The Meaning of Bikkurim

When I hear people thank others, it can be automatic and without emotion or sincerity. For sure, others say it with a great deal of honesty and feeling; however, the expression of thanks is teetering on the meaninglessness of “how are you.” When we ask people this, we are often not really asking but using it as an expression of greeting. Similarly, the expression of “thanks” is done absent of the emotion and simply as a way to end a conversation or to transition.

In Deuteronomy, bikkurim was an expression of thanks by farmers providing a sample of the first crops to the local temple. This concept is not foreign to Christians as they are asked to tithe 10% of their income. In Islam, one of the five pillars of the faith is the responsibility of charity, zakat. By giving to those less fortunate or to those in need (or to God), we are showing thankfulness for that which we have been given. Additionally, this is not just an expression of thanks; it is the action of thanks. We thank God for a great many things – that the car started this morning, that our children are somewhat normal, that Baltimore defeated Pittsburgh. Most are likely things God could not care less about. For Jews, they gave thanks for every aspect of their lives. However, what makes the concept of bikkurim different is that it requires something more than an utterance. It requires action or sacrifice to show one’s gratitude.

This is not a unique aspect of Jewishness. The observance of Yom Kippur demands of its adherents to not only apologize but to make right a past wrong. So, with bikkurim, it is not enough to give thanks, but we must show it as well. These lessons extend beyond the dictates of the Jewish faith and serve as a challenge for all of us. I do not hold myself as an example of showing thanks. Like nearly everyone else, I fall short often in doing what I should but it does not make the lesson or its implications any less important or relevant.

During the Civil War and unimaginable suffering, Abraham Lincoln called for a national day of thanksgiving. At a time when many are economically suffering, I give thanks for my wife, my family and friends, the ability to do things that I enjoy and the job which provides the resources that make that life possible. I try and show thanks by honoring my wife and my friends, as well as putting my best foot forward at work and for my students every day. It does not matter that the things in my life that I’m most thankful for are also points of stress and frustration; so it is with the things we care about the most. So, show your thanks and revel in the annoyances of life. They reaffirm our priorities.

Et tu, Silvio

An end of an era has hit the Italian Peninsula. The continent-wide movement began with Greece when the American-born Greek prime minister, George Papandreou, paid for the sins of institutional corruption and tax evasions and was forced out of office. The former vice president of the European Central Bank, Lucas Papademos now has the happy pleasure of piloting a nation that does not seem to understand its culpability in the current financial crisis. The next ax fell upon longtime and beleaguered Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. Unlike Mr. Papandreou, who was given only two years to fix an unholy mess whose origins date back to the beginning of the modern country, Mr. Berlusconi has been a part of a system that encourages the type of reckless spending and irresponsible fiscal policies that has brought Italy to the brink.

For most of the last decade, il Cavaliere has ruled Italy like his own fiefdom and has weathered enough political scandals to knock nearly any other world leader from power. In 1998, he was sentenced to two years in prison for bribing tax inspectors; he was acquitted (several times) of falsifying accounts; he named a topless model to a ministerial position in 2008; the next year, he was charged with cavorting with minors and a prostitute; in 2010, his “bunga bunga” parties that amounted to orgies came to light; earlier this year, he combined his 2009 troubles and was put on trial for supposedly paying for an underage prostitute. The most amazing thing about all of these allegations and crimes? They were not what drove him from power. It was the world markets.

For Mr. Berlusconi, it is not surprising how the last ten years unfolded for the man who began his career singing on cruise ships and specializing in television programming reminiscent of Telemundo, complete with dancing, half-naked girls. It is a question of dazzle to obscure the mess. The “dazzle” is numbers that seem, on the surface, to be adequate, including a paltry (by European standards) 8% unemployment rate. However, the devil is in the details, which include structural issues that have been worsening for decades and a government that is failing in providing basic services and creating a competitive atmosphere for businesses. Italy’s GDP in 2010 outgrew only Zimbabwe and Haiti. The country’s public debt is 120% of its GDP – as a comparison, the U.S. public debt is 62% of GDP.

