{"id":22476,"date":"2018-12-28T20:09:30","date_gmt":"2018-12-28T20:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jww.org\/?p=22476"},"modified":"2018-12-28T20:09:30","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T20:09:30","slug":"why-rabbi-schulweis-zl-believed-in-the-mission-of-jewish-world-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jww.org\/site\/why-rabbi-schulweis-zl-believed-in-the-mission-of-jewish-world-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Rabbi Schulweis (z”l) believed in the mission of Jewish World Watch"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of each year, Jewish World Watch invites our board member Malkah Schulweis to share her thoughts. This year, Malkah chose this opportunity to re-introduce a poem by her late husband, Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis, who, along with Janice Kamenir-Reznik, founded JWW in 2004. The poem, excerpted below, describes the rabbi\u2019s foundational belief in the mission of Jewish World Watch.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

We tend to get weary when there\u2019s a lot of worrisome news, and the weariness says \u2018Oh, not another one.\u2019 And so we tune out what happens in other parts of the world. It\u2019s understandable to take a break from worry and concern about the condition of human beings, but not for long. When we read the important parts of this poem that Rabbi Schulweis wrote, we realize we must reconnect in order for us to feel like decent, honorable, thinking human beings concerned with more than ourselves. This poem goes deeply into the human soul and revives the sacred meaning of our lives.<\/strong> <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2013 Malkah Schulweis, December 28, 2018<\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nNot Ours<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

By Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis<\/em>
\n 
\n\u201cWith all due respect, Rabbi,
\nwhy spend energy, time, urging us to shout protest
\nto lift up people ground mercilessly into the parched soil
\nthat grows only ghosts?
\n 
\n\u201cThey are a different fate and faith
\nThey own a different geography and history
\nTheirs is a different language, a different culture
\nHave we not burdens enough?
\nTheirs are not ours.\u201d
\n 
\nHow respond?
\nWhat answer would satisfy?
\nThere is no utilitarian benefit that will accrue to us for the spending of our passions
\nWould it not be wiser to turn a blind eye and to seal lips to silence?
\n 
\nThe question is honestly presented
\nthe answer must not be less forthright
\nIt is not a quick and simple answer
\nbut one that lies deep at the core of our being
\nWe are Jews, and we have been raised as Jews
\nAnd we have faith in our God who is the God of the entire globe
\nwho plays no favorites but embraces all His children
\nespecially the lame and the poor and the sick and the frightened
\nand the pariah the lepers of our society. 
\n 
\nAre God\u2019s children not ours?
\nIf a child not the color of my skin is tormented by savage hate
\nif a child not my own is beaten by men on horseback
\nsmitten with whips and swords and hacked to pieces
\ncan our Jewish faith say to us,<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, but they are not ours\u201d \u2026?<\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nIf a woman Black, Muslim, Christian, Animist
\nis frightened and raped and humiliated, her future wiped out
\nwill our Jewish soul say,<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are not ours\u201d \u2026?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2026<\/strong><\/span>
\n 
\nDo you know of any Jewish prayer that concludes with the words<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, but they are not ours\u201d \u2026?<\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nWe have been better taught by our prophets
\nand our patriarchs and our sages:
\nBe the fathers and mothers of the fatherless and motherless
\nAnd if they are abandoned by the world, exposed to all kinds of 
\ndiseases, gather our children close.
\n 
\nPrepare knapsacks with mosquito netting, shoes, medication and
\ncolored pencils along with a note in a language not our own <\/p>\n

\u2013 in Arabic \u2013<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou are not alone.\u201d <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2026<\/strong><\/span>
\n 
\nNot an easy faith, ours.
\n 
\nNot a faith set to dogmas
\nbut a faith that offers no excuse
\nwhoever, wherever, whenever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the end of each year, Jewish World Watch invites our board member Malkah Schulweis to share her thoughts. This year, Malkah chose this opportunity to re-introduce a poem by her late husband, Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis, who, along with Janice Kamenir-Reznik, founded JWW in 2004. The poem, excerpted below, describes the rabbi\u2019s foundational belief…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":22477,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[176,188],"tags":[160,410,411,358],"class_list":["post-22476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-news-features","tag-jewish-world-watch","tag-malkah-schulweis","tag-poem","tag-rabbi-harold-m-schulweis","category-176","category-188","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jww.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jww.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jww.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jww.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jww.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jww.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jww.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jww.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jww.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jww.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}