At Tisha B’Av: On self-hating Jews and mesira

Last week I received a profound teaching from the esteemed rabbi of the iconic Bialystoker Synagogue, Rabbi Zvi Romm, themed to the recent bigoted rant by a so-called Jewish historian, Dr. Hasia Diner. The rabbi’s teaching was as follows: 

“Although we have just begun the darkest week on the Jewish calendar — the period of the Nine Days — nonetheless, there is some cause for celebration this Shabbos.

“This Shabbos is ‘catch-up Shabbos.’ Since Pesach, Israel and the diaspora have been reading different Torah readings each Shabbos. This state of affairs came about because the diaspora’s last day of Pesach was observed as a regular Shabbos in Israel, meaning that Israel has been one parsha ahead of the diaspora since then.

“This Shabbos we are reconciled. Israel reads parshas Mas’ei, and the diaspora reads the double parsha of Matos-Mas’ei … and we are all back on the same page once again. A small celebration, but a celebration nonetheless. 

“In the broader Jewish community, voices were raised this past week expressing a desire to sever the relationship between Israel and diaspora Jewry. ‘I feel a sense of repulsion,’ one very prominent author [Hasia Diner] wrote, ‘when I enter a synagogue in front of which the congregation has planted a sign reading ‘We stand with Israel.’

“This ‘catch-up Shabbos’ is a rejection of such views. It should serve to remind us of the need to ensure ultimately that Israel and the diaspora are on the same page, two communities which share an unbreakable bond with one another. As long as diaspora communities continue to exist, an important role which we play is to support Israel — both its government as well as its people.”

Here is an excerpt from the Aug. 1 Haaretz article by Diner and Marjorie N. Feld, titled, “We’re American Jewish Historians, This Is Why We’ve Left Zionism Behind: