Revolution for the hell of it
[Moses] hurled the tablets from his hands.
Why did Moses break the tablets? And what did breaking them accomplish? Early readers asserted that Moses’ action agreed with the Divine intent, and that G-d acknowledged this to Moses, saying “More power to you that you broke them” [Talmud Shabbat 87a]. But we know the Sages also said that breaking an object in anger is tantamount to idol worship; and if they said such a thing with respect to breaking an ordinary object, how much more so would it be the case with tablets “inscribed by G-d’s finger”?
I see the answer to the questions I have posed to be inherent in the statement of the early Sages that when Moses broke the tablets, the writing peeled off of them and the letters became ethereal. Whoever said that said quite a bit. For in creating the golden calf, our ancestors demonstrated that they had not yet reached a refined stage of faith, inasmuch as they could not imagine G-d as an elusive One who sees but cannot be seen. They rather chose a god which they could see and whose physicality they could touch.
When Moses saw this, and knew that he was descending the mountain with two tablets in his hands — tablets that were physical and that contained a sensible script — he feared lest the physicality of the tablets and the writing would give affirmation to the people’s views and would validate their error. And thus, Moses shattered the tablets, to teach the Israelites not only that G-d has no physicality, but also that G-d’s Torah cannot be embodied, and is not in need of tablets, but rather is alive with an independent endurance like G-d’s word and spirit.
–Arnold Ehrlich, Mikra Ki-feshuto on Exodus 32:19
Who owns Judaism? Who has the power to interpret and apply Jewish law? Who determines what gets into and left out of the canon? Who determines what is and is not Jewish? Who is Jewish? Who speaks with the voice of the Jewish people? Who represents our community? Who determines policy? Who steers the Jewish future? Who controls our collective destiny?
In the 4¾ years I have served as publisher and editor-in-chief of Jewschool, these are the questions that I have asked, time and time again. You might say it was my syllabus. Jewschool was my classroom; the Internet, my campus.
Not many people realize that I’m a college dropout. They’d be surprised to know that Jewschool has been, for me, the equivalent of getting a homeschool education in Jewish studies. Indeed, many of you have been my teachers and classmates. Others perhaps schoolyard bullies. (Yes, I’ve been a bully too.) And maybe I was a teacher somewhere in there as well. Maybe. I’m more prone to believe that the informality of my education stands glaringly evident. Sure, my time in Jerusalem helped (thank you Jay Michaelson and the Dorot Foundation). But perhaps nothing helped as much as you folks holding my feet to the fire and constantly showing me what a dick I am.
The hype aside, the truth is that I started Jewschool just for the hell of it. I never imagined that years later I’d be standing in front of an audience at the UJA Federation talking about Jewish Internet culture, or that I’d be getting shout outs in the NY Times, or that people would recognize me on the streets in Brooklyn and Jerusalem as a “celebrity blogger.” I never thought this gig would get me chicks (yes, yes, curdle at my insensitivity), or that it would get me paid. (Though it did.) I knew it would get me into trouble. That much seemed certain. And my, oh my… I was on the money there.
Really, all I had was a sense of purpose, and even at that, one that remains miserably undefined to this very day. Theologically speaking, I guess that’s the way I like things: Formless yet always in the process of taking shape. Practically speaking, no grant-making organization in its right mind would take a bet on that horse. “Please lend your financial support to my process of becoming.” Ahem, no.
And what of that becoming? I have, at one point or another, assumed every imaginable position, argued from every conceivable angle, and owned the role of devil’s advocate. I have proffered some of the most infuriating, provocative, futile, contorted, and sophistic statements ever committed to a MySQL database. And I have made an ass of myself more times than I care to recall. But damn it, I got people talking.
I also unwittingly built a refuge. By creating a space for the freakim to congregate, I created an opportunity for disparate, disenfranchised Jews to come together like Voltron. I am often told by readers who I run into, or who contact me online, that I have either lent articulation to their beliefs or provided them with a sense of validation and community. Their praise helps me to believe I did something right, even if I’m not sure what I did, or what I’m doing still.
Nonetheless, the opportunities that Jewschool has brought me, the relationships it has enabled, the knowledge it has imparted — these are the greatest gifts I could have ever hoped to receive.
The greatest gift I could hope to have given?
Who owns Judaism?
It’s like the old Zen kōan, “Who is the master who makes the grass green?”
The answer is “You.”
If I’ve accomplished anything meritorious in my tenure, I hope it has been imparting that knowledge to at least one person.
Az, nu? Why all the reminiscing? The hemming and hawing? The self-congratulatory trope?
This is my last post as publisher and editor-in-chief of Jewschool.
I have officially resigned effective as of, well… Right now.
And tomorrow is a brand new day.
(Click that link for further details about my departure from Jewschool and what it means for me professionally and for Jewschool itself. Much love to the Jewschool editorial board for Jewin’ It Yourselves; and wistfully pouty-faced goodbyes to all.)
Since December 2002: 12,552 posts. 38,959 comments. 78 contributors. 5 servers. 1 hell of a ride.
Mazel Tov Mobius. Thank you for your work here and good luck in the next moves.
—POLJ · August 15th, 2007 at 3:39 am
Good luck Mobius.
—Jason · August 15th, 2007 at 6:01 am
Thanks for Jewschool. It enriches my life. Good luck!
—Progressive Jewbilation · August 15th, 2007 at 6:41 am
I own Authentic Judaism TM!
—MaxKohanzad · August 15th, 2007 at 7:08 am
Yasher koach, Mobius. You’ve done something awesome and I raise my glass (well, okay, my coffee cup — whaddaya want, it’s 8:30 in the morning here) to you.
