Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

As I mentioned earlier in my posting on Sodom, any society can take on Sodomite values, if it fails to guard its soul from evil. How we treat the outsider and stranger in our midst is a matter of great ethical concern. No country is perfect and even in our country, many Americans have a disparaging view of Hispanics and other nationalities in our country—not to mention, your garden variety of anti-Semites who still think we own the world (as attested by some of the Occupy Wall Street gang).

In Israel, for example, the Ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jews have the awful habit of spitting at (or toward) Greek Orthodox priests in the holy city of Jerusalem. Rarely do the Israeli police even get involved whenever this despicable act takes place; often times, the belligerent clergy are deported out of the country. Sounds like Sodomite justice to me? Instead of standing up for the victim, the victim is sometimes charged with the crime of assault. How sick is this?

Fortunately, that was not the case this time. One strong seminary student actually punched the Haredi Jew in the face, and was taken to court for assault. Narek Garabidian, a Canadian of Armenian extraction, came to Israel to study at the Armenian Orthodox theological seminary in Jerusalem. He got fed up with the harsh insults and spitting. For the past 18 months, Garabidian said last week, he has been spit at and cursed by ultra-Orthodox passersby in the Old City.

About a month ago he was spit at again, but this time, it hit his clothes. Garabidian, a former football player, said: “I pushed the two young ultra-Orthodox men up against the wall and asked, ‘Why are you doing this?’… Fr. Garabidian, Mohammed Ali would have been proud of you. I personally would never have been so kind or patient.

On a positive note, Judge Dov Pollock said in his ruling last Tuesday that the court had heard evidence of daily incidents in which Christian clergy were spat upon by members of the ultra-Orthodox community, something which, the judge added, has been occurring for a number of years and which the police has not acted to prevent.

“Needless to say, spitting toward the accused when he was wearing the mantle of the church is a criminal offense,” the judge said.

Those who do this “hurt not only the people they spit at, but the image of our country, tourism and our values.”

Had I seen the judge, I would have shaken his hand and asked, “What took you so long?” Personally, I think spitting at people of a different faith ought to be a crime, one which would carry a jail sentence of 12-18 months. That would send a strong message to the Haredi and their foolish rabbis, who inspire them to act like hooligans. After a couple of arrests, the spitting would stop altogether. In addition, cameras should be posted in places where these incidents have occurred.

In some ways the Haredi fanaticism poses a graver existential threat to Israel more than the Iranian mullahs. The Haredi disrespect for the Other knows no bounds. For our Christian readers, the Haredi Jews do not treat us any differently. They are an embarrassment for Jews everywhere and represent only a small but obnoxious group. The Ultra-Orthodox in Israel are doing everything to promote gender discrimination; their list of other sundry social crimes is even more frightening. Their hatred of Zionism, modernity, women, and so on makes the Taliban pale in comparison.

Personally, I think spitting ought to be a crime, one which would put the assailant spitting in jail for a good 12-18 months. That would send a strong message to the Haredi and their foolish rabbis, who inspire them to act like hooligans. The rabbis ought to stop spitting in the Alenu Prayer for a start (see my posting on this subject). We are no longer living in the medieval world, but Haredi leaders (like their Muslim counterparts) have yet to accept the fact that we are living in the 21st century and not the 12th century or earlier.

Jews and Christians have had a lot of problems getting along over the centuries. Isn’t time we try to promote good will and peace with our gentile neighbors? Unfortunately, the Haredi don’t know how to get along with their Jewish neighbors, let alone their Christian neighbors. Herein is the tragedy of our times. Continue Reading

Have you ever heard about “Sodomite justice”? It almost sounds like an oxymoron. Rabbinical mythology and lore about the evil Sodomites can be found in many places of the Talmud and Midrashic literature.

Many rabbis wondered why did the Sodomites degenerate? One explanation may be found in the Genesis narrative, “Looking round, Lot saw all the Jordan plain, irrigated everywhere—this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the LORD or the land of Egypt, as far as Zoar” (Gen 13:8).

The twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were blessed with Edenic luxury and abundance. It might seem strange that such a community would become the epitome of stinginess and evil, but it did. The rabbis taught that its land was full of precious gems and gold; foliage was everywhere; it was a land blessed with vines, figs, pomegranates, walnuts and almonds, apples, and peaches. But because of their fear of outsiders, the towns people enacted numerous regulations to keep the foreigners out.

The Mishnah in Avoth alludes to the Sodomite attitude, ” There are four types of people: He who says, “Mine is mine, and yours is yours”—is an example of an average person; some say, this is the type of Sodom. He who says, “Mine is yours, and yours is mine”-the ignorant man. He who says, “What is mine is yours, and what is yours is yours”—is an example of a pious person. And he who says, “What is yours is mine, and mine is mine”—is the characteristic of a wicked person.”[1]

The implication is clear: evil grows from a seedling of selfishness. Once people refuse to share their possessions with their neighbors, it is only a matter of time before they become like citizens of Sodom—wicked to the core. Rabbinic literature goes to great lengths to show how the Sodomites created unfair legislation aimed at punishing the stranger.

Here’s some of my favorites Midrashic texts:

Whenever a bricklayer had laid a row of bricks, the inhabitants of Sodom would come and each of them help himself to a brick. When accused, each would say, “But I took only one.” When a greengrocer spread out garlic or onions [to season them], the inhabitants of Sodom would come and each of them steal one; when accused, each would say, “But I took only one.” In Sodom there were four judges: Shakrai (“liar”); Shakrurai (“archdeceiver”); Zayyefai (“forger”); and Matzle-dina (“perverter of justice”).

The names of the judges might sound familiar to some of us, whenever we see judges in this country favor the wealthy and the powerful at the expense of the working class. Yet, there is another message to the Midrash: evil is accumulative. Stealing one penny from each consumer, can accumulate billions of ill-gotten gain.

The Talmud tells us:

• When a man struck his neighbor’s wife and caused her to miscarry, the husband would be told, “Give her to this man to impregnate her again.” When a man cut off the ear of another man’s donkey, the aggrieved owner would be told, “Give the donkey to this man to keep until its ear grows back.” When a man wounded another, the victim would be told, “Pay the man a fee for having bled you.” When a man crossed a bridge, he would be charged four zuz ; but if he waded through the water [to avoid the toll] he would be charged eight zuz.
• It happened that a launderer came to Sodom and was told, “Pay four zuz ” When he said, “But I waded through the water,” he was told, “In that case, pay eight.” When he refused, they roughed him up until he bled. Then he appeared before Sodom’s judges, who ruled: Pay the men of Sodom a fee for having bled you, besides the eight zuz for having waded through the water. When Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, happened to be in Sodom, he was roughed up until he bled. So he appeared before a judge, who ruled: Pay the man a fee for having bled you. At that, Eliezer took a stone, wounded the judge with it, and said: Pay the fee you owe me for bleeding you to this man; as for my own money, it will remain in its place.[2]

The simple truth is: Any nation or city—whether ancient, or modern—can become a Sodomite society. Ezekiel castigates the city of Jerusalem, who acted much like the Sodomites did: “This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy” (Eze. 16:48). Ultimately, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians; but in truth, the city had become rotten to the core decades before by failing to be a holy and ethical city.

How we ethically treat the strangers in our midst really matters . . .

Notes:

[1] Mishnah, Avoth 5:10

[2] B. Sanh 109b; Num. R. 9:24; Lev. R. 5:2; Gen. R. 42:5; and Rashi, ad loc. – Cited from Bialik’s Hagadah.