Rabbi Freedman’s Shabbat Message

עֶזְרָא תִּיקֵּן לָהֶן לְיִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁיְּהוּ קוֹרִין קְלָלוֹת שֶׁבְּתוֹרַת כֹּהֲנִים קוֹדֶם עֲצֶרֶת, וְשֶׁבְּמִשְׁנֵה תוֹרָה קוֹדֶם רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה. מַאי טַעְמָא? אָמַר אַבָּיֵי וְאִיתֵּימָא רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ: כְּדֵי שֶׁתִּכְלֶה הַשָּׁנָה וְקִלְלוֹתֶיהָ

It is taught in the Talmud (Megillah 31b) that Ezra established what has become a long-standing tradition to read the long list of curses found first in Leviticus and repeated in Deuteronomy before two major festivals in the Jewish year.

The section in Leviticus known as the Tochacha Ketana (The Small Rebuke) is found in Leviticus 26:14-43.  This passage, which forms part of Parashat Bechukotai, is read annually just before Shavuot, the festival that recalls the Giving of the Torah and hence the requirement to heed all of God’s commands.  It is no coincidence that the primary message of the Tochecha is that failure to observe the mitzvot will almost automatically result in terrible consequences for the Jewish people.

The second and longer version of the Tochacha is found in this week’s sidra of Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 28:15-68) and according to Ezra these verses should be read in advance of Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year.  The Gemara asks: What is the reason for this custom?  Said the sages, let the year end with curses, rather than begin with them.  Their desire was that a new Jewish year should always reflect hope and blessing, rather than despair and misfortune.  (Talmud Bavli Megillah 31b)

So it was that the sages were reflecting a sad truism in Jewish history – that there was often great relief that the year had finally ended, and with it, the Jews hoped, the pain and torment that had accompanied it.  By contrast, Jews welcomed the New Year and prayed earnestly on Rosh Hashanah for a future filled with happiness, prosperity, security and contentment.  Sad to report, one could well argue that this past year 5785 has followed this pattern all too closely, as such we have every reason to pray that 5786 brings better times for all Israel.

For many Jews, this year has been exceptionally worrying.  The war in Gaza escalated to include the Houthis and most significantly Iran.  While Israel succeeded in dismantling some of Iran’s nuclear facilities, Israel did not escape unscathed. 

Israel has faced unparalleled criticism for its conduct of the war in Gaza and this has led internationally to an explosion of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment.  We recall sadly the shooting of two Israeli Embassy staff members outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC and the firebombing of a pro-Israeli rally in Boulder, not to mention the massive pro-Palestinian protests here and abroad and the on-going animosity towards the State of Israel from many former allies including our own government in Canberra. 

The reality is that anti-Jewish feelings and anti-Zionism have merged like never before into a vicious campaign against Israel and its supporters.  It has become almost impossible to argue the case for Israel without being accused of supporting genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid.  Rational discussion is no longer possible with those on the left or within the Muslim community.  If one presents Israel’s case, one is accused of lying or simply of being racist.  There is a certainty about the pro-Palestinian position that permits no counter argument – truth has become one of the major casualties of this war, equally historical evidence is not accepted as fact – just another form of propaganda.

Believing that everyone will be given a fair hearing, that truth will prevail, that justice will be applied – it has come as a terrible shock that large sections of our population and especially of our political elite have instead chosen the course of the Three D’s.

First comes Demonization – the extreme nature of this strategy is truly shocking.  It has become standard practice for example, to equate Israel with Nazi Germany.  Placards held aloft in London, Sydney and New York that demonize Jews or their nation-state are common place, and yet they cannot be objected to via the courts because free speech is the new god to be worshipped; the police consequently take no action and the politicians shamefully remain silent.  It is a highly successful strategy, for if someone accused me of being a Nazi in a public setting, I could seek restitution through the courts – but the protesters are fully aware that when someone holds up a poster with a Nazi swastika applied over a Magen David accompanied by the words All Zionists are Nazis – the Jewish community seems to have no legal options to bring these people to book.

Secondly is the political use of Double Standards. This is when criticism of Israel is applied selectively and in a grossly unfair manner.  This is why the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism includes “Applying double standards by requiring of Israel a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.”  Not to mention singling Israel out for harsh criticism while ignoring the actions of countries such as North Korea or Iran.  As for criticism within the United Nations – what more does one need to say? 

