THE UNDERDOG

One of the most beloved Jewish philosophical works, Sefer HaKuzari, was written by Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi over a period of twenty years and completed in 1140. Part historical novel, the book records a dialogue between Bulan, the eighth-century King of the Khazars (a powerful people occupying the region which is now southeast Russia, between the Black and Caspian Seas) and a rabbi. The king was plagued by a recurring dream in which an angel told him, ‘‘your intentions are desirable to the Creator, but not your deeds.” This prompted him to summon a Greek philosopher, a Christian, a Muslim, and a Jew to his palace to guide him on the proper religious path. He was dissatisfied with each theologian until he heard what the rabbi had to say, and finally conceded that Judaism was the one true and correct religion. History records that Bulan and his entire kingdom then converted to Judaism. Never before in Jewish history had an entire nation of gentiles embraced Judaism. The Kuzari describes the theological struggles of King Bulan and the convincing arguments of the rabbi that led to the mass conversion. Using this premise and the dialogue format as his vehicle, Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi succeeds in presenting, in a passionate and convincing fashion, some of the most important fundamentals of Judaism. (For more information go to www.mysefer.com). 

In section one of the book (paragraphs 112 – 115), the king poses the following question to the rabbi: “If the Jewish people are so lowly and persecuted in this world, is this not an indication of what their position will be like in the World to Come?” The rabbi responds, “I see that you belittle our lowly and humble position in this world but is this not exactly what the other religions of the world aspire to? Do the Christians not say (Gospel of Matthew 5:39-40) ‘If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.’ For centuries, both they and their founder were persecuted and suffered terrible depravities until they finally reached a place of prominence and yet it is these sufferings that they take pride in. A similar fate awaited the founder of the Islamic faith and his followers until they too reached a place of prominence, and yet it is only of their suffering that they take pride. Not so the haughty kings whose names have achieved renown and whose armies are powerful. We too (the Jewish people) have a much closer relationship with our God in our current circumstances than we would have if we were in a position of power in this world.” The king shoots back,”the matter would indeed be so if your humble position was a matter of choice, but it is forced upon you. Should you ever achieve power, you too would destroy your enemies.” To this attack, the rabbi is forced to admit, “You have found my weak spot, O king of the Khazars! The majority of my people do not accept this situation willingly…”

Contained in these ancient words is a very real philosophical problem. Are the Jews intrinsically kind, peace-loving and ethical or is it only because of their lowly position in the exile? What if one day they would achieve sovereignty, would they too become warlike, vengeful and bloodthirsty? The rabbi could not adequately answer this question. For centuries, this was only a theoretical question, but in our lifetimes it has become very real. The Jewish people have their own sovereign state and army. Have they become like the other nations or do they still behave differently?

For most of their history, the Jewish people have been the underdog, the pursued, and the victim. But now the situation has changed and in the eyes of many around the world, they have become the pursuer. The Kuzari’s problem brings to mind a verse form the Book of Kohelet (3:15) where King Solomon states: “What has been already exists, and what is still to be, has already been, and God always seeks the pursued.” The Midrash (Kohelet Rabbah 3:19 and Vayikrah Rabbah 27:5) notes, “God always seeks the blood of the pursued from his pursuer. You should know that this is so, for Abel was pursued by Cain and thus God favoured Cain’s sacrifice (Bereishit 4:4); Noah was pursued and hounded by the people of his generation and thus God selected to save him; Abraham was pursued by Nimrod [for his beliefs] and thus we find that God chose him (see Nehemiah 9:7); Isaac was pursued and persecuted by the Philistines and thus God selected him [to continue Abraham’s legacy] (see Bereishit 26:28); Jacob was pursued by Esau and thus God chose him to be the father of His treasured Nation (see Tehillim 135:4); Joseph was pursued and plotted against by his brothers, thus it was that God selected him to be viceroy of Egypt (see Tehillim 81:6); Moshe was pursued by Pharaoh and thus God chose him [to be the prophet and redeemer of Israel] (see Tehillim 106:23); David was pursued by Saul and thus God chose him to be king (see Tehillim 78:70); Saul was pursued by the Philistines and thus God selected him [to be the first king of Israel] (see Samuel 1,10:24); the Jewish people are pursued by the nations of the world and thus Hashem chose them to be His treasured nation (see Devarim 7:6).” “This is true”, adds Rabbi Elazar ben Yose ben Zimra (in the same Midrash) of the animals that God selected to be used as sacrifices (mentioned in our parsha, Vayikrah 22:27, “An ox or a sheep or a goat, when it is born, shall be seven days under its mother. From the eighth day on, it shall be accepted as a fire offering to the Lord”): “The bull is pursued by the lion, the goat is pursued by the leopard and the sheep is pursued by the wolf. Thus God proclaims, ‘you may only offer before Me from the pursued species and not from the pursuers.’”

We would tend to believe that this principle holds true only when the pursued is an innocent, upright person and his pursuer, a wicked individual, but this is not so. Rav Huna (Midrash Vayikrah Rabbah 27:5) tells us otherwise: “God is always on the side of the pursued, whether it is a righteous person pursuing a righteous person, a wicked person pursuing a righteous person, a wicked person pursuing another wicked person or even a righteous person pursuing a wicked person!”

Although the commentators note that the final scenario (a righteous person pursuing a wicked person) only applies when the righteous person is hounding the wicked person for his own pleasure, but not where he does so to stop his campaign of evil, it is often very difficult to act with the correct motivation and thus a person should always endeavour to shy away from being a pursuer.

In the years following the Holocaust, the world viewed the Jewish people as the pursued, the underdog. The United Nations, in an extremely rare act of support, voted in favour of the partition plan that led to Ben Gurion proclaiming the State in 1948. After the Six Day War in 1967, many nations applauded and celebrated Israel’s awesome victory against its Arab enemies. Unfortunately, in the last three decades or so, the world has come to regard Israel as the oppressor and the pursuer. Sympathy now lies with the Palestinians and their plight. And even though Israel is currently engaged in a just war to destroy the military capability of Hamas and free the remaining hostages that were taken on 7 October 2023, it is criticised for perpetrating a genocide. We pray that this false narrative will soon be exposed and that our enemies’ intentions will be revealed for all to see and that Hashem will come to the aid of the true underdog – the Nation of Israel!

Lee, Chani Merryl & Naomi join me in wishing you Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Liebenberg.

Rabbi’s YouTube message: https://youtu.be/vFcH82HrFhI?si=IbkxF81hLy-CqLgH