Batman: The Dark Knight in Jewish Thought

The Dark Knight, the new Batman movie, is breaking records in the box office. The movie is not only action packed but also full of mind troubling philosophical and moral questions. There are loads of specific questions addressed in the movie. In this post, I want to focus on one thread which I think goes throughout the movie and look at it through our very own Jewish eyes. This overarching theme, in this movie but interpreted through the eyes of Jewish thought, will help us better understand some basic principles of Jewish thought as well as guide us through an authentically Jewish interpretation of the most important events of our history.

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Batman vs. The Joker: Hope vs. Destruction

The rivalry between the Joker and Batman is much more than the regular rivalry between a hero and a criminal. This is emphasized throughout the movie with Batman constantly trying to understand the reasons for the Joker's actions and even, at some point, other criminals trying to help the authorities stop the Joker. The Joker is not just a simple criminal. He represents an ideology. While his eccentric behavior makes his ideology seems crazy and irrational, one quickly realizes that his ideology is, at first sight, frighteningly coherent. What is this ideology and how is it to be contrasted with Batman's?

The Joker is all about chaos. He says it himself on numerous times in the movie. He believes that the only reason people act good is when it is for their own good. Therefore, there is nothing intrinsically good in this world. In such a world, the final destination is always chaos, armageddon or apocalypse. This world is bad.

On the other hand, Batman has hope in this world. He believes this world can be good. He believes that Gotham is constantly, yet slowly, evolving towards a better self. They're becoming better, they're becoming good people. A city which was full of criminals a few years ago is now much more quiet. There are even idealists, copycats, who try to be superheros themselves (even though putting themselves in danger is quite idiotic and puts Batman in a horrible position).

Joker believes the world is going towards chaos. Batman believes this world is going towards something extremely positive -there is an order to this world. Joker does not believe there is value in this world. Batman believes this world can and should be fixed.

Joker's philosophy is echoed in many of the world's religion. All of those religions which overemphasize the world to come, which see in this world only a host of challenges which are simply dangers towards our entry in the world to come, have a little bit of Joker in them. All of those religions which believe that there is no way for man to get to the World to Come because he is fundamentally bad, and only through the acceptance of a certain principle (such as JC) will he be saved from eternal damnation has a little bit of Joker. Those religions believe that the world is bad and going towards chaos and armageddon, and only some supernatural forces can pluck them out of the chaotic reality of this world and bring them towards a true fullfilment.

Judaism says the complete opposite: "Kol Israel Yesh Lahem Helek LeOlam Haba" - Every Jew has a share in the world to come. Yes, even if you are completely irreligious, you have a share in the world to come. And although the mishna goes on to list exceptions to this rule, the mishna had to start with this basic premise: Everyone will get a share in the world to come. In Judaism, we start with an A, and then, we could possibly loose it. In some other religions, you start with a failing grade, an F, and only through certain actions can you attain the A. This clearly establishes the optimistic nature of Judaism.

In Judaism, the world is not going towards Chaos. The world is slowly slowly, yet constantly, moving towards redemption. This very world will be the source of our redemption, and we are the ones who will bring it. The world is not fundamentally bad, it is fundamentally good, yet it's potential needs to be brought out. Our world will always move forward towards redemption. Batman seems to be believing in this incredible principle of Judaim!

These ideas came to test in what will probably become a famous scene of this movie: the scene of the two boats. On one boat, you had a bunch of criminals. On the other boat, you had normal civilians. On each boat, there were enough bombs to explode the whole boat, yet, there was a trick. The Joker left a detonator in each boat. Yet, the detonator in each boat was for the bombs in the other boat. The rules of the Joker's game were simple: If you detonate the bomb of the other boat before the other boat blows you up, you get to live. If not, the other boat will kill you. If no one detonates the bomb, both boats will be blown up by the Joker. The Joker was convinced that one boat would blow the other up. Batman wanted to believe the opposite.

In the end, none of the boats blew the other up. While individually, the passengers of the civilian boats voted to kill the prisoners, no one could make this collective action happen. While some in the prisoner boat wanted to kill the normal civilians, no one actually did it and the detonator was thrown off the boat. Both boats prefered sacrificing their lives than killing others. While the halachic discussion on this specific scene is very difficult (since one boat could maybe be considered rodeph), the message the movie was giving was clear: morality won! The Joker was wrong. People acted fundamentally good without having anything to gain!

According to Jewish Thought, there are two different forces acting in this world. One is called the derech habechiri, the way of choice, which is influenced by the freedom of choice of individuals. If individuals want to do good, they can. If they want to do bad, they can. The other is influenced by the fact that history is always moving forward towards the unification of God's name - Derech hayichud - the way of the unification. Even when individuals choose to do bad, as a collective, we are always moving towards the revelation of God's name of this world. This is true of the whole world, but even more true of Klal Israel which is God's ambassador on this earth. Therefore, our sages taught that Klal Israel had no freedom of choice. Sure, as individuals, we do. However, as a collective, whether we like it or not, we will always be revealing God's name. We will always be moving forward towards our final redemption. This seems paradoxical and it is why many sages have taught that freedom of choice cannot be truly undersood since the balance between these two forces can only be fully understood by God himseld.

