Avatar, Tu B'Shvat and the connection to Jewish mysticism
'Avatar' questions what we think we know about theology, ethics and contemporary values.
By The Forward and Jay Michaelson Tags: Jewish World Israel news"If you're an author or Ph.D. candidate who had the foresight to propose a book on the philosophy of 'Avatar' before the film was even released in theaters, the past week (and the blogosphere) has been very, very good to you." - Dave Itzkoff, The New York Times, December 22, 2009
Well, good for me, then - I'm both an author and a doctoral candidate whose new book, "Everything Is God," is indeed about the philosophy of the smash movie "Avatar." That philosophy is a bit of pantheism, a bit of nature mysticism and a surprising dash of monotheism, as well. In other words, it's Kabbalah, as filtered through the Hasidism of the 19th century and the neo-Hasidism of the 20th and 21st.
"Avatar" tells the story of Pandora - the world of the Na'vi - threatened by human ore mining. Where "Avatar" departs from classical Kabbalah and Hasidism is in its environmentalism (a feature heightened by the film's release alongside the Copenhagen climate change talks and the season of Tu B?Shvat, the "new year of the trees"). Classical Kabbalah and Hasidism do not speak in "Avatar's" environmental terms, ecause "environmentalism" would have made no sense to people living before the Industrial Revolution. Do we, today, care about whether it's a mitzvah to preserve the planet Mars? Of course not - because we do not have the capacity to destroy it. Likewise, Jews before industrialization had no concept of a global environmentalism. They strictly regulated what they did know, such as pollution, waste and cruelty to animals, but they simply had no concept of environmentalism, because they had no concept of its opposite.
Yet perhaps the connections between mysticism and environmentalism are not so distant, after all. Let's take a look.
First, "Avatar's" deep ecology is interwoven with its pantheistic, quasi-kabbalistic notion of a "web of life." Indeed, the latter necessitates the former: it's impossible to believe that all life is deeply connected, and yet not be troubled when the sinews of that connection are frayed and destroyed. To be sure, this spiritual view of environmentalism is not the only reason to care about preserving the earth. Pure self-interest is another: If we would prefer to be able to grow grain in the Midwest and live on islands, stopping climate change is in our own best interest. Straight-up monotheism is yet another reason: If we regard the earth as God's handiwork, surely it is a hillul haShem, a profanation of the holy Name, to treat it like some kind of vast disposable diaper.
But if we think of God not as some old man in the sky, but rather as "a motion and a spirit that impels all thinking things/and runs through all things" (Wordsworth), then the cry for environmental balance is even stronger. The nondualistic reading of "all the trees of the forest sing for joy" (Psalm 96:22) is that the trees' song is the Divine song, singing through the trees just as it does through our own poetry, lovemaking and pursuit of justice. And to pave over the trees for no reason other than the aggrandizement of the yetzer hara, the selfish inclination, is a diminution in the Divine voice.
Opponents of environmentalism will sometimes disparage such religious ideas as "pagan." Yet, particularly in theosophical Kabbalah, such "pagan" ideas are placed at the center of Jewish religious consciousness. The Shechinah, for example, is understood as a feminine aspect of the Divine latent in creation and awaiting unification (yichud) with the transcendent God. This view doesn't see God up there and dirt down here; it sees that part of God is there and part of God is here, and it's our job to bring the two together.
A second convergence between "Avatar" and Jewish mysticism is the controversial point that while individual actions are important and individual responsibility remains a value, the communal matters more: the overall health of the system, the shared justice of a society. Neither on Pandora nor on Earth will any amount of recycling of water bottles compensate for a systemic, societal pattern of consumption and waste that threatens the ecological balance of the planet. And no amount of utopian community building can stop the bulldozers.
I may get into trouble with some of my environmentalist friends here, but I'd like to suggest that in this respect, a huge portion of contemporary Jewish environmentalism is profoundly counterproductive, because it is overly individualistic. We have been accustomed to reading about "10 things you can do to save the planet," to using energy-efficient light bulbs and to thinking about eating sustainable foods. But the effects of such actions are insignificant compared with those of collective actions, like how utility plants are powered, how office buildings are insulated or how societies collectively change the fuels they use for transportation. What matters most are deep structures and collective actions. How you vote is more important than how you recycle.
