Is it Worthwhile to Be Normal?
Read Rabbi Rosenfeld’s column in Hebrew, as published on BINA. This is her translation.
The poem of Ha’azinu in our Torah portion is the poem that Moses sings for the people of Israel on the threshold of their entry into the Promised Land. Knowing that he will not be able to join them, Moses gives this to the people as a parting gift.
It is a poem that they will need to memorize and teach to their children. A reminder to conduct themselves wisely and compassionately in their own land, all without him, their spiritual leader who guided them throughout the entire journey.
Within the poem lies an important warning:
וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ן יְשֻׁרוּן֙ וַיִּבְעָ֔ט שָׁמַ֖נְתָּ עָבִ֣יתָ כָּשִׂ֑יתָ וַיִּטֹּשׁ֙ אֱל֣וֹהַּ עָשָׂ֔הוּ וַיְנַבֵּ֖ל צ֥וּר יְשֻׁעָתֽוֹ׃
“So Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—
You grew fat, and gross and coarse—
They forsook the God who made them
And spurned the Rock of their support.”
“Jeshurun” is a name for the people of Israel. The verse describes how, when the people are settled comfortably in their land, they will Yishman — “grow fat”—that is, they will be satisfied and content — and then they will Yivaat — “kick” away all the traditions and values they learned while they were wandering people.
Rabbeinu Bachya explains that the name “Jeshurun” comes from the word ashurenu, which appears in Balaam’s prophecy.
כִּֽי־מֵרֹ֤אשׁ צֻרִים֙ אֶרְאֶ֔נּוּ וּמִגְּבָע֖וֹת אֲשׁוּרֶ֑נּוּ הֶן־עָם֙ לְבָדָ֣ד יִשְׁכֹּ֔ן וּבַגּוֹיִ֖ם לֹ֥א יִתְחַשָּֽׁב׃
“As I see them from the mountain tops,
Gaze on them from the heights,
There is a people that dwells apart,
Not reckoned among the nations, ...’’
The word describes the ability of the people of Israel to perceive the supernatural. R. Bachya explains that Moses chose to use the name “Jeshurun” in order to emphasize the warning: How could a people who experienced Mount Sinai arrive in their own land and forget their past? How could the people of Israel become a normal nation?
The late Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz wrote the following:
“The inclination of the individual, and certainly of an entire nation, is to achieve normalization, an ordinary life without special demands and requirements. The Song of Moses speaks not only of the possibility of such an inclination taking hold, but also, and primarily, of the fact that God will not allow Israel to become merely one of the nations.”
Within our people, there continues to be a fascinating debate between those who believe that we should strive to be a nation like all other nations, and those who distinguish the Jewish people from others and feel comfortable, even proud, of this difference.
The French philosopher Michel Foucault wrote extensively about normalization. What does it even mean to be normal? What is a norm, and who defines it? In short, Foucault’s answer is that normality is defined by those in positions of power who, in the name of preserving their status and the system that enables them to remain in that position, establish the boundary between what is normal and what is not. That norm then becomes a kind of “law of nature”—boundaries that appear as though they have always been there.
In his own words, taken from his 1975 collection of essays ‘‘Abnormal: Lectures at the Collège de France:’’
“The norm is not simple and not even a principle of intelligibility; it is an element on the basis of which a certain exercise of power is founded and legitimized.”
In other words: the norm is not merely a tool for understanding reality; it is also the basis upon which a particular form of the exercise of power is established and receives its legitimacy.
Moses’ poem can be understood as a radical call to our people: never to sink into corrupting norms. The people of Israel have a role in challenging this normality wherever they find it, and, as a people in their own land, to serve as a model that breaks through the boundaries of what is considered normal among other nations.
The warning embedded in Moses’ poem is a warning that seeks to remind us that we have never been “normal” people. The story of our birth is filled with events defined as “beyond reality,” and once we become established and forget this, we will become a nation like all other nations and forget our purpose.
Whether these words make you uncomfortable or whether they fill you with pride, it is interesting to think about how we can live this year with our eyes open—to continually recognize and challenge social norms that were shaped before we arrived here, norms that exclude people who have been defined as outside their boundaries. How can we, this year, see those who have been cast outside the boundaries of normality, stand beside them, and give voice to them? Moses’ poem reminds us that we have the ability, and perhaps even the obligation, to do so.
