Of Freedom and Unity: A Message for The Fourth of July

Of Freedom and Unity: A Message for The Fourth of July

By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

The ancient Rabbis taught that when God gave the Torah to Israel, God spoke in seven (and some say seventy!) languages. The lesson here is, of course, that God intended that everyone should understand the Torah, regardless of where they came from or what language they spoke.

This wonderful ideal, however, has a built-in problem.

As we know, something is always lost in translation. And, one could also add, something is always gained in interpretation.  How far can we go in adapting the original writing? How far can we stray from the original wording without also veering from the purpose, intent and meaning of God’s Word? Even the Hebrew of the Bible, the language that the Torah was first written in, has undergone considerable change and transformation through the ages. Do we know the absolute intention behind every word that God uttered on that mind-boggling and grand day?

The positive of this is that we are still free today to interpret God’s word as we understand it.

The negative is that we are also free to misinterpret, to quote verses out of context, to delude ourselves into the false belief that ourview is the only possible one, the only legitimate way of understanding God’s truth.

How wonderful when we can study the Torah in Hevruta—as part of a study group—with each participant contributing his or her interpretation! Only then, viewed through many pairs of eyes, through the multi-layered perceptions and life experiences of each individual within the group, does the larger picture become clarified. Only then, as though by miracle, does a higher truth and a deeper understanding emerge. 

The conflict between these two perceptions—the individual and the collective—is addressed in the Torah portion that is read, studied and discussed by Jews all over the world this week, “Balak” (Numbers 22:2—25:9).  In this portion, Balak, the king of Moab, feels threatened by the multitude of Israelites encamped just outside his borders, and he hires an aged seer named Balaam (he of the talking donkey) to cast a curse upon Israel.  Despite his best (or worst, depending on your interpretation) intentions, Balaam ends up blessing Israel instead, pronouncing the famous words, “How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings O Israel!” (Numbers 24:5). 

How did the intended curse turn into a blessing instead? Of course, one could say—as Balaam himself explains this turn of events to King Balak—that God left Balaam no choice, that the famous seer could say nothing but what God was telling him to say.

Or perhaps it was Balaam’s perception, from high up on top the mountains of Moab.

From his lower vantage point, what the Moabite king saw was the sheer numbers that comprised the Israelite people. With terror in his heart, all he saw was the huge army that the Israelites had by that time mustered, the massive population that had spread over the plains. From the mountaintop, however, what Balaam saw was something totally different.  Balaam perceived the impregnable unity of the people. From his point of view, he saw harmony, not disorder.  Balaam saw the collective understanding that existed among the people, the extensive and far-reaching lines of communication—both spoken and unspoken—that unified the Israelites. Despite the fact that they were a tribal society, not nearly the nation that they would become a few centuries later, there was no force, natural or unnatural, that could break them apart.

This insight is what led Balaam to sing his glorious song in praise of Israel.  He understood the power that existed within the community, that unified the disparate kins and tribes, that fused the distinct idioms and customs into one unified, complete and all-embracing whole. It was this truth that led to his famous blessing, much to the consternation and even rage of his patron, Balak. 

The narrow view held by Balak made him unable to understand the full power and potential embedded within the Israelite People.

Balak was not the first—nor, unfortunately, the last—who made this fatal mistake.  World history is rife with kings and governments that tried to enforce their single-minded—and faulty—understanding of God’s Word upon others.  Many have quoted verses from the Bible completely out of context to explain or justify their actions and behavior, no matter how immoral or wrong. This conduct is not only misleading and disingenuous; it is downright dangerous. Rather than creating unity and strength, this kind of demagoguery, which appeals to people’s emotions, fears and prejudices, leads to disunity and discord. Coming not to enhance belief but rather to impose one, the intent of such misuse of God’s Word is not to strengthen the community but rather to weaken it while empowering the fist of a ruthless, immoral and unethical leadership. It leads to separation and disunity rather than to community and cooperation. History has taught us the dangers of accepting and following this kind of unjust leadership—especially when it is espoused by a person who is in charge of the country’s legal system.

Unity cannot be enforced from above—at least not for any lengthy period of time.  Unity can only be achieved when all voices from withinare heard, when all opinions are thoughtfully considered and respectfully discussed.

The lesson the rabbis would have us learn from their wise teaching that the Torah was given in seven (or seventy) languages is that there is no one, single, mind that can begin to grasp God’s meaning and purpose. We can only do that together, collectively—and even then our understanding is constrained, bound by the limits of our humanity.

But when we do listen to one another; when we try to understand what each of us, alone, must endure in life; when we reach out to one another with empathy, compassion and kindness; when we embrace each other with love and acceptance—only then does a higher understanding arise from deep within us; only then does a glorious and divine harmony emerge from the discord, becoming a blessing that strengthens us, that makes us one and inseparable, an indivisible nation of the free and the brave.

With the Fourth of July approaching, a holiday that defines America, that celebrates America, that IS America, may we never forget this eternal truth. May our celebration, this year and always, remind us not only of the differences within us, not only of the different languages and cultures of which America is assembled, but also of the dreams and purposes that brought us all here, and of the great mission that still lies before us. 

God bless America.  God bless Americans and all humanity with prosperity, health and peace.

© 2018 by Boaz D Heilman