Worse, individualistic environmentalism presents infinite obligations, which may dispirit and demoralize us from addressing what really matters. At the Limmud conference in England this winter, for example, someone gave a session asking whether Jews should continue to go to Israel because of the carbon footprint associated with flying. With all due respect to the presenter, even to ask such a question is counterproductive. First, whatever incremental amount one person adds to the carbon footprint of the aviation industry, it is dwarfed by multiple orders of magnitude by the efficiency of jet engines, the types of jet fuel that airlines use and the way airlines plan their routes. It's a mistake to think that what matters eco-spiritually is whether one person flies or doesn't; what matters is how an industry is organized. Second, to suggest that environmental consciousness means that Jews shouldn't fly to the Holy Land will simply cause many Jews to abandon environmentalism, because the cost is too high. Let's worry about business travelers who globe trot for profit first, religious pilgrims to holy lands second. Hyper-individualist views such as this are quite common. They are not, however, merely erroneous; they are harmful.
Unfortunately, collective and systemic change is much more difficult than individual acts of eco-responsibility. It is also, necessarily, political. But if we as a species can't get the United States, China, India and Russia to cut carbon emissions from industry and major utilities, whether you bike to work or not really doesn't matter.
Some environmentalists say that our situation is like that of neighbors after a snowstorm: Each of us is responsible for shoveling only our part of the sidewalk. But the analogy is a false one, because sidewalks are not the problem; roads and highways are. And there we have shared responsibility.
Of course, there are both individualistic and communitarian strands within Jewish ethics. Jewish law is, to an extent, Kantian; we are each required to act ethically, regardless of the consequences and contexts of our acts. Your personal carbon footprint may not matter in the grand scheme of things, but it is your ethical duty to minimize it, just as you ought not steal even if everyone else does.
But there is also the communitarian strain, which sees us not only as individuals, but also as a people with collective responsibility. This doesn't mean we have to police one another because of a shared destiny - although Kabbalah and ecology both support such a view. Rather, it means that we must take responsibility for more than our patch of the sidewalk and, like the many species of "Avatar," band together to take collective action to stop our age's bulldozers from leveling our forests and meadows. We are one interconnected entity, and while individual actions may make you feel good, they might be distracting you from the deep structures that must change in order for the planet's current ecology to survive.
At first blush, "Avatar" may look like a beautifully rendered bit of Hollywood fluff, with risible cliches of enlightened natives fighting off dastardly industrialists. To be sure, it does paint with a broad brush. But spiritually and practically, it is also a challenge to question what we think we know about theology, ethics and contemporary values -especially in a new year that may not be such a happy one for the trees.
|
A scene from James Cameron's Avatar. |
Why Facebook Connect?
Comment on Haaretz.com articles with your Facebook login, and share your thoughts on your own wall.
- Latest
- Most Viewed
- Most Rated
- Open all
One of the themes of Avatar is indigenous people resisting against external invaders. When watching Avatar one association springing up in my mind was the photograph I saw of an old Palestinian farmer facing the massive blade of a marauding Israeli D-9 bulldozer in a desperate attempt to shield his olive trees from destruction.
From my experience with Bedouins, who are the closest approximation to the children of nature of Cameron the local Arabs have, I can confirm that these guys have zero appreciation for animal lives and nature and an elevated capacity of cutting through living flesh. I can easily imagine one of these guys, in case he needs a leg of a goat or something, just to the cut the leg off and go away without even caring to finish off the hysterical animal. If you really want to see the Na'vis of the Middle East, you should visit a Sushi bar or vegetarian restaurant in Tel Aviv. There you will find throngs of Na'vis vigorously sharing with each other their wholistic connection to the nature and passionately worshiping their rat sized dogs. They are the Na'vis of the Middle East and not the Palestinians.
I would say that Avatar has as much relationship with contemplating on my belly button. Furthermore, the comment Na'vi vs Palestinians is totally ludicrous. Me thinketh Ahmed Ginsberg has been doing too much LSD.
The movie itself is not new, and it can be considered two films -- the visuals rate a 5-star level, but the script is worth one star. The plot is absurd, but the visuals make it worth seeing on the big screen. And if it can be seen in 3D, then its even better. We've seen this movie before, it just has never looked this spectacular. If you want something that is addressed to you eyeballs, this is where you'll find it.
Recall that the collective ideal is limited without the individual one. In fact, it is the preservation of individual virtue that grants one the vision of a corrected world. While, ultimately speaking, it will be the unified consciousness that will bring about our redemption, it is only to the extent that individuals have transformed that they will be able to affect global change, be it ecological or otherwise.
Avatar was perhaps the best movie of 2009. It was a 3D spectacle that plunged its audience into a fascinating green world that would be a dream to visit. The idea of worshipping an almighty diety is central to the movie and a bit Eastern philosophically speaking. Respect all the creatures in the forest is like Shintoism or Daoism. Whether you disagree with the outcome or the philosophy, it was a fun to watch.
