Ivy League Heads Strike Out

Just when we think we have seen everything, we get thrown a new curveball. I don't think it was news to anyone that college campuses, especially Ivy League campuses, were hostile to Jewish students. That being said, watching the congressional testimony of the leadership from premier universities was jarring and painful. The complete abdication of moral leadership was shocking. When asked repeatedly by a member of Congress if calling for the genocide and mass violence of the Jewish People would violate the university code of conduct, the university heads equivocated and couldn't outright declare that it would violate the code of conduct. One could only imagine, if the calls for genocide were directed at another minority or ethnic group, what the reaction would be. Part of me thought that perhaps we should not be surprised. In the Parsha we read last week, several dots are unusually placed over a word that indicates a larger message. The context of this verse is Esav's reconciliation with his brother Yaakov. After years of wanting to kill Yaakov, Esav's heart melted, and he embraced him with a kiss. The Hebrew word וישקהו, translated as "and he kissed him," has several dots over the word. Rashi quotes one of the commentaries that these dots indicate a larger message. He writes that it is a "halacha" that Esav hates Yaakov, but at that time, Esav was overwhelmed with compassion and embraced Yaakov. It seems odd that Rashi would choose "halacha" to describe his feelings for Yaakov. After all, the definition of "halacha" is Jewish Law! There doesn't seem to be anything legal about a hateful ideology! Recently, a notable speech given in the U.S. Senate by Senator Schumer shed some light on this issue. He was talking about the sting of the unfair double standard the Jewish People are feeling at this time. Senator Schumer quoted the late Israeli diplomat Abba Ebban by saying, Every time a people gets their statehood, you applaud it. The Nigerians, the Pakistanis, the Zambian, you applaud their getting statehood. There's only one people, when they gain statehood, who you don't applaud, you condemn it — and that is the Jewish people. We Jews are used to that. We have lived with a double standard through the centuries. There were always things the Jews couldn't do… everyone could be a farmer, but not the Jew. Everyone could be a carpenter, but not the Jew. Everyone could move to Moscow, but not the Jew. And everyone can have their own state, but not the Jew. To understand this irrational, hateful ideology, it is helpful to understand the word choice in describing Jew-hatred as a "halacha." Not unlike (but obviously not identical) the laws of physics, the Jew-hatred that exists today is equivalent to a reality that has existed in the world for thousands of years. We have wishfully told ourselves that those days are over and civilization is much more enlightened and less hostile to the Jewish People. Recent events have demonstrated that this "halacha" of Jew-hatred has mutated to unimaginable areas of society. As we gather to light the Chanukah lights this year, let us pray that these lights overpower the darkness. Have a Peaceful Shabbos, Rabbi Yaakov Fisch