I don't enjoy being quite so serious as I’ve been lately. Yes, as the only public Jew (and Rabbi!) in Egypt, I’m quite blatantly risking my life to bring friendship to the Middle East as somebody uniquely situated to understand and explain Jews to Arabs and Arabs to Jews. So I have some well-pressed demands to be serious but I really don't love it.
Nor do I believe that being serious is generally either a good or wise way to live. 1
Hell, I’m confident that the primary panacea for society is to uproot, pulverize, and atom-smash into quark flavors the gateway sign installed as the primary prior over the souls of all men gothically declaring:
Arbeit Macht Frei
It’s therefore odd and unpleasant to find myself called to preach fundamental truths which — as soon as I can speak with tens of millions of people at once — may just usher in the edenic sabbatical wu-wei utopia that is anything but serious.
Recall that in the world I’m asking you to help me herald, the 19 scathing books of the Jewish Bible that follow the 5 Books of Moses will be culled down to just one, the devil-may-care surreal, funny, proud, wacky and triumphant Book of Esther.
Because Carefree Purim Happiness is obviously the ideal. 2
So, before I get back on my mulish high-horse low-donkey hybrid, let’s enjoy a moment of levity. Only a moment though, because simply living well ourselves will not change Society thus leaving us subject to all of its ills and evils up until that point when The Great Conversation can clear it all up.
So, here's my Norwegian Nazi.
In case you can't watch embedded youtube videos, here's the link:
Quite a few people, both via the interweb and in the flesh, told me they were sure he was going to reach over the table and beat the living shit out of me.
That concern literally never crossed my mind. If all the world were as sweet, friendly and easygoing as Ibrahim (he really did convert to Islam, lol) my work would be done here and we could all relax אִישׁ תַּחַת גַּפְנוֹ וְתַחַת תְּאֵנָתוֹ וְאֵין מַחֲרִיד - each one in the shade of his vineyard and fig orchard, free from fear forever. [Micah 4]
Remaining clear of the blood curdling screeches offered up to us all from every corner of this mad mad world, let’s stay relatively light and lay some of the groundwork for that rationality + tradition which can help us see our way past the blinding societal assumptions of our own world.
For that we’ve got to talk Rambam / Maimonides.
Coming soon.