You can not escape the similarity between the Na'vi's and the Palestinian ! Time to see what everyone is seeing.
but not much on plot or story. While the producers of the movie created a wonderful fictional world filled with amazing depictions of topography, animals, plants and life on Pandora, the story or plot is cliché, overused and not very original. Remember Dances with Wolves? Same story. The hero, a white American male, is so impressed with the nobility and dignity of the indigent natives who are completely in touch with their environment, that he joins them and becomes one of them, transformed into their hero who alone can lead them to rise up against the invaders. The so-called white man's burden is an old concept(16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th century) that turned out to be nothing but colonialism and expansionism based on greed and cruelty. This story was (is) repeated over and over. Hence the movie is a cliché, but the execution is pretty good eye candy. The purpose of this movie was to make money, and it does that well.
For those who are shooting down Avatar as mindless I think you might look into the mirror. Entertaining? Yes, but there is a story and there is a direction, and a point. I got this out of it-Human beings have mostley lost touch with the interconnectivness of all things created. Some call in nature, some God, some force. And if those who bash religion as an anti-theme with consideration to the movie;I say go read more religion in the the essence of every spirit is the same messgae that Avatar touches. All is under God, all is under the "force" we are all made of the same and therefore we should have respect to the things and beings around us. FYI I have a History degree in Ancient Near East with emphasis on religion.And getting my Master's in Archaeology. I studied many cultures/philosophy, Hinduisim , Judaisim/mystical, Sufi, Buddhisim, etc. and yes if you disect these religions to the core messgae it all has forms of what people call today 'paganisim'. May the force be with you
Ahmed, your comparison is completely inappropriate since Israel is undisputedly the homeland of the Jewish nation. Arabs come from Arabia, and Islam spread and conquered half the planet by the sword after its creation. So if there needs to be any comparison regarding invaders, and inhabitants?.you should rethink your conclusion.
Avatar is no more philosophy and theology than a Superman comic book. Its just entertainment, a for-profic enterprise. "Environmentalism" is also a business, a purely human need. The environment on this planet, including pollution, animal extinctions and global warming, have been shaped over geologic time by plate tectonics, volcanism and large meteor strikes - far far more than any past or future human impacts. Our species has been here for less than 100,000 years, and will be gone in another 100,000 years, replaced by another dominant species through either evolution or biologic succession (aka "The Hand of G*D). Life has been on this planet for 2 billion years. Avatar and "Environmentalism" both exist to make Planet Earth a bit more enjoyable and entertaining while we're here, and also to enable the making of money, as much and for as long, as possible. The Aztecs probably had opponents of clearing pristine jungle to build pyramids (the remnants we find today, swallowed by jungle).
Israel is the heart beat and the history of the Jewish people. The Jewish people returned to their rightful land after being thrown off and brutalized for over 2000 years. Each layer of dirt reveals more of the Jewish history and all Jews are connected to the land. There needs to be a fair compromise with the Palestinian people, but for some to say that the Jews have no right to Israel is very false.
I laugh at the scientist who question if there is life on other planets. There is nothing but life because L believe the life force spirit is everywhere. The cultures that believed in spirits/gods in nature were considered pagans. Seems they have it right in my book.
This article is complete nonsense, but the movie is amazing, you should all go see it.
Dear Sir, Very respectfully let me try to draw a parallel(which I don't believe) to try to show you where your logic, in my opinion, falls apart. Why should a Jew be religious and follow mitzvot? An individual's spirituality can't possibly make a difference when confronted against all the evil in the world. Furthermore, focusing on his mitzvot only furthers them from the problems outside and does not allow for a real solution. See where I am going? As with a religious Jew getting advice from some Hiloni who knows very little, the environmentalist's first question is going to be "With what authority can someone try to fix the world and the structural problems if he does not practice what he preaches?" Which I think is true for both environmentalists and Jews. I am a Jew(limited, but do practice and study). I wish I was more of an environmentalist. I think you are wrong when you say that individual work matters not, for it is the basis of everything else, like in Judaism. B"H
see PANENTHEISM. The Maggid was a panentheist as are many Jews. Shabbat Shalom.
Avatar is entertainment ... period! If you want religion, pick up a Bible ... everything you need to know, including environmentalism (Psalm 104, among others)is in there.
it is so feeble., i was actually cringing in quite a few places, as for pointing mankind in the right direction,mmm lets examine the facts, why not get in your cars, drive to the cinema , eat loads of crap,spend a few hours there, drive back and then get on with your life tomorrow, meanwhile what has changed? oh i forgot during the film look at some bright colours fizzin around and feel like your saving the planet while trying not to fart , and if judaism like paganism hasnt manifested itself from that which has preceded it then pandora really exists in the realms of fantasy along with the man in the sky,
I saw Avatar. I worked in Kabul, Afghanistan for a month and a half. Avatar reminded me, like two drops of water, of the situation there.
