THE HEAD
In the Navy, the men’s room was called the Head. And on WW2 ships it
was exclusively a men’s room. But that was the first American war
when women who were not nurses were actually admitted to the armed
forces. Accordingly, a cartoon from those days comes back to me. Not
a cartoonist, I can’t draw it, so I’ll develop it:
Urinals in the “head” were attached to the bulkhead (that’s the wall
on a ship) and they stuck out at a height of at least 2 feet. In the
cartoon, a sailor is using one urinal, and at the one next to him a
short gal in a WAVE uniform is busy hoisting one leg over the urinal.
To his unspoken comment she says: “Well, I’m doing a man’s job,
ain’t I?”
It was funny in 1943. Little did we know how prophetic it was. All
Gender bathrooms go with a policy that sets a goal of equality in
employment. No more men’s jobs and women’s jobs. Stay-at-home wives
used to be respected as homemakers. Now they are in a snubbed
minority. Makes anyone my age wonder about the future of the American
family. Maybe more gals are doing men’s jobs, but who’s doing the
women’s jobs?
No matter how “progressive” they are, male Americans don’t seem to be
able to bear babies. So how can they reproduce? In many cases
their reproductive value is limited to supplying nameless semen to
impregnate one or the other member of a female “marriage.”
Biblical statements are sometimes difficult to understand, but here’s
one that is perfectly clear: “Male and female created He them.” It
applies to animals, birds, fish, insects – and humans. We don’t see
other forms of life trying to deny their sex. Maybe they know
something we don’t know?
Young people maturing in a confused world like this understandably
take their time making any relationship permanent – or productive.
Any thought of building a family is pretty far down on their scale.
That does not keep them from sex. Or from reproduction. Recent
statistics list some 23% of white babies and 73% of black babies as
born out of wedlock. City fire stations get a steady influx of
unwanted infants, and have a system to keep them alive. But our
national population is damaged by a decreasing birthrate, and an
increasing crime rate involving many of those boys who got delivered
to the fire station, only to grow up on the street and have no fathers
to raise them.
So what do we need to do? Reverse our direction and put all the women
back in the kitchen?
Not hardly. Our girls go to school just like the boys. They find
interests and careers in business and industry, in government and
education. They bring real talent to their employers and valuable
service to the public. Are they “doing a man’s job?” You bet.
Sometimes better than the men they replace. And if they can also
build a family with a beloved mate, they are also doing a woman’s job.
Many women succeed in doing both. And hopefully more men will accept
their wives in both areas, and join them to keep the house clean and
put food on the table and, yes, to supervise their kids – to build
homes and families and a balanced future.
Somehow change never seems to come without pain. Old habits are hard
to break. But a little understanding can ease the pain and help the
change. Let’s try for that.
YOUR BANKRUPT BROTHER – Behar/Bekhukosai –Lev.25-27 – by Rabbi Baruch Cohon
YOUR BANKRUPT BROTHER – Behar/Bekhukosai —Lev.25-27 – by Rabbi Baruch Cohon
This week’s double reading covers the last three chapters in the Book of Leviticus, and also covers several subjects, so let’s single out just one. In the classic translation of Chapter 25 verse 35 we read: “If your brother be waxen poor…” Waxen poor??? Like a bad face job? No, that is the accepted Elizabethan English for the Hebrew word yamukh, which means a personal or economic downfall. More about yamukhlater. What we can learn initially from this section is how to treat that brother.
First the Torah tells us that if this poor loser comes to you for help, you are to strengthen him. If he is a native Jew, or a convert or, as Ibn Ezra includes, a resident alien, let him live. Help him live. Don’t let him starve. As the Hertz commentary points out, no other society had such rules. Not only in the days of the Torah over 3,000 years ago, but right up to the Roman emperor Constantine who instituted poor-relief in the year 315. Even Constantine’s legislation was repealed by Justinian a couple of centuries later. And notice that the Torah directs this rule to the individual, not the state. This is not a “stimulus package.” It is an Israelite’s duty to save a neighbor.
Secondly, we will read that we are not to take interest or usury from him. Yes, he needs a loan. He needs money to feed himself and his family. He needs money to start over, to get back on his feet. If I want to charge him interest, don’t I have a right to it? No, says the Torah. “Revere G-d, and let your brother live with you.” Don’t try to profit from his loss. Both in Biblical and Rabbinic law, a fine line separates legitimate interest – neshekh —from exorbitant usury —tarbis. Here both are prohibited.
Ever been to a Jewish Free Loan office? Every Jewish community of any size has one. In Los Angeles where I live, the JFL lends for economic and medical emergencies, or to help a small enterprise get started, and its borrowers are not all Jews either. Of the thousands of loans on their books, they show a repayment record “in excess of 99%.” Not a bad record. That is Leviticus in action.
Now back to yamukh. Notice that the text specifies a downfall. This current condition was not necessarily always there; this fellow was not always broke. Maybe he was once as successful as you are. Maybe he just made some mistakes. Maybe he got robbed or cheated. Or maybe he is not very smart. This is not a condition he planned. No “entitlements” here. He is out of luck and out of money. Your job is to help him if you can. Of course we can ask “what if this fellow makes a racket out of his poverty? Do you still have to help him?” A legitimate question to be sure. The Book of Leviticus does not treat that possibility, but Talmudic justice would put it in the category of deceit. Last week we read commandments like “Do not deceive your neighbor or lie.” Using the shelter of bankruptcy to take advantage of other people’s generosity is also a form of deceit. Not worthy of help.
Here we are dealing with something more positive. The valuable message of this week’s reading is our personal responsibility to extend a helping hand in an emergency. The Klee Yokor commentary discusses the definite prohibition on taking interest for your help in this situation. Whatever you give this down-and-outer is not a business loan. By contrast, if a rich man asks you for money, go ahead and charge interest. Says the Klee Yokor: “Whoever owns a business always looks for G-d’s help, because of the doubt: will he profit or not?” So he borrows money. The lender also takes a risk, so he is entitled to charge interest. “But,” says the commentary,“seek out the meaning here. The basic purpose [of this ruling] is to forbid usury.” Your unfortunate brother must not be your victim.
“V’khai akhikha — Let your brother live.”