—Rachel · August 15th, 2007 at 7:30 am
[...] site, creater of the jewglebomb and one of our earliest friends and allies in the blogosphere as he steps aside today as publisher of Jewschool to take on a new role as Director of New Media for [...]
—jspot » Blog Archive » Yasher Koach Mobius · August 15th, 2007 at 7:33 am
We love you, Mobius!
—Amit · August 15th, 2007 at 7:44 am
hazak hazak venitchazek.
—zt · August 15th, 2007 at 9:06 am
Thanks Dan for everything, and good luck in it all
—Alan · August 15th, 2007 at 9:13 am
[...] We invite you to leave congratulations to Mobius and wishes for the future either in the comment section of this post or in Mobius’ final post. [...]
—Jewschool » Blog Archive » Oldschool/Newschool · August 15th, 2007 at 10:06 am
Thank you, Dan! Keep gadflying over at JTA!
—Rooftopper Rav · August 15th, 2007 at 10:17 am
I will always be your most sexified and least frequent contributor.
I love you.
—Balaam's Donkey · August 15th, 2007 at 11:12 am
Thanks for all your hard work, Dan. Good luck in your new adventures, I look forward to keeping posted via your other blog. You will be missed.
—Hineini · August 15th, 2007 at 11:17 am
mazel tov! I’ll miss your voice here.
—nyjlm · August 15th, 2007 at 11:59 am
Jewschool has been my Jewish homeschool for two years as well. Thank you for all of your work and vision. Good luck at JTA.
—Sarah W · August 15th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
You’re amazing, dude.
Keep doin it, and I hope we make you proud.
—Ruby K · August 15th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
good luck mang. I have had fun commenting on your articles over the years.
—rootlesscosmo · August 15th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
You own. Don’t let anything stop you.
—Esra'a · August 15th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
You are a good person, thanks for all you’ve done, contributed and changed in this world!
—David Lazar · August 15th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
mazel tov
—xisntox · August 15th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
your posts have pissed me off, riled me up, made me excited, made me sad but mostly inspired me to check myself and re-evaluate my judaism and what it means to me. I am a better Jew for having become a regular reader of Jewschool. Always controversial, always a lot of arguing, and not a lot of pussyfooting around the issues. Its a great forum. mad props homes. mad props.
—shmuel · August 15th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
much gratitude for what you created here. thank you.
—Rebecca Stern · August 15th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
Mazal tov, Mobius. Thanks so much for what you’ve done, particularly for someone like me who’s still forming a Jewish identity after years of ignoring it. And don’t be so hard on yourself. You are, without question, a mensch, and don’t let anyone tell you differently.
—Akiva · August 16th, 2007 at 8:58 am
[...] Muffti guesses not. In any case, Ye’shaar Koach to Mobius on 4 plus years of interesting, compelling, challenging and intelligent posting and behatzlacha in your new endeavours. If you want to drop a goodbye comment on Mobius’ final Jewschool post as editor, go here. [...]
—Jewlicious » Blog Archive » Mobius Moves On · August 16th, 2007 at 10:07 am
[...] Jewschool is a popular, multi-author blog and Daniel is a prolific blogger. Today he announced that he’s leaving Jewschool and he’ll rarely be blogging on his personal blog because he’s been hired at the [...]
—JewishFringe » JTA “gets” it · August 16th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Good luck, Mobius. As much as I love Jewschool, I think this move is for the best. More creative projects like Shulshopper, less “shoving matches.” The big winner here is the Jewish community.
—mhpine · August 16th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Best of luck on all of your new ventures Mobes, JTA certainly is lucky to have you. And yasher koach for all of the challenging and thinking that you have done on these very boards.
—Adam · August 16th, 2007 at 11:54 am
One thing that turns me off about some of the blogging is the ranting, the anger and the resentment that people express.
I hope that you find a good spiritual path. I like this move for you.
—John Nestoper · August 16th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
hatzlacha raba in your new position and yashar koach.
Why not argue a little but more?
I don’t own Judaism. I hope I own my own Judaism. But Judaism, I don’t own. Judaism has no owners.
—Rabbi Yonah · August 16th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Thank you,
While there are many opinions here i have disagreed with some very strongly, this has been a place of fascinating and civil discourse on subjects that would have never made it to light or at least to my computer screen if not for you Mobius.
yashar kochachem,
kudos,
and a jeorb well done!
—Motti · August 16th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Yasher koach, Dan. What you’ve done here is remarkable. At the risk of sounding pompous, you’ve helped to define a medium. Good luck in all of your endeavors.
—cipher · August 16th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
I wish to publicly dispel the widely circulating rumor that Mobius’ move is just a short term plan before moving on to be webmaster at Beyond Teshuva. This is not true. All of our overtures have been rebuffed. Hatzlacha Rabbah, M.
—David Linn · August 16th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
I am sure of your success in whatever you do. I know this will be a good move for you, and I wish you the best of luck and much satisfaction in your new job.
—Kol Ra'ash Gadol · August 16th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Best wishes to Mobius in his new endeavors. While clearly not always agreeing I continue to respect his ongoing struggle to meaningfully explore his Judaism and that of many others of his generation.
Yosef Blau
—Yosef Blau · August 17th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
[...] it’s true. I imagine some of you have already seen Mobius’s post on Jewschool that he is leaving Jewschool, and ending his work in hosting and designing sites for the [...]
—JVoices » Blog Archive » Mobius Moving On · August 20th, 2007 at 11:56 am
Continued mazel tov, Mobius. I enjoyed the passion and radicalism in your posts.
—4jkb4ia · August 20th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
[...] best Jewschool Post Revolution for the Hell of It: [...]
—Jewschool » Blog Archive » Best of 2007 · January 1st, 2008 at 8:50 pm