The Way It Iz

You may have heard about the two Congressional Representatives from New York who were violently attacked last week. Well, let’s rephrase that: You may have heard of one New York Congressional Representative who was violently attacked and another who claimed to have been violently attacked. Representative Lee Zeldin was attacked on stage while campaigning for New York governor by a man wearing what appeared to be sharpened brass knuckles, while Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was attacked by what appeared to be a sharpened tongue.

There is an inherent contradiction when it comes to how the government determines the personhood of an individual. On the one hand, a government must have a defined measure that explains who is protected by their laws. Who gets to vote? Who gets to go to school? Who gets to work? And this does not only apply to citizens of the country.

In the fall of 2016, the political ground shifted. Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. At the time, political commentators on both sides of the aisle predicted how that would affect the Republican Party for years to come. And for the most part, they were absolutely correct. Since Trump took office, the Republican Party more or less coalesced around Trumpism. Sure, there were some Republicans who distanced themselves and even publicly rebuked the President, but fast forward to today, and you can probably count on one hand how many of the Trump policies are not currently embraced by the Republican Party.

The Midrash Tanchuma tells over a famous debate between Rabbi Akiva and Roman senator Turnus Rufus regarding the concept of circumcision. Turnus Rufus asked Rabbi Akiva, “Which are better: things made by The Almighty or things made by man?” Rabbi Akiva replied, “things made by man.” After a little back-and-forth, Rabbi Akiva brought a stalk of wheat and some baked cakes, and asked Turnus Rufus which he would rather eat - the wheat made by G-d or the cakes made by man. His point was that man is created imperfect and it is up to him to improve. The bris milah, therefore, is the culmination of the physical perfection of man after G-d created the natural version.

Language morphs over time. No, this is not another diatribe how certain words and phrases are being forced into existence and use. This is about the natural change of a specific word. That word is “community.” Not too long ago, “community” referred to a group of people living in the same general area, working towards making their neighborhood a great place to live - a place to return to after a long day of work, a place where you can raise a family.

How do you know if you are a true “fan” of something? The obvious area in which that can be answered is sports. If you derive please from a certain team winning, have their merchandise, or attend their games, you’re probably a fan. Another area is media consumption - and again, you can use the same basic questions about the industry. Do you consume their products? Do you attend their theme parks? Do you wear their merchandise? But it does not end there. It seems as though every industry has rabid followers who will only use one company’s product no matter how similar it is to others.