Originally, I had typed up some comments to send to TrekWest5 regarding the West Wing season 2 finale, “Two Cathedrals”. But they were quickly turning into a “dissertation” akin to my screed against ST:TNG’s “Homeward” and I wished to spare you all my ire. After all, it’s a much-loved episode. The writing, acting, and directing are all quite powerful. And yet, I find them unsettling, and not at all in a good way. Whereas Peter and his guest host, Joey, find the show a powerful statement about faith, I find it to be quite the opposite. “Two Cathedrals” is a script full of blasphemy and a president’s ego, not about his coming to grips with the tragedies in his life. And it only goes to show why Josiah Bartlet, while a charismatic figure, is ultimately an unlikeable one.
I must disagree with Peter and Joey’s assessment of Bartlet’s angry railing against G-d. This is not mere questioning of his faith; he goes far beyond that. He curses G-d. He hurls epithets at him. He is not seeking answers to the question: “Why do good people suffer?” And I was shocked to hear it replayed on the podcast. These are words that I do not think should have been written, even for the sake of fiction. Cursing G-d is no light thing. I thought for sure Joey would have been troubled by this scene rather than calling it a “tribute to personal faith.”
Bartlet has blasphemed G-d. Exodus 22.27 (28 in Christian translations) commands: “You shall not revile G-d, and you shall not curse a leader among your people.” Leviticus 24.15 likewise commands: “And to the Children of Israel you shall speak, saying: Any man who will blaspheme his G-d shall bear his sin….”
This is not a light thing the President has done. In The Path of the Righteous Gentile, blasphemy is described this way:
“Blasphemy is the act of cursing the Creator. It is a deed so indescribably heinous that the Talmud, whenever referring to blasphemy, calls it by the euphemistic term 'blessing G-d,' to avoid directly expressing the idea of cursing G-d, the Father of all.”[1]
Rabbi S.R. Hirsch reflects this abhorrence for blasphemy in his book on the philosophy of Torah laws when in his chapter discussing blasphemy he prints the pertinent verses but refuses to discuss them further: “Here would be the place to deal with the most abhorrent of crimes, blasphemy, but the author recoils with horror from doing so.”[2]
Does this mean that one cannot question his faith or question G-d? The two are not related. Questioning G-d does not require cursing him. The two are wholly separate acts. The whole book of Job wrestles with the question why good people sometimes suffer. But the line between the question and cursing G-d is clearly drawn: “His wife said to him, ‘Do you still maintain your wholesomeness? Blaspheme G-d and die! Job said to her, ‘You talk as any impious woman might talk. Furthermore, shall we accept the good from G-d and not accept the bad?’ Despite everything, Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 2.9-10.) And then in beginning in the third chapter, Job questions why such bad things have befallen him. The difference between questioning G-d and cursing Him could not be made more clear. The epithets hurled by Josiah Bartlet at G-d fall into the latter camp.
But in the end, it will be argued, regardless of how it was done the president’s faith in G-d was restored, and that’s the important thing. However it happened, it happened. The critic may even admit that the president was a bit disrespectful, but he will say that it all worked out in the end. He will likely say that I am wound too tightly, that I take things too seriously and that this is just a television show. To which I say, some things are to be taken seriously, that G-d is holy, and some things are not said even in jest.
But further, I will say that the president’s faith in G-d wasn’t restored. What he achieved was faith in himself. That’s what the end of the show was about. Yes, Mrs. Landingham (and therefore Bartlet) pointed out that G-d doesn’t send drunk drivers. Good, he stopped blaming G-d. But that is quickly set aside for the president to pump himself. He starts by remembering others have it worse than he does, but quickly turns it into a political speech. All these suffering people, they are the reason why he must run again, so that he can save them. They need him and his genius mind. They need his compassion. Forget that the president is again avoiding the issue that he has denied the voters a clear choice for themselves. Forget also that in his second term, that brilliant mind of his is likely to be mush. None of that matters, because he is so important. As if the world would barely be able to go on without him. Look at him in the cathedral proudly telling G-d of his great accomplishments. He offsets his great deeds with the tragedies inflicted by G-d. This man is all ego. (And someone will say, “What a president with an ego?” Good point.) Note his conclusion to his tirade against G-d: “You get Hoynes.” As if he can stick G-d with the lesser man. Hubris.
And if I let myself, I could really get going here. But this ultimately is just a television show. I’m not bothered by a character with ego. We can learn a lot from such stories. But blasphemy is something else. In the end, I cannot like this episode. It confuses the difference between expressing sadness and anger and cursing G-d. When I’m arguing with my wife, I don’t hit her. When I don’t understand why life is hard, I don’t curse G-d.
1. Clorfene, Chaim and Yakov Rogalsky. The Path of the Righteous Gentile. Jerusalem: Feldheim Publishers Ltd, 1987. p. 74.
2. Hirsch, Rabbi Samson Raphael. Horeb: A Philosophy of Jewish Laws and Observances. New York: Soncino Press, 2002. (Original 1837.) p. 452.