Harley Finkelstein is the President of Shopify. But, what he’s famous for this week is wrapping tefillin at the National Retail Federation. He said that he initially put on tefillin outside the mega-event. But, now Jews need to be loud and proud, so he’s putting on tefillin right at the Shopify booth for all to see.
He is an inspiration to many young professional Jews. I returned this week from the Chabad Young Professionals International Encounter in NYC. We brought a small group from Idaho to join a diverse crowd from all over the world. It was a true inspiration seeing so many hundreds and hundreds of Jews wearing their Judaism loudly and proudly.
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In July, 1999 I was traveling from Uganda to Kenya with a friend. Since our bus in Uganda was not registered for transport in Kenya we needed to switch to a Kenyan bus at the border. So we found ourselves waiting for a bus in no-man’s land between the borders of Uganda and Kenya in the early morning. Knowing we would probably not get a better time or place to pray that morning, we found a quiet spot near a kiosk and whipped out our tefillin for the morning ritual.
About half an hour later, I looked up to notice that a crowd of about 200 locals had gathered. It may have been at that moment that I truly learned the meaning of the word gawking. Unsurprisingly, none of them had a clue as to who we were and what we were doing. Respectfully, they waited until we completed our prayers. A lively conversation ensued in which we explained that we were Jewish, what Jews are, what we believe and what we were doing.
As a result, 200 people – likely all of whom had never met a Jew before – now had a greater understanding of Jews and Judaism which they would then share with their respective families and communities.
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After the tenth plague, the killing of the firstborn, Pharaoh finally got the memo and got scared. Now, he wasn’t only willing to let the Jews go, he feared for his life (he was a firstborn) and insisted that the Jews leave pronto. According to the Midrash, Pharaoh approached Moses in the middle of the night and said, “Get up and leave!” Moses responded, “Are we thieves that we must sneak out in middle of the night? We will leave tomorrow in broad daylight.”
To me this sheds a great deal of light on public displays of Jewishness. What are we ashamed of? Do we consider prayer so eerie an act that we must hide it? Is a Jew wishing to pray any worse than a sports star that has just scored a goal or touchdown? If we are willing to flaunt all types of symbols and bumper stickers, why can we proudly wear a yarmulke or insist on eating kosher when out on a business lunch?
Moses was not only addressing the Pharaoh of yesteryear, but also the figurative Pharaoh whose crusade lives on today. This voice of ‘reason’ argues that we must not ruffle any feathers. You can be Jewish, but do it quietly, under the cover of dark. Keep it away from the public eye. Don’t make such a fuss about the food you eat and the way you appear.
It was seventy five years ago that a man in Brooklyn saw this attitude for the Pharaoh that it really is. As Rabbi Menachem M. Schneersohn took the reins of the Lubavitch movement, he initiated campaign after campaign to bring mitzvah awareness and observance to the public – and to the streets. Thanks to the Rebbe’s efforts we’ve come a long way since then.
The Rebbe emphasized that the soul of a Jew can never be corrupted. Doing mitzvot feeds the neshama the spiritual energy it needs. Once inspired, it’s unstoppable.
It’s high time we realize that the more open we are about our tradition, the more we help advocate our cause of tolerance and understanding. If we don’t demonstrate our own identity and passion with pride, our efforts on behalf of others ring hollow.
Let’s be like the enthused young professionals from around the world – who have chosen to make a fast break from the tired rules of engagement and are listening to their souls instead of the Pharaohs of today.