Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Obama in Arabia
If I were more tech saavy (coming soon) I'd have embedded a video clip of Obama getting off air force one with the Saudi goon squad waiting to shake his hand. I don't know if this trip will succeed or fail but I do know one thing--those Saudi's are proud to be who they are. They are wearing traditional dress, looking their Saudi way. Cut to Netanyahu and his merry men, Western suits, bare heads, ritual fringes or tefillin in the morning--horrors! never. I'd say that watching this scene is a not so subtle hint. C'mon Israel lets stand up and be proud of who we are. Lets wear our tzitzis and sheitels and yarmulkas and borsalinos and shteimels with pride. Maybe then, we'll have some chance of attracting some more heavenly help---He likes it when we take pride in who we are--His chosen ones, the First born sons and stop pretending to be something other than who we are.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Dead Lead
Everyone I know seems to be full of self righteous enthusiasm for this war. The government is acting like a parent giving it to a recalcitrant child. "I'm going to show them....ground them for life Make them into minced meat etc." Of course the idea of a permament, dare I say it final solution for the naughty Gaza strip Arabs is very appealing considering they way they have been treating us , but the whole thing is fundamentally wrongheaded.
We Jews don't do force well. That is the path of Esau and Ismael, not us. Look back over our history recent and ancient. Our brief shining moments of victory in 48 and 67 were the only moments and and also Purim miracle, the brief Maccabean victory were preceded by a recognition of our own powerlessness and a fervent appeal to G-d. Even during the Gulf War there was more of a spiritual feeling in the air than there is today.
From what I can see, Operation Cast Lead is being conducted by Zionists who still suffer from the post 67 swelled head syndrome. When I hear our leaders over the radio I sense an overflow of bombastry and bluster which is why , I expect that this campaign will ultimately and tragically fail. Sadly, our aggression is just making our enemies even stronger as the entire Arab world rallies round the poor victims of "Israeli aggression." I'm not saying that we should'nt defend ourselves, but in doing so we shouldn't forget that we are Jews. Whatever steps we take whether it be military action or quiet diplomacy we must always take our cue from Joseph, whom the bible calls a Tzaddiq a righteous person because the name of G-d was always on his lips. Interestingly he is also known as an "Ish Matzliah," a successful person because that ultimate humility creates a space for G-d to bless his efforts with success. If we want to succeed in this one, we've got to follow his lead admit powerlessness, and to turn this over to G-d.
We Jews don't do force well. That is the path of Esau and Ismael, not us. Look back over our history recent and ancient. Our brief shining moments of victory in 48 and 67 were the only moments and and also Purim miracle, the brief Maccabean victory were preceded by a recognition of our own powerlessness and a fervent appeal to G-d. Even during the Gulf War there was more of a spiritual feeling in the air than there is today.
From what I can see, Operation Cast Lead is being conducted by Zionists who still suffer from the post 67 swelled head syndrome. When I hear our leaders over the radio I sense an overflow of bombastry and bluster which is why , I expect that this campaign will ultimately and tragically fail. Sadly, our aggression is just making our enemies even stronger as the entire Arab world rallies round the poor victims of "Israeli aggression." I'm not saying that we should'nt defend ourselves, but in doing so we shouldn't forget that we are Jews. Whatever steps we take whether it be military action or quiet diplomacy we must always take our cue from Joseph, whom the bible calls a Tzaddiq a righteous person because the name of G-d was always on his lips. Interestingly he is also known as an "Ish Matzliah," a successful person because that ultimate humility creates a space for G-d to bless his efforts with success. If we want to succeed in this one, we've got to follow his lead admit powerlessness, and to turn this over to G-d.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Thin Thread of Faith
Thin Thread of Faith
Today marks day five of Operation Cast Lead, a campaign which like the Second Lebanon War our government bumbled into without giving too much thought to where it might lead. Every couple of minutes another missile flies through the air, hopefully destined to land in an empty field not on someone’s head. At first the targets were Netivot, Sederot, Ashkelon then Ashdod, Kiryat Malachi and Yavne and today Beesheva. On the radio news Bibi ominously predicted what might come next (G-d forbid) attacks on Holon, Tel Aviv and Beit Shemesh. Already thousands are packing up and fleeing the South, but to where?
Our sages say that at the end of days all illusions will be shattered. We’ve already seen a lot of this, from the almighty dollar to the financial markets and now here goes another sacred cow, the illusion of the IDF that the army is protecting us. Don’t get me wrong. Our soldiers are the best but without Hashem Yisborach behind them our army is nothing. If we want to succeed, we’ve got to take our cue from Yosef HaTzadik who was called righteous because the name of G-d was always on his tongue. It’s all Hashem. There is nothing but Hashem, no independent power, not Hamas, not the Arab oil cartel, not the US government and not the IDF. Once we really get that we will be safe.
Without that we are all in danger. Down south, up north, in the country’s midsection, even in Chutz La’Aretz. Look at the Mumbai terror attacks. If your number is up it can come up anywhere. There isn’t anywhere to run to, some fallout shelter, some cave to hide in, but look around. There is simply no where to go, except Hashem, only Hashem Himself to cling to and we’ve got to trust Him, that He is running the show , that He knows what He’s doing.
Right now we are just like the Jews on Europe standing on line to the gas chamber. but then again, we are the people who emerged from the gas chambers. Not all of our physical bodies but, the Jewish people as a whole.
These are very dark days, but like the darkness in Egypt this darkness will be followed by a great light. Our job now is to hang in, to fix whatever it is we need to fix within our selves, to improve relationships within our families and our communities so we can be truly deserving of the great light that Hashem is just waiting to give us.
Today marks day five of Operation Cast Lead, a campaign which like the Second Lebanon War our government bumbled into without giving too much thought to where it might lead. Every couple of minutes another missile flies through the air, hopefully destined to land in an empty field not on someone’s head. At first the targets were Netivot, Sederot, Ashkelon then Ashdod, Kiryat Malachi and Yavne and today Beesheva. On the radio news Bibi ominously predicted what might come next (G-d forbid) attacks on Holon, Tel Aviv and Beit Shemesh. Already thousands are packing up and fleeing the South, but to where?
Our sages say that at the end of days all illusions will be shattered. We’ve already seen a lot of this, from the almighty dollar to the financial markets and now here goes another sacred cow, the illusion of the IDF that the army is protecting us. Don’t get me wrong. Our soldiers are the best but without Hashem Yisborach behind them our army is nothing. If we want to succeed, we’ve got to take our cue from Yosef HaTzadik who was called righteous because the name of G-d was always on his tongue. It’s all Hashem. There is nothing but Hashem, no independent power, not Hamas, not the Arab oil cartel, not the US government and not the IDF. Once we really get that we will be safe.
Without that we are all in danger. Down south, up north, in the country’s midsection, even in Chutz La’Aretz. Look at the Mumbai terror attacks. If your number is up it can come up anywhere. There isn’t anywhere to run to, some fallout shelter, some cave to hide in, but look around. There is simply no where to go, except Hashem, only Hashem Himself to cling to and we’ve got to trust Him, that He is running the show , that He knows what He’s doing.
Right now we are just like the Jews on Europe standing on line to the gas chamber. but then again, we are the people who emerged from the gas chambers. Not all of our physical bodies but, the Jewish people as a whole.
These are very dark days, but like the darkness in Egypt this darkness will be followed by a great light. Our job now is to hang in, to fix whatever it is we need to fix within our selves, to improve relationships within our families and our communities so we can be truly deserving of the great light that Hashem is just waiting to give us.
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