This Shavuot: How do we counter the genocidal pieces of our Torah?

The Pilgrimage Holiday Shavuot celebrates the giving of Torah. In June 2024, when Israel is committing genocide and Netanyahu is quoting scriptures in Hebrew to assure his voters that apart from a temporary ceasefire to return hostages, the genocide will continue, how do we read Torah? Clearly there are sections of the bible which are genocidal. We cannot ignore violent biblical passages that provide fodder for Israeli state brutality. How do we counter and resist the genocidal and supremacists parts of Torah?

A shomeret shalom adopts rabbinic and folk traditions that reject the violence of the bible by imposing an interpretive framework that emphasizes peace, active love, upholding human dignity, pursuit of equity and nonviolence as core principles of Torah. When use of the Torah causes harm, we are instructed to actively repair the harm in ways that lead to the end of harm and the establishment of healing peace.         According to Hasidic Masters, the ultimate purpose of Torah is “to make peace in the world…this is the function of Torah: to introduce a unity of peaceful purpose to the diverse forces and peoples of creation, uniting them all in the harmonious endeavor of serving the divine objective:the establishment of peace.”
As a shomeret shalom, I feel accountable to the harm being perpetrated in my name by those who have weaponized torah and turned it into a document of Jewish supremacy. As a counter measure, I devote my actions, time and resources to organizing for freedom through movement building to end the genocidal violence being waged against the children of Palestine in the name of Jewish people.Stopping genocide is in our hands. 

On Shavuot, the holy day devoted to the study of Torah, a shomeret shalom turns to this question:  Is learning/study greater or are deeds greater


“Rabbi Tarfon answered, ‘Deeds are greater.’ Rabbi Eliezer responded, ‘Learning is greater.’ Then someone else responded to both of them and said,  Learning is only greater if and when  learning leads to deeds.”  (BT Kiddushin 40b)

תלמודגדול או מעשה גדול  נענה רבי טרפוןואמר  מעשה גדול  נענה ר"ע ואמר  תלמוד גדול נענו כולם ואמרו  תלמוד גדולשהתלמוד מביא לידי מעשה

Many cities throughout Turtle Island and the world are manifesting interfaith coalitions in pursuit of stopping the genocide of Palestinians by Israel and the US. I’d love to hear about your citiesi nterfaith Ceasefire coalitions. In the Bay Area, our interfaith network is demanding Senator Alex Padilla use his voice to stop the forced starvation and killing of children. In February 2024, Senator Padilla voted in favor of additional $14 billion for arms to Israel, on top of the $3.8 billion US provides to Israel annually. He also voted against Senator Sanders’ resolution that would have asked the State Department to investigate if any human rights violations occurred using US equipment in Israel’s military campaign. Targeted nonviolent campaigns against individual decision makers is critical at this time. Campaigns target an individual decision maker by making an achievable demand. Campaigns are a series of escalating tactics until a win is achieved ,in this case: Stop Arming Israel with our tax dollars!

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