The Righteous Indignation Project

Righteous Indignation: A Jewish Call for Justice
Edited by Rabbi Or N. Rose, Jo Ellen Green Kaiser and Margie Klein (Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights, 2008)

Reviewed in the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin (25 August 2008) by Mira Sucharov

While most would agree that we in the West live in an era of economic abundance coupled with an intoxicating relationship to a revolution in technology that is enabling unprecedented levels of communication and interconnectedness, the social and environmental ills surrounding us – including poverty, AIDS, social discrimination, ethnic conflict, and environmental degradation -- are difficult to ignore. Where we tend to be divided is in the degree to which we see these problems as of our own making, and the nature of the solutions we favour. The contributors to the volume Righteous Indignation: A Jewish Call for Justice are united in the belief that these social problems are both pressing and addressable through a communal effort informed by a progressive spiritual vision that defines social responsibility in a broad, humanistic and global sense. In the interests of full disclosure, I should share the fact that I attended Winnipeg Talmud Torah elementary school with one of the co-editors (a formidable floor hockey player with a ready smile who has since become a socially-conscious, Boston-based rabbi), and that I am a member of the board of directors and the outreach task force of the Soloway Jewish Community Centre here in Ottawa. The views expressed in this review, however, are my own.

Righteous Indignation is a tour de force of social justice commentary, and one that invites community contemplation on what remains to be done in our local, national and global spheres. (Though the book is American-focused, there is much that Canadians can reflect on.) Perhaps most fundamental are the following three themes, each of which invites further dialogue and discussion.

First, as the chapters by Margie Klein, Rabbi Michael Lerner, and Rabbi Jane Kanarek make clear, we need to keep in mind the distinction between direct-service social action (or the idea of chesed – acts of kindness directed at individuals), and the more comprehensive and systemic social justice agenda, or what Judaism calls tikkun olam (the repairing of the world). While the former is crucial for addressing the day-to-day needs of the needy, only through sustained attempts at changing the social order can we address the roots of inequality and suffering. As Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner argues, "Too often in Jewish communal life, we confuse service-oriented work at soup kitchens, mitzvah days, and b'nai mitzvah projects with the work of redemptive social justice. While such good works can be useful in exposing people to injustice and providing short-term relief for the symptoms of injustice, they are only a beginning. At worst, these projects undermine our commitment to systemic change."

Second, it is not just Jews who should be the recipient of Jewish efforts toward tzedakah and tikkun olam. In many cases, it is Jewish cultural, historic, and religious sensibilities that motivate these efforts (and indeed, these are qualities and orientations that should be embraced), but, as Ruth Messinger and Aaron Dorfman argue, our "universe of obligation" (a term taken from a 1960s op-ed by New York Times columnist A.M. Rosenthal reflecting on a New York City murder in which dozens of witnesses failed to intervene) should extend to the farthest reaches of the globe.

Finally, while Judaic precepts can – and indeed should – inspire social awareness, religion devoid of action is meaningless. As Rabbi Or N. Rose describes his struggle with Judaism in the context of hearing the account of a Sudanese refugee boy fleeing murderous government-backed militamen only to be confronted by an alligator-infested swamp, the boy's story, "though certainly not intended as such, made the Exodus narrative feel hollow." It is not enough to study Judaism; its teachings need to be translated into action.

The volume tackles a plethora of social and economic themes, ranging from stem-cell research (Rabbi Elliot Dorff endorses it from a Judaic perspective); to sexual diversity (Jay Michaelson distinguishes between a literal, "mythic" religion versus a progressive, figurative and complex "post-mythic" religion to argue for the importance of embracing difference in sexual orientation); transgender identification (Rabbi Elliot Rose Kukla calls for a Mishnaic embrace of diversity), environmental sustainability (Rabbi Natan Margalit invokes a Garden-of-Eden sensibility where humans are instructed to guard and work the land, while Ellen Bernstein reinterprets the idea of dominion introduced in the book of Genesis to mean stewardship); domestic violence (Naomi Tucker stresses the need for Jewish communal approaches to address the roots of domestic violence within the Jewish community); Israeli-Palestinian relations (Shaul Magid argues for a divinely-inspired directive to share the land, while Joel Schalit points to the importance of Diaspora criticism and debate in fostering a "more democratic Israel"); and immigration policy (Dara Silverman draws on the Judaic notion of pidyon shvuyim – the obligation to redeem captives) to support a national welcoming of immigrants and the fair treatment of domestic workers).

A close reading of the book raises a number of important questions, however; ones that I would argue are worthwhile -- and even essential – for our community to grapple with.
Is religion necessary for social justice to take place? What about a role for secular Jews who maintain an uncomfortable relationship with the idea of a divine presence? And what shall we do if it is adherence to particular Jewish laws (however progressive a contemporary reading of halakha is offered) that may themselves be the problem in sustaining particular social ills? And what about Jews who do not identify with the "progressive" wing of their communities? Is there a role for them to engage in social justice, and how would they define the necessary solutions? How should the various Jewish denominations within our community discuss the role of religious action in ameliorating social problems when their respective definitions of community – who is in, who is out, who is deserving of our efforts towards tzedakah and tikkun olam --- are so different from one another? What is the "universe of obligation" as defined by our Ottawa community; and in the words of Ruth Messinger, what is our "moral identity?"

The volume opens with a meditation on the role of social justice efforts in galvanizing Jews towards communal identification. Rabbi Sidney Schwarz suggests a useful distinction between "Exodus/tribal Jews" and "Sinai/covenantal Jews," arguing that "[t]here are data that can tell you how many Jews belong to synagogues, how many contribute money to federations, and how many travel to Israel….What cannot be as accurately determined, however, is how many Jews feel Jewish, or how many Jews view Judaism and Jewish ethics as an important part of their identity." Perhaps what we need to do in our own community, more than enjoining Jews to "affiliate" for affiliation sake, or to engage in Judaic rituals absent a tangible, interconnected outlook, is to ensure that Jewish communal organizations are in touch with the essence of the covenant – that "justice, justice ye shall pursue." Otherwise, our Jewish communal activities risk falling into moral irrelevance, and worse, into aiding and abetting a local and global status quo that is still in need of repair.