| Dear {{first_name}},
Many of you may be aware that the vast majority of comic books and superheroes were created by Jews in America. In fact, many of them have biblical and/or Jewish influences. For instance, one of the first was Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster in Cleveland, Ohio, and was deeply influenced by the stories of Moses and Samson. The world in which Superman was created was one of great existential danger to the Jewish people. It was a world in which we as a people were looking for a “superman” to save us from the Nazis and anti-Semites around the world. It was also a world in which we were immigrants looking for acceptance and to “fit in.” This genre of literature has given so much to all of us. It has given us hope and it has given us courage. It has given us the belief that things can get better and that we need to be brave enough to fight for change.
In Parashat Naso, we learn about certain Jews who chose to take on more responsibilities and become nazirites. The most famous nazirite to ever live was Samson. The reason he didn’t cut his hair was because he was forbidden to because his mother pledged he would be a nazir if only God would give her the gift of a child. Not cutting his hair was part of the nazirite pledge and something he took quite seriously. His hair became the physical embodiment of his faith in God and his commitment to his people. When it was cut, he lost that strength and thus met his downfall. The same is true in the case of Superman. His courage and abilities came from his home planet of krypton and when he was here on Earth, in exile, that substance became his weakness and rendered him incapable to do anything.
I’ve been thinking a great deal about superheroes lately. As Jews living in 2021, it’s terrible to think just how little the world has changed since the 1930s when Superheroes were being created. We need superheroes. We need those who stand up in the face of adversity and say no. We need those who stand against terror and say no. We need those who fight back against those who want to harm us and say no to them as well. As American Jews, we’ve often held up Israeli Soldiers as our heroes. For generations we’ve taken pictures with them in Israel and donned Israeli military clothing. We’ve donated to charities to support them and we’ve made a point to always hold them in our thoughts and prayers.
We often find a great deal of criticism about superheroes in their stories. We find the public ambivalent at best, and antagonistic toward them, at the worst. The heroes do all they can to save lives and make the world better and nevertheless they’re vilified and made to be the enemy. Our own “super heroes” are no different. The men and women of the IDF put their lives at risk every day. The men and women of the IDF protect the lives of all those around them. And the men and women of the IDF do everything that they can to protect the innocent in the midst of the enemy. They do all this and more, and yet time and again, they are vilified.
This needs to come to an end. We have watched this movie far too many times. The enemy attacks us… we defend ourselves… a cease fire is reached… we wait some years… it happens again. We need to find a way to break the cycle and move forward. We need to do this for our heroes, and for our world. We need to be the people who are defending and standing up for our heroes when they’re being wrongfully smeared in the world. We need to be the people that respect and stand up for those who defend when others attack.
This coming week we will have two opportunities to do just that. On Sunday, we’re having a rally to support Israel. On Monday night, we’ll be having a briefing by AIPAC at 8:00 pm on Zoom to learn more about the situation and what we can do. Both of these events are highlighted below in yellow and we hope you join us.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Hearshen |
