Rabbi Ben Bag Bag said “Turn it and turn it again, everything is in it”. Today I knew I wanted to address a hard topic–rising anti-semitism—but wasn’t sure how to apply it to the portion.  

Like much of Genesis, this portion Is jam packed. Called Hayyei Sarah, the Life of Sarah, it begins with the death of Sarah. Abraham arrives from Beer Sheva to bury his wife. How she wound up in Kiriyat Araba, now Hebron, is an open question and the subject of much midrash. This portion contains perhaps the original Hollywood script. Once Eliezar finds a possible wife for Isaac, they return to Abraham’s camp on camels. Rebecca looks up. She sees Isaac. She falls off her camel…Isaac looks up…it is love at first sight. Go read it.  

But before that Abraham goes to Kiryat Arba to mourn his wife, to eulogize her and to bury her. Those steps have become the halacha, the Jewish law on how we mourn. Traditionally, we bury our dead. In land that we own. 

This dialogue could be seen as a blueprint for interfaith relations. Abraham is a ger v’toshvah, a resident alien, a stranger in their midst and he reminds them of his status. Abraham asks nicely to purchase a place for a grave. The head of the Hittites first says that they will give him the land. Abraham insists on buying the land. The Hittites agree to a price and the rest is history. If you listen carefully, seven times the text uses the root “sh’ma” to listen. This dialogue has a lot to say about active listening, a skill necessary in interfaith relations. 

What does it mean when people own something as opposed to be given something. There is pride of ownership. There is less to contest. It is mine. When I traveled to Guatemala with American Jewish World Service we were told not to bring gifts for our hosts. It shifts the balance of power and it could make our hosts feel obligated to reciprocate, even if they were not in a financial position to do so.  

AJ Liebling said, “Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.” That by itself is interesting. I learned the quote as the “power of the press,” not “freedom of the press.” And when I have used the quote people complained that AJ Liebling was a known anti-semite. I can’t say whether he was or he wasn’t based on my limited research to prepare for this morning. People often ask me the same thing about Walt Disney. I can’t say one way of the other about him although it seems clear he hung out with some anti-semetic types. These kinds of charges are not new. 

Meanwhile, others in the Jewish community have used this text of Abraham buying the cave to explain or maybe to justify why modern day Israel needs to include Hebron, currently part of the West Bank and fought over consistently. Abraham bought that burial cave. So “we” own it in perpetuity. Right?  

Others counter with Abraham was a rich man. Four hundred shekels was a lot of money. Is this the beginning of that trope? Is that why people don’t like “the Jews.”? Are we proud of Abraham because he could buy the cave or did he just throw his money around? 

Language is important. Just think about the difference between explain or justify in my previous paragraph.  

Encounters with people not like us are important. That is part of why I have worked so hard on interfaith relations. That is part of why the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service is here tomorrow. To help us celebrate our 130th Anniversary and to allow people to have access to our building so it is not some mystifying place. It is a chance to learning about the other. For us and for them. Welcoming the other is part of our core mission. 36 times it says in the Torah we are to welcome the stranger. Although frankly I am not happy with that language either—the stranger, the other, the resident alien. Perhaps better would be my rabbi’s preferred term—fellow traveler.  

Recently, however, we have seen once again, rising anti-semitism and the use of old tropes. We’ve heard these before: Jews control the media. They own the banks. They run Hollywood. They are all rich. Some of these in very recent weeks have begun to strain black Jewish relations. Kanye West, Kyrie Irving and now Dave Chappelle. Others have tried to address their comments directly—Jonathan Greenblatt of the ADL, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Piers Morgan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jon Stewart, others . The response to Jon Stewart is fascinating. Some Jews find him anti-semtitic because he has often challenged modern Israel’s policies on the West Bank. There is plenty being written and said on all of these topics.. You can find much of it on YouTube and other social media. I encourage you to read, watch and stay aware. Many of you will find yourselves on the frontlines, responding to a casual comment made by a friend.  

