This is a time of beginnings.
First and foremost, it’s the week when we begin to read the Torah once again, the start of an annual cycle which repeats from year to year.
Some of the teachings in the Torah are so basic that it begs the question, “Why bother reading this stuff over and over again?”
Some of the teachings are so obtuse that they seem to defy any logical explanation or understanding, begging the question, “Why bother to even try?”
The truth is that there is always something new to learn from the Torah, even if it is just an amplification of a concept or idea that we already know.
We live in an age of inequality. Sad but true. In the United States of America, purportedly the greatest nation on earth, inequality is pervasive, both overtly and in subtle ways.
Let’s admit it: there is still inequality between the sexes. There is inequality for Black Americans, Native Americans, Latinos, Asians and more. There is inequality in educational opportunities and job opportunities. There is inequality in who can live where. There is prejudice, which is in itself a form of inequality.
And yet, this goes against the teachings of the Torah, a book that is revered by Jews and Christians alike as the divine word of God, and a book whose ethics and morals are respected by many other faith communities as well.
The story of creation makes it very clear that all people, regardless of sex or sexual orientation, color of skin, country of origin, religious beliefs, or anything else that could serve to divide rather than unite, are equal.
Where do we find this? Why, in the very first chapter of Genesis, where it reads, “And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created them; male and female, He created them.” This description of the creation of humankind is repeated, albeit with slightly different wording, in chapter 5, where it reads, “When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God; male and female He created them.”
There is so much to “unpack” in these few sentences:
The text makes it clear that the first people, from which all of humankind was descended, were created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God. The implication is that God possesses all of the possible qualities of any person. God is not just male, not just female; God encompasses all sexual identities. God does not have one skin color; God represents humankind in all of its rich and varied ethnicities. God has no beginning and no end; in a similar sense, there is no limit to what any person is capable of achieving, given an equal opportunity to do so.
“Male and female He created them.” While it is true that the narrative indicates that man was created first, woman is referenced in the very next sentence. And yes, there is the narrative of God taking one of Adam’s ribs and fashioning woman from it, a clear indication that man was created before woman. But to infer from that the idea that women are somehow inferior to men is antithetical to our understanding that both Adam and Eve have Godliness to them. To those who would argue, “I’m just following what the text says - man is first, woman is second,” I would respond that you can’t pick and choose which texts to take literally and which are open to interpretation. The sad truth is that male-dominated societies have taken advantage of the opportunity to interpret text as a means for moving their sexist agendas forward for far too long. The same can be said of anyone who advances an agenda which is going to diminish other human beings in the process.
So what’s the lesson in all of this? Well for starters, the message is that we have so much work to do to eliminate the inequalities that are holding too many people back. We have to examine our own practices to be sure that we are not inadvertently adding to or acquiescing to the inequalities that are all around us. As Jews, we must take the responsibility of being “or lagoyim - a light to the nations” seriously, to model the behaviors we wish to see in others and to tirelessly pursue the attainable - yes, attainable - goal of a more just society.
It starts with each of us, so let’s get to work!