Avatar is a mindless cartoon about faux hippie dippy nature worship--the "noble savage" is a cliche haunting the Western imagination since Rousseau. When did Judaism become brain dead?
All humans and animals have the innate ability to commune with the Universal Mind or Cosmic Consciousness. For humans, it just needs a little bit of training in the transfer of the thought process from the physical being to that of the esoteric sense. Some people use religion, some meditation, or whatever. But either way, when you look at the universe, with it's myriad of stars, galaxies and planets, then there's no way God should be interpreted as exclusive to planet earth.
With all due respect to the author, if Jews, as a group, decided not to fly to Israel, isn't that community action, not isolated individuals?
I love the way you make a universal definition of Paganism. I am a Pagan (a Hindu) and I feel that the movie would be more closer to Buddhism (all things are connected and there is no essence). If you want to really draw parallels with Hinduism (as an example of a Pagan religion) then the closest you could get is the "non-dualistic" school of Vedanta. But again, non-dualistic schools exist in Old Testament Religions too (gnostic Christianity, Sufi Islam, Kabballah Judaism). Would you consider them to be Pagan too!! Finally, ecology & environment has been addressed by Jainism many centuries ago. I for that matter feel that modern environment movement is nothing but "repackaged" Jainism!
Yes Theosophy is Paganism and so is Environmentalism. Just as the hue and cry went out over Star Wars being a promotion of Paganism, Avatar sounds like a promotion of the latter. Those of us who consider Environmentalism to be based on false science probably won't see the movie since it isn't a piece of Hollywood fluff. Why pay $10 to listen to propaganda. Which religion doesn't regard the Earth as G-D's handiwork? That doesn't mean that we have to try and play G-D. Its a big leap from 'contributing' to global warming to 'causing' it or 'stopping' it. Volcanoes produce far more CO2 than man and termites produce more methane than cattle, which produce more than man. Methane holds more heat than CO2. Why are we trying to control CO2, the air that comes out of our lungs? One reason, the Almighty Dollar, not the Almighty
Avatar is just a bang bang bang movie in a different guise. It's basically what we used to call when i was a child "a cowboys and Indian" movie dressed up in todays CGI and gimmicks. The "Red Indians " as we used to call them, had mysticism, because they did not know about evolution, Darwin ETC. To try to suggest that this crap movie is nothing more than a vehicle, for its director to make lots of money out of twits who follow cults is nonsense.
Arieh, What I feel you're really talking about is the difference between a society that proceeds exclusively from the top down (elitism/fascism/totalitarianism) compared to one that tolerates, even encourages grass-roots ideas and ideals. The former becomes increasingly brittle and stratified, totally dependent on an individual or small clique (Yugoslavia, the Stalinist USSR, modern Singapore). Societies that have bottom-up information flow can adapt, innovate and thrive in a changing world. But the world IS always changing, and since almost ANY society can have a "disproportionate" impact on the world through its policies and actions (think war, pollution, etc.). Therefore, it's urgently required of EVERY society to understand our interconnections, recognize that "given enough eyeballs, all (problems) are shallow", and act accordingly. The fact that most, or at the very least, many, "modern" societies do NOT do this is THE source of much human and environmental suffering.
Thank you for an interesting article. I wonder though about the opposition you propose for individual responsibility and communal value. There was a time in Israel when so many individuals picked wild flowers that the fields were denuded within weeks of the first rains. Someone had the bright idea of imbuing school kids with the notion that the flowers were more beautiful if left in situ. What happened was that the children, in a demonstration of how society can be changed from the bottom up. Communal sensitivity then reduced greatly the actions of individuals. But first, an individual, perhaps only a single individual, initiated the process. In any stable culture there is a inherent resistance to change. Change can then only come from the outside, ie, from another culture or from new ideas from within. But ideas come first only from a single mind.
Talk about six degrees of separation... this article is something like a thousand degrees of absurdity. To equate Avatar... to Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism, is nothing more then an over-inflated journalist clutching at straws. Avatar is a state of the art... science fiction movie, it needs to be viewed as an artistic endeavor. A product of technological expertise and futuristic storytelling. Not some representation of our ethical duty to minimize the carbon footprint. No one needs Avatar, the movie... to point us in that logical direction.
wonder if avatar made viewers in israel to reflect on zionism and if they drew any parallels between the navi and palestinians
I couldn't agree more. As I watched the movie here at the Imax I couldn't help but see it as a spiritual God is in everything message. I know I will offend the Anti-religious but the movie made no secret that everything was interconnected to their God figure. Deal with it.