Want to ‘provoke’ a fiery discussion at the shabbaTTable? Read one of these articles out loud…

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!

A great portion of our lives is spent on preparation. We spend two decades in school to prepare for adulthood and a livelihood. Hours are spent on cooking and baking food which will be gobbled up in an instant.
Honestly, doesn’t it seem like most of we do is one grand waste of time? A great portion, if not the majority of our time on earth, is ‘not real’? Isn’t that depressing? Well without further ado let’s switch to Torah mode, and see what G-d has to say about all of this in the Parsha. Here we go: This week we read how Abraham’s time in the spotlight was nearing its end, as it was getting ready to move over to the next
Patriarch - Issac.
With his ‘presidency’ is in its twilight, the Torah analyzes his legacy: “And Abraham led a full life, where  each day was used out in the service of G-d”.
That’s a pretty big compliment, to say the least! Listen to this: The Torah testifies that in Abraham’s 175 years in this world, he maximized every minute in the service of his Creator! Wow!
Alas it’s not only amazing, it’s also problematic. We all know that Abraham wasn’t born in a “traditional-ultra-orthodox-religious home”, just the opposite, and he had to spend many years to search for the truth. Some opinions maintain that he discovered the Almighty at age three; while others claim it was at 48! So how can we say that his days were full, if so much time was spent in ’soul-searching’?
Same question goes for children under Bar/Bat Mitzvah who are not obligated to do the Mitzvos, and fulfill them ‘only’ for educational purposes. Seemingly they don’t have equal ‘rights’ to adults, (maybe we should open a movement called ‘kidsism’ – which will fight for the equality of kids! I mean anything goes these days…) It’s not fair!
The problem with our ‘problem’ is that we think that preparation is a means to an end and for itself is worthless. The Torah however says that the journey is an end for itself! Abraham’s journey is as vital and important as the rest of his life and therefore also considered ‘full days’. And the same philosophy in regards to educating the young – it’s an end for a means and an end for an end!
So don’t mope around about how the ‘work is endless with no end in sight’, for the end is right here. It’s in the journey…
Like one 96 year Jew and former Sergeant in the United States military who’ve I met in Yerushalayim always says: You gotta just keep on drivin’!

Rabbi Rabinovitz answers his phone.
“Hello?”
“Hello, is this Rabbi Rabinovitz?”
“It is.”
“This is the IRS. Can you help us?”
“I’ll try.”
“Do you know Sam Cohen?”
“I do.”
“Is he a member of your congregation?”
“He is.”
“Did he donate $10,000 to the synagogue rebuilding fund last year?”
“He will!”

In 2005 I spent a year in Israel studying in the holy city of Jerusalem. As anyone who’s ever been in  Jerusalem knows firsthand, it is a wonderful experience. Be it the unique ‘Yerushalmi’ characters, or the beautiful scenery and mountains, the houses built with “Yerushalmi white stones”, or the trillions of synagogues on every corner… and of course the great holiness and spirituality found only in the capitol of our country. It was a memorable year no doubt.
What made it all the more memorable, and not necessarily in a good way, was the disengagement of Gush Katif that took place that August which affected everyone around the country.
Honestly, I didn’t decide to dig up old sob stories due to lack of current sob stories… rather it was that particular episode and its relevance to our Parshah that caused that painful episode in Jewish history to ring a bell.
Do you remember how all over the world debates were held, ‘if and how should we demonstrate’?
“Nah, it’s none of my business. I’m not the kinda guy!” cried the ’softy’. “It will damage my projects”, said Mr. busy. “It will ruin my image as a peace loving and understanding person”, explained Mr. Politician. “Oh, making demonstrations and holding signs are patented by the weirdoes, I will not make a fool of myself”,
shouted Mr. Proper.
It was at gush Katif more than any event in recent history, where the lives of so many were on the balance, that this ‘it’s just not my thing’ was so painfully visible by so many good people.
You know, many historians as do many of us, judge the Jews who lived in America during the holocaust. ‘They should have made more protests! They should’ve gone on hunger strikes! They should’ve stopped traffic on the major highways! And I can’t put away the thought (forgive me for saying this) that Heaven forbid were history to repeat itself, our reaction wouldn’t be any different.
Just a shrug of ‘What could I do anyway’ and back to business. Maybe even a tear.
Well let me introduce you to one of the ’sweetest guys’ in history, our founding Father
Abraham. Kabbalah affectionately calls him the ‘attribute of kindness’, oh such a nice peace loving guy. But…
When G-d decided to destroy Sodom and Amorah, suddenly Mr.-nice-guy-couldn’t-hurt-a-fly stood up
and started talking tough to his Beloved G-d. “How could you! This is unfair! Yes, they are sinners and horrible people, but for the sake of the few good people…”
And once his demonstration was over, he was back to Mr. Sweetie pie, welcoming guests and doing acts of kindness… and it was no contradiction at all. For he wasn’t being kind because he liked to; he was doing the right thing. And when the right thing meant to throw away the kindness, then he did it.
And when G-d told him to slaughter his son, he was willing to go all the way. And this is Mr. Softy!
At this moment in history, we don’t need softies; we need visionaries and fighters. No more sweet talk…

Three Jews were condemned to death by firing squad. They stood against the wall, holding hands and shivering with fear, as they closed their eyes in trepidation, waiting for the end. The countdown began: 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4…
Realizing that their time had come, one Jew opened his mouth and cried out, “Shema Yisroel Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echod!”
His companions opened their eyes in shock and quickly admonished him: “Silence, you fool! You’ll get us all
into trouble!”

Religious pride has always been a rarity. Yes, pride existed since the dawn of history, but was it used only for self-centered purposes such as wealth and conquest. It was pride that killed Abel. It was pride on which the idea to build the Tower of Babel was formed. And it was pride that caused nations to rise and fall. But pride in beliefs and religion – who ever heard of that?
Such was the way of the world for the first two millennia.
Then Abraham came onto the scene. Born to typical, upper-class, idol-worshiping parents, already as a youngster he broke the rules. All alone, he began questioning the origins of the universe, the secret of creation, and man’s purpose in life. Blind faith in rock and stone did not appeal to him as the ideal way to live.
After much searching, he found G-d. In the sun, moon and mountains, and in the depth of the human psyche; in the happiness of the sunny days, and in the tears of the rainy nights, he found the divine touch.
And once he found that truth, his life and destiny was changed for eternity. The revolution burnt in his bones, and his mission kept his soul aflame. One more touched by the message, one more connected to the divine – that was all he lived for, all that counted.
It wasn’t easy; he was betrayed by his father and thrown into a fiery pit, shunned by society and labeled an outcast, yet his conviction did not falter. Against the whole world stood one lonely creature fighting not for personal pride but for a noble cause, not for conquest of land but for conquest of hearts and minds. And he won.
In truth one may call Abraham the first man to walk out of the box; the first human to break from the norm
and be “open-minded”; the father of all philosophers.
Well it’s almost four millennia later, and the children of Abraham are still on it, fighting the forces of evil with forces of good, and dispelling darkness with the brilliant light of our faith
and our Torah.
While the Jewish nation as a whole is experiencing a renaissance, as many of us reconnect to our roots, there are still those left untouched by the message, their souls resting on low flames and religious pride is in the dust, stored in the some old dusty album up in the attic.
To them and to all of us, let the story of our grandfather be a shining example of the virtue of pride, the
obligation to question and probe for answers. And, most importantly, a reminder and call for our responsibility to share with the world. We must stand up for the right stuff (not only the preservation of endangered species) and fight the war on evil.
Change is what the world wants. Let us give to them.

A lawyer named Strange died, and his friend asked the tombstone maker to inscribe on his tombstone, “Here lies Strange, an honest man, and a lawyer.”
The inscriber insisted that such an inscription would be confusing, for every passersby would tend to think that three men were buried under the stone. However he suggested an alternative: He would inscribe, “Here lies a man who was both honest and a lawyer.”
That way, whenever anyone walked by the tombstone and read it, they would be certain to remark: “That`s Strange”.

Ok, we all know that G-d made a flood which only Noah and his family survived. We also know that a few years later the inhabitants of Babel decided to build the “Tower of Babel”, a structure that would reach to
the sky. Why build such a tower? Two reasons: for security, and to make a “legacy” of themselves.
Sounds nice, doesn’t it? Obviously not, just see what G-d’s reaction to this tower building was. He turned some of them into apes, mixed up their languages, dispersed them all over the world etc. I guess this wasn’t the best of ideas…
What would warrant such a response? What’s wrong with wanting to leave a legacy? Don’t we all want to be remembered for some great achievement of ours?  Why?
I’ll tell you why! It is barely a few years after the world was flooded because of corruption and sin. And all these people have to think about is ‘how are we going to leave a legacy!’ that is all that’s on their minds! How many pages of history books will be filled with our story of unprecedented architectural achievement.
Hello! How about creating a moral code? Schools? Houses of worship? Did not the entire globe get punished due to a lack of morals? Hadn’t they learned that in order to keep the world going, there are important changes that must be implemented?
No, they were busy leaving a legacy. Who cares about a legacy! There’s a world out there in distress and in dire need of help and hope. Leave your legacy alone and go make a difference. Your legacy can wait, the
world cannot. That is why they were punished by G-d.
Legacy is nice; a bit egoistic, but nice. Especially if it’s not an Al Capone style legacy. But in times like this we must put our eulogies, obituaries and grave stones aside, and go change something in this world for the better.
We need Moshiach to come. There is no time for legacy… Let’s go!