As Tisha B'av draws near, maybe Mark Twain, in this essay from 1898, can remind us what we, as Jews, tend to forget as the world spins around us. We mourn for not only the loss of the Temple, but for the loss of all it should have stood for-community, togetherness, a place where being a Jew is to be dedicated to ones people and their Creator, a place of love and understanding, of higher learning and rampant spirituality....a place that Hashem can call home.
But we forgot what we were supposed to stand for, the promise we were to bring humanity and the light we should have been. Now, we suffer in embarrassment for the ethos we have turned on its head and called it righteousness. We paint our own disinterest in our uniqueness with the broad brush of man made morality and cling to a phony promise of joining the masses for they will soon take us in and treat us like their own and all will be forgotten. History has taught us that no matter how bright the star, how golden the land and how engrossing the potential, it is the Jew who has never been let into the club. Twain reminds us of all of that.
We have been viceroys, advisors, generals, chiefs of staffs, doctors of Kings, the wealthiest and most influential at each and every stop-every single place we have ever been-yet the world never fails to let us know that we are still not theirs. Do not be fooled that this time is different. At this moment in history, the world is screaming the message that no matter the song, the tune remains the same--the Jews are still Jews-whether they call us settlers, Zionists, right wing fanatics, neo cons, Pro Israel, liberals, progressives or even just Jews, they are reminding us that the doors while ajar, will never be fully open no matter how hard we try to kick them in. They remind us of all we have lost as a people, who, even as we see history repeating itself time and again, trust the loving and forgiving nature that our hearts posses, instead of the mass of evidence we see before our eyes. The world is once again reminding us what we have lost and seemingly what we have forgotten.
So I will rely on Mark Twain to remind us of what we have always been and let each one of us answer the question he poses at the end.... I can only come up with one answer...what is yours?
CONCERNING THE JEWS ...by Mark Twain Harpers Magazine 1898
"If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvellous fight in the world, in all the ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it. The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?"
Showing posts with label United States. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United States. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Day After
I, like everyone else, have no idea what G-d's master plan is for this world or this country. What I do know is he is the Creator of all things. He is the supreme judge and jury. I believe he has a sense of justice that man cannot comprehend nor see even if they think they can.
I heard a great thought from a Rabbi years ago when he was discussing the verse in the Torah "To the righteous you shall do bad and the wicked one you shall do good." He asked what kind of logic is this? How are we supposed to understand what this verse means. It defies our common sense and makes everything else the Torah has said before it, seem contradictory. Can this really be what the Torah means?
The rabbi responded with a simple, but very deep answer. He said we cannot know what Our Maker has in store for us, but know that there is most definitely a master plan which in time everyone will know all about . However, to gain insight into a particular event we must understand this verse as follows. Take a look at a crochet picture from behind. It is a sorry mess of random strings wandering aimlessly with no particular rhyme or order. Then turn it over and look at the beautiful picture it makes when it's all put together. A mess of incredible strings with seemingly no purpose, turned over onto it's front and now it all makes sense.
Events happen in this world that seem to be random instances of day to day events. Understand and know that NOTHING is just random. Each event leads to the next one which leads to another some forty years later, to another some sixty years later, to another some two hundred years later and so on. My personal opinion, and I may be way off here, is that the first slave to land foot on American soil, was done so that all those who have descended from slaves, can know that G-d above heard their cries and now has answered their prayers. Unlike others, I do not believe he doles out justice only to his people although I do believe it all comes back to his people BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT HE HAS SAID and things happen only for that reason. I believe that the first slave trader was put here BECAUSE Barak Obama was supposed to be exalted at this moment in this place. While I am worried for my people in the worst way, I am uplifted by the events of last night because it assures me that while I may not understand His plan, I am comforted by this perceived if not actual Justice for an oppressed and maligned people, that the promises he made to my forefathers are alive, burning and await their fulfillment.
That being said, I am reminded of the movie The Ten Commandments when Nefratiri comes to Moses' house to save him because Pharaoh has ordered the first born of all Jews to be killed which meant that the tenth plague would be the killing of the first born from the mouth of Pharaoh himself. She begs Moses to come with her so she can save him and Moses looks at her and says something to the extent of "You are the vehicle that G-d is working through." My own belief is like everything else, there is a reason a man who is surrounded by haters of the Jews and Israel won the Presidency of the United States last night. It was a grand moment for him, those who cried in pain and anguish for hundreds of years and all others who support him. And rightfully so. But it is very possible that through the execution of his Judgment and Justice he has uplifted an entire race of people, while at the same time passing heavenly judgement on His chosen people, His nation, to be carried out through the exalted Barak Obama.
Today is a day for celebration for any believer of G-d.
Today he has uplifted an oppressed people.
Today he has made the embarrassed, proud, the humiliated, honored.