This is the message of hope of Judaism. Even if individuals choose bad, the collective will always be moving forward towards God's unification on this earth, towards the ultimate good. Look at how the world has changed in the past thousands of years! Sure, there are some highs and lows (the Holocaust being the lowest of the lows), but who can deny that civilization today is much more moral than it was in Roman times? Even in the middle ages? Who can deny this constant progress towards a better world? Even moreso, look at how God played around with history in order to ensure that the Jewish people would constantly be walking towards their home, the land of Israel, and rebuilding their homeland over there. As a collective, we are constantly going towards the revelation of God's name in this world, even when individuals choose to do bad.

Rav Kook writes that the redemption from Egypt will forever stay the hope of the entire world. The whole entire world can get hope from the fact that Jewish slaves were saved from persecution in Egypt. This redemption showed the world that injustice does not last in this world. This is a world which grows towards justice. It will ultimately be good.

Judaism sides with Batman. The Joker is a symbol of everything Judaism disagrees with. This world is not fundamentally bad. It is not being lead towards chaos. We have the power to fix this world and bring it towards redemption, and, every day, we are getting closer to the day of this redemption.

The Wild Card -
One of the other characters in the Dark Knight is Two Face. Two Face was an extremely promising District Attorney fighting for good - a hero. However, after his girlfriend was killed by the Joker, he because completely crazy and started becoming an evil person. He was the symbol of the progress of Gotham and yet he became evil. Sometimes, good people become evil. Sometimes, in our process towards redemption, we have some lows which seem to indicate a step back. How can Judaism grapple with this question? How can we explain the steps back?

In the Yerushalmi, Chazal teach us that our redemption will come through a slow process. As they were going on a morning hike in the Arbel, watching the beautiful sunrise of Northern Israel, Rabbi Hiyah HaGadol told Rabbi Shimon Ben Halfata:

“כך היא גאולתם של ישראל, בתחילה קמעא קמעא, ככל שהיא
מתקדמת היא מתקדמת מהר יותר”

“This is how the redemption of Israel will be: First, it
will come Kima Kima (slowly, slowly) and then, things will go quicker and
quicker”

Many people, when they read about this slow process of our redemption, understand that the redemption comes slowly in a nice straight line moving forward and higher, forward and higher, every day better than the previous.

However, our Rabbis teach us that really, the redemption comes through a different process. The process always moves forward, but it has both highs and lows, highs and lows. It’s like someone taking a hike in an area full of mountains: When you are on the top of a mountain the air is fresh, the sun is shining (A2). Then you get in a valley, in between two mountains (A3). Then, you start going back up again, reaching another mountain top (Gueoula). You are always moving forward towards your destination, but there are highs and lows, highs and lows. Actually, when you are on the top of a mountain, it looks as if the mountain top you want to reach is two seconds away. The gueoula is two seconds away! You feel as if it’s coming NOW, you want it NOW! (Mashiach NOW, Peace NOW, Everything NOW). Then, you start going back down and in the valley, the distance seems impossible to get through. Your vision only shows you a few meters going up. You start losing faith in your ability to complete the distance. It’s too hard. You can’t do it! However, once you realize that this low, this horrible low(A3), is still so much more ahead than the high you just passed(A2), so much closer to your destination (Gueoula), then you start appreciating the process of your redemption, even with it is has some lows.

כך היא גאולתם של ישראל

Two face (allegorically) became evil, but he did not bring the process of redemption backwards. It's still moving foward. Unfortunately, because of his individual choice, it had to stake a way down in a valley. However, for the collective, it will always be moving forward - even when great leaders make poor decisions.

Two Face reminds us of the importance of our individual choice. We are all two faced with good and evil within us. If we choose good, we can do amazing things and ensure our process to gueoula will be as smooth as possible. If we choose bad, it can make things much more difficult not just for us, but for Klal Israel. In the end, however, no individual can stop the process of the unification of God's name in this world, of our redemption, from moving forward. It is constantly happening, slowly slowly.

Conclusion:

Our world is not fundamentally bad. Our world is one which hold some individuals which want bad, yet, everything in this world can be fixed. Our world is one which is constantly moving towards the unification of God's name in this world. Our world is one in which the ultimate goal is always coming closer and closer, our redemption is constantly unfolding.

Less than 200 years ago, Klal Israel's exile seemed to have become perpetual. There was no end in sight. Some people stopped believing it would end. Yet, through God's ultimate wisdom, a movement for our return to our land emerged out of the most unpredictable places. Shortly after, through even less predictable means, the State of Israel was established. After 2000 years of exile, the begining of our redemption has started. If one looks at the history of those 2000 years, we can quickly see that every event lead us to where we are today. We can't always understand why God chose certain paths, but we know that he constantly lead us towards our redemption. As we move forward from the start of our redemption towards our complete redemption, we must try and choose the right individual path so that, unlike Two Face, we can help Klal Israel go towards an easier path towards the ultimate redemption. However, we also need to put our faith in God, that even during the hardest of hardships, he is still leading us towards the greatest of times. We don't always understand why through these means or how it is done, but we know that he is constantly transforming our Atchlata Digueoula (Start of the Redemption) into a Gueoula Shelema (Complete Redemption) - may it come speedily. The message of Judaism is one of hope and optimism.