The day before yesterday 60 people gathered in the Student center on the campus of the University of South Alabama. Drawn together by a spectacular example of courage, this disparate group consisted of students and non-students, teenagers and senior citizens, campus activists and Zionists,members of the MAJF and members of the greater community of Mobile; all of whom are enthusiasts who champion true equality and freedom for women-united in a shared desire to learn from a woman who is breaking ground on the formerly taboo subject of rape.
Linor Abargil, an 18-year-old Sabra from Netanya, Israel won the Miss Israel competition in 1998. Shortly thereafter, while modeling in Milan, Italy she was raped by an Israeli travel agent who had offered to assist her in returning to Israel. Returning to Israel,suffering from extreme trauma she continued her preparations and won the title of Miss World six weeks after being attacked!
The film (Brave Miss World) documents her accepting the crown but also highlights her emerging need to confront and testify against her attacker; seeing to it that eventually he was arrested and served 16 years in prison in Israel. Over the course of 5 ½ years, Linor repeatedly traveled to many locations in the U.S., Europe and South Africa- raising awareness of the importance of supporting women to speak out about their having been raped. It is up to all of us throughout our entire world to reject the terrible objectification of women which is rampant in society. I was moved to tears when I saw Linor, a young woman of 21 begin a mission to support women from many varied cultures, racial groups, countries, economic circumstances and religious backgrounds. The applause which erupted from this audience after the film and a second time after the remarks of Cecily Peck (film"s director and Veronique & Gregory Peck’s daughter) came forth naturally from many people,some of whom were openly crying.
I suffered a terrible thought; how many people in this room had been attacked or have a loved one who had been attacked? Thank you to the Mobile Area Jewish Federation for co-sponsoring this film (under the auspices of the Jewish Film Festival) with the University of South Alabama! Doors of understanding have been opened. It is up to all of us to walk through these doors and to bring others with us.
This week’s Torah reading, Vayikra, starts with an improbable opening (Lev. 1:1). Most of us picture G-d as speaking down to people from mountains or clouds. G-d is usually imagined as being above us and the audience is below. But, this week’s Parsha opens with the phrase “and G-d called out to Moses from the Tent.” True enough, it was the special tent of public worship (namedTabernacle or Mishkan), but it was a tent nonetheless. It was on the same ground as all the other tents in the encampment of Israel. G-d, Moses and all of Israel were all on the same level during this communication!
A lesson for us all emerges from this Torah passage. Never underestimate the direction from which G-d’s speech may come. It may be from Moses to Pharaoh demanding that slaves be freed. It may be from a former Israeli beauty pageant contestant, now a lawyer, working in the Israeli Attorney General’s. Or it may come from the mouth of a Christian professor visiting Mobile from Lebanon imploring us to hear of oppression against Christians. We must open our ears in order to hear G-d’s voice better. Each of us has a role to play in the world to share G-d’s voice of justice, compassion and love.
Shabbat shalom. RSS
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