Dear Alumni Sheyichyu!
Sholom U’Brocho!
Mazel Tov to Avrohom Mishan on the occasion of his engagement. Mazel Tov to Rabbi Dovid Markel on the occasion of his engagement. May they use out the special period of Yokor Mikol yokor to its’ utmost! Mazel Tov to Yanky Gittlin on the occasion of his chasuna. May the new home be set up al yesodei hatorah vehamitzvos, and be a keli for all brochos! Mazel Tov to Rabbi & Mrs, Mendel Brownstein on the birth of their son. Mazel Tov to Rabbi & Mrs. Mordechai Nimni on the birth of their daughter. Mazel Tov to Rabbi & Mrs, Peretz Reisenberg on the birth of their daughter. 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.
Frustration. Disillusionment. We should be used to it, but, somehow, each time we feel the blow anew. Where is fairness, where is any common sense, any basic logic? Once again, Israel acted with remarkable restraint even while shielding it’s basic security, and the entire world manages to find fault with them.
Of course, it’s a reminder that we’re in golus, and an antidote against becoming too comfortable in our present situation, but it’s disappointing all the same.
Story Illustrating Palestinian Conduct
The following story was once repeated in a speech in 770, during the year 5747:
A young boy suffered the negative effects of a poor upbringing, and grew from an unruly youth to a rebellious teen, finally emerging as a violent young man. His criminal activities knew no bounds, and ultimately led him to murder his own parents in cold blood.
He was apprehended, and hauled before the judge, who asked him if he had anything to say in his defense. “Please your honour”, was his response, “you must deal with me with mercy, I am, after all an orphan, how can you deal cruelly with an orphan?!”
The story is an apt illustration of the conduct of our Palestinian cousins, time and time again. During the Gaza war, they used their own elderly and children as human shields, leading to their inevitable deaths, and then cried to the world about the number of their casualties.
And now, once again, history has repeated itself. They placed the “activists” and the “humanitarian supplies” into the path of an unavoidable confrontation with Israel. They threatened the lives of the Israeli soldiers, leaving them no choice but to defend their lives, and then they cried to the world about the Israeli aggression.
But, as in the above story, although the response of the young man may be the height of impudence, it is hardly surprising. The hardened criminal who stooped to such a barbaric crime as killing his own parents, would not be beyond any type of deviousness or misrepresentation to, afterwards, protect himself.
What would be surprising would be if the judge would actually accept his claim and take it seriously. Then we would say that it is the judge, not the young man, who defies reason.
Likewise, in the recent news, the two-faced treachery of the Arabs is not what should surprise us. That is nothing new. Since ancient history, the descendents of our great-great uncle Yishmael have resorted to cunning deviousness and deceit in their efforts to attack the Jewish nation (see Rashi Breishis 21; 17), and they have been following that precedent thereafter. While I can’t say that we enjoy or appreciate it, to expect otherwise would be foolish of us.
But, what is disturbing (in each of these incidents, as well as the countless others throughout history) is the reaction of the world, who observes, assesses, and unfailingly condemns . . Israel!
We expect the fine gentlemen like Achmedinajab from Iran (or perhaps – lehavdil – the Neturei Karta) to condemn us, since they have long removed the cloak of impartiality. But what is it that always happens (in situations like these) with all of our good friends and neighbors, with all of our loyal supporters (with our dear friend Obama for example)? Where’s the rationale in the reaction of the majority of the free world?
Are they deaf and dumb? Are they trying to prove that the Possuk “Eynayim lohem velo yiru” (they have eyes, yet cannot see) refers to them, that the verse “kemohem yihyu oyseihem” (may their makers become as they are (deaf, dumb and blind)) has been fulfilled in them?
HEY, DON’T YOU SEE WHAT’S GOING ON?!
Humanitarian aid is only defined as such when it is motivated by compassion and caring and a desire to help relieve hardship. According to Wikipedia: The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity. It may therefore be distinguished from development aid, which seeks to address the underlying socioeconomic factors which may have led to a crisis or emergency.
Thus, when you see a ship of supplies that has an available port of entry through which they can successfully reach their destination and actually alleviate suffering, and they instead choose the obviously confrontational route, with little or no chances of success, then their goals are plainly NOT humanitarian, but, rather, hostile.
And when, moreover, the ship is found to contain knives and other weaponry, and they are in fact utilized to resist the enforcement of Israel’s protection of herself, then one can only conclude that the so-called “humanitarian peace activists” are in fact the OPPOSITE, terrorists and anti-peace activists.
So, why can’t the world see this? What’s the matter with them? ARE THEY CRAZY?!!
For that matter; ARE WE CRAZY??!!!
Recognizing and Attacking Our Inner "Terrorists"
Because, in truth, we’re all exactly the same as these people of the world. Let’s take a look. We live in our host planet, the wonderful and beloved olam hazeh. Of course, we’re here MAINLY to learn and daven and do mitzvos.
