BO 5784 Dual Messages from the Humble Tree Rabbi Andrew Shaw Chief Executive, Mizrachi UK
I am writing this waiting to get on El Al flight 318 for a very special week in Israel. First, I will be attending the World Mizrachi Shabbaton with all the participants of the leadership programmes that we run in Israel (except for those on Miluim!). I will be attending with Jo Grose, CEO of the United Synagogue, as we are working in partnership with the US to create the Rabbinic Leadership of the future. Then, on Monday, we will be starting our Rabbinic Mission to Israel. Fifteen of us from London, Leeds and Manchester will begin a three-day journey to give support, volunteer and see for ourselves the sites of the atrocities on October 7th. On our final night, Wednesday night, we will usher in Tu Bishvat, a chag so much more meaningful in Medinat Yisrael. With the state of affairs both internally and externally for our people, Tu Bishvat can give us insights into our current predicament by reflecting on the core of the Chag – the humble tree. First in terms of our spiritual survival as a nation. We know that a tree is only as strong as its roots in the ground. The winds of assimilation and apathy blow ever stronger across our forests. The soil in which we are growing our Jewish saplings must have the spiritual nutrients of Torah to nourish the soul of the child and allow them to blossom and grow. Several years ago the New York Times spoke about the results of the Pew report in the US. ‘The first major survey of American Jews in more than 10 years finds a significant rise in those who are not religious, marry outside the faith and are not raising their children Jewish — resulting in rapid assimilation that is sweeping through every branch of Judaism except the Orthodox. The intermarriage rate, a bellwether statistic, has reached a high of 58% for all Jews, and 71% for nonOrthodox Jews — a huge change from before 1970 when only 17 % of Jews married outside the faith. Two-thirds of Jews do not belong to a synagogue, a quarter do not believe in G-d and one-third had a Christmas tree in their home last year.’ How ironic that for the assimilating Jewish family whose Jewish roots are so weak and so fragile, whose soil is not able to inspire the souls of their youngsters – the symbol of that decline is a tree in their home. However, this tree is either fake, or has
been detached from its roots – it will not survive, it will not grow. Second, we must reflect on the storms in the wider world around us. You may not think there are any links between Tu Bishvat and the events of October 7th, but reading Bill Ackman's words about the Harvard University debacle, the links are clear. Ackman begins:
In light of today’s news, I thought I would try to take a step back and provide perspective on what this is really all about. I first became concerned about Harvard when 34 student organizations, early on the morning of October 8th—before Israel had taken any military actions in Gaza—came out publicly in support of Hamas, a globally recognized terrorist organization, holding Israel “solely responsible” for Hamas’ barbaric and heinous acts. How could this be? I wondered. When I saw then-president Claudine Gay’s initial statement about the massacre, it provided more context (!) for the student groups’ statement of support for terrorism. The protests began as pro-Palestine and then became anti-Israel. Shortly thereafter, antisemitism exploded on campus as protesters who violated Harvard’s own codes of conduct were emboldened by the lack of enforcement of Harvard’s rules, and kept testing the limits on how aggressive, intimidating, and disruptive they could be to Jewish and Israeli students, and the student body at large. Sadly, antisemitism remains a simmering source of hate even at our best universities among a subset of students. A few weeks later, I went up to campus to see things with my own eyes, and listen and learn from students and faculty. I met with 15 or so members of the faculty and a few hundred students in small and large settings, and a clearer picture began to emerge. I ultimately concluded that antisemitism was not the core of the problem. It was simply a troubling warning sign—it was the “canary in the coal mine”—despite how destructive it was in impacting student life and learning on campus. I came to learn that the root cause of antisemitism at Harvard was an ideology that had been promulgated on campus, an oppressor/oppressed framework, that provided the intellectual bulwark behind the protests, helping to generate anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hate speech and harassment. His article goes on to explain that the problem on campus and in extension across education in America, is an ideology that has poisoned young minds. The roots are rotten. Many people feel there is no quick fix to the problems in education which has led, as Rabbi Mischel pointed out to 51% of young Americans between 18-24 believing that the October 7th attacks by Hamas could be justified. We know that ‘Root rot’ in the natural world is not terminal but drastic measures are needed to save the tree. Similarly, Bill Ackman and others are called for a complete ripping out of the culture that has poisoned the roots of Western academia. Time will tell whether the 200 or so year old tree of Liberal Democracy can be saved. However, the 3000 year old Tree of Torah, is a strong and robust as it has ever been for those clinging to the mesorah. So this year, Tu Bishvat will hopefully teach the above lessons to us, but on a personal level it will demonstrate, after Please God a very special week, that the
reborn Jewish nation, despite the hatred and the destruction, are once again rebuilding the nation and the land, fuelled by the Torah.
Am Yisrael, b Eretz Yisrael al pi Torat Yisrael Shabbat Shalom
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