Dear Rebbetzin Chana Bracha,
There is something that really bothers me alot in the Torah. Why does
the Torah relegate Cham’s descendants – the African black people- to be slaves?
This seems to touch upon racism and intolerance. Personally, my son is Tibetan
(Mongol). In my large family, there is a lot of diversity and a real deep
openness to different ethnic groups and cultures. Diversity, unity and
solidarity are important qualities towards which we should all aspire. So why
does the Torah, at times, seem so chauvinistic, favouring only Jews – the
Chosen People? What’s wrong with coloured people? Wasn’t Tzipporah, Moshe’s
wife, black? Also Yishmael, the father of the Arab nations, is called a “wild
person” in the Torah. I believe that redemption will come when we all learn
true tolerance, love and forgiveness.
Anna Newman (name changed)
Dear Anna,
Herbal Workshop in Rebbetzin's Garden |
Hashem gives every person,
no matter from which ethnic culture or tribe a chance to rectify himself and
get close to Him- each person according to his own particular way. Every human
being, regardless of race or color, is Hashem’s dear and beloved child. However,
this world is a linear world of hierarchy with different levels. Just as
genetic predisposition is an important factor in the intelligence of people,
so, too, there are different soul-levels according to their spiritual genetics.
Although we are all created by G-d, some souls are purer channels for His
Infinite Light, whereas other souls are surrounded by denser קליפות/kelipot
– husks. Avraham and Sarah purified their souls through their immense kindness
to all mankind and via the incredible tests that they went through with flying
colors. Their soul rectification was so profound that it penetrated the very
fibers of their being. Consequently, they were able to pass down their
spiritual genetics to their son, Yitzchak, who in turn passed them down to his
son, Ya’acov. All twelve sons of Ya’acov inherited this elevated soul-level
from Avraham and Sarah. They became the twelve tribes of Israel from whom the
Jewish people stem. Just as Avraham and Sarah were chosen to be teachers and
beneficiaries of humankind, so, too, the role of Israel is to be “a light to
the nations” (Yesha’yahu 49:6), by facilitating the soul rectification
of all peoples.
Inheriting Evil
We all have free will, but
when someone repeatedly chooses to do evil, then he causes the husk surrounding
his soul to become denser and denser, making the rectification of his soul more
difficult. This is what happened to the
evil Pharaoh, who hardened his own heart during the first five plagues, thereby
causing Hashem to harden his heart during the final five plagues (see Rashi, Shemot
7:3). Certain evil actions have negative soul consequences not only for the
perpetrator but also for his descendants. This was the case with the Amonite
and Moabite men who became the antithesis of the Jewish people by their refusal
to offer bread and water to the Israelites – the descendants of Avraham whom
they owed their very existence, since he saved their forefather, Lot from
annihilation. Thus, Amonite and Moabite men forfeited their male descendants’
opportunity to convert and become part of the Jewish people (Devarim
23:4).
The Curse of Canaan
We can answer your
question about the curse of Cham’s descendants in a similar vein. Cham
committed immorality with his father, Noach, either by raping or castrating him
(Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 70a cited in Rashi on Bereishit 9:22).
The basis for the assertion that Noach was castrated is the fact that Noach
cursed Cham’s fourth son, Canaan, (see Bereishit 9:25 and 10:6), because
Cham prevented Noach from fathering a fourth son. The curse had absolutely
nothing to do with skin color, but it is interesting to notice the repetition
of the wordעֶבֶד /eved – slave/servant in Canaan’s curse:
“He said, Cursed be
Canaan; anעֶבֶד /eved – slave/servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren. He said, Blessed be Hashem, the G-d of Shem; but Canaan shall be his
servant.
G-d shall enlarge Yafet, he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; but Canaan shall be his servant” (Bereishit 9:25-27).
G-d shall enlarge Yafet, he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; but Canaan shall be his servant” (Bereishit 9:25-27).
This curse was fulfilled
in the history of the African people who indeed were slaves for centuries.