These topics were the single largest topic after the retreat amongst our rabbis and cantors and rabbis and cantors to be. And as you might suspect there was no unanimity. It is painful. And for some including me, scary. Seeing graves desecrated in Waukegan, or signs over freeways in LA saying Kanye was right, or graffiti in Jacksonville or Atlanta are hate crimes. Let me say that again. These are hate crimes. So if you see something, say something. We have procedures here that include me contacting the ADL and the surrounding synagogues as well as the EPD. We can’t let this go unchecked. We are a signature synagogue of the ADL and we will be hosting them again to address these very troubling trends. At the end of this d’var Torah, I will list the best books on this topic that I have read in the past few years. 

One of the things that concerns me the most are the people who we long thought were friends and partners in irradicating racism and anti-semitism may not be as friendly as we thought. But here is what I think I also know. I will never fully know the experience of living in a black skin. I can take off my kippah or my necklace and no one will have to know that I am Jewish. You men have a different issue—and it was a real issue in Germany. Black people cannot take off their skin. Systemic racism is real. And I can’t fully understand the pain that it has caused. Nevertheless. I don’t want to be naïve, but I refuse to believe that we are going back to a time where Jews, or frankly others, are loaded onto cattle cars and slaughtered in death camps. There have been hints of it—and worried Jews—when children were separated at the border or states like Florida and Texas shipped immigrants to other states including Illinois.  

When we lived in Lowell, we learned the history of the American Industrial Revolution. One thing that happened was the owners of the mills pitted one ethnic group against another in order to find cheaper and cheaper labor costs. First the mill girls, who helped reate an ideal utopian town, but then the mill owners brough in the Irish, the Friench Canadians, the Greeks. Each group brought their own traditions enriching Lowell with their diversity.  But often they fought bitterly. In fact, one of the Irish Catholic churches is built across the canal from the Greek Orthodox church. There were battles nearly every day. The bridge over the canal is now known as the Peace Bridge.  

Here is Elgin, we are fortunate. The following people have reached out to me, as your rabbi on behalf of CKI, to make sure we are OK. Pastor Parks at Second Baptist and his predecessor Pastor Nat Edmonds, Apostle Larry Henderson, and City Councilors Corey Dixon and Tish Powell. There will be more to come from this, I am sure. It is a delicate dance but it is important. It comes with building relationships and the trust that comes with it over time. People were surprised when I showed up at an Anti-Asian Hate rally a few years ago. My response? Where else would I be? 

Here is something we can do. I think. Late yesterday I received an email from Bob Langlois at Holy Trinity, addressed to those who championed the Crop Walk. Councilor Corey Dixon reports that one of the smaller black churches on the west side of Elgin, Philadelphia Holiness Church Baptist Church lost their furnace this week. “Baby, it’s cold outside.” We are grateful for our boilers and heating system and as a small congregation we know just how expensive not having heating can be. Therefore, I will be advancing some money to them so that they know that the Jewish people of Elgin care.  

The other thing we can do is show up. Show up tomorrow. Second Baptist will be here. Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren will be here. Holy Trinity, Zion Lutheran, Bethlehem Lutheran will be here. So will Saint Laurence Catholic Church, Junaid Afeef representing the Muslim tradition amongst others. Introduce yourself to someone new. Learn about a different tradition. Share your own journey to CKI, to the Elgin area. Bring a photo of your ancestors.  

There are whole theories about these types of encounters. The bottom line is that if people come to know us, they are less likely to hate us. There are debates about this topic as well. Of course. But this is where I have staked my rabbinate and will continue to do so.  

Anti-semitism is not a problem that will go away overnight. It is a problem that has existed for thousands of years. But we learn something from Abraham today. Listen carefully. 

Book List: 

It Could Happen Here, by Jonathan Greenblatt 

How to Fight Anti-Semitism by Bari Weiss 

First the Jews: Combatting the Longest Running Hate Campaign by Evan Moffic