Jews as the Canary in the Coal Mine

Jews as the Canary in the Coal Mine

Rabbi Menachem Mirski | Temple Beth Shalom

There are many passages in the Torah (and in the rest of the Hebrew Bible) that sound quite disturbing, to say the least, for many contemporary Jews. For example, all these paragraphs that ordain our ancestors to dispossess all the inhabitants of the Promised land, destroy their places of worship, or even worse - kill them all. I have seen many Jews, including rabbis, struggling with them emotionally and intellectually very hard. But here is the thing: in order to truly understand these passages we need to put the lens of our modern sensitivity aside, or at least try to intellectually suspend our modern moral judgment. Then we will clearly see that the Promised Land wasn't handed to us on a silver platter! Our ancestors had to conquer it and they had to dominate the land in order to be able to keep it in our possession.

The following question may sound trivial but it’s absolutely legitimate: What was the goal of all of that, of all that conquest? First, the goal was to create something we would now describe as a Jewish state - a separate and independent political entity, ruled by the Divine laws of the Torah. That’s why - and it is stated in the Torah many times - the land, the Promised land was given to us on the condition that it will be governed by the laws of the Torah. But that was not the end goal actually here but an intermediate one. The end goal was to establish the Jewish state governed by the Torah and then grow it into some sort of empire, a completely new civilization between two existing ones at that time - Egypt and Babylon - that would outlast them for thousands of years.

The problem is that our ancient ancestors never got to that first goal - they actually failed to permanently establish a just, Jewish state, governed solely by the laws of the Torah. And this was stated many times by our Prophets, in their criticism of the Israelite ruling class and the ancient Jewish society. That’s why the goal posts had to be moved many times in Jewish history.

As our rabbis - the successors of our prophets - stated many times: we lost both Temples and our Promised land precisely because of that - because of our failure in fully implementing the Divine law. But we have never lost our covenant with God and the Divine promises included in it; but the ways we to receive them and our role in it had to be and has been redefined throughout history.

Therefore, what we should be asking ourselves now is: what’s our goal now? What is the mission of the Jewish people now, in the contemporary world, after more than two millennials our foundational Holy texts were written?

Well that’s a pretty extensive topic. Besides our eternal obligations - to keep and implement the Jewish law and to remain who we are, the mission of the Jewish people in the 21st century is multifaceted. First of all, our Jewish national and religious continuity involves standing for justice, for the State of Israel, and freedom of religious practice. It involves preserving Jewish identity, combating antisemitism, interfaith dialogue and promoting peace and justice among the peoples of the world.

Because it is all very general, let me focus today on a very particular idea, the idea that is expressed in the phrase "Jews are the canary in the coal mine". What does it mean?

It basically refers to the idea that rising antisemitism is often an early warning sign of broader societal dangers, such as the erosion of democracy, increased intolerance, and threats to the rights and safety of all minority groups. Once the Jews, as a group, start to be attacked and vilified, it’s just the beginning of the collapse of all good social and political norms and standards. Antisemitism is indeed an early indicator: this analogy suggests that when antisemitism increases, it's not just a problem for Jews, but signals a weakening of societal values that protect all people from hate and discrimination.

So, to essence, the "Jews are the canary in the coal mine" analogy expressed the idea the treatment of the Jewish community can be a barometer for the health of a society, and a rise in antisemitism should be seen as a red flag for potential harm to all other groups and to democratic, western values as a whole.

Why is it so? There are a lot of societal and historical reasons for this whole metaphor but they can be simplified to one fundamental idea: we are a successful minority, which is pretty rare and it by itself invites a great amount of attention. From this point things can develop the right way - where we are seen as an educated, hardworking people, with strong values, strong identity and sense of direction, and because of that we are respected because we are literally an example for other peoples to follow. But, unfortunately, it can develop the wrong way, the very bad way: yes, THE JEWS are indeed very successful but it’s only because they are power-hungry, because they lie, cheat and conspire against others to dominate them.

Our people have heard that many times throughout history; it’s obviously not true but that’s how this mechanism works. But here is my point and my hope: things can develop the right way only in the society that is in itself successful, where people are happy, open, tolerant and loving, where resentment and hate are rare and difficult to spread around to build some sort of political ideology on them. Once the society stumbles, people become frustrated, angry - for whatever reason - resentment, envy and scapegoating - or any form of looking for someone to blame - all these things come to the fore.

What can we do about it? In fact a lot, despite being a small minority. We should continue to pursue justice, stand for Israel, be involved in interfaith dialogue, namely, everything we normally do pursuing tikkun olam. But on a more specific level, we should do whatever we can to help other people in our society to be successful, regardless of their identity. This always includes showing a good example, but not only that - any action towards that goal diminishes discontent, envy and resentment, and it’s praiseworthy. That is an important part of our mission, as Jews, in the world today. And this is my motto for our New Year, 5786: I’m going to do whatever I can to help others, Jews and non-Jews alike, to have a successful life.

Shanah Tovah!

Rabbi Mirski