Have you ever been the one white person, or one of the only, attending a Black activist event or protest? Have you been the one, or one of the only, men gathered in a Feminist space? Have you been the one cisgender individual in a room of Trans activists organizing for change? Have you ever been the one, or one of the only Jews, attending a Muslim gathering designed to combat Islamophobia?
In the activist world, we often talk about what it means to be an ally. What does it mean to be a person with power and privilege, working in partnership, to bring justice to those who are systemically oppressed? How can a person leverage her/his privilege to help a Movement of folks advocating for their own liberation from discrimination?
It is easy to advocate on behalf of another group. It is easy to tell another person, “this is what you ought to do” or to speak for her/him/hir. It is easy to call ourselves “allies” while sitting in the safety of our white-picket fences and taking no real risks. I have fallen into that trap before. I imagine most of us have. But the Torah this week has something to say about what it truly means to be an ally.
The tribes of Reuben and Gad have chosen to live in TransJordan (to the East of the Jordan River). Unlike the rest of their Israelite brethren, these two tribes find their families safe from enemy attacks. In Moses’ eyes, the two tribes have chosen to remain apart from the Struggle of the People in the land itself. So Moses calls them out: “Are your brothers to go to war, while you stay here?!… If you turn away, you will bring calamity on all this People!” (Numbers 32:6 & 13). Moses is saying “Brothers and Sisters, we are suffering, we are fighting for our lives while you live lives of privilege and safety, will you abandon us?!”
The tribes of Reuben and Gad respond by approaching/stepping up/coming closer (VaYigshu, 30:16) as they say: “We will hasten as shock-troops in the van of the Israelites until we have established them in their home…we will not return to our homes until the Israelites, every one of them, are in possession of their portion” (Numbers 32:17-18). Now that’s being an ally!
Reuben and Gad begin by drawing close. The same Hebrew verb (VaYigash, Gen. 44:18) is used when Judah leaves a position of safety and draws close to Joseph. Benjamin is about to be thrown in prison, but Judah takes the blow for him. He steps, with humility, outside his own comfort zone and into Joseph’s space. An ally does not demand that the Oppressed come the Ally’s home, rather s/he “approaches”, that is to say, enters into community with the one who is hurting: in their home, on their terms.
Reuben and Gad listen to Moses’ pain and they don’t deny it. They don’t minimize or erase the suffering of the one who is under attack. They hear it. An ally begins by opening her/his ears and witnessing the pain of the Oppressed. Without judgment. Without caveat.
Reuben and Gad not only step up, by drawing close, they step up by taking action, taking risk. Reuben and Gad could have stayed across the Jordan, where it was safe and easy. From that vantage point it would be easy to say, “We’re with you” or “We support you.” It would be easy to tweet or hashtag words of vague support while never leaving our actual zones of comfort and familiarity. That’s what most of us do. God knows, that’s what I do on most days. But where’s the risk? Where’s the moment when we give up some of our own safety? Where’s the step we take that actually builds up another’s voice by retracting our own? Where’s the privilege we are conscious ceding to the person without? Reuben and Gad stood in the line of fire. They were on the front lines.
Reuben and Gad held hands with their Black brothers and sisters when the racists approached. They took the punches with them. Or, used their privilege such that less punches were thrown to begin with.
Reuben and Gad stood with the Women praying at the Wall- created a barrier behind them and around them to absorb the chairs, the eggs, the insults. Followed their lead, asked for their guidance, let them decide what would be a helpful role, if any, for a male ally.
Reuben and Gad walked their Trans friends into bathrooms, guarding the doors when necessary. Confronted bosses, families, and politicians about Transphobic policies. Refused to continue working in offices or for businesses where Trans employees faced discrimination – took real risks. Leveraged and ceded cisgender privilege, at the request of and for the sake of, Trans sisters and brothers.
Can we be like Reuben and Gad?
We Jewish activists, what sorts of allies will we be?
May we be allies in the grand tradition of Reuben and Gad. May we have the humility to step up and step back. May we have the openness to listen first, and honestly, and without judgment. May we have the wisdom to leverage or cede our privilege for the sake of those who lack it. May we have the courage to take actual risks in the fight for justice. That is what our tradition asks of us. May we live up to their example.
For concrete ideas on how to be an anti-racism ally, click here.
Rabbi D’ror Chankin-Gould is one of the rabbis at Anshe Emet Synagogue – a 1200 family “center for Jewish life” in the city of Chicago. Rabbi Chankin-Gould, a Wexner Fellow, was ordained by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in 2013. He previously published “The Hillel LGBTQ Resource Guide” (2007) , “The Sanctified ‘Adulteress’ and her Circumstantial Clause: Bathsheba’s Bath and Self-Consecration in 2 Samuel 11” (JSOT, 2008), and his 2013 ordination address calling for the inclusion of outsiders in Jewish life can be found at Rabbi D’ror Chankin-Gould’s Ordination Teaching – 2013