This stands as fuel to a fire that Italy is experiencing with the rest of Europe – a growing jobless rate, particularly in the hard hit Mezzogiorno region. And conditions in the southern part of Italy are not even a new development, with the region in general and Naples in particular always the subject of castigation and dismay. The young people of Italy are fed up with a government that cannot get a handle on its own affairs or those of organized crime and are fleeing to greener pastures in the EU or elsewhere. As the young professionals leave, it exacerbates the already graying population that produces less and takes more. The government refuses to provide an atmosphere where businesses can thrive and unions will not allow for longer work weeks to increase production so as to offset higher wages.

Italy, in short, is a mess and like Greece, it is an institutional, historical mess. Mr. Berlusconi is one of the richest men in Italy and no doubt, will ensure that his fortunes and security remain intact. But the country he “led” over the last decade will suffer the consequence. The new prime minister, Mario Monti, can expect a great deal of support from a populace tired of his megalomaniacal predecessor. But with yields on Italian bond rates climbing to nearly 7%, it will not be easy to put together a government that can keep the Italian economy from going into the ditch. Mr. Monti will need to move quickly and ensure parliamentary support if he hopes to make long-lasting and beneficial changes. The continent and the world await news.

OWS, the election and Sesame Street

The Occupy Wall Street movement seems more a call for chaos than substantive change. I don’t mind a protest per se but please, have a point and a solution. The people who are protesting throughout the country range from the sincere (a seeming minority) to the absurd and dangerous. The trashing of buildings and public grounds to the destruction of private businesses are not messages against the bankers and those who supposedly have fleeced the American public. This is about the opportunity to act outside the bounds of common decency and the democratic spirit. So the bankers and the businessmen are the reason they are out in the street, destroying, trashing and complaining? A student of mine, during a class conversation, compared the movement to those who blamed Jews in Germany for the economic troubles of the 1920s on the anniversary of Kristallnacht. While not the same in spirit, it is in intent. Who will be the next target of this rabble? I’m a teacher and not a member of the “1%.” However, there is not a single banker or Wall Street employee responsible for any American without a job. These protests, far and gone from the Tea Party group despite some attempts at comparison, are the end result of “class warfare” demagoguery. Did people think that months of blaming a particular group for all the ills in society would not have an impact?

On to the election front. Not to toot my own horn, but I ask the reader to revisit my assessment of the 2012 Republican candidates for president. Governor Perry has certainly lived up to the idea that he is not quite ready for “prime time.” He will not be the nominee but it will not be because of his inability to articulate his message. We’ve had presidents before of who it can be said were not well-spoken. Herman Cain has shown the weakness of a man with no experience. Some of the “intelligentsia” have used the opportunity of Mr. Cain’s ascendency to throw out terms like “Uncle Tom” and the like, but the candidate is merely showing the signs of one not use to the intensity of the spot light and sadly, we will see an apparently decent man cast aside. However, if the charges against him are true, it will not be the reason he does not get the nomination. We’ve had presidents before with a proclivity towards illicit or illegal behavior towards women. On one observation, I might be wrong and I hope I am. I wrote earlier that Newt Gingrich was likely the smartest one in the room – the one adult in the room, but would not win the nomination. He is climbing in the polls and he could be poised to make a move. His comment to the moderator of a recent debate that it was ridiculous to sum up what to do with health care in thirty seconds shows both his seriousness and experience with complicated issues. It might be enough.

On the other side of the political aisle, I would like to consider the candidacy of President Barack Obama. Not since Franklin Roosevelt has a president been re-elected with such an abysmal economy. However, I have a solution that might ignite more interest in his bid for re-election. I’m betting there are those in President Obama’s campaign who have already considered this idea. Vice President Joe Biden should step down for the good of the party. While no one should question his commitment to his country and the service he has rendered, he has been so marginalized over the last couple of years, it is a wonder he still wants the job. Yet, he still manages to take the limelight with his ill-advised remarks. The administration will likely say it has something to do with his wanting to spend more time with his family or perhaps, health issues. Either way, it would open the door to one the president and his staff would have more confidence in and be able to use more often and effectively. Just a thought.