Then there is the malicious accusation that Israel is a racist state because it is a Jewish state, notwithstanding the fact that there are many Christian and Muslim states.  To live in countries like the UK, where by law, the head of state must be a Christian and where the major holidays are Christian holy days, or where the flag of the nation includes the cross of St George, the cross of St Andrew and the cross of St Patrick, or to live in Saudi Arabia whose legal and cultural landscape is deeply rooted in Islam, all this is in order – but not in Israel where the Jewish way of life and the Jewish calendar take priority.  There is no doubt that such double standards are a form of anti-Semitism. 

Thirdly, there is Delegitimization – for when Israel’s fundamental right to exist is constantly challenged and often denied – this too must be described as a blatant form of antisemitism.  One example is the description of Israel as a colonial state when in fact the Jews were seeking to remove a colonial power from that area.  Jews were not entering a terra incognita to which they had no historical connection.  Whatever weight one assigns to ancient ties, they were seeking to restore to this space the same language, religion, culture, and ethnicity that had prevailed there 2000 to 3000 years earlier.  If anyone could be described as colonists in that region during the early 20^th century the Jews would be last on the list after the Turks, the British and even the Arabs who colonized the Arabian Peninsula in the seventh century CE. 

Sometimes all three D’s roll into one as happened a couple of weeks ago at a soccer match in Italy.  UEFA (the European Football Association) stands accused of promoting the “blood libel” that Jews murder children by displaying a “Stop Killing Children – Stop Killing Civilians” banner on the pitch before the Super Cup match between Tottenham Hotspur and Paris St-Germain.  Two refugee children from Gaza also took part in the medal ceremony alongside UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.  The Campaign against Antisemitism condemned the display, which took place amid Israel’s ongoing military response to the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks on the country.  A spokesperson said: “UEFA has said nothing about the Jewish hostages kept in barbaric captivity for almost two years, nor have they spoken out about the incessant attacks on Israeli civilians throughout this war from terrorists in Gaza and the Middle East.  But all of sudden, they have chosen a Tottenham Hotspur match – a club commonly associated with the Jewish community – to unfurl a banner reading ‘Stop killing children – Stop killing civilians’.  For centuries, Europe has traded in the blood libel that Jews kill children, and clearly the trope remains as popular as ever.  UEFA says that ‘the message is clear’.  After two years with no acknowledgement of the Jewish children murdered, maimed and traumatized by this war, the message is clear indeed.  This selective outrage tells us everything about the demonization, delegitimization and double standards that still poison European discourse on Jews.” 

The $64,000 question is why is this happening – why has 5785 been so bad for the Jews?  Zoe Booth, writing in the Australian, offers some telling statistics.  First she speaks about the power and influence of social media as against other more traditional media outlets: “We know that between October 2023 and early 2024, posts with pro-Palestinian hashtags totaled 109.6 billion, compared with just 7.4 billion pro-Israel – a ratio of 15:1.  This imbalance reflects demographics: Jews make up just 0.2 per cent of the global population, while Muslims – who often harbor deep hostility towards Jews – make up nearly 25 per cent, meaning Jewish voices are easily drowned out online.

The effect is measurable.  According to the Anti-Defamation League’s 2025 Global Index, 20 per cent of Australians now hold anti-Semitic views – up from 14 per cent a decade ago.  Among 18 to 49-year-olds, 18 per cent say the Holocaust death toll is exaggerated, 9 per cent have never heard of it, and 8 per cent think it’s a myth.  While 57 per cent of Australians view Palestine favorably, only 40 per cent feel the same about Israel.  Alarmingly, 20 per cent express support for Hamas, including 33 per cent of those aged 18 to 34 and 39 per cent of adult migrants.  A Pew study from June found about 75 per cent of Australian adults hold an unfavorable view of Israel, with those on the left twice as likely as those on the right (90 per cent as against 46 per cent).  Across high-income countries, including Australia, younger people are far more critical of Israel.” 

On top of spending hours a day being brainwashed on social media, millions of Australians also tune in each night to Channel 10, the ABC or SBS, assuming they’re getting neutral coverage of the Middle East.  In reality, Booth argued, they’re consuming narratives shaped by foreign interests, most notably Qatar.  Through formal content-sharing deals, Al Jazeera, a state-run outlet owned by the Qatari royal family, syndicates its overtly anti-Israel content directly into Australian public broadcasters. 