Righteous Black Jews
The ability to convert
excludes Judaism from being racist. There are many great colored converts who
are fully accepted into the Jewish fold, regardless of their skin color. One of
my best friends, who lives in Bat Ayin, has skin as black as pitch, while being
an incredibly beautiful woman inside and out. Every person has an opportunity
for rectification; even someone whose soul is enclosed by a dense husk due to
his sins whether in this incarnation or in a prior incarnation or due to the
sins of his parents. His rectification may be challenging, but nevertheless, he
still has the opportunity to choose good and crack his husk, allowing the light
of his soul to shine through. Regarding Yishmael, he has the great merit of
being Avraham’s son. Nevertheless, “He shall be a wild person means that his
descendants will engage in wars with all the nations. At first he will win over
all the nations, but he will be conquered in the end (Ramban, Bereishit
16:12). In addition, the land of Israel was given to Yitzchak and his
descendants- not to Yishmael and his children. When the descendants of Yishmael
recognize this, then they too receive their rectification.
Who was the Cushite
Woman?
במדבר פרק יב:א וַתְּדַבֵּר מִרְיָם
וְאַהֲרֹן בְּמשֶׁה עַל אֹדוֹת הָאִשָּׁה הַכֻּשִׁית אֲשֶׁר לָקָח כִּי אִשָּׁה
כֻשִׁית לָקָח:
“Miriam and
Aaron spoke against Moshe because of the Cushite woman…” (Bamidbar
12:1).
There are different
opinions regarding the identity of the Cushite woman. Besides Rashi’s
well-known commentary that it refers to Tziporah, both the midrash and Arizal
explain that Moshe was actually married to an Ethiopian woman, before he met
Tziporah. According to the Midrash, Moshe was eighteen years old when he ran
away from Pharaoh’s palace and ended up in the land of Cush. After spending ten
years in their army, he successfully helped them conquer a very fortified city.
They made him king over them and gave him the Cushite noble woman (the wife of
the late, previous king) for a wife. But Moshe feared the G-d of his
forefathers and did not have intimacy with her, because he remembered how
Avraham made his servant Eliezer swear, saying: “Do not take a wife for my son
from the daughters of Canaan” (Bereishit 24:37). After Moshe had ruled
over Ethiopia for forty years, his ‘wife’ complained to the ministers: “Behold,
for forty years this one has ruled over Cush, but he has never touched me, and
he has never worshiped our idols!” They then agreed to make her son the king,
and sent Moshe away with lots of gifts and with great honor. At this time,
Moshe was 67 years old. It was still dangerous for him to return to Egypt, so
he traveled to Midian, where he met Yitro. When Moshe told Yitro about what
happened to him in Ethiopia, Yitro was concerned that the Ethiopians would
become hostile to him if he offered Moshe asylum. He, therefore, threw Moshe
into prison for ten years. After being let of out of jail, Moshe married
Yitro’s daughter Tziporah, who had secretly sustained him while in prison. She
bore him two sons, Gershom and Eliezer (Yalkut Shimoni, Shemot 2:168).
Was Tziporah, Moshe’s
Wife Black?
The only name of Moshe’s wife written in the
Torah is Tziporah (Shemot 2:16-22, 4:25, 18:2). Thus, Rashi associates the
Cushite woman with Tziporah. Scripture calls her black to imply that all agreed
as to her beauty, just as all agree to the blackness of an Ethiopian. Moreover,
the numerical value of כֻשִׁית/Cushite (736) is the same as that of יפת מראה/yafat mareh – “a woman of beautiful
appearance.” Just as a כֻּשִׁי/Cushi
–a black skinned Ethiopian sticks out among white people, likewise Tziporah was
noticeably different from others through her good deeds. Therefore, she was
called כֻּשִׁית/Cushit –
black skinned. Israel, too, are called Cushim, as it states, “You are like the
children of the Cushites to Me, O children of Israel. Says Hashem” (Amos
9:7). Thus being associated with a כושי/Cushi –
black-skinned person is used as a compliment in the Torah. May we not then
conclude that Judaism is far from being racist?
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