Shabbat Shalom. It’s a nerve-wracking day, but I came in feeling pretty confident. (Insert joke here)
My Torah portion is called Ki TIssa. In Ki Tissa, Moses has been on Mt. Sinai for 40 days. While Moses is gone, the Israelites go to Moses’s brother Aaron and tell him to make them a new leader. They don’t know what’s happened to Moses, because he’s been gone so long. Aaron tells them to bring him everyone’s earrings and all the gold they have.
[Many commentaries interpret this verse and the verse after it and say that the women refused to give up their jewelry. As a “reward,” they get to celebrate Rosh Chodesh.]
Aaron takes all the gold that the Israelites bring him, and melts it into a golden calf. The Israelites start worshiping the calf and say that it is the one who led them out of Egypt. It is an idol. An idol is something that you center your life around, making it come first in your life. This can be bad because an idol gives people false hope and an excuse to stop believing. Because the Isrealites were waiting for Moses longer than they thought they would have to, they are worried. They panic and change beliefs, hoping that the golden idol will save them. It might be momentary comfort, but it won’t help them.
So, when do we see this in our lives? Well, haven’t some scientists had moments of confusion as to what will happen next with COVID-19? What would happen to all of our medicines and prescriptions if those scientists just gave up on what we know about viruses and sickness, just because it got a little tough? What we know about COVID has changed in the last two years. Some of the things scientists predicted about COVID haven’t come true. They didn’t just give up on science, though. They pushed through and continued to study and make predictions and hard decisions, learning as they went. They adjusted, and never gave up on science.
Moses finally comes down from Mt. Sinai, sees that his people are worshiping an idol, and gets so angry that he smashes the holy tablets with the 10 Commandments. He goes to his brother Aaron and asks why his people are worshiping the golden calf. Aaron tells him what happened. Eventually, Moses goes back up to Mt. Sinai and gets new tablets with the 10 Commandments on them.
The Torah says that there can be no god other than God. In the Torah, God tells the Israelites to burn down the pillars and altars of the people who worship other gods. It also says to have no connection to those people.
The first commandment of the 10 says that there can be no other Gods. It enforces on the Israelites that they cannot worship anyone or anything else. It isolates the Jews from others as the “right religion.” It also says that they can’t have a connection with anyone else of any other culture. It’s basically saying that the other religions are wrong and invalid.
People forcing their beliefs on other people makes me mad. I think that people should be allowed to have other opinions. And I’m sure that a lot of you believe that too. But I think all of us are guilty of forcing our beliefs on others at one time or another, even though we believe it’s wrong. Getting into heated debate about our favorite sports team, arguing over our favorite relationship in a book, or even something as small as our favorite song from Encanto.
So, if people should not force their beliefs on other people. Does that mean everyone should be allowed to believe what they want to believe?
That is a very complicated question. The first thing I thought was yes, it doesn’t matter.
But what people believe can be dangerous. For example, if someone believes that the vaccine is bad for them, that is dangerous. The vaccine has proven to be very effective in preventing serious sickness and death. If this person doesn’t get the vaccine, they are in more danger. They can also convince other people that the vaccine is bad, resulting in more sickness and death. This makes their beliefs a danger.
So, basically, people are entitled to believe whatever they want to believe, as long as it isn’t harmful to other people or yourself.
There is a quote, the original version of which comes from a speech made by John B. Finch in 1882.
“Is not this a free country?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Have not I a right to swing my arm?”
“Yes, but your right to swing your arm leaves off where my right not to have my nose struck begins.”
Does this principle help us figure out what is right for the Israelites? Is it okay that they worshipped an idol, or did that belief hurt somebody? I believe that if someone simply believes in another greater power than we do, that is not a danger to others.
When the Isrealites decided to worship the golden calf, they threw away their beliefs. It isn’t a good thing to abandon what you worship at the smallest inconvenience.
All in all, what I’m trying to say is that idols are dangerous. They become so important to us that we disregard everything else important to us, and that can be potentially harmful to others around us. So, you can believe what you want, as long as it stays only with you.
There is a way I could connect my portion to my mitzvah project, but it isn’t a connection I naturally see. The reason I chose this project is not related to my Torah portion.
My mitzvah project
For my mitzvah project, I was inspired by Chloe Kaufman’s D’var to make a change about period stigma in my new school, Boston Latin Academy.
For those of you who don’t know what it means to have a period, or menstruate:
Oxford defines menstruation as “the process in a woman of discharging blood and other materials from the lining of the uterus at intervals of about one lunar month from puberty until menopause, except during pregnancy.”
The reason I am taking time to explain menstruation is that people don’t talk about it much because of stigma. Period stigma is when people, even women, are too embarrassed to talk about having a period. They hide it when they menstruate, which can lead to skipping school.
I learned some of this from the documentary, Period. End of Sentence, and from the book of the same name. I recommend both.
I’ve been learning about stigma and periods since Chloe’s bat mitzvah. I asked about period supplies in my school and learned that the nurses and some teachers have them, but they aren’t available in bathrooms, which, in my opinion, defeats the purpose of having them available.
I have made an online petition on Change.org, to put period supplies in BPS bathrooms. The petition link should be available in the lobby, so please sign and share with at least 5 people, if you haven’t already. My petition already has ___ signatures, and our next goal is ___.
Women are constantly discriminated against because they have periods. Society shames them and doesn't make supplies immediately available.
We are shamed, because we have the power to bring life into this world. People are embarrassed because women bleed.
In preparing for my bat mitzvah, I’ve learned a few things. It’s hard to write a D’Var torah, it’s hard to memorize Torah, and it’s hard to cope with the stress. Basically, it's hard to do most everything involved with a bat mitzvah. But it can be very rewarding. I think it’s matured me as a person.
I could not do this alone, so I have quite a few people to thank.
I am so grateful that you could all be here today, in person or on Zoom, to watch me become a Jewish adult.
I have many people to thank. First, I would like to thank my parents for helping me with my D’var torah and putting a roof over my head.
I’d also like to thank my extended family, for flying all the way to Boston to be here, or for putting aside time to watch me from Zoom. I want to especially thank my grandparents, as they have the most risk.
I want to thank my jewish friends, for relating to me, and my friends of various other religions, for expanding their horizons.
I’d like to thank the Rabbi, for giving me interesting thoughts and for helping me start my D’var Torah, and I want to thank my tutor Tracy, for always being patient and helpful throughout this period in my life.
Lastly, I want to thank everyone for being here, and for not falling asleep. If you did fall asleep, I’m grateful you didn’t snore.
Shabbat Shalom again, and thank you.