D’var Torah: Whoever is able to protest and does not do so…

Written by Rabbi Josh Levy — 12 February 2021

One of the most powerful texts in the whole of Talmud is the following, brought in the name of a quartet of third century sages – Rav, Chanina, Yochanan, and Chaviva:

“Kol mi she-efshar l’machot l’anshei beito v’lo michah – nitpas al anshei veito”

Whoever is able to protest against the actions of their family and does not do so, nitpas al – is held responsible for, is punishable for – the actions of their family.

It continues

“b’anshei iro – nitpas al anshei iro”
[Whoever is able to protest against the actions] of the people of their town [and does not do so], is held responsible for the actions of their town.

“b’chol ha-olam kulo – nitpas al kol ha-olam kuloW
[Whoever is able to protest against the actions] of the whole world [and does not do so], is held responsible for the actions of the whole world.

It is a powerful rabbinic statement of our responsibility:

That we must own the consequences of that which we do not stand up against.
That our spheres of concern extend beyond ourselves, beyond our families, into our neighbourhood and further afield.

 

It is a powerful statement of a key Jewish ideal:

That as Jews we cannot be bystanders, cannot ignore that which is happening around us as if it is not our responsibility. What Rabbi Donniel Hartman has called ‘the religious ethic of non-indifference’.
This non indifference, Hartman argues, is the defining quality of our biblical heroes: Moses, who intervenes – first on behalf of an Israelite slave, and then to protect non-Israelites – the seven daughters of the Priest of Midian who are being chased away from the watering hole by shepherds; Abraham who argues with God on behalf even of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Of course, the spheres of responsibility are not the same in our lives.  “Nitpas al kol ha-olam kulo” – to be held responsible for the transgressions of the entire world is a terribly challenging ideal.  In truth we are not always able to effect change on a global scale.

But we can effect change on a local level.  And so our responsibility is even greater when things are happening on our doorstep.

And currently, that is the case. Right now, in our neighbourhood, a concerted campaign is taking place to prevent the use of a local building which was previously used as a church, from being used as a community centre by the Muslim group who bought it.

 

It is a campaign that is cloaked in the language of planning, but is driven not by the intended use of the site – which is the same as the previous owners – but by their religious identity.
It is a campaign that seeks to scare and co-opt those who live nearby, pretending that it is interested in their quality of life but motivated by far darker concerns.
And it is a campaign that is most likely funded by, and definitely employs known far right figures, including a lawyer who styles himself as the mosque-buster, using planning and the inadvertent involvement of local people to prevent the development of Islamic centres in the UK.

 

And this is happening on our doorstep.  In our town.

 

This Tuesday we will be hosting a special evening, welcoming representatives of the Markaz el Tathgheef el Eslami, one of their lawyers, and some of those who are exploring what is happening behind the scenes, so that Alyth members and friends from across the faith communities of Golders Green can learn more, and if you wish, find out how you can help.  It is one of those rare Alyth events where you need to pre-register, which you can do via the website, as a large number of people already have.

 

Underlying it is this ideal:

“Kol mi she-efshar l’machot l’anshei iro v’lo michah nitpas al anshei iro”
Whoever is able to protest against the actions of the people of their neighbourhood – and beyond – and does not do so, is held responsible for those actions.

As a synagogue we do not generally campaign; we recognise that among us are diverse opinions and needs. But when something like this is happening in our neighbourhood, in our town, we have an obligation – to educate ourselves about what is going on, to find out what we can do; and at the very least to recognise that we are all responsible for what happens if we do not protest.