by Lee Adlerstein, delivered at Minyan M'at

This Shabbat of Parshat Naso is the only point in our liturgy where
Samson plays a part, as embodied in the Haftorah. It also happens to be
the Parsha of my Bar Mitzvah. Since that event occurred more than a
few years ago, and having suffered a recent loss, I find myself
reflecting on those days. Our shul at the time did not include a bar
mitzvah speech as part of the service. So, I thought this would be a
good opportunity to give kind of a short and belated bar mitzvah speech
this shabbat, the talk which would have been given then if I had known
then something like what I know now.

There is a dilemma posed by the presence of the Samson story on the
occasion of one's assuming the responsibilities of Jewish adulthood.
Samson simply was not very adult-like or responsible. Jewish
tradition does not hold up Samson as a role model. The inclusion of
the story of his birth in the Haftorah derives from the Nazarite
connection with the Torah portion, not from a particular desire to honor
Samson. In fact, the Haftorah recounts the double blessing of Samson*s
miracle-like birth and great natural gifts, rather than his actual
career. References to Samson in Jewish tradition are sparse. He is
of greater interest to scholars and artists who struggle with aspects of
Christianity, John Milton most notable among them.

But, still, it would be unfair to give Samson short shrift. He had
positive qualities, which are instructive to those of us who aspire to
Jewish adulthood. So, it is useful to see how Samson actually
measures up in the three spheres comprising Jewish adult responsibility,
the end goals of which are to love and honor ha-shem by creating
deserved trust.

We will see that Samson does reasonably well in two of the areas, but
not in the one on which Judaism concentrates most.

First, there is the sphere of delivery, to provide daily sustenance and
physical security. Judaism pretty much takes this area for granted.
While many of the 613 commandments require the presence of resources and
physical security, there is no commandment specifically requiring that a
person make a living or provide protection to others. In fact, Judaism
in some ways competes with this portion of responsibility, by having us
take time away from daily tasks. Yet, this part of one*s life, as we
know, requires a great deal of effort and attention, without which not
very much would be possible. We can debate whether Judaism
establishes something unique to enhance performance in this sphere.
While there is no Jewish way to build a car, Judaism can provide insight
for how daily tasks should be done. Each person will have a different
answer on how important Judaism is in this aspect of life.

In this area Samson shines. He was masterful in delivering physical
security at a time when, as now, the Jewish people sorely needed it and
he inspired his generation. Still, we must acknowledge that he
allowed personal failings to take him out of action too early.

The second range of responsibility is the sphere of personality, where
a person shows caring about others in daily life, by focusing attention,
through smiles, laughter, conversation and in many other ways. Life
would be empty without this dimension, which also demands a lot of time
and energy.

Judaism comes closer to concentrating in this portion, but this is
still not the tradition*s central focus. An emphasis on marriage is
the key way Judaism has of fostering good personal feelings and Pirkei
Avot instructs us to greet each person with a smile. Judaism can
beautifully infuse culture, which enriches this sphere of life. Still,
some regimens of Jewish tradition, including focus on deep study, can
compete with this area by diverting people away from the emotional needs
of others. Judaism is not unique in creating good feeling; surely,
other cultures and traditions perform equally well in inter-personal
relations.

Here also, Samson does rather well. The tradition gives him credit
for being a "gutta neshomah", and for spreading good feeling among the
Jewish people. His failure in this area is that he wasted his
considerable energies on the wrong emotional partners.

Third is the sphere of respectfulness and the enhancement of life
through deeds within a community. This is the area in which Judaism
concentrates and presses its uniquely masterful features. In order
to achieve the adult responsibility of creating deserved trust, it is
critical that people carry themselves with dignity and it is vital to
have a rich tradition within which to do it. By fostering the idea
of role, constancy, seriousness, and by emphasizing learning, Judaism
conveys trust between the generations. Everyone, young and old, is to
be respected. In a major sense, this is how Judaism has achieved
security for a landless people through the centuries in the diaspora.
However, we must take care that the tradition does not weigh too
heavily, as it sometimes can, on individuality and creativity, or cause
bad feeling through needless competition.

In this field, sad to say, Samson is sorely lacking. His story has
little if anything to offer in the area of respectfulness, personal
dignity, constancy, or scholarship. This is why the tradition focuses
very little on Samson.

In sum, most if not all of us are at least a little bit like Samson.

Depending on the particular point in time -- on health, mood,
inspiration, energy level -- we perform better in some areas than others.

Judaism can help mightily in guiding us toward meeting
responsibilities, but we must take care not to be seriously lacking in
any of these spheres. Ultimately, each person looks into their own soul
to find the way to measure and achieve the goals of adulthood.

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