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 jews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jews. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A Primer for the Media and the Hypocritical Left and a Debt of Gratitude
Well, the day has finally come upon us.
How great is the Creator of All Things that he has uplifted the downtrodden and exalted the oppressed. I am, once again, overjoyed for my african american friends and hope this is a day they will always be proud of.
For me, I am not a drinker of the Obama kool-aid. I do not ascribe to the theory that America is a bad place. I do not believe we are the source of evil around the world. I do not believe that capitalism is a bad thing or that the framers of the constitution erred by not making government the end all and be all. I believe the framers wanted to free us from the oppression of the tyranny of an overbearing government. I believe this nation is a source of what is good about the world and lends a voice to justice and charity. I also believe that at a time of war you support your president as he makes life and death decisions for millions of people.
How sad that led by Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi as well as their accomplices in congress and the media, this country has forgotten that principle. They have disgraced their respective offices and have earned the reputation as the leaders of the most unpopular congress of all time.
So in the spirit of cooperation that Americans used to be known for B.C. (before Clinton), I will offer this primer so that the left knows how to act and what to say now that one of their own is in office. This will be new so it might take some practice. But if Chis Matthew, Brian Williams, Katie Couric, Joy Behar, Dan Rather, Matt Lauer and Charlie Gibson can do it, so can you...work with me....
"We must support our president in a time of war"
"America is a source for good"
"The most important thing during these dangerous times is the safety of the American Citizenry"
"There are evil people trying to destroy us"
"Israel deserves the right to defend itself from thousands of attacks without any moral equivocation"
"The office of the presidency needs to be a place of honor and respect."
"You can be the loyal opposition without being mean spirited and cruel"
"Please do not attack the president's daughters. That is so wrong and beyond the pale"
That should take care of lesson one. I don't want to overload you all in the first day.
As for me, unlike the hypocritical left, I will support my president during this time of war. I hope he succeeds in bringing this country back to health, but I pray he does not do it by changing what has made this country great. It is the ingenuity and creativity of the American people that has made us the beacon on the hill. It is the recognition of the greatness of the human spirit and the value of freedom. It is the promise of a new day where everyone has a chance because they are free.
Therefore, I regret immeasurably that I am writing this, I hope my president's agenda fails.
I don't think spending us into oblivion is a smart thing to do just like I didn't think it was smart when George Bush did it. I don't think socializing medicine, the auto industry and the banking system is a smart thing to do. I don't think raising taxes in a time of financial turmoil is a smart thing to do. I don't think raising the capital gains tax during a recession "because it's fair" is a smart thing to do. I don't think listening to Samantha Power is a smart thing to do. I don't think equivocating Israel and Hamas or Hezbollah is a smart thing to do. I don't think letting the United Nations dictate our foreign policy is a smart thing to do. So I hope his policies-not him-his agenda fails.
I hope he fails in his health care initiative as it is currently being bantered about. If he is willing to allow the rest of America to have the same health insurance coverage that congress has or that he has, I am with him, provided he cuts some spending to pay for it. However, if he wants the rest of us to have one type of insurance and congress to have another, I hope he fails severely. I do not believe congress should get to vote themselves a pay raise and then vote on what is best for the rest of us so long as it does not apply to them. So if the presidents plan is to install a system that rations health care, count me out and I pray for his policies to fail while I am at the same time praying for his success.
I hope he sees that it's one thing to talk in platitudes and hallmark quotes and it's another to govern. I hope he understands that the world is far more dangerous than he was led to believe by moveon.org, George Soros, NPR or the halls of academia. I hope when he wakes up on January 21st he realizes that there is far more to this job than painting a house or calling the Steelers or the Cardinals after the Super Bowl.
I hope he understands that his number one job more than anything else is to protect the citizens of this great country.
On that note, I just wanted to send out my sincerest thanks to George Bush for keeping my family and all my friends (on the left-where I have many and on the right) safe these last seven and a half years. The decisions he was forced to make on his watch, were a little more complicated than Keith Olberman's "what tie should I wear" or Ted Kennedy's "Do you think I should leave her at the bottom of the river?" I am not a huge fan of George Bush's, but I have the utmost respect for him. I am proud he restored honor to an office that was blemished by sex under the desk and governing by poll numbers. More importantly, he understood the threats that are around us and took the fight to them instead of kicking the can down the road like we did in 1993 at the WTC or when terrorists blew up a ship of ours in '99-2000.
I thank the president for serving our country and thumbing his nose at the despots in Cuba, Venezuala, Gaza, Syria, Iran, Russia etc....I thank him for having the integrity and fortitude to not chase popularity and to stand up for freedom and what he believed was right. It has been my experience that if the arabs, dictators and a historically cowardly Europe don't agree with you, you must have done something right. I am forever grateful that you put America first.
I hope my new president will follow his lead.
How great is the Creator of All Things that he has uplifted the downtrodden and exalted the oppressed. I am, once again, overjoyed for my african american friends and hope this is a day they will always be proud of.
For me, I am not a drinker of the Obama kool-aid. I do not ascribe to the theory that America is a bad place. I do not believe we are the source of evil around the world. I do not believe that capitalism is a bad thing or that the framers of the constitution erred by not making government the end all and be all. I believe the framers wanted to free us from the oppression of the tyranny of an overbearing government. I believe this nation is a source of what is good about the world and lends a voice to justice and charity. I also believe that at a time of war you support your president as he makes life and death decisions for millions of people.
How sad that led by Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi as well as their accomplices in congress and the media, this country has forgotten that principle. They have disgraced their respective offices and have earned the reputation as the leaders of the most unpopular congress of all time.
So in the spirit of cooperation that Americans used to be known for B.C. (before Clinton), I will offer this primer so that the left knows how to act and what to say now that one of their own is in office. This will be new so it might take some practice. But if Chis Matthew, Brian Williams, Katie Couric, Joy Behar, Dan Rather, Matt Lauer and Charlie Gibson can do it, so can you...work with me....
"We must support our president in a time of war"
"America is a source for good"
"The most important thing during these dangerous times is the safety of the American Citizenry"
"There are evil people trying to destroy us"
"Israel deserves the right to defend itself from thousands of attacks without any moral equivocation"
"The office of the presidency needs to be a place of honor and respect."
"You can be the loyal opposition without being mean spirited and cruel"
"Please do not attack the president's daughters. That is so wrong and beyond the pale"
That should take care of lesson one. I don't want to overload you all in the first day.
As for me, unlike the hypocritical left, I will support my president during this time of war. I hope he succeeds in bringing this country back to health, but I pray he does not do it by changing what has made this country great. It is the ingenuity and creativity of the American people that has made us the beacon on the hill. It is the recognition of the greatness of the human spirit and the value of freedom. It is the promise of a new day where everyone has a chance because they are free.
Therefore, I regret immeasurably that I am writing this, I hope my president's agenda fails.
I don't think spending us into oblivion is a smart thing to do just like I didn't think it was smart when George Bush did it. I don't think socializing medicine, the auto industry and the banking system is a smart thing to do. I don't think raising taxes in a time of financial turmoil is a smart thing to do. I don't think raising the capital gains tax during a recession "because it's fair" is a smart thing to do. I don't think listening to Samantha Power is a smart thing to do. I don't think equivocating Israel and Hamas or Hezbollah is a smart thing to do. I don't think letting the United Nations dictate our foreign policy is a smart thing to do. So I hope his policies-not him-his agenda fails.