But, all the same, you can’t deny the fact that there are so many other wonderful things in the world to do besides learning and davening (naturally b’ofen hamuvhar). There’s good music to hear, and nice places to visit. There are new foods to try, and fancy restaurants to experience. There are exciting games to play, and entertaining shows to watch.
These are all what the world consists of. Come on now, these things are not evil or sinful. They’re . . humanitarian! They’re the world’s way of being good to us, of providing us with aid to make our lives more pleasant, to alleviate our boredom. They are things we should be thankful for.
And then along comes the “Israelis”, - Yisroel – the Jewish Rabbis and the nefesh hoElokis within every one of us, and . . they attack these peace activists!
“What are you doing?”, we ask. They’re only in existence to make our lives more pleasant and endurable.
And yet, these fanatical aggressors, they attack the peace-loving components of olam hazeh! The music is not good, they declare, unless it’s chassidisheh music, these places are not good places to visit, a chassidisheh person doesn’t belong there, these activities aren’t becoming for a chassidisher bochur, those are not fitting clothing for a chassidishe man or woman. The internet is outlawed, cell phones are frowned upon, secular novels are ostracized.
And we, the “world”, the worldly observer, observes, analyzes, assesses, and sticks up for . . the victim, the oppressed olam hazeh. What’s wrong with some good music, some chilling out, why do they have to attack everything that’s fun and exciting?! These things in the world are our friends, they’re here to AID us to have a good life. Why the constant extremism?!
HEY, DON’T YOU SEE WHAT’S GOING ON?!
Don’t we see, yet, beyond the cloak of our nefesh habehamis, and identify it for what really is? This is no peace activist. If he desired peace, why there’s a sure path to achieve it, through the study of Torah, which Chazal teach us “Lo nitno elo laasos sholom ba’olam”.
But it has, decidedly, other agendas. And those agendas, by now we should know, far from aiding us in reaching our ultimate goal, are undoubtedly a hindrance. Take an honest look at where following the whims of your nefesh habehamis has led you to in the past? It is undeniable that they brought us, with the clarity of hindsight, only heartache and disappointment.
True, the pleasures of the world are attractive and tempting. But let us, at the very least, identify them for what they are, and not be misled by their cloak and their PR. Let us, at the very least (if we can’t gather enough strength to attack them ourselves), support and condone the others who do courageously attack them (i.e., the chassidus that we learn, our mashpi’im, and/or our neshomo when we tune in to it).
Story of the Revived Fish
My grandfather, R’ Dov Yehuda Schochet z”l, was once in the cottage near Toronto during the summer months. One Friday, they acquired a live carp to prepare for Shabbos. They killed it (or so they thought), and my grandfather was cleaning it and preparing it. He had removed the scales, and then dipped it into the lake to rinse it. To his astonishment, the (now scale-less) fish suddenly revived itself, jumped out of his hands, and bolted away (and no, apparently it had nothing important to say)!
The amazing experience wasn’t over yet; a week later, when fishing for the meal for the following Shabbos, they caught the very same fish (guess how they knew that it was the same fish)!
What’s the point of this fishy story? Among other things, that it was a dumb fish! You were caught once, and were in the process of losing your skin (very literally). Why did you go for the same bait a second time?
This was the problem of the meraglim (resho’im halolu ro’u velo lokchu musor), and, likewise, this is our problem:
First of all, realize that worldly temptations are nothing more than worms (as the Alter Rebbe writes in Tanya “shesofan lavo lidei kach”). And even if, perchance, you find a big juicy worm attractive (mmmm), let’s bear in mind that it is merely a cloak, concealing a dangerous – life-threatening – barb. We saw from the past that it merely distracts us and disturbs us from our true goal.
You saw where internet led you to in the past. You saw what your involvement with certain types of music did to you before. You saw what effect certain places had on you. You are aware of what certain friendships meant for you. It’s time to call a spade a spade.
The first step is to acknowledge that these are not objects of humanitarian aid, nor are they our friends. They are ill-concealed terrorists, our sworn foes. If we’re lacking the courage and bravery to attack them, let us at least stand behind and support those who do.
Conclusion: Dedication to Moshiach
As Israel struggles with the religious gentiles of the world who are meticulously fulfilling the halacha that “Esav soneh l’Yaakov”, together with our prayers for their success, let us renew our strength in identifying and attacking the dangerous terrorists in our own midst, and within every one of us!
L’chaim! As we read parshas Shlach, let us learn the lesson, to dedicate ourselves with unwavering faith in Mosheh Rabbenu, and to do battle with our enemies until we successfully conquer Eretz Yisroel, both each of us individually, as well as all of us collectively with the Geulah hoAmitis veHashleimah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu TUMYM!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
לזכות 'ר שלום מרדכי הלוי בן ,רבקה לגאולה וישועה קרובה ,ושלימה י"תומ ממש ג"בטוהנוהנ !!! ולזכות 'ר צ"לוי בן ,צירל ק"לרפושו מ"תומי ט"ואויוש !
