By Donald H. Harrison
LA JOLLA, California – Rabbi Ed Feinstein, in the closing talk Nov. 16 of the San Diego Jewish Book Fair, contrasted the Mesopotamian outlook on life with the “chutzpah” that Judaism teaches.
Author of The Chutzpah Imperative, Feinstein differentiated “chutzpah” from the popular definition meaning “colossal nerve,” suggesting that in reality it means “irrepressible strength, vitality.”
Whereas the Mesopotamian outlook on life was that humanity was created to be servants of the gods and had no power to affect earthly outcomes, the Jewish outlook was that God created humanity to be His partners in perfecting the world.
Accordingly, whereas the Mesopotamian outlook (as manifested in ancient Babylonia) resulted in people becoming passive and accepting of their fates, the Jewish outlook encouraged activism, according to Feinstein, who serves as spiritual leader of Valley Beth Shalom congregation in Encino, California.
The Mesopotamian outlook has resurfaced in history from time to time, for example with the emergence of Greek and Roman polytheism, and even in the biblical book of Ecclesiastes in which the author argues that nothing is new under the sun and all is vanity.
Feinstein suggested that in the recent elections in which only one third of the U.S. electorate went to the polls, one might ascribe Mesopotamian fatalism to the other two-thirds. It is as if they were saying, “my voice doesn’t matter; I don’t matter,” he said.
Further evidence of the Mesopotamian outlook, he suggested, is the near obsession Americans have with super-human fantasy figures like Superman, Batman, and the like. Perhaps this is because Americans no longer believe that ordinary people have control over their existence, Feinstein speculated.
This sense of being powerless and purposeless creates a “hole in the soul,” which many Americans try to fill up with addictions to alcohol, drugs, sex, and entertainment, Feinstein asserted.
Today there are so many channels on television, one can spend an entire day not watching anything, just flipping through the channels, he said.
“If you take away from human beings the sense they have a responsibility, you take away the purpose of being a human being,” the rabbi said.
The dominant idea in Judaism, said Feinstein, is that life has purpose and meaning, which is to “guard and cultivate the world.”
“Judaism will not make you thin, rich, beautiful, popular or even happy,” he said. “What it is designed to do is to give a human the idea that ‘my life matters.’ That is the ‘chutzpah’ of Judaism; that is its gift.”
Elaborating in a question and answer session, Feinstein said synagogues and parents need to teach children to “be a blessing” to this world, or, in other words, to “be a mensch.” He added that “young people today want a sense of mission.” He cited the case of a student who was uninspired by Judaism until he went to a homeless shelter to serve food. Similarly, he said, a group of campers were inspired by a project to clean out a littered canyon.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com