TWO TALES OF SELF-DESTRUCTION

This Shabbat I want to share with you two stories. One from our parsha and one that is a true story about a particularly modern trend. And both stories, I submit, are stories of self-destruction.

Before I tell the stories I just want to say that as a rabbi I feel that one of my most important goals is to preach against the neglect of the spiritual. God, who creates the world in this parshah, wants certain things from us. And unless we take the time to pray, to study, and to listen, we will not know what our responsibilities are.

So now that I’ve said that, I’ll tell you that both of these stories are instances where higher causes were neglected in favor of the old traps of our evil inclination.

The first story is the story of the Garden of Eden. There is a fascinating interpretation of this story from the great Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel of blessed memory.

Heschel understood Adam and Eve’s expulsion as the ultimate break between spirituality and materialism. The life of this pair, before they succumbed to their impulses, was entirely spiritual. They started off as immortal, sanctified beings designed only to serve God. But when they did succumb to their impulses and eat of that forbidden fruit, an instant shift would permanently affect humanity. Humans would no longer be spiritual beings. Now they would be mortals, challenged forever in their struggle with the material.

Heschel’s interpretation is not surprising. He was a rabbi who thought that materialism was the greatest vice of our day. As evidence of this neglect of higher concern, Heschel turns our attention to the Cain and Abel. Look, the Torah says, at what happens to a home without any focus on the spirit. The children rebel, overly consumed by their inclinations and desires.

This fundamental story in our tradition thus becomes a cautionary tale.

The other story is one that may be a bit more on the lighter side. I discovered it reading an article called the Disappearing Deli. The subject of the article is Mr. David Sax, a 30 year old freelance writer, who has launched a website and a rather popular movement called SAVE THE DELI.

This article was about Sax and his mission. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will be publishing an entire book of his, in fact, on this same subject, called, you guessed it, SAVE THE DELI. It seems the deli, once the staple of Jewish food in North America, is an institution in crisis.

In the 1930s New York City alone had at least 1500 kosher and kosher style delis. Today there are only about two dozen kosher ones left. Indeed the numbers are similar around North America. Every year more and more Jewish delis are closing.

So we ask the question, why? Well it could be because of the economy. It could also be because we are much more health conscious today and delis are not known for health food. We’re also much more assimilated and kreplach, knishes and gribenes just doesn’t appeal to us as much as it used to. But another possible reason is particularly interesting. This says that the deli isn’t being destroyed by changing consumer habits, its self destructing.

You see there was a time when delis cured their own corned beef and pastrami, when they pickled their own pickles, chopped their own chopped liver and got their rye bread from a nearby bakery. But such delis are now hard to find. In fact, Sax says, most delis don’t even make their own matzo balls.

In order to compete and keep costs down, most delis have turned to large suppliers to buy their food. Instead of curing the meat themselves, many have turned to large suppliers of kosher meat – specifically to Hebrew National. And they get their rye bread from the local distributor who himself picks it up from a mass producer.

Even slicing the meat has become an unnecessary luxury. Delis no longer can afford to pay someone to slice the meat. This in turn impoverishes the quality of meat because good heated, steamed cuts can’t be cut using the slicing machine.

Indeed, the demise of the deli seems as much a story of self-destruction as anything else.

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Making a good sandwich is not spirituality. I know that. On the other hand if you take a look at how the great deli owners talk about their establishments, you’ll get the sense that their delis are much more than just businesses to them. Maybe for some people they do touch the spirit.

And these deli-restauranteurs who refused to change the way they served their product - it may be worth asking them why they didn’t cave when so many others did. They’ll respond in a way that perhaps brings home the message of Rabbi Heschel: That they would faster close down their businesses than cheapen their product.