Dear Alumni Sheyichyu!
Sholom U’Brocho!
Mazel Tov to Avremi Chein on the occasion of his engagement. Mazel Tov to Mordy Kurtz on the occasion of his engagement. May they use out the special period of Yokor Mikol yokor to its’ utmost! Mazel Tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Yehoshua Lavner and family on the birth of their daughter. Mazel Tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Peretz Mockin on the birth of their daughter. Mazel Tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Yaakov Wagner on the birth of their son. Mazel Tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Peretz Mishulovin on the birth of their son. Mazel Tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Eli Kaminetzky on the birth of their son. May they bring them up lTOveCHuMAA”T mitoch harchovo, and to be true chayolim/os! (If anyone is aware of any mazeltov’s that I omitted please let me know).
Thank you as always for the feedback, it is much appreciated.
It’s that time again. There’s an election on the horizon, and the various candidates of the various parties are trying to convince the American people that they would make the best president for the USA. Various political experts and wannabes are taking to the airwaves and to cyberspace to share their views and arguments on why you should or shouldn’t vote for one candidate or the other.
Now, I’m not a pundit or pontificator, nor will I comment about the huge pool of presidential hopefuls, - though I’m sure there’s plenty to be said about each of them. In fact, as a Canadian, the US election only indirectly relates to me. But I’d like to make an observation about one specific candidate, the one who seems to be leading the Republican party. I’m referring to the one who comes across (most of the time) as a certified whacko, and who America seems to be obsessed with right now. The famous billionaire – Donald Trump.
As Yidden, naturally, our approach to everything is by trying to determine who and what is best for the Jews. (And, of course, that is not separate from the question of who will make the best president and who will be good for the country. Because, generally speaking, whoever will be good for a strong and prosperous America will, subsequently, be good for the Yidden. However, in addition to the general consideration, we also consider factors that determine their direct impact on Jewish concerns).
In the upcoming Canadian election, I believe, the lines are much clearer. One party has a track record of unwavering and unequalled support and backing of Eretz Yisroel, so from a Jewish perspective, the decision seems easy.
In the US of A the lines can be more blurry. Here, therefore, are my thoughts.
I think many of us, myself included, may appreciate certain things about Trump (besides his being a whacko). He speaks his mind, for one. He says what he means, bluntly and clearly, whether anyone else likes it or not. A breath of fresh air after we’ve grown accustomed to the lying, two-faced, dishonest, deceitful politicians. While they say what they think people want to hear, he seems to say what he truly believes (and, of course, we use the word “truly” very loosely with regard to any politician).
For once, someone is standing up to the plague of “political correctness” that has afflicted America for so long. While all the other candidates are being ever so cautious to say only what’s accepted and acceptable, and continuing to tread down the destructive and dangerous path of PC, Trump is – seemingly – saying whatever he (and, apparently, thousands of other Americans) actually thinks and feels, with no regard to how it sounds or seems to the societal judges.
It feels like the culture of blind adherence to political correctness rather than common sense has led to a fanatical protection of criminals, of immoral and unethical behaviours and lifestyles, and an overall decline in many areas in our society. Against this backdrop, this candidate’s daring new approach is encouraging and refreshing.
On the other hand . .
Let’s face it. Chazal have taught us הלכה היא בידוע שעשיו שונא ליעקב. While in recent generations many Jews have become lax in their adherence to Halacha, I believe our gentile neighbors remain, on the most part, very meticulous at following this Halacha.
In this sense, I think the culture of PC’ism works in our favour. Regardless of what they may truly feel about the Jewish nation, it would be scandalous and unthinkable to be seen as actually expressing negative feelings towards us. It would be something totally unacceptable, - not politically correct.
And this, I think, is a very significant departure from the way things used to be. For centuries, it was politically correct in much of the world to hate, persecute, oppress and harass their Jews. So, even if someone – for some inexplicable reason – didn’t feel a natural inclination to behave so, he would nonetheless – in most cases – conform with what was accepted and acceptable by society.
These days, however, there has been a notable and welcome shift for the better in the above area. In fact, it was a complete reversal, in a sense. We live in, what the Rebbe has numerous times referred to as, a malchus shell chesed (I assume that this title to some degree includes Canada). This democracy has had considerable impact on the standards, mindset and sense of political correctness throughout the civilized world.
That includes the fact that today it is neither respectable nor acceptable to hate Jews. And despite what someone may feel inside, he could never get away with open and undisguised antisemitism. It’s just no longer “in” these days. And this has worked very much in our favour.
Which is precisely why this new fellow worries me. On the one hand, it seems great and refreshing that there is someone who speaks his mind without paying heed to the thought police and the culture of appeasement. From the looks of things hundreds of thousands of Americans love it; they agree with him and strongly identify with him (although no one else of note had the guts to take this stand apparently).
But this could be a dangerous situation for us. Because if people are not bound or inhibited by their sense of political correctness, how do we know how long it might be until their inner hatred of b’nei Yisroel starts ch”v being expressed Hashem yishmireinu. And let’s face it, I, for one, would not want to bank on the hopes that the true feelings of the majority of Gentiles underwent a change for the better.
Think of it: What are the chances that at some point some Jewish person would do something threatening or provocative to Mr. Trump (such as looking at him the wrong way, or accusing him of wearing a toupee). How long would it be before he starts expressing feelings about Jews, that many people may harbour but have been thus far afraid to reveal because of the prevalent political climate? And that could lead us on a very slippery slope ch”v.
So, it might just be that, for the time being, we’re still better off with the prevalent climate of PCism, despite all of its’ obvious flaws.
Which got me thinking.
We are now in the last stretch of Elul, the final days of preparation for Rosh Hashonoh. We have begun the period of yom lachodesh, we started to say selichos, and tonight we start rectifying every day of the week. Every one of us is scrambling to decide on some last minute hachlotos, and to take a few final steps to ensure that the new year begins with a marked change for the better.
But at such times we are often in a quandary. How do we decide on the right hachloto? How do we pinpoint the appropriate change that is both realistic and meaningful, both doable and distinguishable?
So here’s a thought:
As Chabad Chassidim, our emphasis is verily on pnimiyus. We don’t care much about appearances, about what others may think or about how they might view us. We are well aware of the great importance chassidim placed on avoiding blitos at all costs, on taking every effort in order that what we practice should be between us and Hashem, not on display for our fellow man.
[Someone once asked the Rebbetzin if the Rebbeim has payos. The Rebbetzin responded: “In beis haRav iz altz geven ohn blitos” [In beis haRav there was everything without any showiness]. The questioner was unsure if her intent was that they did have payos (since altz iz geven) but it was not noticeable since it was with complete absence of any blitos, or if she was saying that they did not grow (long) payos, since that cannot be done without being visible, and everything had to be, first and foremost, without blitos.
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R’ Moshe Gurkov was a very chassidisher bochur learning in 770, who – however - had a problem of coming late to seder every morning, and the efforts of the hanholoh to correct the problem were to no avail. Finally they asked his roommate, R’ Gershon Mendel Garelick, to speak to him.
On Thursday night, after loosening his tongue with (a wee bit of) l’chayim, RGM learned the following: During a yechidus, the Rebbe instructed RMG to think every day for five minutes about achdus Hashem, in teffillin, without belitos. RMG had a dilemma; - when you are thinking about achdus Hashem, about the fact that ein od milvado, it is hard to be focused on whether people are noticing you or not. Finally he came up with the idea to wake up extra early, and carry out the Rebbe’s directive in his room, in private, before seder chassidus. However, apparently the focus on achdus Hashem also precludes being able to keep track of the time, hence
