Loyalty - Don't Give Up

I'm inspired by the commitment of religious anti-abortion protesters. I don't support their cause, but I'm intrigued by their passion. They get out the protestors, whether it's in front of the small clinic in Flagstaff Arizona or on Capital Hill. They manage to convince thousands of fundamentalist Christians that the film March of the Penguins is about “family values,” even though these stalwart creatures choose a new mate every year. They run ads to persuade TV viewers to vote for a California law, Proposition 73, which would require minors to get parental permission to seek abortions – even though a young girl may be terrified to tell her punitive, shaming or violent parent that she is pregnant. Their views never focus a wide angle lens on social issues. But I give the anti-abortionists credit for their conviction. They’re committed and their voices are heard. I don't agree with their beliefs or their methods, but I envy their clarity, conviction and passion. And I wonder… is there any cause, any deep belief, about which I’m so passionate that I’d use all my resources to advocate for it? How about you?

On Yom Kippur, when we examine our actions and inactions, we ask ourselves this question. What, if anything, calls us to act with devotion and commitment in our lives? Marriage vows don’t predict long term unions any more. Employer loyalty has become an old-fashioned concept. Employee loyalty dissolves with offers of higher status or pay. Commitment to our responsibility as citizens looks doubtful when close to half of eligible voters DIDN’T vote in the last presidential election.

We liberal Jews live in an uncertain, unsettled world. How should we act when just this week we read about mudslides in Guatemala, an earthquake in Pakistan, the aftermath of the hurricanes in the South, and war in Iraq and Darfur? Apocalypse. Now. And it’s not that we don’t care. We do. But when we see so much swirling around us we become overwhelmed, we narrow our focus and we burrow in. We see only ourselves and our own families. Every child may be left behind but not my Max. What larger issues, maybe even as large as God, commit us today? As Jews this is an important question.

Why? Because Judaism is based on the virtues of loyalty, devotion, constancy and allegiance. Everywhere in Torah we find the call to commitment, in Hebrew it’s called a brit - literally a covenant between two parties. In Genesis God promises the Jews a land, protection and fertility, and the Jews in turn promise to circumcise their sons and follow God’s laws. Shabbat is called a brit, we keep Shabbat by relaxing and celebrating a day of rest, and Shabbat keeps us sane and able to spend the other 6 days a week working, driving car pools and paying bills. The whole foundation of our religion rests on the brit at Mount Sinai where the Ten Commandments and by extension the 613 mitzvot of Judaism were given. Behind every Jewish righteous deed – be it feeding the homeless on Christmas day, building a succah next week, or learning to read Hebrew – is a Biblical assumption that the reason we’re doing these acts is because of our loyalty and commitment to God, to Judaism and to the Jewish people.

Here lies the problem: do you believe that God or the Jewish people require or expect you to do mitzvot? And if not what binds your commitment? It’s great being a fundamentalist – be it Jewish, Christian or Muslim. They’re so certain. But we’re not. And even when we do mitzvot, there’s no promise that we’ll be saved!