I knew what I would speak about
this evening when I emerged from my office at noon on Wednesday and was greeted
by Dorothy with the following words, “The rest of my day has been ruined.” At
first I wondered If my presence had elicited that response, but she quickly
followed her remark that Garrison Keeler
of Prairie Home Companion had been
accused of sexually harassing a co-worker and had been fired from his position
at American Public Radio. I am sure that
those feelings were shared by many in our country. If Garrison Keeler, who has
portrayed himself as the most wholesome man in America , now is facing serious accusations of sexual
harassment, no wonder our faith in
people we look up to is been severely
shaken. By now a very long list of journalists,
actors and politicians, of both parties, have been accused of sexual misconduct.
I know this is a difficult subject for
all of us to talk about. The
multiplicity of issues raised are ones many of us would not even want to hear,
let alone talk about. But silence is not an option, silence is not conducive to
healing, and silence is precisely one of the ways in which we collude in
keeping these insidious actions occurring and reoccurring in all spheres of our
lives, public and private. These accusations bring up difficult moral questions
for us. When we read about the behavior of these men we feel, disgusted, we
feel revolted, we feel repelled. Their behavior is rightly condemned. But I
have no doubt that many of us are confused, many of us have contradictory feelings. What if I our political
positions are close to Al Franken’s?
What if we feel torn because we vehemently condemn his inappropriate
behaviors but value his experience and record as a Senator? Or, let’s place ourselves in the position of
an Alabama voter who now needs to make an important decision about voting for a
man against whom serious accusations have been leveled by multiple people. Do
they vote for Roy Moore, about whom they may now have serious reservations, or
do they vote for a Democrat and thereby make it almost impossible to pass the
Conservative agenda in the Senate?
Do we I now watch “House of Cards” with a clear conscience with the now disgraced Kevin Spacey in the lead role?
How do we now
feel about watching television or movies starring the disgraced comedian Louis
C.K.? Does Leon Wieseltier’s appalling behavior with women detract from his
insightful writing or brilliant analysis? And what, in heavens name, do we do
with the accusation of the woman who claims that Elie Wiesel, of blessed
memory, groped her when she was 19 years old? To add to the complexities, we
know that even among those who engage in what is broadly defined as inappropriate
behavior with women, there are different grades of inappropriateness. Do we
treat everyone the same?
Before the internet it was well
known in certain circles that the great Rabbi and song writer, Shlomo
Carlebach, sexually abused women over the 40 years of his rabbinate. In the
Spring of 1998 Lillith, a Jewish, feminist magazine, published an article
entitled “Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach’s Shadow Side” which revealed to the public
what only a few knew had been happening in private. We can condemn him—but should we
still sing his melodies that he set to our prayers at our services?
This type of moral confusion, this
ethical disorientation is also found in our parasha for this week. Dinah, the
daughter of Jacob and Leah, is kidnapped and raped by a local Canaanite prince.
He claims he loves her, and sends word to Jacob, her father, that he wants to
marry her. The family agrees, on the condition that all the men of the town the
prince rules circumcise themselves. The men agree and circumcise themselves. After
they do so Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi steal into town, kill all of the
men who are now too weakened to fight back, kill the prince and rescue Dinah. The
other brothers descend on the town, plunder it, and take all the women and
children as war booty.
What is Jacob’s reaction to this
episode of cunning and brutality? Does he reprimand his sons for breaking their
word to the Prince, for violating an agreement that was entered into in good
faith? Does he scold them for their excessive violence? Jacob says none of
this. Jacob only worries about the effect of his sons’ actions on his own
reputation. He worries that when the other Canaanites in the land hear about
what happened, they will unite and destroy him. To which his sons respond,
“Should our sister be treated like a harlot?” And Jacob is silent. Notice how
silence here points to an alarming component of the abusive dynamic since
Biblical times.
Only years later, when Jacob is
lying on his deathbed, does he unambiguously condemn the violence of his sons
Levi and Simeon. This, perhaps, speaks to the years that it may take to sort
out the sordid revelations about some of our beloved cultural and important
political figures. The world is by and large not black and white, but many shades
of grey. These revelations about sexual abuse in the workplace raise moral and
ethical issues that we will struggle with for many years to come as a nation,
as communities, as individuals. A major part of the struggle is to voice it, to
name it, is to discuss it. Above all, we
must not be silent.
Shabbat Shalom
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