Monthly Archives: July 2014

As we go into Gaza

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And Yaakov was very afraid and he was distressed- afraid that he might be killed, and distressed that he might kill others.”
וַיִּירָ֧א יַעֲקֹ֪ב מְאֹ֖ד וַיֵּ֣צֶר ל֑וֹ – ויירא שמא יהרג, ויצר לו אם יהרוג הוא את אחרים
(Beraishis 32/8 and Rashi, according to Midrash Rabbah.)

The Torah tells us that when Yaakov went to meet his estranged brother Eisav, he was afraid that he might get killed by him or his men, but was also afraid that he might land up killing Eisav or his men.

When the Jewish people are attacked, we are commanded to fight the enemy with all our strength in order to defend ourselves, and if that involves killing them in the process, that is the sad and unavoidable cost of war.

However, we do not enjoy killing people- on the contrary, the thought terrifies us.

It does not stop us from defending ourselves in any way, but it does show that our preference is always peace, and we would much prefer to be able to achieve our objectives without having to kill.

As our beloved soldiers enter Gaza on foot, by air, and by sea, to stop the brutal and insane indiscriminate rocket fire at all parts of our land, and to destroy the terrorist tunnels and infrastructure being used to kill our people, we daven for their success, their safe return, but we do not sit eating popcorn while the enemy is dying- we are hurt and distressed by every person we have to kill, how much more so innocent young children who get in the way or are used as human shields by the barbaric Hamas overlords.

לשועתך קויתי ה

 

Jew don’t do that-Innocence lost again

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Innocence Lost again

When the Jewish underground bombed Arab Civilians, we said “Jews don’t do that”

When Baruch Goldstein massacred innocent Muslims while they were praying, we said “Jews don’t do that”

When Yigal Amir murdered Rabin, we said “Jews don’t do that”

When a mob of 400 rushed down Yafo street beating up Arab citizens, we were too preoccupied and angry to say “Jews don’t do that”

When a gang of Jews is arrested for burning a 16 year old boy alive in a savage fashion equal to that of ISIS, we still would love to be able to say “Jews don’t do that”

how long can we carry on kidding ourselves with self-righteousness? There are some pretty awful Jews out there, and unfortunately, they “do that.”

They are not the norm, thank God, and our society is not proud of them, but they exist, and might well be growing.

As our enemies continue to taunt us and the government continues to show paralysis, I fear that they will only grow and grow, as they try to show our enemies that they are not the only savages on this planet.

Make no mistake-they are worse than our worst enemies, for because of them, we can no longer say that ” Jews don’t do that .”

That is the victory Hamas has been waiting for, that all the rockets in the world cannot deliver: the death of our innocence

 

 

A red line crossed?

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If the savage burning alive of an innocent Arab teenager was indeed carried out by Jewish extremists, something which seems highly unlikely and has certainly not been proven yet, it would represent the crossing of a new red line, the likes of the Rabin assassination and Baruch Goldstein’s Hebron Massacre, a deed too horrendous and ghastly for a Jew to even contemplate doing.

We should all be hoping that it wasn’t.

 

 

the murdered teens-Reading Hashem’s mind and Unity

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For just over two weeks, the Jewish people were united, looking, and praying for our missing boys.

Now, every saint and sage is offering their learned opinion on what caused the murder- I have heard superficial , outrageous, and insensitive suggestions ranging from anything from possul mezuzos, to people far away using bad language, to blaming the parents for living in dangerous places- so many people who think they have direct connections to Hashem’s minds.

I do not have the honour of such a connection, so I will not be offering my explanation, but I will ask one question:
Do we have really have to be hit on our heads in order to be united?