Idols of War

Friday March 6, 2026/17 Adar/Shabbat Ki Tisa Shabbat Parah

וַיַּ֣רְא הָעָ֔ם כִּֽי־בֹשֵׁ֥שׁ מֹשֶׁ֖ה לָרֶ֣דֶת מִן־הָהָ֑ר וַיִּקָּהֵ֨ל הָעָ֜ם עַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ אֵלָיו֙ ק֣וּם ׀ עֲשֵׂה־לָ֣נוּ אֱלֹהִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֤ר יֵֽלְכוּ֙ לְפָנֵ֔ינוּ כִּי־זֶ֣ה ׀ מֹשֶׁ֣ה הָאִ֗ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֤ר הֶֽעֱלָ֙נוּ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם לֹ֥א יָדַ֖עְנוּ מֶה־הָ֥יָה לֽוֹ׃

When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who shall go before us, for we do not know what has happened to Moses—the man who brought us from the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:1)

Hevre/Friends,

Often judgement is made with only partial truth at hand. Sometimes that’s all the truth available. Sometimes truth is withheld. Sometimes not enough effort is made to acquire more truth. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between truth and falsehood. And sometimes, all those conditions can be true at the same time. Like now.

As the confrontation with Iran continues along with the tragic costs of war, many in the United States and in Israel are wrestling with one or another of these limitations, leading people to different conclusions. To some it can seem as if there is more than one war raging on the same battlefield - one driven by American interests and one by Israeli interests. But there are other frontlines as well whose boundaries are defined with partial vision.

Americans are divided over the justification of this war, the legality of it, and the risks it’s posing to US soldiers. Israelis are overwhelmingly supportive of the attack on Iran, even as many recognize that its timing and pretext could be coloured by the potential for substantial and strategic political gain for certain politicians. In both these arenas, limited knowledge of the actual facts is harnessed to draw firm, conclusive opinions. This is done with considerable danger of different kinds.

A cautionary tale emerges from this week’s Torah portion of Ki Tisa wherein the lack of information regarding Moshe’s whereabouts and timing on Mount Sinai leads the people, according to Rashi, to assume that he had died and that they needed new gods to worship. Cue the Golden Calf - a sin predicated on flawed assumptions that became foundational to the unfolding of Jewish theology, ethics, and ritual. But the essence of the sin wasn’t in the building of an idol, per se. The sin was making something definitive from what was inexact. As Rabbi Yitz Greenberg teaches, the sin of idol worship is making something limited out of what is, in essence, limitless; something static and unchanging out of something vital and dynamic.

Applying that lesson to our incomplete knowledge of every facet of this war, our questions about the US government’s handling of it shouldn’t be used to comprehensively reject its premise of dismantling an evil, murderous regime threatening the world’s safety - beginning with that of its own people. And, our support for the objective of this war shouldn’t obscure the more questionable features of its prosecution. Let’s neither make an idol of our doubts, nor of our certainties.

May this war soon end. May Israel and all countries be safe from tyrants sworn to causing death and destruction. May America reclaim its dignity and grace. May those in Iran and around the world who seek freedom and peace be united in harmony and purpose. 

With blessings for a Shabbat Shalom,

Dini

Photo by Ronen Avisror