Back to Basics

Erev Rosh Hashanah 5772
September 28, 2011 

L’shana Tovah

I would like to talk you tonight about a topic that up until this point I have not known where to go with my anger, my fear and my hope for the future. 

Tonight I would like to take a few minutes to talk to you about a concept that is so basic that society managed to lose sight of it. I hope that tonight, that in this New Year we can recommit ourselves to “getting back to the basics.” 

We are told the following story in the Talmud: 

Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 31a

On another occasion it happened that a man came before Shammai and said to him, ‘I want to convert to Judaism on the condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot.’ Thereupon Shammai rebuked him. When the man then went before Hillel (with the same request), Hillel said to him, ‘What is hateful to you, do not to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah, the rest is the commentary; go and learn it.’ 

Somehow we have managed to forget Hillel’s words. Somehow, as a society we have forgotten the golden rule, and that is why tonight I would like to talk to you about bullying. 

I sat last week distraught at the news that Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14 year old boy in western New York, took his own life. Jamey was the victim of bullying; he was tormented and ridiculed for being different. Even though he was faced with all of this hate, he tried to help others telling them “it gets better,” the bully continued and finally he could no longer deal with this hate, he decided to take his own life. 

You may recall that this is not the first case of such a tragic end to such a young life. Last September Tyler Clementi, an 18 year old and student at Rutgers University in New Jersey took his own life because of comments and criticism being made about his sexuality. 

As a child I remember being made fun of, it was, or so I thought a rite of passage. We used to think of bullying as kid being pressured to give up his lunch money…no more. When I was a kid bullying usually ended with someone crying and the other going to the principals’ office…not in death. 

Why talk about bullying? Because we all need to hear more about it, but more to the point we need to do something about it. 

Bullying is not Jewish, and we owe it to ourselves, to our children, and to our grand children to help rid the world of such hate. 

The question begs to be asked “what has changed in the past 15-20 years”. Many will blame the internet, the ability to interact with people instantly and in a public forum can be far more harmful then what used to take place in the cafeteria or on the playground. The other major change is that our world is expanding every day; we are not a monolithic society and the differences that are present cause misunderstandings that over time lead to hate. 

Bullying goes against everything we must strive for as Jews. We are taught from a young age that every human being is created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image and likeness of God. No one knows what spark, what characteristic we have that is taken from our creator. According to this teaching, logic would dictate that bullying another human being is the equivalent of bullying God. 

Judaism is a religion about actions, not just thoughts! Thinking and praying, while a good start, will not resolve this crisis. Only our actions will win the day!

How many young lives do we need to lose before we stand up and take action? The onus is on all of us, and apathy is inexcusable. 

Tonight we enter the Yamin Norim (The Days of Awe), and as in every year we are faced both individually and communally with new challenges. In a week from now on Yom Kippur we say Ashamnu, Bagadnu: WE have sinned, WE have transgressed – it is communal, whether we have committed such an action or not. Until bullying is no longer a dangerous reality for our children, we must all think about the actions we can take in this new year to ensure a better place for all. It is in our heritage, in our religion and in ourselves to meet the challenges that face us all this coming year. 

I wish for you and your families a l’shana tovah u’metukah (a happy and sweet new year) and may we all rise together as a community, as a synagogue, to meet the challenges that we face in this coming year.