Avraham Azrieli - The Masada Complex

“Question is,” she said, “does the Torah still require us to eliminate the gentile inhabitants of the Promised Land today-the modern Palestinians? Are we supposed to conquer the land, kill the men, and enslave the women, children, and livestock?”

The rabbi looked around, but no one answered. Silver cheered Masada silently, grateful that Al had not shot her yet.

“I’m surprised,” Rabbi Josh said, “that an educated woman like you would perpetuate the Palestinian myth. Mark Twain chronicled his visit to the Holy Land in Innocents Abroad . You should read it. He found a barren land with a few scattered villages inhabited by Muslims, Jews, and Christians. The sacred cities of Jerusalem, Tiberius, Acre, and Hebron were dilapidated and ruined. Twain was there before the economic boom created by modern Zionism in the late nineteenth century. Today’s Palestinians are descendants of families that came from other parts of the Middle East because of the prosperity created by European Jews in the early twentieth century. There had never been a Palestinian nation or a Palestinian state in history, so there was no one to conquer and kill.”

Masada turned a page. “And what about the order to sacrifice animals on altars? Blind obedience to the priests? Corporal punishment?” She surveyed the congregation. “Are we still supposed to maim a sinner?”

“The sinner ,” Al suddenly yelled, “is the traitor who snitched on her own people.” He jumped up, waving a fist. “You should be taken outside to be stoned. You! ”

Like everyone else, Masada was shocked by Al Zonshine’s shouting. She expected him to leap onto the dais, but he stood there, fumbling in the pocket of his old-fashioned jacket.

Hilda got up and spoke to her husband. He grunted and sat down, glaring at Masada. Hilda returned to her seat, rolling her eyes. Professor Silver, sitting next to Al, seemed nervous. When their eyes met, Masada winked at him. He shrugged.

“Our Torah,” Rabbi Josh said, as if nothing had happened, “gave humanity the gift of ethics. Torah sets right from wrong. This is the beginning of human civilization’s law and order, ethical morality as a religious aspiration, which originated from the Promised Land.” He held the book up and quoted, “ When you come to the land that God gave you, you shall inherit her and settle -”

“But we already fulfilled this edict,” Masada interrupted him, “when Joshua conquered Canaan, and the twelve tribes of Israel settled on the land. Unfortunately we lost it two thousand years ago. It’s over, so to speak.”

“Settling in Israel is a continuous duty,” Rabbi Josh argued, “a divine privilege extended to each and every one of us. We’re very lucky to be living at a time that an independent Jewish state exists on our land after two millennia.”

“And what if you catch a Jew worshiping another God?” Masada quoted: “ You shall take that man who has done that evil deed to the gates of town and cast stones at him until he is dead. ”

The congregation was silent.

Rabbi Josh smiled. “I think we all agree that such harshness is unnecessary, now that idols are no longer worshiped, even by gentiles.”

Masada didn’t look at him. “ And the man who shall maliciously sin, ignoring the priest, he shall die and you shall exterminate the sin from Israel .” She paused, glancing at the rows of congregants. “Cooking during the Sabbath? Punishable by stoning. Driving to the synagogue on Saturday morning? Eating bacon for breakfast? Marrying a non-Jew? Death! Each of us would be sent to the gallows under this chapter of the Torah.”

“Absolutely not true,” Rabbi Josh protested. “The early Jews worshipped a single, invisible God while they were surrounded by idol-worshipers and many temptations to stray, which required harsh punishments as deterrence.”

She turned to face him. “But it says here-”

“Not to be taken literally.”

“Outdated?”

“From a practical standpoint, yes.”

“And the part about the man who killed another in anger and ran away?” She quoted. “ And the elders shall take him from his refuge and hand him to the dead man’s family, and he shall die. Do not have mercy on him.” She looked up. “Also outdated?”

Rabbi Josh nodded. “The Torah was given to us thousands of years ago. You can’t expect it to remain contemporary.”

“We should ignore it?”

“It’s meant to inspire us to do justice.”

“ An eye for an eye ?”

“A symbolic statement.”

“ A tooth for a tooth ?”

“Obviously.”

“ A hand for a hand? A foot for a foot ?”

Rabbi Josh lifted his hands in the air. “God doesn’t expect us to follow each edict in practice forever. It’s an ancient text-”

“Outdated, expired, and invalid, not to be acted upon in modern times, correct?”

“The Torah isn’t written in black and white. We, as Jews, can interpret it in ways that fit the times we live in.”

“Pick and chose what’s outdated and what’s not?” Masada lifted the book. “What about settling in the Promised Land? Is Zionism an anachronism, like stoning idol worshipers, poking out eyes, and chopping off feet?”

“There’s a big difference.” Rabbi Josh controlled his voice with difficulty. “Criminal justice has evolved with civilization. But our bond with the Promised Land, the return to Zion, making aliyah, that’s the foundation of our faith and national identity. Judaism stands on three legs: The Torah, the People, and the Land of Israel.” He pointed at her. “What you say means that Judaism itself is an anachronism.”

Masada shook her finger slowly, drawing everyone’s attention. “Zionism and Judaism are not synonyms. Judaism gave humanity the Ten Commandments, which still serve as the moral foundation of civilized society. But Zionism, settling in the Promised Land, isn’t even mentioned in the Ten Commandments, is it?”

“But the longing to Zion,” the rabbi said, his voice trembling, “united us in the Diaspora for two thousand years. It’s the core of our Jewish being, the homeland awaiting us as a people.”

“Beware what you wish for.”

“How can you say that? The State of Israel is the most beautiful thing that happened to Jews since the Holy Temple was destroyed by the Romans. The Diaspora was an agony, centuries filled with suffering-”

“They seem happy in the Diaspora.” Masada gestured at the crowded synagogue. “And you, Rabbi Joshua Frank, claim to long for Zion, but here you are, in Arizona.”

The blow was delivered, and he exhaled, touching his face as if she had actually slapped him. “That’s below the belt.”

From his seat next to his father, Raul looked up at her, his young eyes accusatory.

Al Zonshine leaped to his feet. “You deserve it, Rabbi!”

Rabbi Josh lifted his hand to calm Al.

“She’s pissing on you! She’s pissing on all of us!” Al’s face was purple, and he yelled, “She’s pissing on Israel! She’s pissing on the Ark! She’s pissing on the Torah!” He caught his breath and shouted, “And she’s pissing me off!”

Rabbi Josh sighed.

Masada watched Al step forward, shoving his hand in the pocket of his jacket, further contorting the ill-fitting garment, which creased and stretched with an odd, green sheen.

Suddenly it came to her: Green polyester!

Al Zonshine?

While the rabbi descended the steps to deal with Al, Masada realized the connection: Vietnam! And the hand in the video clip-hairy and meaty, with thick, stubby fingers-was Al’s hand! Sheen must have driven from the professor’s house to meet Al, gave him the bribe money, and Al went to meet Mahoney to close the deal. Did Al own a white van? She would follow him after the service to find out.