The Message, Volume 21, Number 12, March 1994 Page: 4
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The following sermon was delivered by Rabbi Jack Segal from the pulpit of
Congregation Beth Yeshurun, Saturday morning, January 29, 1994 (Vitro)
My friends, as Roosevelt told God: "It is true — the ’Ten
Commandments’ are the foundation stones of the world," but
I say to you that Judaism teaches us that there is one
commandment that comes even before the "Ten
Commandments," and that commandment is the one that
s tat es (D eu t. 4:15)," V’n is h -m ar-tem m ood le-n of-sh o-tay-ch em."
"Take care of your lives.- This commandment tells us
(Lev.l8:5), "Asher va’ah-seh o-tom ha-adam va-chai bahem."
"These are the commandments that I give you so that you may
do them and live with them."
The rabbis said: "Self-preservation and self-protection are
primary. They are #1 in regard to all commandments — and
before all commandments."
In fact, the rabbis said (Shabbat 132a Yoma 85b),
"Mee-na-vin I’Dee-ku-och ne-fesh sheh-do-cheh et ha-Shabbat."
"How do we know that if your life is in danger, you are obliged
to even violate the Shabbat to protect your life?" And the
Talmud answered by saying: "We know it from the Law
of Circumcision. In regard to circumcision we are obligated
to violate the Shabbat if the Shabbat is the 8th day of the
child’s birth. We perform the surgery of the belt even though
it involves just one organ of the body. Therefore, it
should be obvious that if we can save every organ of the body
we must surely violate the Shabbat."
In this way the Talmud teaches us that self-preservation
and protection of one’s health and body come before every
other mitzvah.
My friends, it is very difficult for me to say what I am going
to say, but I feel obliged to say it.
On Rosh Hashanah I said that even though I had
many reservations about the Rabin-Arafat peace negotiations,
still, I was in favor of them because I felt: "Nothing ventured,
nothing gained." But as the days have blended into weeks and
the weeks have blended into months, I have become more and
more skeptical.
Three things bother me about the Israeli-PLO agreement —
and I can no longer hide my head in the ground like a
rabbinic ostrich.
#1 — I thought the Arab Intifada would immediately end
when Mr. Rabin and Mr. Arafat shook hands in Washington,
but that has as yet not taken place. I thought that terrorism
against the Jews would end, but that, too, has not transpired.
On the contrary, Jews are still being knifed and shot, maimed
and killed with regularity.
Therefore, I would like to know: "Is this what the FLO
means by ’PEACE’?"
#2 — Mr. Arafat promised that he would publicly condemn
terrorism whenever and wherever it occurred however, that
has also not been forthcoming. On the contrary, it seems as
if he is enjoying every murder and every homicide.
When the members of Hamas kill a Jew, Arafat says: "What
do you want from me? It’s Hamas, I can’t control them.
They are fundamentalists, not FLO."
When Habash or his men launch attacks on Jews he says:
"What do you want from me? They are radicals. I cannot
control them."
And even when his own Fatah Organization kills Jews he
merely says: "What do you want from me? I can’t control
everyone in my group." Arafat doesn’t even condemn these
There is a story told about Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the
32nd President of the U.S., who died in Warm Springs,
Georgia, on April 12, 1945.
Immediately after his death, Roosevelt was escorted to
heaven where he met God. God said to him: "Franklin, I truly
enjoyed your message to Congress on January 6, 1941 when
you spoke of the ’Four Freedoms’ that you wanted everyone
in the world to have:
Freedom of speech
Freedom of religion
Freedom from want
Freedom from fear.
"But, unfortunately, it’s a shame that the world has ignored
your ’Four Freedoms’."
However, Roosevelt quickly smiled at God and replied: "I
suppose everything is relative. Your ’Ten Commandments’
have not done any better, either."
My friends, unfortunately, Roosevelt was correct. Today, we
read the "Ten Commandments," but instead of enjoying more
and more observance we are finding more and more
violation and transgression.
The "Ten Commandments" tell us: ’Do not commit
adultery. ~ Years ago, when Ingrid Bergman, a married woman,
had an affair on the island of Stromboli, she became a
persona non gratta in Hollywood and received no more parts.
However, today, adultery is taken for granted. Anywhere
from 50% to 70% of men in the U.S. have at least one
extra-marital affair during their married lives and more than
40% of young women, who are today working, do likewise.
♦ But no one is really terribly excited about these statistics.
In fact, it was recently reported that the President of
Austria was having an affair with a young woman and
ignoring 37 years of married life with his wife. But he will
soon be speaking to his countrymen about "the importance of
family life" -— and people will be listening attentively to his
speech when it is given over radio and television. Times have
truly changed.
So, too, the "Ten Commandments" tell us: ’Do not
commit murder,’ but every day in the U.S. 70 people are
murdered.
So, too, the "Ten Commandments" tell us: ’Do not steal,’ but
what is the most severe problem in the U.S. today — crime.
Our homes are like fortresses. We have bars on our windows,
attack dogs in our homes, guns close to our beds, and alarms
all around our homes. We have all these protective devices in
order to protect us from criminals. We are afraid that they are
going to invade our homes to rob us, rape us, and hurt us.
Just look what happened to that young Scotsman this past
week. He was killed at 4 a. m. because the owner of the home
on whose door he banged thought that he was going to break
down his door and inflict harm upon the members of his
household. This Scotsman obviously thought that he was back
in Scotland. But he was wrong. He was in Houston, Texas.
Roosevelt was absolutely correct when he spoke to God:
"Yes, God, you are right. The world is ignoring my ’Four
Freedoms,’ but they are also ignoring Your ’Ten
Commandments.’ Yes, they are the foundation stones of our
civilization, but it seems as if the people of the world are
disregarding them and turning a deaf ear to them."
‘ ‘A Commandment That is Even More Important
Than the ‘Ten Commandments”
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Congregation Beth Yeshurun (Houston, Tex.). The Message, Volume 21, Number 12, March 1994, periodical, March 4, 1994; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1298755/m1/3/: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.