Then there are demographics.  Islam is now Australia’s second-largest religion and the Muslim population is growing fast – more than twice the national rate.  Muslim women have the highest fertility, and immigration adds to the rise; many new citizens come from Muslim-majority or Muslim-influenced countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Sri Lanka.  The white kids marching alongside conservative Muslims, wrote Booth, don’t know this, but anti-Semitism in much of the Muslim world is not just common; it’s rooted in scripture.  Classical Islamic doctrine frames lands once under Muslim rule, such as Palestine aka Israel, as religiously mandated to be reclaimed.  Migrants from these cultures often bring such views with them, shaping institutions and normalizing attitudes among wider Australia.” 

Zoe Booth explains how this imbalance affects every aspect of society – academia, the media, the arts, political institutions – the list is virtually endless.  It took her an entire article to explain views that I experienced in a short, almost harmless conversation walking down the 16^th fairway at Long Reef Golf Club.  Playing with someone I barely knew, I was asked – what is this Arab-Israeli conflict all about?  I began to explain that we are vastly outnumbered – 15 million Jews and almost 2 billion Muslims – so our voices are often shouted down and we don’t receive a “fair go!”  He stopped me abruptly and said – “No seriously, how many Jews are there in the world?”  I answered again – “15 million, not quite as many as in 1938, thanks to the Nazis.”  His response was depressing.  He was obviously shocked at hearing these figures but simply looked me in the eye and said – “Well that’s pretty hard to believe.  For 15 million people, you make a hell of a lot of noise!” 

In one short sentence, he summed up our perpetual condition – outnumbered, outgunned and yet still perceived to be out there controlling everything.  In Western democracies, Jews are treated as a dominant (and ‘white’) group, a perception buttressed by the fact they are mentally associated to Israel, a military state victorious in numerous wars.  Survey after survey, in Europe and in the USA, found that a third or more of the population believed Jews have too much power.

Given that belief, Jewish suffering is all too often considered a fantasy.  In an article entitled Time to Unmask the Imposture of anti-Zionism, Eva Illouz wrote that Jews are the only minority that is overtly and systematically suspected of manipulating their own victimization (‘the Shoah’ or ‘antisemitism’) to score political and symbolic goals.  Illouz questions whether such accusations are ever made regarding other ethnic or racial groups, as she said, “We would all shudder at the claim that descendants of slavery exploit their history and victimization to gain political privileges.  Yet, this is exactly what progressives routinely affirm about Jews and antisemitism, often mocking and deriding Jews’ fear and grief.” 

So what do we make of the past twelve months?  Find whatever good we can that came out of 5785 and celebrate it and then bid it farewell as one would say goodbye to a bad neighbor who finally decides to move house and move on – with relief and thanksgiving – and at the same time pray that the new neighbor will be friendly, kind, courteous and generous-spirited – someone who will simply make your life ‘better’.

Jews have lived with bad years and bad neighbors for a long time and there is no doubt that there have been moments when we have come close to despair.  Yet on examining the week’s sidra with its terrifying catalogue of curses and somewhat shorter list of blessings, Rabbi Yitz Greenberg expounded that these verses articulate the dominant biblical theology of history, that Jewish exile and suffering is brought on by the sins of the people.  It is this interpretation that enabled the Jews to be steadfast in their faith during millennia of suffering, because God was punishing them out of love, and they had only to repent and be delivered. 

Rabbi Sacks, in similar vein, considered that there has always been one principle engraved on the Jewish heart, which has allowed it to emerge from tragedy with hope intact.  It is, in his words, the principle of “the blessing and the curse” of which Moses spoke so eloquently.  When Jews suffered, their first reaction was not to blame others but to examine themselves.  That is why bad times – the times spoken of in the Tochacha have always led to national renewal and the worse the times, the greater the renewal.  A people capable of seeing suffering as a call from God to return to the covenant, choosing and sanctifying life, is one that cannot be defeated because it can never lose hope.

With little fanfare therefore, we bid farewell to 5785 – difficult to navigate, with ever-shifting dynamics, it has been a troublesome time for Jews all over the world – yet as is the Jewish spirit we now welcome a New Year with enthusiasm, confidence and optimism.  Above all remember that the past is kind enough to give you lessons, the present is kind enough to give you opportunities but the future is kind enough to give you both. 

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi David Freedman