Most of us are familiar with the age-old adage "don't judge a book by its cover", despite our tendency to do just that. Judaism has its own version of the teaching, telling us in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) that “we are not supposed to look at the outside of the vessel, but at its contents.”
The ancient text goes on to clarify that we must - regardless of our initial impression - look at the contents of even what appears on the outside to be a shiny, new, vessel: “for there are new vessels that can contain old wine, and old vessels that can contain wine [that is so poor] that is not even new.”
The Pirkei Avot teaching adds to the traditional understanding of this concept, reminding us that no matter how wise, old, or sage a person may seem on the outside, in order to truly understand a person’s worth we must look at the content of their character.
As I sit here reflecting on what has hardly been a quiet summer, I am amazed at how many vessels we thought contained quality wine have in fact soured to vinegar.
This summer the Jewish world watched as two of our own and an American icon, for all of their vocational brilliance, proved themselves to be from a rather poor vintage.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the once sagacious Chief of the International Monetary Fund, and a possible candidate for President of France had his image transformed almost overnight as charges of sexual violence were brought to light.
We saw Anthony Weiner, a once a rising star in the Democratic Party and a future mayoral candidate for New York City become a laughing stock, as the world’s newest and most famous Twitter user (with all apologies of course to Ashton Kutcher).
And, sadly, we watched Alice Walker, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Color Purple, become a cask of new wine herself by ignorantly refusing to look at the facts on the ground in Gaza - as she agreed to become perhaps the first high-profile American icon to travel on a flotilla to Gaza.
The Book of Psalms teaches us that “wine gladdens the heart of humankind.” Yet, what are we Jews to do when wine goes sour, and it causes us disappointment?
It may very well be the case that once the summer is over that DSK, Weiner, and Walker - all iconic professionals in their fields - will go back to their lives, as their involvement in these events becomes yesterday's news.
Some of us may even welcome their comeback; it would not be the first time that a leader, or a Jewish politician for that matter, made an erroneous choice and then soon after managed to wage a successful comeback (dare I invoke Elliot Spitzer, who now has own show on CNN?).
Nevertheless, for the Jewish people, while forgiveness is sweet like Muscat, we may not forget that once wine has turned to vinegar, it will always leave us with a bad aftertaste, no matter how good we want it to be.
This summer, I had hoped for a better news cycle, with iconic Jews and gentiles making headlines for their outstanding achievements rather than their misdeeds.
Instead, we were sorely disappointed.
As summer comes to a close, let us make it our mission to more discerning in our judgment, inspecting both content and quality - regardless of how shiny the label
Rabbi Daniel Dorsch is the Assistant Rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston, New Jersey.
