Rabbi Tracee Rosen
Congregation Kol Ami, Salt Lake City, Utah
2nd night Rosh Hashanah 5767
©2006, Rabbi Tracee Rosen. All rights reserved.
Any of us born in the days before cable television and VCRs remember the annual rite of passage that was watching on TV the 1939 classic movie, The Wizard of Oz. Based on the books written at the turn of the century (the 20th century) by L. Frank Baum, who among us can’t recall that magical moment when sepia colored Dorothy emerged from her Kansan home after the tornado to the Technicolor magic of the land of Oz? It was the perfect movie. It had all the formula ingredients: fantasy, comedy, suspense, scary characters who get their just desserts in the end, and most important, a bunch of grownups who eventually learn life lessons from the little girl and her dog. What did we learn from the movie? Well, good always conquers evil, the things we want most are already deep inside us, and yes, say it with me: There’s no place like home.
As a child, I loved the Oz books. I checked out the entire series from the public library (yes, this was before Amazon.com). I couldn’t get my fill of the wonderful characters that inhabited Baum’s magical world. So it was with a mixture of both skepticism and anticipation that I ordered the soundtrack to the musical, Wicked, two years ago. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, just ask any teenage girl. It’s about the life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Loosely based on the 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, it tells the story of two young women who meet in college, Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands, a self-centered stereotypically blond sorority-type, and Elphaba Thropp of Munchkinland, a brooding morose misunderstood misanthrope who happened to be born with green-hued skin.
Skepticism quickly turned to fandom. Keren and I were hooked by the catchy tunes, the oh so clever lyrics, and the sly innuendo and references, both within the play foreshadowing future events, and saluting the books and movie which preceeded it. For example, early in the show, Elphaba, the character who grows up to be the Wicked Witch of the West, dreams of the future. She sings
I know - it sounds truly crazy
And true, the vision's hazy
But I swear, someday there'll be
A celebration throughout Oz
That's all to do with me!
The irony of course, is that the vision is of the citizens of Oz celebrating her own demise.
Over time, we memorized the lyrics, read the Maguire book, and anxiously anticipated being able to see the play. That finally happened when we visited Phoenix last month, and to put it mildly, we were not disappointed. For a good four weeks, the melodies of the play have been running as a constant soundtrack in my head. I don’t even need an iPod.
So, as I began to prepare for the High Holy Days, I kept coming back to the themes and lessons of the play in relationship to Jewish values. After all, the composer-lyricist, Stephen Schwartz, is a nice Jewish boy from New York. Whether he consciously intended it or not, the show reminded me of a number of sayings from the great book of Jewish wisdom, Pirkey Avot. Written by the rabbis of the time of the Mishna, Pirkey Avot is a compilation of sayings about how to be a good person and live a good life. Often called Ethics of our Ancestors, it deals less with ritual observance, and more with the general human condition.
So, without further ado, I offer you “Pirkey Wicked”, the Jewish lessons we learn from the play and the wisdom of Pirkey Avot.
The play opens with the citizens of Oz celebrating the death of the Wicked Witch, singing
Goodness knows
The Wicked's lives are lonely
Goodness knows
The Wicked cry alone
Nothing grows for the Wicked
They reap only
What they've sown
Which seems to be an illustration of the saying by Nittai of Arbel, “al tityaesh min hapuranut, Never despair of retribution for the wicked. (1:7)”
Soon, however, the conversation turns to Glinda the Good and her earlier relationship with the Witch. Glinda ponders,
Are people born Wicked? Or do they have
Wickedness thrust upon them? After all, she had
a father. She had a mother, as so many do
This brings us to the central premise of the play. The idea that there are always two sides to the story. We are asked to forget for the duration the image of Margaret Hamilton and her evil cackling “I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog, too,” and attempt to see the story through Elphaba’s eyes, reminding us of the statement by the great sage, Hillel, “al tadin et haverach ad shetagia limkomo. Do not judge another human until you have stood in his or her situation. (2:5),” or that of Joshua ben Perachya: “heavy dan et kol adam lkhaf z’chut, when you assess people, tip the balance in their favor (1:6).”
The play flashes back to the occasion of Galinda and Elpahba’s first meeting, on their first day of college at “good old Shiz.” Elphaba has arrived as a caregiver to her disabled sister, Nessarose, and Galinda enters as the socialite who dominates her surroundings. Elphaba in contrast is a green-skinned, dour, social outcast who seems to revel in the rejection of others. They take up an immediate dislike for one another, proclaiming:
There's a strange exhilaration
In such total detestation
It's so pure and strong!
