Rabbi Heller's Blog

As the father of two college students, perhaps I could have been accused of being oversensitive to the climate on American college campuses over these past few months. At this point, the situation on many campuses has reached a point where it is of concern just to those communities, but to society as a whole. Shortly before Passover, one of the rabbis at Columbia University urged his students to go home because the university was either unwilling to or incapable of protecting their safety on campus. MIT had to move its student seder to an “undisclosed location” because its safety could not be assured. The situation at Emory is unfolding even as I write. This is a situation whose impact goes far beyond a few “elite” campuses that make the press. What do we do in the face of this mayhem? The Torah portion we read this week, for the Shabbat of Passover, offers some wisdom.

The portion we read this week is taken from the second half of the book of Exodus, following the infamous episode of the golden calf.  Moses returns from the mountain to find that the entire camp has broken out in mayhem, as Aaron, known as a seeker of peace, had allowed the people to make a golden calf. As Moses re-establishes order, three different punishments are meted out. The sages (Sanhedrin 102a) explain that they correspond to three different modes of participation. Those had prayed to the calf as a god were slain by the Levites, those who had  kissed and embraced the calf died by plague. There were many  who had merely participated in the general revelry were forced to drink a bitter brew and ultimately forgiven. The sages marveled that the people had such a lack of discernment. One day they gave gold and silver for God, the next day for idolatry. Our portion picks up in the aftermath, as Moses pleads with God behalf of the people. He then re-establishes the covenant of Sinai that had been broken, reiterating some of the key principles of observance, including Passover.

What we are seeing at this moment is, in some sense, a re-enactment of the golden calf. Some campuses have responded firmly, enforcing existing policies. On many other campuses, there is a vacuum of leadership, or leaders who just want to keep things quiet, a strategy that is working out for them as well as it worked out for Aaron. They are now playing catch-up trying to figure out how to run campuses that that are occupied in the name of opposing “occupation.”

Meanwhile, like those who participated in the mayhem surrounding the calf, the protesters seem to fall into three camps. Like those who actively worshiped the calf, there are those in the crowd, leading the chants, who have a very specific agenda of the destruction of Israel and harm to all Jews, with the possible (but not guaranteed) exception of those Jews who renounce their people. Then, like those who embraced the calf, there are those with other grievances who, see this as an opportunity to “break the system.” And then there are the masses of young people who are exhilarated by the idea of being able to raise their voices, without any clear idea of what it is that they are actually saying. They chant “from the river to the sea” without knowing which river and which sea.

So, what now? Things will unfold in different ways on different campuses, following the trend of how things have been handled to date. There are some campuses that may just not be safe for Jews, but on the whole our Jewish community cannot cede the field of battle to the anti-semites, jihadists and professional protesters. These agitators will not back down unless they actually suffer the academic and legal consequences of their actions. Alumni and donors have to remind universities of the impact on what is left of their prestige. There are legal means available to our students to ensure that those who violate the law are subject to the implications of their actions, and we can support them in those efforts.  Anti-Israel forces have been investing in influencing the agenda of academia for over a generation. It may take a generation to undo that damage. Now especially we cannot leave those who hate us  in control of the institutions, which, like it or not, train the leaders, politicians, thinkers and academics of the next generation.

In some ways, the fact that we have reached this point of absurdity may actually change the course of the conversation. The masses who have tagged along because they were excited by the commotion will be distracted by some new cause of the day.The bulk of students, previously uninterested in the Israel/Gaza conflict, or perhaps vaguely sympathetic to the cause based on the information presented, will remember who was shouting with bullhorns outside their windows while they were trying to study for finals and who disrupted their graduation.  One bystander described the encampment at Harvard as "lame."  At some point there may be a recognition that those who yell the loudest may have the least to say.

This conflict will not end with the end of the current war. While many in the tents chant for cease fire, those who lead the encampments and occupations today have a more long term agenda. They do not want a cessation of fire. They want a cessation of Jews in the Middle East, and they will not rest as long as there is an Israel. Campuses can, and must, be places where ideas, even bad ones, are explored, and sunlight serves as a disinfectant. That is not what is happening now. Ultimately, as was the case with the golden calf, and our reading this week, for life to continue, there will have to be a renewal of covenant- a restoration of norms and commitments to civil conversation. Universities need to be able to function. That may require the removal from campus from those who do not accept those norms. Until then, the dancing around the calf will continue outside the tents.