Red Crossbill : Batman is Jewish(!)

This is a… let’s pause a moment. Trust me. Focus on this bird’s beauty. Appreciate the luminous radiance the morning sun bestows. Slow down; see the delicacy - and strength - of the detailed feathers and the perching talons. And that eye. Light in a black pool like that is a compelling invocation to be introspective. But yes, the beak, clearly a deformity. Ah, but you see, he’s a Red Crossbill. That “wrong” bill is actually a technological marvel, powering these birds to secure conifer seeds, allowing them to thrive. What seems a weakness, a bust, is actually the defining characteristic of their success.

Batman. No, really…. Batman is Jewish. I don’t mean just that his creator, Bob Kane, was Jewish. Or that fanboys debate whether Bruce Wayne’s mother, Martha Kane, was Jewish. Who is Batman? A refugee from another planet? A mutant? A survivor of a spider bite or a gamma bomb? Batman is just a man. He is motivated. Honed through education and training. Innovative. Self-sacrificing. Community-minded. A mentor. Possessed by justice. An outsider. He is Gotham’s hero and protector by his own application. He is just a man. But he innovates, creating himself anew and creating “Bat Everythings” to win every battle.

“Being Jewish” in a single paragraph…. Judaism is innovative adaptation to advance our values despite every challenge. Rome’s power is gone; Yavne’s children remain. Alexander’s empire is memory; the Jewish diaspora spans the entire globe. Crusades, pogroms, Holocaust; Israel is a strong, thriving sovereign state. Our culture and practices evolve. Our theology and learning are portable and unmoored from a single mountain or building. Our greatest technological innovation - the Seder - annually creates new Jews. The Crossbill adapts his seeming weakness into a massive advantage. Batman’s true (Jewish!) superpower is that same innovative adaptability.