Though I do admit it came on fast
Still I do believe that it can last
And I will be loathing
Loathing you
My whole life long!
However, soon thereafter, Galinda gives Elphaba a hat, meant as a mean joke, which Elphaba misconstrues as a kindness, and in return, Elphaba helps Galinda gain entry into the advanced sorcery class, proving the point of Ben Azzai that “mitzvah gorreret mitzvah, one mitzvah leads to another mitzvah (4:2).”
Soon, however, both young women learn to see past the superficialities, although Galinda does attempt to do an extreme makeover of Elphie. She sings to her:
When I see depressing creatures
With unprepossessing features
I remind them on their own behalf
To think of
Celebrated heads of state or
Specially great communicators
Did they have brains or knowledge?
Don't make me laugh!
They were popular! Please -
It's all about popular!
It's not about aptitude
It's the way you're viewed
So it's very shrewd to be
Very very popular
Like me!
Ultimately, however, Elphie remains green, and strongly opinionated, and when she gets angry, terrible things happen in her wake. Eventually, the two young women come to terms with the inner traits which make each of them special, demonstrating the saying of Rabbi Yehudah the Prince: “al tistakel b’kankan elah b’ma sheyeysh bo, Don’t look at the flask, but at its contents (4:27)”
Elphie’s tenure at Shiz is cut short however, when she discovers that there is a plot to isolate and demonize a certain segment of Oz’s population. In Oz, some animals had historically developed advanced intelligence and language skills, and were referred to as Animals, with a capital “A.” One such Animal was Dr. Dillamond, a Goat, and Elphie’s favorite professor. When he is dismissed from his teaching position one day, and taken away in chains, Elphaba protests. When she finds out who is responsible for demonizing the animals in a manner all too reminiscent of Jewish treatment by the Nazis during World War II, she decides that she cannot remain silent, so she dedicates her magical powers toward defeating the evil she perceives. In this, her actions echo Hillels’ words, “ Im eyn ani li mi li, ukhsheani l’atzmi mah ani, v’im lo achshav eymatai, If I am not for myself, who will be for me, but if I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when? (1:13)”
The rest of the show explores the ongoing relationship between the two women, the struggle on behalf of the Animals, and the love triangle that develops with a Winkie prince named Fiyero. I don’t want to give away too many of the surprises in the plot, but I do want to highlight the penultimate song, which reflects a very Jewish sensibility and ties nicely to the themes of this holy season.
Pursued by the forces bent on her destruction, Elphaba and Glinda meet for one last time. Elphaba insists that though her time is limited, it’s up to Glinda to carry on the struggle for what is right and just. Her insistence that Glinda continues the work that she had started echoes the words of Rabbi Tarfon: “lo alecha ham’lacha ligmor, v’lo atah ben horin l’hibateyl mimena, You are not obliged to finish the task, but neither are you free to neglect it. (2:21)”
Glinda responds:
I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you:
Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good
This profound idea that everyone we encounter has a lesson to teach us comes from a much later source than Pirkey Avot. Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav, one of the great-grandchildren of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Chasidism taught that one of our tasks in this world is to complete our own souls. How are we to do that? Every person and every encounter we have contains within it the opportunity to reclaim a piece of our own soul, and to provide the other person with a missing piece of theirs, if only we are attentive to these possibilities. In essence, if we take this idea seriously, it turns every human encounter into an I-Thou encounter as describe by philosopher Martin Buber. This is the idea articulated by Glinda.
Elphaba responds:
It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend:
And following the dictate of Rabbi Eliezer to “shuv yom echad lifney mitatach, repent one day before your death (2:15),” she continues:
And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for
And Glinda responds:
But then, I guess we know
There's blame to share
and they continue together:
And none of it seems to matter anymore
At this time of year when the themes of forgiveness and repentance are on our minds, may we be blessed to find for ourselves the kinds of friends who not only see us for who we truly are, but who help us to actualize the good within. May we discover the missing pieces of our soul in every human encounter this year. May we learn to clear the air, to ask and grant forgiveness of and from those we love and care about. And may this be a year when we are able to truthfully say, that because we know one another, we have both been changed for the better, and have been changed for good.
L’shanah tovah tikateyvu v’teychatemu – May we all be inscribed and sealed for a good year of positive change. Amen.