What it means for the Jews in the short run is much more anguish and pain. More murder and moral equivocation. More appeasement of evil. More cowering in fear by Europe, the UN and now America in order to fulfill the verse "To the wicked you shall do good." More Jewish parents burying their young sons and daughters. More cries to the heavens for the Redeemer seemingly falling on deaf ears. It will be hard to live with. It will lead to many days of sorrow and fear, depression and pain. But do not let that discourage you. For just as He has exalted those that want to do us harm, He is making sure that no stone is left unturned. That when the day the Messiah finally comes to deliver His people to lead the world in Servitude to Him, no one race of people on the entire planet can come to Him with a claim that they did not oppress the Jewish People or cause them to be harmed. The prophet Isaiah in Chapter 53 makes sure that the world knows that their claims of innocence will go unheard. There will be no mercy for those that chose to do harm to the Jewish people and no time left for their repentance.
Therefore, I am celebrating today. I am happy for my African American friends who have long awaited this day and glad to see their happiness and joy. I am also glad for the believers of Hashem. For just as he has fulfilled the words of Isaiah and Deuteronomy, so too will he fulfill the words of the prophets who have told us of our ultimate redemption. The Torah is alive and it is Life for all those who embrace it.
Last night, Hashem showed once again, that there is a time for everything. I am rejoicing today because I know His words are true and His promises are real.
May it be His will that I am alive to witness the redeeming of His people so that they can serve Him with joy and happiness and let ALL the world know that He is One and His Name is One.
May it come speedily in our days. Amen.
I heard a great thought from a Rabbi years ago when he was discussing the verse in the Torah "To the righteous you shall do bad and the wicked one you shall do good." He asked what kind of logic is this? How are we supposed to understand what this verse means. It defies our common sense and makes everything else the Torah has said before it, seem contradictory. Can this really be what the Torah means?
The rabbi responded with a simple, but very deep answer. He said we cannot know what Our Maker has in store for us, but know that there is most definitely a master plan which in time everyone will know all about . However, to gain insight into a particular event we must understand this verse as follows. Take a look at a crochet picture from behind. It is a sorry mess of random strings wandering aimlessly with no particular rhyme or order. Then turn it over and look at the beautiful picture it makes when it's all put together. A mess of incredible strings with seemingly no purpose, turned over onto it's front and now it all makes sense.
Events happen in this world that seem to be random instances of day to day events. Understand and know that NOTHING is just random. Each event leads to the next one which leads to another some forty years later, to another some sixty years later, to another some two hundred years later and so on. My personal opinion, and I may be way off here, is that the first slave to land foot on American soil, was done so that all those who have descended from slaves, can know that G-d above heard their cries and now has answered their prayers. Unlike others, I do not believe he doles out justice only to his people although I do believe it all comes back to his people BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT HE HAS SAID and things happen only for that reason. I believe that the first slave trader was put here BECAUSE Barak Obama was supposed to be exalted at this moment in this place. While I am worried for my people in the worst way, I am uplifted by the events of last night because it assures me that while I may not understand His plan, I am comforted by this perceived if not actual Justice for an oppressed and maligned people, that the promises he made to my forefathers are alive, burning and await their fulfillment.
That being said, I am reminded of the movie The Ten Commandments when Nefratiri comes to Moses' house to save him because Pharaoh has ordered the first born of all Jews to be killed which meant that the tenth plague would be the killing of the first born from the mouth of Pharaoh himself. She begs Moses to come with her so she can save him and Moses looks at her and says something to the extent of "You are the vehicle that G-d is working through." My own belief is like everything else, there is a reason a man who is surrounded by haters of the Jews and Israel won the Presidency of the United States last night. It was a grand moment for him, those who cried in pain and anguish for hundreds of years and all others who support him. And rightfully so. But it is very possible that through the execution of his Judgment and Justice he has uplifted an entire race of people, while at the same time passing heavenly judgement on His chosen people, His nation, to be carried out through the exalted Barak Obama.
Today is a day for celebration for any believer of G-d.
Today he has uplifted an oppressed people.
Today he has made the embarrassed, proud, the humiliated, honored.
What it means for the Jews in the short run is much more anguish and pain. More murder and moral equivocation. More appeasement of evil. More cowering in fear by Europe, the UN and now America in order to fulfill the verse "To the wicked you shall do good." More Jewish parents burying their young sons and daughters. More cries to the heavens for the Redeemer seemingly falling on deaf ears. It will be hard to live with. It will lead to many days of sorrow and fear, depression and pain. But do not let that discourage you. For just as He has exalted those that want to do us harm, He is making sure that no stone is left unturned. That when the day the Messiah finally comes to deliver His people to lead the world in Servitude to Him, no one race of people on the entire planet can come to Him with a claim that they did not oppress the Jewish People or cause them to be harmed. The prophet Isaiah in Chapter 53 makes sure that the world knows that their claims of innocence will go unheard. There will be no mercy for those that chose to do harm to the Jewish people and no time left for their repentance.
Therefore, I am celebrating today. I am happy for my African American friends who have long awaited this day and glad to see their happiness and joy. I am also glad for the believers of Hashem. For just as he has fulfilled the words of Isaiah and Deuteronomy, so too will he fulfill the words of the prophets who have told us of our ultimate redemption. The Torah is alive and it is Life for all those who embrace it.
Last night, Hashem showed once again, that there is a time for everything. I am rejoicing today because I know His words are true and His promises are real.
May it be His will that I am alive to witness the redeeming of His people so that they can serve Him with joy and happiness and let ALL the world know that He is One and His Name is One.
May it come speedily in our days. Amen.
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