December 16, 2011 | 21 Kislev 5772 | Genesis 38:1-30

Christopher Hitchens died this week. He had been fighting cancer for a few years and finally succumbed to this horrible disease. You might know Mr. Hitchens from his writings on politics or other works that focused on the idiosyncrasies of social order. Most recently, he was known for his New York Times bestselling novel, “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything!“ As you can guess from the title, Mr. Hitchens was an ardent, outspoken atheist who, after his diagnosis, was carefully watched by many religious-minded folk to see if he would change his perspective of religion and God. With his Christian upbringing, there was great hope that Mr. Hitchen’s final words would be an acknowledgement or new-found belief in Jesus in order to “save his soul” as so many of the letters addressed to him pleaded. Unfortunately, for those Christian onlookers, there was no such statement and Christopher Hitchens died as he lived – a zealous believer in no God.

Because of his fame and celebrity, the New York Times printed a rather lengthy obituary highlighting his prolific career which began in the mid-1970s. In addition to his writings, the article delved into his personal life discussing his first marriage, children, subsequent second marriage, and another child and then came the sentence that made me say out loud, “I knew it!” Christopher Hitchens was Jewish! Although raised Christian, his mother was Jewish.  Even more astonishing was the fact, reported in the article, that his mother kept her Jewish heritage a secret from his entire family until after Mr. Hitchens’ father passed away. This explained so much.  Only a Jew could have such strong convictions and state with such certainty that there is no God. After all, we Jews have been stating with such confidence that there IS only one God for so many millennium that it makes sense that left to his own devices, a Jew could become such an outspoken advocate of something other than Judaism’s thesis statement.

Upon reflection, it isn’t so unusual for somebody of Jewish heritage, raised outside of the Jewish community, to become such a charismatic leader for another team. Take for instance, Karl Marx, the revolutionary socialist, noted as the father of Communism.  Both of Marx’s parents were born Jewish but his father, Herschel Marx, changed his name to Heinrich Marx and converted to a Protestant Christian denomination of Lutheranism before Karl’s birth. As is well-known, Karl Marx was not a great supporter of religious doctrines as he makes clear in his text: Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right.  Marx writes:

Religion is, indeed, the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself, or has already lost himself again.

It goes without saying that Karl Marx would not be very high up on our list of donor solicitations for next year’s Chia campaign.  

We can also look at somebody contemporary like Bill Maher, comedian and social satirist who directed the documentary-style comedy, “Religulous.”  As the name suggests, Mr. Maher sets out in his film to highlight the ridiculous element shared among several major religions.  At the center of his hypotheses is, as he puts it, the worship of the “boogie-man.” Like Marx and Hitchens, Mr. Maher, who was raised Catholic and now an outspoken agnostic, is also a member of the tribe. His mother, according to footage in the movie, is Jewish but chose to raise her children outside the Jewish community in deference to her husband who was Catholic.

In looking at these three individuals and recognizing that there are clearly many more charismatic, well-spoken, brilliant minds out there who were born Jewish but either practice another religion or no religion, creates a real sense of loss for me. Of course, I am saddened whenever I learn of a Jew that falls from the fold. But imagine what kind of contribution these three gentlemen could have made to the Jewish community if their minds and hearts were cultivated Jewishly? I don’t mean to denigrate Christianity through implication that these ardent non-believers were created under the tutelage and therefore “failure” of the Christian faith. I completely understand why Christianity was unable to make a positive impact – they were Jewish! They had a Jewish soul. Of course the tenents of Christianity didn’t resonate with them – they had a Jewish neshama (soul) which is tuned to a different pitch than a Christian neshama.

So I am saddened at the loss to our community since they had created such a meaningful life for themselves advocating an idea other than Judaism. Just imagine what such strong personalities could have done for the Jewish community.  Could you imagine what the Budget and Finance Committee of Ahavath Achim would have looked like with Karl Marx (known affectionately within our congregation as Koppel Marx) as Chair? I could only dream of the vibrant Saturday morning Torah study in the Cavalier Room facilitated by long-time congregational member Christopher (Shemulie) Hitchens. How amusing would it have been to sit at Kiddush lunch with our regular Torah reader and leader of Pesukei D’zimra, Bill Maher. Of course, they are only figments of my imagination because the Jewish community was never able to cultivate such souls and help them find their Jewish voice, a voice that no doubt would have been powerful.

This is a lesson that I believe is most prevalent in these few Torah parshiot concerning Joseph and his 11 brothers. Throughout the tales of this very dysfunctional family, our family, so often there is a voice missing – Jacob’s voice.  As was pointed out last Shabbat in Rabbi Sandler’s Torah comments, throughout the entire fiasco concerning the rape of Dina, Jacob’s only daughter, Jacob was silent. The only talking seems to be from his sons. As we begin to learn more about Joseph and his brothers this week, we once again learn about a parent who although present, is often silent and unwilling to step forward to guide his children in matters of spirituality or moral consequence. Can we truly say that Jacob fulfilled the commandment of “teach these words diligently to your children” (Deuteronomy 6:7).

The lesson for us is clear: The human spirit is in constant wonder and without guidance that resonate to its very core, our souls are left to search for answers on its own. It is no wonder why Judaism states so strongly the importance of education and obligating each of us to teach our children diligently. Without a strong Jewish education, a Jew will use anything accessible to make sense of a world that so often seems absurd. It is therefore incumbent upon us all to speak up, to teach and inspire. The souls of Jews everywhere are listening.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Chanukah.