Lastly, this past week was the anniversary of the debut of PBS’ “Sesame Street.” I’m like many who grew up on its lessons and its characters. However, as a teacher, I see the program in a different way. I challenge the reader to search the teachings and philosophies of the great educators of world history – Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, the Stoics, the Jesuits – and one would never come across the need for or importance of “fun.” However, what “Sesame Street” did was integrate the necessity and appropriateness of entertainment with education. The two have nothing to do with one another but often, I’m asked by my superiors or “experts” in the field to be as much an entertainer as a teacher. Perhaps, more so. Generations of children have incorporated the frivolous and superfluous nature of “fun” with the pursuit of knowledge. When these children arrive at elementary school, they are embraced by and surrounded with an extension of that form of education. However, when they enter middle and high school and the need for education to take a more serious approach is presented, they rebel and they lose interest. That is because they have not been trained to see the pursuit of knowledge as an intrinsic thing. Instead, the entertainment element of education, as typified by “Sesame Street,” promotes extrinsic motivation to the pursuit of knowledge. When a three year old is in the back yard inspecting a blade of grass, it is an intrinsic drive that pushes them onward. The “fun” is in discovery and curiosity – not something contrived from without.

The Blues

When I wore “a younger man’s clothes,” I was introduced to the blues by some guys with whom I served in the military. I grew up with jazz and country music in the house. Blues took a bit long to enter my life. Lately, I’ve reacquainted myself with the musical musings that, in some way, connect with me. Certainly most of the blues musicians I admire had it much worse than me; still, my first exposure to the blues was eye opening and life changing.

When I mention the blues, I prefer listening to some of the older guys – artists such as Robert Johnson, Son House, Big Bill Broonzy, Mississippi John Hurt and Skip James. In their lyrics and in their voices, one can feel pain. It is this quality that impacted me more than anything else. I appreciate some of the newer guys (with blues, newer means the 1960s and 1970s). Guys like Albert King and bar rocker Hounddog Taylor play a style of blues more analogous to the classic rock music with which I grew up. However, for all their bravado, there is something more authentic to be gleaned from the powerful voices, deft guitar playing and frightening wails of the older men who lived through the worse of racial hatred and economic depression.

The jazz movement was a natural extension of the blues and big band music of the 1920s and 1930s. Blues and country have so much in common – particularly some of the classic country music and not the over-stylized and over-produced mess that exists today. The same pain seen in blues musicians can also be heard in the tales of woe from early country stars. Yet, I still come back to the blues. The expression of life’s turmoil and difficulty is so real in their voices and lyrics and in the quality of their playing, it puts into perspective some of the new crop of singers attempting the same sound. What makes the newer music incompatible with the classic blues musicians are that the voice rings hollow…false. They have not lived it and so they are left to mimic it.

I encourage you to gravitate towards the sound of lost or spurned love as heard in Broonzy’s “Frankie and Johnny” or James' "Devil Got My Woman." Listen to a mixture of the old style religion and blues of Delta Blues legend, Son House, in “John the Revelator.” I dare you to listen to Robert Johnson and not think of the legend that suggests he sold his soul to the Devil for a chance at fame and fortune. He died so young, it seems to validate the story or at the least, give weight to the emotions he conveyed. These men (and women) who played the notes and belted out the songs represented the voice of generations and decades of misery, marginal living and hopes unrealized. Music was one of their joys and they used the medium to tell their story.

American music means a great many things to a great many people today. Each style claims an authenticity. However, if I may be a bit of a music snob, the blues represent the first true American music. Its devotees are spread throughout the world but we can visit the regions and hear the sounds and see the settings for ourselves. There is something timeless about their stories and I’ve been enthralled since my first exposure. If the blues ever became chic again, I would bemoan the Johnny-come-latelys but I implore more to venture into a record store (if you can find one) and connect. If you are open to it, it will change your life and your perspective.