I joined with members of Temple Beth-El in recent weeks to discuss how various Star Trek series teach about values that find expression in Jewish tradition.
In our second session, we focused on one episode from the second season of “The Original Series” in the 1960s entitled “Mirror, Mirror.”
The storyline thrust several familiar cast members into a parallel universe, where cruelty and competition (often to the death) were the hallmark of life on their ship, also called the Enterprise.
The ruthless counterparts of the four crew members, due to the same unexpected phenomenon, appeared on the Enterprise in the “regular” universe. The first officer, Mr. Spock, was fascinated (and saddened) by their extreme behavior, which, he believed, indicated the evil tendencies that reside in the human psyche (which we do our best to suppress). The counterparts were detained until their return “home.”
In our session, we discussed why the writers might have set up a parallel universe where morality was turned on its head. In terms of creating science fiction, such a choice was not necessary.
We concluded that the intention was to demonstrate that human beings have the capacity for making a wide range of choices, some based on compassion and cooperation, some not so much.
There is a teaching of the Jewish sage Hillel that declares, “In a place where there is no decent human being, strive to be a decent human being.”
In that spirit, the “regular” crew members caught in a hostile environment found a way to act upon their sense of ethics and duty. That included providing the “regular” Captain Kirk with an opportunity to encourage the “mirror” Spock to rise to a higher standard of behavior and resist the cruelty around him, allowing the logic of his upbringing to guide him.
The Jewish holiday of Passover, which began on the evening of Saturday, March 27, focuses on retelling a story of standing up for decency amid a sea of human cruelty.
On the first two nights of Passover, Jews participated in a ritual (and meal) called a Seder (which means order). A book called the Haggadah (which means “telling”) brings together the prayers and text that retells the story, enabling participants to relive the Israelite experience of moving from slavery to freedom.
The narrative in the book of Exodus casts Moses and his brother Aaron as the Israelite leaders who stood before Pharaoh to demand an end to the bondage of their people (with extensive divine support).
Almost nothing convinced Pharaoh to grant that liberty, as he was too entrenched in the hatred that had taken over his entire being. He was unable to see other people as human. He refused to recognize their pain and suffering.
There is a site in Montgomery, Alabama, which commemorates the deaths of several thousand African-American victims of lynching and racial violence from 1877 to 1959. It is called the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and it sits near a location where enslaved African Americans were once sold. Bryan Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative created the memorial, hoping that it would move all people, going forward, to be their best selves, and to nurture genuine respect and fairness in society.
After witnessing recent violent attacks, and senseless murders in the Atlanta, Georgia area and in Boulder, Colorado, we are called upon, more than ever, to stand up for decency and engender hope.
That is the mission before us.
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