I hope he fails in his health care initiative as it is currently being bantered about. If he is willing to allow the rest of America to have the same health insurance coverage that congress has or that he has, I am with him, provided he cuts some spending to pay for it. However, if he wants the rest of us to have one type of insurance and congress to have another, I hope he fails severely. I do not believe congress should get to vote themselves a pay raise and then vote on what is best for the rest of us so long as it does not apply to them. So if the presidents plan is to install a system that rations health care, count me out and I pray for his policies to fail while I am at the same time praying for his success.
I hope he sees that it's one thing to talk in platitudes and hallmark quotes and it's another to govern. I hope he understands that the world is far more dangerous than he was led to believe by moveon.org, George Soros, NPR or the halls of academia. I hope when he wakes up on January 21st he realizes that there is far more to this job than painting a house or calling the Steelers or the Cardinals after the Super Bowl.
I hope he understands that his number one job more than anything else is to protect the citizens of this great country.
On that note, I just wanted to send out my sincerest thanks to George Bush for keeping my family and all my friends (on the left-where I have many and on the right) safe these last seven and a half years. The decisions he was forced to make on his watch, were a little more complicated than Keith Olberman's "what tie should I wear" or Ted Kennedy's "Do you think I should leave her at the bottom of the river?" I am not a huge fan of George Bush's, but I have the utmost respect for him. I am proud he restored honor to an office that was blemished by sex under the desk and governing by poll numbers. More importantly, he understood the threats that are around us and took the fight to them instead of kicking the can down the road like we did in 1993 at the WTC or when terrorists blew up a ship of ours in '99-2000.
I thank the president for serving our country and thumbing his nose at the despots in Cuba, Venezuala, Gaza, Syria, Iran, Russia etc....I thank him for having the integrity and fortitude to not chase popularity and to stand up for freedom and what he believed was right. It has been my experience that if the arabs, dictators and a historically cowardly Europe don't agree with you, you must have done something right. I am forever grateful that you put America first.
I hope my new president will follow his lead.
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.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
I could not have said it better myself
No electorate is less concerned with it's own self preservation than the Jewish voter-Dick Morris, Jew, October 30, 2008.
And therein lies the rub.
I am not sure why we do what we do or what is it that drives us to work so hard against our own self interest, but we are the absolute best at ignoring what is best for us just to try and fit in. I have always wondered how the Jews throughout history allowed themselves to be subjected to the most ruthless and cruel governments of all time without so much as a whimper. I now know how that happened.
We are, for the most part, a loyal and committed group. We are by our very nature, ideologues. We are, as the Torah tells us, a stiff-necked people. So it should not have come as a surprise that we always do what is best for everyone but ourselves. I just didn't think when all the evidence was so blatant, we would sell our own people out for the empty promise of a thousand dollars.
When I think back to Germany and consider all that led up to the destruction of the Jewish presence there, I used to be amazed at how so many smart people allowed the nazi's rise to power. I am not amazed or even curious anymore. I am witnessing a moment in time that will not soon be forgotten.
We sit on the precipice of an upheaval we have never seen in the history of our country, and we not only sit by and cheer the movement, we embrace and work for it. We are being told to give to the greater good. Fairness for all. Everyone should be at the same spot at the same time. Except of course for the elites who dictate the mantra. Funny how two millionaires like Barak Obama and Joe Biden, give nary a penny to charitable causes, yet are asking us to give to the cause of the greater good. The Talmud in Taanis mentions an old Jewish motto which referred to those who preach about their own greatness. "Remove the beam from your eye, before you try and take out the spec from your neighbors eye." You ask me to give up for the common good when you have failed by example, to lead the vision of self sacrifice?
As a side note of curiosity, how is it that a community organizer, a law professor, a state senator and US senator, is a millionaire? Where is the revenue? What job did he have that enabled him to accumulate such wealth?
I am left with this one question that eats at me daily. Why is it that we can commit to a cause made of nothingness, false promises and empty slogans which quite possibly may be a detriment of our own freedom, but we ignore the calling of the Creator of the Universe and treat his cause as something we do by rote or barely a few times a year?
I am afraid that in twenty or so years-I should be lucky to live that long- I am sitting with my young grandchild and he/she asks me Grandpa, was there really a Jewish state called Israel in the beginning of the twenty first century? Yes dear there was. What did you do to stop it from being destroyed? she'll ask. Sadly, I may not be able to answer. Who was it that allowed this to happen? The entire world I'll say. What did the Jews do? I won't even know what to tell her. Didn't they care that Israel was going to be destroyed? I will say no they didn't. They wanted five hundred dollars in the mail instead. But hadn't they learned about what happened in Spain? France? Russia? Germany? I suppose they just didn't care.
Here is the scenario. April 2008. Iran attacks Israel with a dirty bomb or some form of transfered deadly chemical weapon as PROMISED by Ahmediajad over and over again. President Obama convenes his top foreign advisors to ask how should America react. In the room are Zbigniew Bzrezinski and his son Mark, Anthony Lake, Susan Rice and Robert O. Malley and Ivo Daalder. All of whom have a history of blaming Israel first.
(FYI_This is from today's issue of American thinker magazine."Then there is this disconcerting article in the Financial Times about Democratic Presidential candidates and Israel. One of the key advisers to one of the Presidential candidates admitted to some tactical moves to garner pro-Israel support in America:
"The plain fact is there is no upside for candidates to challenge the prevailing assumptions about Israel," said one of their advisers, who asked not to be named. "The best strategy is to win the White House and then change the debate."
One well-regarded blogger, Rutgers Professor Judith Apter Klinghoffer believes this adviser was Ivo Daalder, who was quoted throughout the article and who is one of the foreign policy advisers to Barack Obama.")
So this group of advisors needs to help Obama with his plan. I ask you as a Jew, do you think this will be good for our people or not so good? Personally, I have no doubt that by the end of an Obama presidency, AS A POLICY, Israel and America will no longer be staunch allies.
Can we trust him? I can't help but think about Obama's pledge to abide by the public financing laws and then when it was convenient, he broke that pledge. Or his pledge to not raise taxes on those making over 250,000 only to hear in last nights infomercial the number 200,000. Or his promise to keep Jerusalem unified only to have him disagree with himself the next day.
Would you buy a used car from this man?
One last thing. If there was nothing incriminating on the tape that the LA Times has, Obama should ask them to release the tape so everyone can see it. That would be a sign of character and someone I might be able to trust. He won't do that, however. Rumor has it, he was not very flattering to Israel. Hard to believe based on his past statements?
I will let you be the judge.
And therein lies the rub.
I am not sure why we do what we do or what is it that drives us to work so hard against our own self interest, but we are the absolute best at ignoring what is best for us just to try and fit in. I have always wondered how the Jews throughout history allowed themselves to be subjected to the most ruthless and cruel governments of all time without so much as a whimper. I now know how that happened.
We are, for the most part, a loyal and committed group. We are by our very nature, ideologues. We are, as the Torah tells us, a stiff-necked people. So it should not have come as a surprise that we always do what is best for everyone but ourselves. I just didn't think when all the evidence was so blatant, we would sell our own people out for the empty promise of a thousand dollars.
When I think back to Germany and consider all that led up to the destruction of the Jewish presence there, I used to be amazed at how so many smart people allowed the nazi's rise to power. I am not amazed or even curious anymore. I am witnessing a moment in time that will not soon be forgotten.
We sit on the precipice of an upheaval we have never seen in the history of our country, and we not only sit by and cheer the movement, we embrace and work for it. We are being told to give to the greater good. Fairness for all. Everyone should be at the same spot at the same time. Except of course for the elites who dictate the mantra. Funny how two millionaires like Barak Obama and Joe Biden, give nary a penny to charitable causes, yet are asking us to give to the cause of the greater good. The Talmud in Taanis mentions an old Jewish motto which referred to those who preach about their own greatness. "Remove the beam from your eye, before you try and take out the spec from your neighbors eye." You ask me to give up for the common good when you have failed by example, to lead the vision of self sacrifice?
As a side note of curiosity, how is it that a community organizer, a law professor, a state senator and US senator, is a millionaire? Where is the revenue? What job did he have that enabled him to accumulate such wealth?
I am left with this one question that eats at me daily. Why is it that we can commit to a cause made of nothingness, false promises and empty slogans which quite possibly may be a detriment of our own freedom, but we ignore the calling of the Creator of the Universe and treat his cause as something we do by rote or barely a few times a year?
I am afraid that in twenty or so years-I should be lucky to live that long- I am sitting with my young grandchild and he/she asks me Grandpa, was there really a Jewish state called Israel in the beginning of the twenty first century? Yes dear there was. What did you do to stop it from being destroyed? she'll ask. Sadly, I may not be able to answer. Who was it that allowed this to happen? The entire world I'll say. What did the Jews do? I won't even know what to tell her. Didn't they care that Israel was going to be destroyed? I will say no they didn't. They wanted five hundred dollars in the mail instead. But hadn't they learned about what happened in Spain? France? Russia? Germany? I suppose they just didn't care.
Here is the scenario. April 2008. Iran attacks Israel with a dirty bomb or some form of transfered deadly chemical weapon as PROMISED by Ahmediajad over and over again. President Obama convenes his top foreign advisors to ask how should America react. In the room are Zbigniew Bzrezinski and his son Mark, Anthony Lake, Susan Rice and Robert O. Malley and Ivo Daalder. All of whom have a history of blaming Israel first.
(FYI_This is from today's issue of American thinker magazine."Then there is this disconcerting article in the Financial Times about Democratic Presidential candidates and Israel. One of the key advisers to one of the Presidential candidates admitted to some tactical moves to garner pro-Israel support in America:
"The plain fact is there is no upside for candidates to challenge the prevailing assumptions about Israel," said one of their advisers, who asked not to be named. "The best strategy is to win the White House and then change the debate."
One well-regarded blogger, Rutgers Professor Judith Apter Klinghoffer believes this adviser was Ivo Daalder, who was quoted throughout the article and who is one of the foreign policy advisers to Barack Obama.")
So this group of advisors needs to help Obama with his plan. I ask you as a Jew, do you think this will be good for our people or not so good? Personally, I have no doubt that by the end of an Obama presidency, AS A POLICY, Israel and America will no longer be staunch allies.
Can we trust him? I can't help but think about Obama's pledge to abide by the public financing laws and then when it was convenient, he broke that pledge. Or his pledge to not raise taxes on those making over 250,000 only to hear in last nights infomercial the number 200,000. Or his promise to keep Jerusalem unified only to have him disagree with himself the next day.
Would you buy a used car from this man?
One last thing. If there was nothing incriminating on the tape that the LA Times has, Obama should ask them to release the tape so everyone can see it. That would be a sign of character and someone I might be able to trust. He won't do that, however. Rumor has it, he was not very flattering to Israel. Hard to believe based on his past statements?
I will let you be the judge.
Monday, October 27, 2008
If We Can't Even Trust Ourselves...?
I, for one, am glad I don't actually sit and ponder what is happening in the world. Don't get me wrong, I watch my stocks plummet daily and listen to the news about how the worst is ahead....of course until November 5th when the world will be saved.
Forgive me if I don't buy into the hype.
I have lived a rather short time when compared to the worlds existence, but have been around long enough to know, if it sounds like a snake and looks like a snake, it's probably a snake.
Therefore, last week was the first day as a Jew in America, that I thought I might need easy access to my passport. I am by no means a fatalist, but under the walk like a duck theory, I can't get away from the harrowing thought that EVERY SINGLE advisor that Barak Obama has used and credited vis a vi foreign policy, is not only anti-Israel, but scarily so. Worse, if Dennis Ross-who ingeniously gave us intifada one and two, is the only friend of Israel in the "policy" hub that this massively inexperienced Obama has in his confidence, we as Jews need to really think about our people and where we go from here.
Alas, that is not the worst of it. Not to be outdone, the brilliant coat tailer Tzpi Livni announced yesterday that she cannot come to terms with the morally bankrupt Shas party in Israel because she refused to take negotiating away Jerusalem off the table.
Who does this? What other nation/people is so stupid?
Does anyone really think that the Saudis would split Mecca? Medina?
Would the Egyptians split Cairo?
The Americans split New York?
How is this even an issue?
Sadly the answer is that if you are of the ilk that believes Uganda is a good substitute for Israel, it's an easy jump to put no importance on Jerusalem.
And for all my fellow Jews who are confident that Jerusalem will not be split under an Obama administration, I refer you to his comment at the AIPAC conference this past summer to a crowd full of Jews-that Jerusalem MUST remain united, (which he prefaced with a "Let me make myself perfectly clear") only to turn around the next day and tell Charlie Gibson that he mis-spoke and said so after the speech...Of course he said that to ..umm...no one. Doesn't sound like change to me-sounds like a typical politician who in front of thousands promises them what they want to hear and then behind closed doors says oops without correcting it ON the record... at least until the arab countries cry foul and only then does he say I must have misspoke. When asked by Gibson if that was a rookie mistake he said it was just a mistake. Well now, as a Jew I feel much more comfortable with that answer.
I then thought maybe I could find solace in the self proclaimed Friend of Israel and, as we have been told for three months now, foreign policy expert, Joe Biden. Maybe his support of the Jewish state and his great command of foreign policy based on his expertise would lead me to back Obama. However as a long time observer of the plagiarist Biden, three things came to mind right away which actually had me question Obama's judgement more than anything else. One was Biden SUPPORTED the nuclear freeze agenda in the 80's-he was way WRONG on that as history has proven-he also voted against the first Iraq war which passed overwhelmingly in both houses-WRONG AGAIN. However as a Jew, the following story I recently read convinced me that within all his bluster is someone who just doesn't get it....
In a conversation with Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, after a sharp
confrontation in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the subject
of the settlements, Menachem Begin defined himself as “a proud Jew who does not
tremble with fear” when speaking with foreign statesmen.
During that committee hearing, at the height of the Lebanon War, Sen.
John Biden (Delaware) had attacked Israeli settlements in Judea and
Samaria and threatened that if Israel did not immediately cease this
activity, the US would have to cut economic aid to Israel.
When the senator raised his voice and banged twice on the table with
his fist, Begin commented to him: “This desk is designed for writing,
not for fists. Don’t threaten us with slashing aid. Do you think
that because the US lends us money it is entitled to impose on us what
we must do? We are grateful for the assistance we have received, but
we are not to be threatened. I am a proud Jew. Three thousand years
of culture are behind me, and you will not frighten me with threats.
Take note: we do not want a single soldier of yours to die for us.”
After the meeting, Sen. Moynihan approached Begin and praised him for
his cutting reply. To which Begin answered with thanks, defining his
stand against threats.
I guess Joe is not the answer for me as a Jew then.
I love my people. I love my people who will be forced to vote for the unreliable John McCain and I love my people who will incredulously vote for Barak Obama.
However, as a Jew who loves his people more than he loves politicians, I looked at David Duke's friends and knew that they were bad for me and my people, and I look at Barak Obama's friends and know that they are bad for me and my people-The Jewish People. As for those of you who say that Obama just knows them he's not friends with them....if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, it's a duck. At the very least, even they would then have to admit that if their argument is to be believed, Obama is not very loyal to the people who helped him get where he is (Khalidi, Monsoor, Wright) or he is being disingenuous, which then boils it down to a question of either character or expedience... either way you slice it, it is uncomfortable and slick at best.
Less then five minutes ago, while writing this post, a Jewish lady I know mentioned to me how despicable it was that Shas brought down the Israeli government because Livni would not agree on Jerusalem. How does this happen? How do Jews not care anymore about their people? How can Jews who actually understand the Balfour declaration or the UN partition plan, or the creation of other mideast countries, make such a statement? (For the record, I do not believe the lady I spoke to cares a lick to learn about any of that or even about the land of Israel except to take a possible tour with Hadassah)
When did the Jews stop caring about Jews?
I am brought back to the essence of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane's message when he said that westernized Jews have become too comfortable with America. For the record, I love this country and all the opportunity it has given myself, my family and my people, but I am not naive enough to believe that what has happened to us, as a people, everywhere else in the world where we have become staples of society, could not happen here. It might not happen all the same, but do not sleep on this, it can happen in the greatest country ever known to mankind.
I am not and never have been a fan of Mccain. Like his competition, he has always been an appeaser. However, he does have some things he believes in through his statements and through his record. When forced with two brutally unappealing candidates who will both spiral America into levels of desperation we have not seen in decades, I am forced to then think about what is best for my people. I am not totally comfortable with Mccain and Israel, but with Joe Leiberman having his ear I am a bit comforted. However, by knowing what is NOT best for the Jews, I recognize the lesser of two evils which is why I cannot cast a vote for Barak Obama.
I just hope soon, when the Israelis go to the ballot box, they end the cycle of madness and stupidity that has befallen their leadership, and choose a leader like Begin, who won't cow tow to big brother in the US and do what is best for the Jews.I hope that kind of leader still exists.
If we won't do what is best for us, why would we be foolish enough to think someone else will?
Forgive me if I don't buy into the hype.
I have lived a rather short time when compared to the worlds existence, but have been around long enough to know, if it sounds like a snake and looks like a snake, it's probably a snake.
Therefore, last week was the first day as a Jew in America, that I thought I might need easy access to my passport. I am by no means a fatalist, but under the walk like a duck theory, I can't get away from the harrowing thought that EVERY SINGLE advisor that Barak Obama has used and credited vis a vi foreign policy, is not only anti-Israel, but scarily so. Worse, if Dennis Ross-who ingeniously gave us intifada one and two, is the only friend of Israel in the "policy" hub that this massively inexperienced Obama has in his confidence, we as Jews need to really think about our people and where we go from here.
Alas, that is not the worst of it. Not to be outdone, the brilliant coat tailer Tzpi Livni announced yesterday that she cannot come to terms with the morally bankrupt Shas party in Israel because she refused to take negotiating away Jerusalem off the table.
Who does this? What other nation/people is so stupid?
Does anyone really think that the Saudis would split Mecca? Medina?
Would the Egyptians split Cairo?
The Americans split New York?
How is this even an issue?
Sadly the answer is that if you are of the ilk that believes Uganda is a good substitute for Israel, it's an easy jump to put no importance on Jerusalem.
And for all my fellow Jews who are confident that Jerusalem will not be split under an Obama administration, I refer you to his comment at the AIPAC conference this past summer to a crowd full of Jews-that Jerusalem MUST remain united, (which he prefaced with a "Let me make myself perfectly clear") only to turn around the next day and tell Charlie Gibson that he mis-spoke and said so after the speech...Of course he said that to ..umm...no one. Doesn't sound like change to me-sounds like a typical politician who in front of thousands promises them what they want to hear and then behind closed doors says oops without correcting it ON the record... at least until the arab countries cry foul and only then does he say I must have misspoke. When asked by Gibson if that was a rookie mistake he said it was just a mistake. Well now, as a Jew I feel much more comfortable with that answer.
I then thought maybe I could find solace in the self proclaimed Friend of Israel and, as we have been told for three months now, foreign policy expert, Joe Biden. Maybe his support of the Jewish state and his great command of foreign policy based on his expertise would lead me to back Obama. However as a long time observer of the plagiarist Biden, three things came to mind right away which actually had me question Obama's judgement more than anything else. One was Biden SUPPORTED the nuclear freeze agenda in the 80's-he was way WRONG on that as history has proven-he also voted against the first Iraq war which passed overwhelmingly in both houses-WRONG AGAIN. However as a Jew, the following story I recently read convinced me that within all his bluster is someone who just doesn't get it....
In a conversation with Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, after a sharp
confrontation in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the subject
of the settlements, Menachem Begin defined himself as “a proud Jew who does not
tremble with fear” when speaking with foreign statesmen.
During that committee hearing, at the height of the Lebanon War, Sen.
John Biden (Delaware) had attacked Israeli settlements in Judea and
Samaria and threatened that if Israel did not immediately cease this
activity, the US would have to cut economic aid to Israel.
When the senator raised his voice and banged twice on the table with
his fist, Begin commented to him: “This desk is designed for writing,
not for fists. Don’t threaten us with slashing aid. Do you think
that because the US lends us money it is entitled to impose on us what
we must do? We are grateful for the assistance we have received, but
we are not to be threatened. I am a proud Jew. Three thousand years
of culture are behind me, and you will not frighten me with threats.
Take note: we do not want a single soldier of yours to die for us.”
After the meeting, Sen. Moynihan approached Begin and praised him for
his cutting reply. To which Begin answered with thanks, defining his
stand against threats.
I guess Joe is not the answer for me as a Jew then.
I love my people. I love my people who will be forced to vote for the unreliable John McCain and I love my people who will incredulously vote for Barak Obama.
However, as a Jew who loves his people more than he loves politicians, I looked at David Duke's friends and knew that they were bad for me and my people, and I look at Barak Obama's friends and know that they are bad for me and my people-The Jewish People. As for those of you who say that Obama just knows them he's not friends with them....if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, it's a duck. At the very least, even they would then have to admit that if their argument is to be believed, Obama is not very loyal to the people who helped him get where he is (Khalidi, Monsoor, Wright) or he is being disingenuous, which then boils it down to a question of either character or expedience... either way you slice it, it is uncomfortable and slick at best.
Less then five minutes ago, while writing this post, a Jewish lady I know mentioned to me how despicable it was that Shas brought down the Israeli government because Livni would not agree on Jerusalem. How does this happen? How do Jews not care anymore about their people? How can Jews who actually understand the Balfour declaration or the UN partition plan, or the creation of other mideast countries, make such a statement? (For the record, I do not believe the lady I spoke to cares a lick to learn about any of that or even about the land of Israel except to take a possible tour with Hadassah)
When did the Jews stop caring about Jews?
I am brought back to the essence of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane's message when he said that westernized Jews have become too comfortable with America. For the record, I love this country and all the opportunity it has given myself, my family and my people, but I am not naive enough to believe that what has happened to us, as a people, everywhere else in the world where we have become staples of society, could not happen here. It might not happen all the same, but do not sleep on this, it can happen in the greatest country ever known to mankind.
I am not and never have been a fan of Mccain. Like his competition, he has always been an appeaser. However, he does have some things he believes in through his statements and through his record. When forced with two brutally unappealing candidates who will both spiral America into levels of desperation we have not seen in decades, I am forced to then think about what is best for my people. I am not totally comfortable with Mccain and Israel, but with Joe Leiberman having his ear I am a bit comforted. However, by knowing what is NOT best for the Jews, I recognize the lesser of two evils which is why I cannot cast a vote for Barak Obama.
I just hope soon, when the Israelis go to the ballot box, they end the cycle of madness and stupidity that has befallen their leadership, and choose a leader like Begin, who won't cow tow to big brother in the US and do what is best for the Jews.I hope that kind of leader still exists.
If we won't do what is best for us, why would we be foolish enough to think someone else will?
Monday, August 11, 2008
My Heart Cries.....
I cannot believe it has been almost a year since my last post.
Unfortunately, nothing has changed.
This past weekend our people lost a holy Jewish soul who just wanted to be told he was a good Jew. His story resonated with me. He was a child looking to fit in. He didn't wear white shirts or learn all day. He struggled finding anyone who would talk with him and tell him that being different than the other kids was okay and he was as important to the people of Israel as anyone else.
He passed away yesterday from injuries sustained in a car accident in Baltimore early Friday morning.
My children knew him.
I knew him.
I could have been him.
I am a graduate of life on the street. I was one of "those kids". I wanted nothing to do with Judaism when I was 18. I was in a very bad way. I know all too well where this child was coming from.
Quite a few years ago, there was a job opening for someone to run a program to help "children at risk" I applied. I didn't get the job. Why? I found out later when the person was hired. I didn't have the look they wanted. I didn't wear a white shirt or black pants, wasn't currently in the Yeshiva of the month-or have an MSW-all I had going for me was I knew who these kids were-I was working with them on my own and was one of them in my youth. But the powers that be thought I wasn't right for the job.
It was a colossal failure. They hired someone (two people actually-yeshiva guy and yeshiva girl) who had no clue what they were dealing with. They had the exact look that these children were running away from. Who thinks this way? Separate times for boys and girls? Exactly what they were running away from. Did anyone think that was actually going to work?
The experiment didn't last a year.
Now is the time. We need leadership.
We have told our children all the No's we can think of. No movies, no TV, no DVD, no internet, no girls, no competitive sports....What are they supposed to do? What do you expect them to do? Where do you think they're are going to turn?
We are dealing with real lives, real Neshomos. Children who are crying to be heard. What have we NOT taken away from them? How many more kids will the streets have to grab away from us before we open our eyes?
We have NUT-JOBS walking around trying to cancel concerts from Lipa Schmeltzer? Some guy pulls out a bunch of papers proclaiming that the Rabbis have given him permission to be a tattle tale/snitch/self proclaimed macher and we are supposed to take him seriously? All the problems we are facing and the best he can do is protest Lipa Schmeltzer?
Agudas Yisroel makes a proclamation that we all need to vote. With everything we are dealing with that needs leadership and direction we get "go Vote"? Are you serious?
What is wrong with us? Our people are in trouble.
ARE THERE ANY LEADERS LEFT IN KLAL YISROEL?
We are worried about singers? Voting?
We are to blame because we buy into this craziness.
NO MORE!
We are at war. They come at you with a gun you better be prepared to come back at them with a cannon. All bets are off now. If that means we have to let boys and girls spend time together supervised somewhere, we have to do it. It has been my experience-both being a child like this-raising children and working with these type of children for more than two decades that Torah cannot compete with teenagers when it comes to girls and sports. We have to find a way to work with this paradigm in so much as we need to take our ideologies and move them aside-we are in a war for our kids lives. The tired old ways will not do it. Personalities will get this done. The last thing a kid on the street wants to hear is that the Torah is the ultimate guide to happiness-he has heard that and rejected that.
What are we prepared to do?
I am not advocating anything not halachic-chas vshalom. We need to change the game and we need to do it now. We need to preach from the rooftops (and kal v'chomer the pulpit) that its okay to wear a blue shirt or not go to bais medresh. We need to let children who can't wear a jacket or hat, not wear one and find a way to tell them they are still loved and MORE IMPORTANTLY an important part of the Klall. Our community is crying for leadership. Someone to say what we are doing now IS NOT WORKING.
We spend so much time patting ourselves on the back about how great we are, we have no time to take a critical look at what we MUST do to save EACH AND EVERY CHILD-not just the ones who are stars in cheder.
My soul aches for my people. I have not been able to sleep because I know what we have to do and I am not sure we have anyone in Klal Yisroel who is willing to do it. We need to stop pretending and start doing-we need substance-we need to realize that we can make a difference, but WE HAVE TO CHANGE.
I liked this boy. I like his entire family. They are great people and I cannot even fathom the grief they must be going through.
I hope they find some solace in the fact that their precious child is with his Maker now and under his protection where nothing more can happen to him. I know it is little consolation, but what else can I offer those whose lives have been shattered by a tragedy like this.
I was not surprised to hear that the funeral home was full, but I was saddened at how many in attendance would have actually forbid their children to even speak with this child let alone hang with him.
The duplicity is priceless and the irony sickens me.
The ball is in our court.
What are we prepared to do?
Unfortunately, nothing has changed.
This past weekend our people lost a holy Jewish soul who just wanted to be told he was a good Jew. His story resonated with me. He was a child looking to fit in. He didn't wear white shirts or learn all day. He struggled finding anyone who would talk with him and tell him that being different than the other kids was okay and he was as important to the people of Israel as anyone else.
He passed away yesterday from injuries sustained in a car accident in Baltimore early Friday morning.
My children knew him.
I knew him.
I could have been him.
I am a graduate of life on the street. I was one of "those kids". I wanted nothing to do with Judaism when I was 18. I was in a very bad way. I know all too well where this child was coming from.
Quite a few years ago, there was a job opening for someone to run a program to help "children at risk" I applied. I didn't get the job. Why? I found out later when the person was hired. I didn't have the look they wanted. I didn't wear a white shirt or black pants, wasn't currently in the Yeshiva of the month-or have an MSW-all I had going for me was I knew who these kids were-I was working with them on my own and was one of them in my youth. But the powers that be thought I wasn't right for the job.
It was a colossal failure. They hired someone (two people actually-yeshiva guy and yeshiva girl) who had no clue what they were dealing with. They had the exact look that these children were running away from. Who thinks this way? Separate times for boys and girls? Exactly what they were running away from. Did anyone think that was actually going to work?
The experiment didn't last a year.
Now is the time. We need leadership.
We have told our children all the No's we can think of. No movies, no TV, no DVD, no internet, no girls, no competitive sports....What are they supposed to do? What do you expect them to do? Where do you think they're are going to turn?
We are dealing with real lives, real Neshomos. Children who are crying to be heard. What have we NOT taken away from them? How many more kids will the streets have to grab away from us before we open our eyes?
We have NUT-JOBS walking around trying to cancel concerts from Lipa Schmeltzer? Some guy pulls out a bunch of papers proclaiming that the Rabbis have given him permission to be a tattle tale/snitch/self proclaimed macher and we are supposed to take him seriously? All the problems we are facing and the best he can do is protest Lipa Schmeltzer?
Agudas Yisroel makes a proclamation that we all need to vote. With everything we are dealing with that needs leadership and direction we get "go Vote"? Are you serious?
What is wrong with us? Our people are in trouble.
ARE THERE ANY LEADERS LEFT IN KLAL YISROEL?
We are worried about singers? Voting?
We are to blame because we buy into this craziness.
NO MORE!
We are at war. They come at you with a gun you better be prepared to come back at them with a cannon. All bets are off now. If that means we have to let boys and girls spend time together supervised somewhere, we have to do it. It has been my experience-both being a child like this-raising children and working with these type of children for more than two decades that Torah cannot compete with teenagers when it comes to girls and sports. We have to find a way to work with this paradigm in so much as we need to take our ideologies and move them aside-we are in a war for our kids lives. The tired old ways will not do it. Personalities will get this done. The last thing a kid on the street wants to hear is that the Torah is the ultimate guide to happiness-he has heard that and rejected that.
What are we prepared to do?
I am not advocating anything not halachic-chas vshalom. We need to change the game and we need to do it now. We need to preach from the rooftops (and kal v'chomer the pulpit) that its okay to wear a blue shirt or not go to bais medresh. We need to let children who can't wear a jacket or hat, not wear one and find a way to tell them they are still loved and MORE IMPORTANTLY an important part of the Klall. Our community is crying for leadership. Someone to say what we are doing now IS NOT WORKING.
We spend so much time patting ourselves on the back about how great we are, we have no time to take a critical look at what we MUST do to save EACH AND EVERY CHILD-not just the ones who are stars in cheder.
My soul aches for my people. I have not been able to sleep because I know what we have to do and I am not sure we have anyone in Klal Yisroel who is willing to do it. We need to stop pretending and start doing-we need substance-we need to realize that we can make a difference, but WE HAVE TO CHANGE.
I liked this boy. I like his entire family. They are great people and I cannot even fathom the grief they must be going through.
I hope they find some solace in the fact that their precious child is with his Maker now and under his protection where nothing more can happen to him. I know it is little consolation, but what else can I offer those whose lives have been shattered by a tragedy like this.
I was not surprised to hear that the funeral home was full, but I was saddened at how many in attendance would have actually forbid their children to even speak with this child let alone hang with him.
The duplicity is priceless and the irony sickens me.
The ball is in our court.
What are we prepared to do?
Friday, July 20, 2007
I'm Tired...
I'm tired and beat down.
My body is ravaged by the poundings of life.
I am just too tired.
I read the paper this morning and saw that the Jews leading us in Israel, in their infinite wisdom, released the 250+ prisoners I lamented about two weeks ago.May Hashem watch over our people when the "innocent" prisoners, decide to extinguish a few more Jewish lives. Maybe then we can truly rejoice in our commitment to lift up the stature of the evil Abu Mazen.
I read this week how we have been selling smichot so people can earn 1000 shekels more. Is there no such thing anymore as integrity and character? Think about the last time you ever heard a shmooze by your rebbi or a speech by your rabbi and he mentioned those words. What are we doing? Is this Torah Leadership?
I read about a rabbi overseas who has been collecting money from his government for services never rendered. Straight out stealing. No if's and's or but's. What are we gonna do?
I'm just too tired.
This week of the nine days has proven to be all it is rumored to be and between all our issues and our conscious decisions to not deal with our problems as a people, I hate to say this, but we deserve what we get. We have absolved ourselves from personal responsibility, deferring to our rabbis for every decision we make. We have become lemmings. I am just too tired.
I need Shabbos this evening. I need it to reinvigorate my beaten down body and distressed soul and pray that Hashem have mercy on us this week-a week of historical tragedy and hope that our withdrawing from the pleasures of this world, will serve as an atonement for our cowardice and our shameful behavior.
Shabbat Shalom.
My body is ravaged by the poundings of life.
I am just too tired.
I read the paper this morning and saw that the Jews leading us in Israel, in their infinite wisdom, released the 250+ prisoners I lamented about two weeks ago.May Hashem watch over our people when the "innocent" prisoners, decide to extinguish a few more Jewish lives. Maybe then we can truly rejoice in our commitment to lift up the stature of the evil Abu Mazen.
I read this week how we have been selling smichot so people can earn 1000 shekels more. Is there no such thing anymore as integrity and character? Think about the last time you ever heard a shmooze by your rebbi or a speech by your rabbi and he mentioned those words. What are we doing? Is this Torah Leadership?
I read about a rabbi overseas who has been collecting money from his government for services never rendered. Straight out stealing. No if's and's or but's. What are we gonna do?
I'm just too tired.
This week of the nine days has proven to be all it is rumored to be and between all our issues and our conscious decisions to not deal with our problems as a people, I hate to say this, but we deserve what we get. We have absolved ourselves from personal responsibility, deferring to our rabbis for every decision we make. We have become lemmings. I am just too tired.
I need Shabbos this evening. I need it to reinvigorate my beaten down body and distressed soul and pray that Hashem have mercy on us this week-a week of historical tragedy and hope that our withdrawing from the pleasures of this world, will serve as an atonement for our cowardice and our shameful behavior.
Shabbat Shalom.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Revelation?
With Shavuot starting Tuesday evening, I just wanted to address a point I see debated all over the Internet on blogs and biblical criticism sites everywhere. I don't know if I'm missing something, but it almost seems too obvious to me. I'll explain:
The argument about revelation at Sinai, when the Jews received the Torah, and were all witnesses to that fact, is that there is no proof to that. The logic goes that the Torah tells us that we were all there and saw it happen so because it says so in the Torah, it makes it true. The problem, as the argument goes, is that that is a circular argument. How can you use the very book in question to prove the book is indeed factual. In other words we say we were all there because the Torah says we were.
I don't think that is the proof. I think the proof inside the Torah is not so much that the Torah says we were there so therefore it must be true. I think that is the wrong argument/proof. I think the proof is the very fact that the Jews believed it is the actual proof. Let me clarify:
Everyone of us knows Jews. We know how pushy, obnoxious, overbearing and stubborn they/we can be. Moshe even addresses this point to Hashem when he complains that they are a stiff necked stubborn people. So let's put ourselves there for a moment. We have just left Egypt after a few hundred years of slavery and have witnessed countless miracles on our behalf, but still complain to our leader about everything under the sun. He goes away for awhile to rest and we create a new leader made of gold. Our leader returns and is a bit pissed about being replaced by a cow so he destroys the cow and goes away again. When he comes back, he brings with him a book that tells us of our history. In that book it says we went to this place and that place and did this and that. It says we were rescued in Egypt and it says we traveled in the dessert to XY and Z place.
We are all kind of sitting there listening to our history and taking it all in. Our leader tells us that we need to tell our children and their children about what is in this book because it speaks of our history and what we have been through. We accept it and do as it says which is now obvious from our very existance. Now, I ask you this as people who know Jews. Do you really believe if any of these things did not happen to them, that those stubborn people who first handed the Torah down to the next generation,would have done so? The Jews had no problems challenging Moshe and they did not do so in this case. The Jews I know would have been throwing stuff at Moshe telling him he was a nut and who was he Mr. Big Shot to tell us what we were to do. They would not pass down anything that he made up in order to enslave them just like the Egyptians did. They did not do that. They accepted what he gave them and passed it down.
So the argument isn't that the Torah tells us that we were there so we believe it because that's what the Torah says. The argument is that THE JEWS AT THAT TIME, ACCEPTED WHAT IS IN THERE ABOUT THEMSELVES AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM, WHAT THEY DID AND WHERE THEY WENT AND HOW THINGS HAPPENED and then passed that down to each generation, just like we all have had things passed down to us since the beginning of time. THE FACT THAT WE ACTUALLY ACCEPTED WHAT WAS WRITTEN AS TRUE AT THE TIME OF REVELATION is the actual proof-that we didn't argue the facts of the case but agreed that they were true because they had just lived and experienced them. In turn, they handed the Torah down to each subsequent generation afterwards as if to say-here is your history and you can believe from me it's true because I LIVED IT. That is what makes the Torah proof argument not only non-circular, but a solid proof to anyone who knows any Jews at all.
As for the argument that maybe the Torah was written and given generations later so there was no one to disprove what was written in it, it is an arbitrary argument. It is just as easy to say what I wrote above as it is to say the Torah was made up by some old guys 2000 years ago. So unless you can make that argument stick, I find myself going with the one I made above. Maybe the world was started in someones basement and just grew too big and we have what we have now. Whatever claims you can make about the Torah being written years later, I can make a stronger claim above because above is something tangible to base some facts on. Arguments to the contrary are simply arbitrary.
One thing is certain. Surely the Jews at the time of Moshe had more guts than we do today. They did not just accept his word blindly. They had experienced some bad things and were not just ready to follow him wherever he went. He had to prove things to them constantly and they became a thorn in his side at every turn. Yet, they accepted his Torah and the things that were written ABOUT EACH OF THEM PERSONALLY to be true and that alone is enough for me and should be for anyone who has an open mind.
For those who question this, look around you at Jewish leadership and our people today. Do you think we would have argued with Moshe or question the veracity of his claims? Of course not. We are a spoiled lot and we shiver at the site of anything different. I only wish that the people who left Egypt were alive today. They would stand up to a weak kneed leadership who would crumble at the pressure of their outrage. They would demand accountability from their leadership for cover-ups and violations of law both sceular and Torah and call for their ouster if they could not stand up to the pressure. They would ignore Rabbinical wanton orders and ask them based on what authority can they adopt such random edicts. I long for the survivors of Egyptian slavery who received the Torah at Sinai because they were history's greatest skeptics as their behavior indicates....and yet they accepted the Torah to be true and with open arms.
May this Shavout bring you peace, rest, happiness and a greater understanding of what the Creator of the World wants from you and all of us and may we live to see the final redemption with the coming of Moshiach speedily in our days.
The argument about revelation at Sinai, when the Jews received the Torah, and were all witnesses to that fact, is that there is no proof to that. The logic goes that the Torah tells us that we were all there and saw it happen so because it says so in the Torah, it makes it true. The problem, as the argument goes, is that that is a circular argument. How can you use the very book in question to prove the book is indeed factual. In other words we say we were all there because the Torah says we were.
I don't think that is the proof. I think the proof inside the Torah is not so much that the Torah says we were there so therefore it must be true. I think that is the wrong argument/proof. I think the proof is the very fact that the Jews believed it is the actual proof. Let me clarify:
Everyone of us knows Jews. We know how pushy, obnoxious, overbearing and stubborn they/we can be. Moshe even addresses this point to Hashem when he complains that they are a stiff necked stubborn people. So let's put ourselves there for a moment. We have just left Egypt after a few hundred years of slavery and have witnessed countless miracles on our behalf, but still complain to our leader about everything under the sun. He goes away for awhile to rest and we create a new leader made of gold. Our leader returns and is a bit pissed about being replaced by a cow so he destroys the cow and goes away again. When he comes back, he brings with him a book that tells us of our history. In that book it says we went to this place and that place and did this and that. It says we were rescued in Egypt and it says we traveled in the dessert to XY and Z place.
We are all kind of sitting there listening to our history and taking it all in. Our leader tells us that we need to tell our children and their children about what is in this book because it speaks of our history and what we have been through. We accept it and do as it says which is now obvious from our very existance. Now, I ask you this as people who know Jews. Do you really believe if any of these things did not happen to them, that those stubborn people who first handed the Torah down to the next generation,would have done so? The Jews had no problems challenging Moshe and they did not do so in this case. The Jews I know would have been throwing stuff at Moshe telling him he was a nut and who was he Mr. Big Shot to tell us what we were to do. They would not pass down anything that he made up in order to enslave them just like the Egyptians did. They did not do that. They accepted what he gave them and passed it down.
So the argument isn't that the Torah tells us that we were there so we believe it because that's what the Torah says. The argument is that THE JEWS AT THAT TIME, ACCEPTED WHAT IS IN THERE ABOUT THEMSELVES AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM, WHAT THEY DID AND WHERE THEY WENT AND HOW THINGS HAPPENED and then passed that down to each generation, just like we all have had things passed down to us since the beginning of time. THE FACT THAT WE ACTUALLY ACCEPTED WHAT WAS WRITTEN AS TRUE AT THE TIME OF REVELATION is the actual proof-that we didn't argue the facts of the case but agreed that they were true because they had just lived and experienced them. In turn, they handed the Torah down to each subsequent generation afterwards as if to say-here is your history and you can believe from me it's true because I LIVED IT. That is what makes the Torah proof argument not only non-circular, but a solid proof to anyone who knows any Jews at all.
As for the argument that maybe the Torah was written and given generations later so there was no one to disprove what was written in it, it is an arbitrary argument. It is just as easy to say what I wrote above as it is to say the Torah was made up by some old guys 2000 years ago. So unless you can make that argument stick, I find myself going with the one I made above. Maybe the world was started in someones basement and just grew too big and we have what we have now. Whatever claims you can make about the Torah being written years later, I can make a stronger claim above because above is something tangible to base some facts on. Arguments to the contrary are simply arbitrary.
One thing is certain. Surely the Jews at the time of Moshe had more guts than we do today. They did not just accept his word blindly. They had experienced some bad things and were not just ready to follow him wherever he went. He had to prove things to them constantly and they became a thorn in his side at every turn. Yet, they accepted his Torah and the things that were written ABOUT EACH OF THEM PERSONALLY to be true and that alone is enough for me and should be for anyone who has an open mind.
For those who question this, look around you at Jewish leadership and our people today. Do you think we would have argued with Moshe or question the veracity of his claims? Of course not. We are a spoiled lot and we shiver at the site of anything different. I only wish that the people who left Egypt were alive today. They would stand up to a weak kneed leadership who would crumble at the pressure of their outrage. They would demand accountability from their leadership for cover-ups and violations of law both sceular and Torah and call for their ouster if they could not stand up to the pressure. They would ignore Rabbinical wanton orders and ask them based on what authority can they adopt such random edicts. I long for the survivors of Egyptian slavery who received the Torah at Sinai because they were history's greatest skeptics as their behavior indicates....and yet they accepted the Torah to be true and with open arms.
May this Shavout bring you peace, rest, happiness and a greater understanding of what the Creator of the World wants from you and all of us and may we live to see the final redemption with the coming of Moshiach speedily in our days.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
A religion of fear
Thinking back, I think I always knew it and felt it, but until it was articulated to me, I never understood it.
A few years ago I was talking to the daughter of a Chassidic Rabbi with a very famous last name and I mentioned that there was word out that the Rabbis in some cities forbid their people from using the internet and also forbid the bais yaakov girls from going to Miami on vacation. I was commenting how absurd I thought it all was when she quoted her father and said that the misnagdim have created a religion of fear.
Religion of fear. I never thought about that even though I probably always knew it. I thought back and retraced some decisions in my life where I'd asked for Rabbinical guidance and even decisions I made with my yeshiva education as my foundation.
Here's one I didn't figure out until I was 39 years old. I was studying Mesechta Sanhedrian and came across the description of Sraiyfah-swallowing of hot lead- as punishment for an adulteress. I thought it was rather harsh to be sure, but then the Talmud enlightened me on why that is needed. Sraiyfah burns the insides of a body, but leaves the outsides intact.
All of Israel has a portion in the world to come. The talmud teaches that sraiyfah is needed so that the woman can cleanse her soul and RETAIN HER PORTION IN THE WORLD TO COME by atoning for this sin this way, thereby cleansing the neshoma-soul-which gets burned up by the process. The Talmud states very clearly that the reason we have capital punishment in Judaism is because all Jews have a portion in the world to come. Hmmm...how come no one ever told me that?
How does this tie into the religion of fear?
When I learned Talmud and even Chumash when I was younger, I was always told there is a punishment for your bad deeds. It was always about "you did something bad, therefore you need to be punished. If you don't want to be punished, don't do anything bad". so we learned Torah that way in our lives and made our decisions with that somewhere in mind.
How ridiculous is that? Is there punishment? Yes. Is the reason we get the punishment because we were bad? No. The reason we get the punishment is to retain our portion in the world to come. Hashem is a G-d that loves all his creations and wants the best for them. The charedi world has locked G-d in a box and made him this unmoving, unwavering, unyielding, dictator who demands obedience at any cost. The followers of this logic bend over backwards to make life as uncomfortable as possible under the guise of "this is what G-d wants from me so I will suffer no matter the cost." Does that make any sense?
I remember asking a Rabbi about a job opportunity. I was young and naive and didn't quite get it. I told him about this job that paid very well, but I was not sure if wearing my kippah was the smartest thing. His response was that I should pass on the job because would I really want to take a job where my wearing a kippah was in question? He didn't tell me that the Mishna Brurah and the Chay Adom were of the opinion that it was no problem. I think I even knew that myself, but wanted some guidance just the same. Based on his advice I turned the job down and regretted it for years.
This past Sunday a man collecting for himself asked me for money. He started a kollel and it fell through and now he's 200k in debt. I asked why he started the Kollel and he said in his city in Israel there were only 5 kollels (im). Only five?? I told him that if a person really wants to learn he should learn as a single guy but should not be allowed to marry and effect other lives that will get entangled with his fantasy. He told me a man has to learn because it's dangerous out in the world. I agreed but asked him what is the big deal to G-d if you lock yourself in the Study hall and keep away from any outside influences such as say, I dunno, a job? Do you think the reward is greater for you than the man who enters the jungle and retains his foundation? Are you afraid that all the years of Torah study cannot combat the mean old world? I told him it's not logical...then told him logic doesn't always prevail that's why we had World War 1. He missed that reference because he never studied history. What a surprise....
I could go on and on. I am frustrated by the sheep who just follow Bo peep because he said it's bad for you and you need to be afraid. I long for the days of Ivdu Es Hashem B'Simcha...whatever happened to serving G-d in love...we are lost in fear and it has spiraled into a dogma that cripples anyone who is a bit different and paralyzes them into thinking they don't measure up because they need to have their thirst for answers quenched instead of being satisfied with a morsel of food because it is just the way it has to be.
Enough already. We need to find a Pinchas or Mattisyahu who will fight the Jews who are strangling the Torah and making it's adherents zombies and cowering nerds in the corner.
I, for one, will continue looking for those who have the will to stand up and be counted.
A few years ago I was talking to the daughter of a Chassidic Rabbi with a very famous last name and I mentioned that there was word out that the Rabbis in some cities forbid their people from using the internet and also forbid the bais yaakov girls from going to Miami on vacation. I was commenting how absurd I thought it all was when she quoted her father and said that the misnagdim have created a religion of fear.
Religion of fear. I never thought about that even though I probably always knew it. I thought back and retraced some decisions in my life where I'd asked for Rabbinical guidance and even decisions I made with my yeshiva education as my foundation.
Here's one I didn't figure out until I was 39 years old. I was studying Mesechta Sanhedrian and came across the description of Sraiyfah-swallowing of hot lead- as punishment for an adulteress. I thought it was rather harsh to be sure, but then the Talmud enlightened me on why that is needed. Sraiyfah burns the insides of a body, but leaves the outsides intact.
All of Israel has a portion in the world to come. The talmud teaches that sraiyfah is needed so that the woman can cleanse her soul and RETAIN HER PORTION IN THE WORLD TO COME by atoning for this sin this way, thereby cleansing the neshoma-soul-which gets burned up by the process. The Talmud states very clearly that the reason we have capital punishment in Judaism is because all Jews have a portion in the world to come. Hmmm...how come no one ever told me that?
How does this tie into the religion of fear?
When I learned Talmud and even Chumash when I was younger, I was always told there is a punishment for your bad deeds. It was always about "you did something bad, therefore you need to be punished. If you don't want to be punished, don't do anything bad". so we learned Torah that way in our lives and made our decisions with that somewhere in mind.
How ridiculous is that? Is there punishment? Yes. Is the reason we get the punishment because we were bad? No. The reason we get the punishment is to retain our portion in the world to come. Hashem is a G-d that loves all his creations and wants the best for them. The charedi world has locked G-d in a box and made him this unmoving, unwavering, unyielding, dictator who demands obedience at any cost. The followers of this logic bend over backwards to make life as uncomfortable as possible under the guise of "this is what G-d wants from me so I will suffer no matter the cost." Does that make any sense?
I remember asking a Rabbi about a job opportunity. I was young and naive and didn't quite get it. I told him about this job that paid very well, but I was not sure if wearing my kippah was the smartest thing. His response was that I should pass on the job because would I really want to take a job where my wearing a kippah was in question? He didn't tell me that the Mishna Brurah and the Chay Adom were of the opinion that it was no problem. I think I even knew that myself, but wanted some guidance just the same. Based on his advice I turned the job down and regretted it for years.
This past Sunday a man collecting for himself asked me for money. He started a kollel and it fell through and now he's 200k in debt. I asked why he started the Kollel and he said in his city in Israel there were only 5 kollels (im). Only five?? I told him that if a person really wants to learn he should learn as a single guy but should not be allowed to marry and effect other lives that will get entangled with his fantasy. He told me a man has to learn because it's dangerous out in the world. I agreed but asked him what is the big deal to G-d if you lock yourself in the Study hall and keep away from any outside influences such as say, I dunno, a job? Do you think the reward is greater for you than the man who enters the jungle and retains his foundation? Are you afraid that all the years of Torah study cannot combat the mean old world? I told him it's not logical...then told him logic doesn't always prevail that's why we had World War 1. He missed that reference because he never studied history. What a surprise....
I could go on and on. I am frustrated by the sheep who just follow Bo peep because he said it's bad for you and you need to be afraid. I long for the days of Ivdu Es Hashem B'Simcha...whatever happened to serving G-d in love...we are lost in fear and it has spiraled into a dogma that cripples anyone who is a bit different and paralyzes them into thinking they don't measure up because they need to have their thirst for answers quenched instead of being satisfied with a morsel of food because it is just the way it has to be.
Enough already. We need to find a Pinchas or Mattisyahu who will fight the Jews who are strangling the Torah and making it's adherents zombies and cowering nerds in the corner.
I, for one, will continue looking for those who have the will to stand up and be counted.
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