Category — Current events

A thought on the current crisis in India and on anti-Semitism in general.

Big bad Og was having a good time teasing the crowd.
Isaac, the miraculous baby born to his parents in their old age after years of infertility, was growing up, and his father decided to throw a party.
From far and wide, people came to witness the miracle and pay their respects to a most prestigious leader.
Amongst the guests sat Og, a mighty giant and powerful king – and a vicious anti-Semite who was jealous of all the honor bestowed upon Abraham.
“Ha!” he turned to the crowd and roared, “What are all of you gushing about? If I wish, I can smother this kid with my finger; he’s a nothing!”
At that moment, On High, G-d laughed and declared: “We’ll see who smothers whom! In a few years, you will fall in the hands of the descendants of this frail child.”
And so it was. Hundreds of years later, as the Jews crossed the desert towards the Holy Land, the mighty giant fell into the hands of Moses, grandchild of Isaac.
This tale of old is the story of our history.
“Ha!” cried Pharaoh.
“Ha!” screamed Nebuchadnezzar as he tore down the walls of Jerusalem.
“Ha!” declared Titus, as he put an idol in the Holy Temple.
“Ha!” announced Torquemada, as yet another Morrano was burned at the auto-de-fe.
“Ha!” bellowed Stalin, as another Shul was closed, another Rabbi sent to the firing squad.
“Ha!” yelled Hitler.
“Ha!” jeers Ahmadinejd and the terrorists all over the world.
“Ha!” called the enemies of Israel for thousands of years.
“Ha!” cries secularism, “you devotees don’t stand a chance in a sophisticated materialistic society!”
All along, we have heard the laughs, as the gas was poured into the gas chambers, and as another bus blew up.
But in the Heavens a greater laugh is heard, its echo reverberating throughout the darkness – for only G-d can know and see the truth and future. Ha! Whose name is remembered only through the textbooks, and who has managed to survive all the ‘Ha’s, and live on forever? WHO? WHO? WHO?
And here on earth laughs the Jew, as he devotedly keeps the tradition alive, never swayed by the jeers and teases. Ha! Just look how society crumbles without religion and morals.
In india, Israel, USA, Europe and all over the world, the Jew cries with a great sense of pride the historically proven phenomenon:
Am Yisroel Chai!

Son: why is the sky blue?

Dad: How should I know?

Son: Why does the sun shine at night and the moon during the day?

Dad: I have no idea.

Son: What is the secret of creation?

Dad: Could you stop bugging me already?

Son: Dad, do you want me to continue asking questions?

Dad: Why, of course. How else will you gain knowledge?

***

Dear Rabbi,

I’m sure you heard about the terror attack that took away from us 3 of our brothers and sisters. Just a few months ago eight Yeshivah students were murdered in cold blood. And I ask: How is this possible?

And second of all: How is someone supposed to move on and concentrate on their own lives when they are too busy trying to figure out this answer?

Confused

Dear Confused,

The question of why things happen to good people is as old as pain itself, and although asked many a time, going way back when to Moses’ cry “why do you make bad to your nation?” to the modern “Why six million!”, it remains unanswered until this very day.
And that is the way it should be.

Think about it: Do I really want to know the answer to pain? Do I want to know the reason of the holocaust? And if I get the reason will I then be in peace with pain?

The answer is a resounding ‘No!’ We don’t want and we don’t need an answer to the question. What we need is an end to the questions.

You asked, ‘how is this possible?’, and I ask ‘Dear G-d: Why are there so many questions? Are six million questions not enough? Are 5768 years of sacrifice and pain not enough to take away the questions? Enough questions!

You ask ‘how’ to move on? And the answer is, not to search for answers, but by doing all we can to remove the question. We should not try to “justify” G-d, No! We don’t want explanations; we want an end to pain. We are not searching for answers; we are demanding an end to the questions!

*

P.S. This coming Sunday will be 14 years since Gimmel Tammuz 1994.14 years that the world has not heard the voice of the leader of this generation, the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

Dear G-d: 14 years of this painful question is more than enough. Please give us such an answer that will remove the question all together, with the revelation of the Rebbe who will lead us out of exile, to a time when we will know of questions no more.

May questions be wiped off the face of the earth speedily in our day

“As you know, the government takes 40 percent of what you make. The other 60 percent, of course, is taken by the gas stations.” – J L

With gas prices hitting the roof and emptying our pockets, “energy” is the talk of the day. “Sue the big oil companies!” cry the liberals. “Drill for oil in Alaska!” scream the conservatives. “This is a sign from heaven that we should go green!” nudge the environmentalists. “Ha! Ha!” laugh the sheiks and princes in Saudi Arabia.
The solution I’ll leave to the ‘mavens’. The lessons however are for all to find.
What everyone agrees on is the huge problem that lies in being energy dependent, at the whim and mercy of foreign governments, all of which place their own interests ahead of ours.
Once we are already discussing oil, let’s take a look into our ancient Bible, wherein lies the answers for all of today’s woes. As the Baal Shem Tov taught us, we must live with the times, the Times being the Parsha of the week!
This weeks Torah portion is called “Beha’alotevha”, where we read of G-d’s commandment to Aaron to light the Menorah. Rashi explains the word ‘Beha’alotecha’ to mean that when lighting the Menorah the flame must be lit until it lightens up from itself.
Following the saying “the candle of G-d is the soul of man,” our Sages take the verse about the Menorah and apply it to the education of man. One must educate a child and ingrain within him such strong values and principals, that his Judaism and morality should be independent – lighted up from within.
Real education means to mold the child with great inner integrity and values, so that even when no one is around, he/she remains pious and moral. This kind of integrity is the opposite of “it’s okay to… as long as you don’t get caught”. It’s the discipline to do what’s right even when mom and dad are not around, or when it’s inconvenient.
One’s thoughts, actions and words, must not be measured only when in front of a large audience, but rather at all times and in all places and circumstances.
Getting back to oil prices. One thing is for sure, that when charting the course of our own engine/integrity, we must become energy independent and educate our children likewise. The stick and slap won’t do the job of education, they will just destroy. Only energy independence – where the child feels that ‘it’s my G-d, my Judaism, and my life’ will create spiritually healthy people with an inner moral compass. It is these children who will bring positive ‘change’ to an immoral universe.
The war of energy independence has begun. All for the L-rd follow… your own conscience!