for their birthright, which had devolved to Esau as the firstborn son. Esau readily traded away the birthright’s gift of legacy, responsibility and inheritance, for the food, as he was hungry from an unsuccessful hunt.
Completing the narrative of Jacob and Esau, the Torah states, “Vayivez Esau et ha’b’chorah” – And Esau spurned his birthright.” (Genesis 25:34) Esau scorned that role and right, and surrendered what it meant to be the inheritor and steward of a people’s essence: he spurned his birthright.
We raise this in the context of the national and political churning which America has witnessed, leading up to and following recent elections. And, we prompt this concern: allow the image of disdainfully trading the eternality and majesty of a people’s national essence in order to simply receive immediate, temporal gratification – a people’s legacy for lentil stew.
Does the image of Americans seeking to reverse, undermine or subvert elections reflect spurning an American birthright? Irrespective of one’s politics, the machinations and violence from January 6, voter suppression efforts, and arguments that thoughtful, election workers (of which I was one such worker a few weeks ago!) are manipulating the system to recast ballots, is in my understanding of the Torah’s larger message, nothing less that scorning our birthright as Americans: the privilege of electing our leaders and accepting the will of the voters. It is trading centuries of legacy and democracy, which are the essence of America, for immediate victory and gratification.
Yes, liberty, freedom and independence are all part of the American birthright, but so too, is democracy. To proclaim the primacy of liberty, freedom and independence, just to spurn democracy, is comparable to asserting that partnership with God, Mitzvot and justice are the Jewish birthright, but omitting Torah.
Thus, let’s allow Torah to offer a commentary on contemporary life. Let’s be B’nai Ya’akov – Children of Jacob, learning our legacy, cherishing our birthright, and never spurning it – both as Americans, and as Jews.
Happy Thanksgiving, and Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn