NOPE - NOT THAT WAY

Is there in fact any way that is acceptable? You might ask to what end - the end of America as such. The end of a dream of centuries, the dissolution of hopes, of a chance for the fulfillment of dreams. Instead of forward progress, we have turned to a past rife with ugliness of outmoded, dangerous, savage thinking. This should be obvious to all and rejected by all. Yet that is not the case. In fact, we have pushed aside every warning, even as the horror of its actual realization, comes ever closer. When extremists of the right say if Trump comes home, they come home, and the twisted perverted of the world find a champion in Trump, when the deluded of the nation looks to Trump as their savior, we are in   deep trouble. And the last life preserver is floating away swiftly carried on an evil current. We persist in telling ourselves it can't happen here. It won't happen here. Well, I hate to inform you, to bust your bubble, but it is happening here, right now.    

 The use of the standing army in deployment against the citizens of this nation, the threat to find and destroy "the enemy within", the images of people with black bags over their head being taken away in the middle of the night to be 'disappeared'. The demand to stop fact checking. The lies that must not be denied and must be held as truth. No better than the worst nations of the world, present, past and most probably the future as well. Does that not send horrid images into your mind knowing that is his plan and our future should this man win. He is not only demented; he is dangerously so with evil the base and basis of his world and ambitions.  

  In fact, the choice of what the future will be is the main issue of this election. Other issues will resolve themselves one way or another, even fall by the wayside in the service or disservice of the immediate glaring question; What is the fate of America? Who will she be? Who will govern America? Even as we know the truth of the nation, its flaws, we also know and value its progress and humanity, the hope it extends to the world. Will we be able to continue to strive and try and succeed and fail and try again?  

Will women have their rights? Will we discard the stupidity of discrimination? Will we understand the commonality of humanity? Will we provide education for all and gain from the ideas of these newly educated kids and people? Will we or will we not be America? Will we or will we not accept the true meaning of the United States of America? Or will we trash it? The end. 

The choices are not the best, not the ideal. But such is the reality. We must reject the extreme and work to find bipartisanship. That is possible only with one candidate as imperfect as she is. But at least there is that possibility whilst there is absolutely not a single chance of progress other than in backwards movement by the other candidate, a convicted criminal, sexual pervert, fraud and blatant demented fascist. To depend upon Trump, to think that he will keep his word, is equivalent to the security of walking on a rotting board over the quaking waters of a quicksand bog.   

 Yesterday I came across an article re the return of Queen Esther as a role model. For Christians. We Jews have beaten you to the punch. We have long understood the heroism of Esther. So why now for the "Christain women"? The answer is because she is a woman of modesty, remains in the shadows, not in the spotlight, and is obedient to the commands of her husband, the King. A role model for the evangelical Christian woman. The modest heroine behind the curtain, keeping it all together. However, there came a time when she had to step up, step into that limelight. and tread on dangerous ground. Throughout the entire selection process, wherein she was chosen to marry the king it was a closely held secret that she was of Jewish faith, a member of the Jewish nation. It was better that way. However, there came the time of danger for her people, and she had to reveal herself as such. She     would not be immune to the threat of existential peril. She had to step forward, gather her courage to the "sticking point” and endanger her own life in the attempt to save her people. She did so cleverly and successfully and gained the most important right for her people - to fight back. The same right that people are denying to Israel.

Now we call upon all the Esthers to step forward, to stand up for women, to stand up for their children, to stand up for a future. A future in this country where all children will be educated and have a future. To deny this truth is a bottom-line loss and a ridiculous way to conduct life on this planet. 

The only enemy within is us. That famous line "we have seen the enemy, and he is us". is an absolute unvarnished truth in this situation. To hide the truth, to stay in the shadows, to say nothing and do nothing, is futile. Esther had to step forward, speak up, speak out, fight for survival - not only of the Jewish nation, but of herself. That is a lesson to the Jews of today who think they can remain silent and hidden. Discard their Jewish identity, stand beside their enemy and agree with their calls for death to the Jews. They will stand and shout "Judaism. Yes. Zionism No" - an impossibility, for Zionism is an integral part of the Jewish faith and cannot be taken out or away from it. It is of the faith and in the faith, forever. Through all the good and the bad of the millennia - always Zion, always Jerusalem, always the Ingathering of the exiled. And always. the outing of those who would rather remain hidden and think themselves safe. Instead, one must stand up and be proud. Be open. Be joyful and be of the faith.   

  So no, nope, not that. way. Not in any way. We of the Jewish faith acknowledge that in every generation there arises an enemy whose desire. overarching all is to wipe out people of the Jewish faith, to erase their memory and history.    Well, sorry, folks. Actually, not sorry. It doesn't work that way. The rest of that statement says that He who is Holy and Above All will save us from the hand of the enemy. So it has been. So it is. So it will be. It will be rough going. Yes, for sure. We know that; we are used to that, but we are also stronger, more confident, more insistent on claiming our rights and fighting for them if need be.

 We will stand against the liars, the deniers of the world. Here is a warning sent via the Christian women who are finally realizing they have might, strength and the power of their role within their own society as well as the society of the world and can have a great positive effect upon the world if they truly emulate Queen Esther.

 Time for all of us to be an Esther. Time for us to accept the timeliness of that name and all that it stands for. Am I Esther in that context? In that manner? I don't know. I write this blog and wonder sometimes re consequences of some of what I write. But I take courage from my great grandmother named Esther, a family name, who held the hand of her sister, my great aunt, as they were thrown onto a stinking cattle car to be transported to the killing center known as Belzec. We have been told by witnesses that she never, ever bowed her head for those Nazis, this ancient woman, resisted those murderers, with her blood on their hands. May G-d punish them for eternity within the flames of Hell.    

Yes. Esther is a good role model. We should all take note and behave accordingly. We are the enemy, and we are the saviors as well. We can in unity, we cannot in disunity and hate. Think about it. Read the Megillah, the story of Esther and Purim. Read and think and understand. 

May we all know better times. 

Soon. Very soon. 

 

WHO ARE WE?

These days we live in a dichotomous world. One world where there are random acts of kindness and understanding, sometimes from the most unexpected quarters. On the other hand, we live in a world, the same physical world, with people who are cruel and nasty, who perpetrate and perpetuate violence and hate, who cheer on violators of humanity. Which is the world that is dominant? I believe that varies in time, though if we understand history, it is the world of cruelty and inhumanity which is the most prevalent dominator. Apparently, it takes far less energy to initiate such a world, far less than it takes to envision, build. and support a world of peace. Construction always takes second place to the visceral immediate trills of pleasure enabled by or via destruction.  

This morning, in the wee hours, I finally had the time to peruse various news postings. I had missed a terrible report of a massive attack by drones within Israel, the awful mass casualty numbers, yet more dead, more young lives tossed out and away just as they should be flourishing and contributing.   I had to seek hard, sift through so many reports, to find mention of that attack. Nary a word of sympathy. Merely more of the "Israel says" reporting. Tunnels unseen or discounted. 

Also ignored is the truth of the presentation of the futility and worse, the collaboration of the UN “peacekeepers” who do not keep peace, who do not repel enemy soldiers, who do not to keep the area between the border with Israel and the Litani River clear of "militants”, as directed within the "permanent ceasefire", with Lebanon and Hezbollah. Worked oh so well, did it not? As well as the "permanent ceasefire" with Hamas, which Hamas violated on October 7. Great partners for peace, correct?! That violent dominant world again.

Present also were views of vigils held throughout the days since October 7. On that very day of murderous obscenity Israel became the oppressor rather than the oppressed. The invader, rather than the invaded. The slaughterer rather than the slaughtered. Twisted history at work again. Yet again the world bought into the violence and hate, willingly and enthusiastically.  Once again, the world shifted on its axis and tilted more to that dominant world of violence and hate.

Most shocking to me and many others was to see co-opted Jews join in the chorus of hate and violence, and the death of their own brothers and sisters. Who thought perhaps to exempt themselves from similar fate, foolishly, dangerously deluding themselves with thoughts of exemption as targets of the hate and a shared fate. History yet again.     

 In contrast to those arenas of violence and hate, were the vigils of the counter protests calling for peace, for return of the hostages dead and alive, for a ceasefire which was truly meant and enforceable.  To an end of these cycles of bloodshed. Once again, the world tilts even more towards validation of violence, the dominant trait of an ugly hostile world. Once again, another loss chalked up for humanity. Prayers and hopes trashed, even as the rite of Yizkor is invaded, tainted by their very presence. Demanding that mourning Jews not remember their own dead, their own slaughtered martyrs of the millennia, and remember only   Palestinian dead. For sure, as soon as they mourn those they killed. And concede their complicity and guilt. And a return of our people.  

Oddly, in this very hostile world in which we dwell there are also random acts of kindness, threads of peace and care. Yesterday I was the recipient of these random acts of kindness from absolute strangers. People who gained nothing from helping me. They did not answer vocal calls for help as there were none, but who perceived a need and simply reached out to help someone they thought needed it. And I did. JFK yesterday was a horror, poorly planned, two opposing streams of people burdened with luggage, children, elderly, pets and language barriers, needing to know where to go and how to get there. Time deadlines to make flights shortening and the security lines long. 

Given erroneous information Gerry ran ahead. I trailed behind. Slow, not so steady, trying to propel myself and two carry-ons along with me. Suddenly an arm reached out and took my them from me and asked me where I needed to go. A woman, a stranger who perceived the need and answered the unvoiced call. My gratitude was profound. As was our appreciation of an agent who did not make me walk all the way and id'ed and validated me, gave us the boarding passes and sent us on our way. Nary a wheelchair in sight. Oy! However, at security a wonderful TSA agent called me to cut the line. The TSA agent who simply extended her arm to help me up and down into the machine, something I haven't done for years. A pusher who took one of the wheelchairs he was pushing, handed the rest    to other pushers and insisted on taking us to our gate, talking of the need for more kindness and G-d in this world. Amen to that. The flight attendant who extended her arm to me and walked me to my seat. The man who extended his hand to help me balance on the plane. The pusher in PBI who scolded a woman insistently asking me for opiates or "pain killers". The elderly woman who decided she was going to help me find a seat and sit! as I waited for pickup. Never mind, I did not want to sit. It was the thought that counted. Yes, yesterday there were many random acts of kindness. A good feeling in a very difficult day in a very difficult time. All from spontaneous acts of kindness, nothing great just there at moments needed. 

So. A dichotomous world. Even as we despair at the events of the day, we can also take heart. Is there a possibility to meld together all the goodness, the righteousness, the kindness to be found within human beings and build a better world. A world with thoughts of community overcoming thoughts of disunity and extreme nationalism. 

Is there any hope of peace? Will there come that time when we indeed do beat swords into plowshares? Today a dream but maybe, maybe ...    If not - whose fault?  Is it the fault of G-d who refuses to send us a little aid, a few hints to reach that point? Or is it our fault? Do not all of us or enough of us wish to give up those swords and   walk upon the rather more difficult track of creating peace? Perhaps when we are tired, all of us so tired of sacrificing our young to the greedy gods of war and their servants on this earth. Probably a combination of both causes.

I have no answers, only hopes and dreams.

The answer to the title question is up to us. I hope we choose the correct one.

 

YES, IT WILL ,,,

  ...WE HOPE. Certainly, I do. What will come out? The truth. And again, we hope. Are we sure? No. We have hit upon spots of light, we thought and then they quickly dimmed. But perhaps now we will be lucky. In the name of truth, mea culpa, for the lateness of this posting as I overslept after a late night for a good cause. In any case, why the optimism this morning, hopefully not to be dimmed by this afternoon? The demand by the National Women's Law Action Center Fund to reopen. the investigation re Kavanaugh, and the “investigation” done -more truthfully not done - by the FBI with regard to the complaints that were submitted concerning the abominable, even possibly criminal behavior of then candidate Brett Kavanaugh for instatement as a Supreme Court Justice.  Little did we know then how corrupt and sans ethics that court was to be, how false it was and is to justice, to honesty, to righteousness in its most positive presentation. 

We now have the eternal question raised. Who policies the police? Who actually oversees all investigations, all decisions, all results as they are presented. Once, at that moment in time, we thought maybe, just maybe, Washington would hitch up its pants and be better than it has been. Particularly during the era of Trump and MAGA. However, we were disappointed. Once again.

" The FBI investigated and dismissed allegations about Kavanaugh’s behavior 27 years after a similar-looking phalanx of men in dark suits dismissed Anita Hill’s reports of sexual harassment by now-Justice Clarence Thomas."

 Does it ever end? Are women forever to be silenced? Discounted, demeaned? Pushed aside? Is the world to be dominated by those who continue to use sexual assault as a weapon of war, as a weapon of power, be it as an individual or as a nation? Shall we constantly be under the lashing false tongues of those who supposedly abhor sexual assault even as they themselves implicitly and/or complicitly aid in years of a flourishing of that brutality?  The time has come to vanquish it. Destroy it. Extirpate by its roots from the thinking of anyone.

Will there be an opening, a reopening, of the investigation that was not performed by the FBI, of its rampant falsehood? In fact, why don't we tie it together with a reinvestigation of Clarence Thomas? Rid the Supreme Court of at least two perverts. Two pathetic puppets of Trump and  MAGA  and any other backward philosophy to be discarded? Will the truth out? Lord, I certainly hope so. I pray so. A lesson to all future thinking about it, for a deep reversal of current thought re sexual attacks and attackers. May we finally be able to live in a cleaner friendlier world. In a society where one's gender does not say open season on me all the time, wherever, whenever.

Unfortunately, we are also witnessing the outing of the always there ever denied bias against Israel to be found well rooted within American broadcasting. Always questioning the claims of the Israelis rightfulness and their impressive gigantic efforts to avoid collateral damage even as the foe magnified it, placing their own citizens in mortal danger. The egregious lies of Hamas and Hezbollah, of Iran, were accepted as words from Sinai and the words and proof of the Israelis discarded as trash. The blazing differences between the two sides were dimmed and never applied. Nor was the very distinct differences between the protesters of the world. One group calls for more bloodshed, for killing the Jews, for making Judenrein the land from the river to the sea. From attacking world Jewry, reveling in bloodshed and violence, attacking the other side. That other side   called for peace. They called for the return of their family members. It calls for return of the dead bodies. It asks for peace. It asks for justice. It did not ask for violence in any way, shape, manner, or form. And yet who gets the positive publicity and who not?

And what is this truth that underlies all? This brutal reality emerging now from the fog of hate and lies?  News staff have been instructed not to mention Jerusalem, for that might prove to be 'controversial'. People might think that Jerusalem is actually part of Israel!  Well, here's a piece of news for you. Wake up and smell the coffee. Jerusalem is part of Israel. So it has been and so it will always be. That is the truth the world must absorb. Jerusalem, the city that contains peace within its name, has been a battlefield over the millennia, yet, its truth is that it has always been the heart of Judaism and cannot be severed from it. Our history, and the history of the world has taught us that much. Jerusalem is a constant in the prayers, the thoughts, the essays, the writings, the philosophy, the actions, anything you could think of. The very essence of Jews and Judaism; to deny it is anathema, equivalent to withdrawal of the major support of the Jewish people. That is genocide, plain and simple, for it is a total denial of our right to exist. 

This is the same old ugly strain of Antisemitism, of toxic JewHatred which has always been with us. CBS journalists are now the first to be outed as being taken to task if they even should so much as intimate that there is right on the side of Israel, justice on the side of Israel. CBS has now become an important outed cooperating partner of the ugliness so rampant within the BBC and the British Press. 

Clearly seen is the growing inclination of the noisy people of America and the world to kowtow before Iranian threats. Will we never learn? We never seem to grasp that appeasement does not work, that it merely puts off that which will inevitably come even more powerful than it was before. Obviously, we do not. There is now a rather more vocal thought, frightening, that it might be better to sacrifice Israel and in fact all Jews rather than face facts and force Iran to back down.  Strike fast and first and rid the world of a probable, very possible,  destroyer of humanity, of this planet.   

Will truth out finally, inevitably? I believe so. I have to believe so. I have to believe there remains goodness in the world. Last night I had validation.   It is wonderful when a teacher learns from a student, can be proud of that student and take heart in the fact that perhaps you had a contributing role. Last night I had such an experience. I took pleasure in the words of his lesson, his deep love and knowledge of Judaism, and a wonderful manner of transmitting it to his audience, And the wonderful, blessed transformation or growth of that adorable, rambunctious, chattering little boy into a true man of Israel.  On a crowning touch was being blessed by him. being validated by my efforts. It is rare to see such a culminative validation of one's life's work. He shone bright with goodness and brilliance. And I shepped nachus, took joy in his achievements, an educational child, one of many who have made me proud. 

These feelings are so much better than the hate which is rife around the world today. I wonder why more of us do not try to find these positive choice feelings rather than engage in the demonic toxic hatred actually being forced upon us. It is a tragedy in so many ways. For me, I hate those who have made me become a hater. I. hate its powerful pervasiveness and promulgation of negativity, so contrary to building a positive life. No one benefits   and in fact, all lose by it. Why can't we have an understanding of that? Why can't we understand the lessons of history, that we must stand together for the right and the just. We must not crawl away in shame when we receive a threat. The time has come to be united, strong in resistance to evil. To acknowledge the presence and power of Evil. Pure Evil.

Will we understand the truth? Will we face an awareness of yet another Yom Kippur, more times of awful threat? We all must pray for a lasting and just peace. We must pray for tolerance  and forgiveness and mean it. That is not in the Lord's hand. To all I might have offended intentionally and non-intentionally I ask for forgiveness and will do my best to reform. I probably will not succeed totally, but I will try.

For those who are praying for forgiveness on this rather solemn day of atonement I wish you an easy fast. I wish your prayers and hopes find the expressway to the ears of the Lord. And for peace to push away the violence and the hate.

May we all be safe and keep safe. May our families and friends be the same. May the Brotherhood of all people finally be recognized acknowledged and lived.

 Shana Tova. and Gamar tove. May we all have a wonderful blessed new year and an end to a rather difficult year.

Yitzy, I still miss you so.

I will return on Monday

"AN INCIDENT"

 Is that what it was? According to CBS News, it was, but according to reality, no, it was not. CBS betrayed the honor code of journalism No more, no less than any other media form of presentation or denial of presentation over the past year and certainly over many years prior to that.

"This is a highly charged and complex issue ... this goes way beyond one interview, one comment, one story," Roark continued, telling staff "this is about preserving the legacy of neutrality and objectivity that is CBS News."

Where do we go from here? Is there in fact, anywhere to go? Are we to sing again in full-throated voice "land of the free, home of the brave" without choking? Can we force it through our teeth even as our eyes flood with tears, as we stand tall and determined, as we feel the weight of a 200 per cent rise over the past year of acts and incidents of vicious antisemitism, of vivid clear JewHatred? 10,000 ' incidents' and those are the ones reported and acknowledged, the tip of a bloodstained iceberg of hate.   

Are we to hide ourselves, to seek out attics, holes in the ground? Closets, in which to hide from those who wish to kill us.? Scrub the streets with toothbrushes and line up for the trains and the gas chambers? To acquiesce to the acts of brutal terrorists as they throw our babies in the air and spit them on bayonets or smash their heads against the wall or violate the women, or force us all to endure forced labor, slavery, to be victims of medical experiments. 

No, there was no mistake about it. It is as clear as day. The chant is clear “kill the Jews. Kill the Jews” Rhythmically chanted. Insanely spewing out from the poisoned mouths and tongues from the rotting hearts and souls of those who advocate for our death. Always and forever from time immemorial - to kill the Jews. Always and forever to kill the Jews, to do the worst one can. And then go way beyond previous records and results. No mistake about it. 

The chant is clear. The intent is clear. The desired outcome is clear. Only the willfully blind and deaf and unthinking, the murderers, can ignore it. Can refuse to see the truth. Along with those who wallow and bathe themselves in oceans of hate and blood. Who perpetrate terror and slaughter and butchery, most preferably upon innocent civilians, and then hide themselves deep in dank dark tunnels built with money stolen from their fellow citizens of Gaza in order to build their kingdom of terror. Into those tunnels of terror and death, the hostages were dragged. and killed and starved and tortured and raped, brutalized in every which way you can think. And there they remain with their guards who are cowardly, cowering from the results of their own crimes against humanity, against their own people whom they held as shields against their own deaths. and the world - Well, **** them. 

Make no mistake about it. The world is complicit in. the actions of this terrorism, their words and their lack of action to condemn this horror and demand the release of the hostages - all of them and immediately. No parceling them out as packages. And where are the nations of the world? Why are they not placing special emphasis on their own citizens being held prisoner? Where are those little Bibas baby boys? And what is the fate of their parents? 

The underlying motivation of their acts and words are also clear, cover them up as they try. Oh yes, for sure, Israel has the right to defend herself, but only via sticks and stones. Real arms? Well, they are to be embargoed. As for waging war, defeating those "innocent".” civilians - No weapons, no forces please. No tanks, please. Send in just a few soldiers of Israel into a massive population who've been raised and bred to be their enemies. Expect them to extract the hostage or the enemy. Without damage. Without collateral damage, including their own deaths. If not, so much the better. If the only damage is the death of those pesky Israeli Jews, well, so much the better. So lovely to see the cooperation between the terrorists of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, with the support of Iran and Hezbollah, now free to espouse their own faults and chasms within their own society and freely revel in the expression and encouragement of Anti Semitism within their own nation. Oh, oops. Forgot the hostages. No problem, a self-solving one as they will die anyway in their ever-ongoing imprisonment, amid hopelessness. Sunk into despair. A world of pain daily inflicted upon them.

And now we come full circle back to the first paragraphs, back to CBS. Suddenly CBS comes so over the top there. So indignant as they also righteously claimed the journalist. was biased, daring to ask such a question. Actually, his question was par for the course as all talk shows and interviews ask deep questions of their guests. That is their job. However, here there was a difference. Here the journalist went against the mode of the day where one was to pose questions worded so as to be antagonistic to the Jewish aspect of these protests, and for supporters of murder. He did not. 

   " ...why does Ta-Nehisi Coates leave out so much? Why leave out that Israel surrounded by countries that want to eliminate it?" and went through a list of events in regard to the Israel-Hamas war."...    And so now we come full circle back. to the first paragraphs, to CBS. In fact, so blatantly present in Colt's new book. was the bias and the weeping for the poor Palestinians. This journalist would have been derelict in his duties if he had not asked the questions he did.

"He asked Coates, "is it because you just don't believe that Israel in any condition has a right to exist?"

   The claim of Coates as to why he wrote the book was this:

"because our history and "who we believe is human" or "who we don't believe is human" i

 And guess where Jews fit in according to Coates and his adherents.  'Nuff' said?

Can't happen here? Oh, yes, it can. The two nations of the world held up as civilized and advanced, Germany and Austria, beginning in 1933, proved otherwise. Their citizens joyfully, enthusiastically, joined in with the debasement and planned extermination of their Jewish citizens. Protesters were few and scarce. As for the rest of the world, well, the under the surface, and perhaps not so under the surface, feeling was let them take care    of that problem. Let them take care of the Jews. It will help our own war effort. Cold blooded and true. 

Not so easy these days. We know. We are prepared. Our eyes are open to the truth. As for those foolish Jews who think they should and can march with the people who are in fact calling for their demise, well, reality and truth will catch up to you very soon. Whether you want it or not. 

In the language of the Borg - "Resistance is futile."

Not our resistance, but yours, to the truth, to your hate, to your plans. Suck that bit up into your guts and fetid polluted souls.  

Am Yisrael chai. Lanetzach.

The nation and people of Israel live. 

 Forever.

TRUTH

 There is no doubt about it. Actually, there is doubt about it. I used to be able to say comfortably that the truth will out. To lie is certainly morally wrong. However, many people do not place great weight on the moral aspect. Therefore, one must approach the question as a bottom-line issue. If there is no long-term positive effect as a result of the lie, and upon further analysis and following the thread of the lie and its consequences are red line, debit rather than asset -why lie? Onto that add the fact that when the lie is exposed, well, one could join with Chicken Little and watch the sky fall.  There is trouble more than they would have been if the truth had been acknowledged in the first place. In cold calculations, a lie is not worth its inevitable bad ending.

 Unfortunately, our world today has chosen as motto and guide to life this: he who lies the best is the best. He who has the loudest voice, the most abrasive baying of an ass, wins the day.  Worse, the more outrageous the lie, the larger the number of those who buy into it. Those who need to belong, join the crowd and cede their 'selves' to the head liar, generally a demagogue wannabe. Not to forget those who know better but need to believe there is a way out of the current woes, whatever they are.  The liar is given credit for the good and is Teflon for the bad. 

That is the theory of government, of politics, of finance, even of education, of any field one can think of, even into the field of AI. Try as I might to understand the philosophy behind this, its attraction to those who join in, it continues to evade me.    And I simply cannot get into any kind of understanding with it. Apparently, no one looks to the bottom line and sees the truth or, worse, sees it but continues on for his own purposes or advantage. What is good for all is set aside as selfish desires of or for the individual emerge as the driving force. Whatever harm ensues from these selfish drives is cast aside, a matter of no account.

These days, rife with the rampant power of lies, of egregious falsehoods, it is nigh unto impossible to get two people to agree on what the truth is and where the lie begins. In fact, the deep intrusion into society of these lies, weakens any possible civil and civic discussion, most assuredly not a good way to run society, and most certainly not a great way to run the world.  The result is obvious. One has only to look around at the state of the world today and know the truth. But then again, that which should be obvious is denied, has become nonexistent. 

Most definitely it is the end of trust. It is an onset or a continuation of a spiral of distrust, mistrust, of any positive method of communication. Fiery and frustrated opponents take to violence to put forth their ideas and goals. No one hears anymore and the end result is violent speech morphing into violent action, to bloodshed. Finally - war. Lies are so enmeshed, embedded within the fabric of society that the enemies of good are perceived as the purveyors of good as they wage war upon those who oppose them.  Worse, they present themselves to society as the men in white hats.

We have now arrived at our present, driven by much of the past, and by nefarious plans for the future. From time immemorial, most adherents of the Muslim faith hated those of the Judaic faith. Why?? It matters not as the end result is the same and the excuses just as invalid as any other. Hence they have waged war against the Jewish people. Forever. And plan to do so until they have vanquished them entirely. Their religious leaders, the imams, exhort them from the pulpit to wage war upon the Jew. And so they have done. The Koran calls upon them to kill the Jews, to champion genocide of the Jews, even unto becoming allies with Hitler. Most certainly the Jewish nation was to be prevented at all costs from returning to and building up their ancient homeland - the land, the state, of Israel. The charters of their numerous terrorist groups proudly and loudly shout of their commitment to the end of Israel, Judenrein, from the river to the sea, and beyond, to all Jews of the world. Even allying themselves with Hitler and his crazed plan to exterminate every single Jew on the surface of this planet.

The terrorist groups, even as they wallow in the blood of the Jews, of their children, of the raped women, of the slaughtered men, have convinced the rest of the world that they are not terrorists, but rather "militants” No, they are not. They are not. They are terrorists. They are worse than animals. They are the beasts of the horror tales of humanity. And they must be fought until they have no more energy to continue. Their evil plans buried alongside them.

However, the defenders of this world, the state of Israel, constantly puts its life on the line, the life of its civilians, the lives of all who live within.  All to defeat the forces of those who would destroy and dominate over all. They have subverted, inverted, long recognized truths. The nation which begins a war cannot deny its crime and must be defeated. Nor can it dictate the terms of war, or terms of surrender.   

These terrorists have followed in the footsteps of all the terrorist groups preceding them and have exceeded them in brutality.  With lies of life, lies which consume their very souls along with the souls of the duped and the violent and the haters. It is as if they never, ever, met the truth and certainly would break out in massive rashes should they ever have to confront and state the truth, to acknowledge truth, to acknowledge the evil within their plans, to acknowledge the lies that they have put forth so as to block any chance of making peace.

Liars who invade. Liars, who wage war against civilians, against infants and children and women. Liars who demand victory, even as their ranks are hemorrhaging and their own civilians are turning on them, tired of being their victims. Lies re imminent famine. Never was there in the first place. Lies of those who are alive or dead. Lies about the safety of hostages and then their murder.  Lies of desire for ceasefire even as they violate terms and refuse to concede any at all. Lies about lies. Lies about unconditional surrender - obviously meant for Israel as they then rocketed Haifa, her suburbs, her civilians. Lies about wanting peace as Sinwar resurrects the horror of the Intifada of suicide bombings meant only for slaughter of civilians even as he and Hezbollah acknowledge their exhaustion. The world? It continues on its path of ignorance and willful denial. As they ignore truths and swallow the lies.  

"The statement on Tuesday from Columbia University Apartheid Divest also included an explicit call for violence."

" ...violence is the only path forward"

“Be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists.” 

"Why leave out that Israel is surrounded by countries that want to eliminate it? Why leave out that Israel deals with terror groups that want to eliminate it?'

 A CBS journalist taken to task for asking that question of a supporter of Hamas in this conflict.  

The fact that  Hamas broke a 'permanent" ceasefire on October  7.

That Hezbollah blatantly broke the 'permanent' ceasefire on the border area of Lebanon and Israel.

Who are the liars? Who are their supporters?

Who are the  speakers of truth? Who stands with and supports them in their lonely, embattled situation?

TRUTH

WHO? WHY? WHEN? IF ONLY ...

  There are a multitude of questions which need answers, even as they defy answers. We are left in a sea of confusion.  Everybody is shouting, accusing, lying, doing everything possible other than telling the truth. Truth just disappears, buried beneath years of willful lies. It is an ugly truth, rife with   homicidal intent, vicious in its hate. If only - the saddest words on the planet. If only we had done this. If only we had not done that. If only we had not taken the plane. If only we had thought otherwise -if only, if only.  If Only.

However, once done, once said, it cannot be taken back. At that point the only true meaningful path to tread is that of seeking understanding. How and why and when did we get to this point. Where did we go wrong. Perhaps the wrongs and the rights are clearly delineated, but most likely not so. Perhaps that is because the truths will be damaging and ugly. Perhaps there were no viable alternatives to actions taken or not taken. Perhaps people refuse to understand or admit to it, preferring to continue on their rampage of hate and homicidal intention.  Destroying an entire people. That goal is clear as day via the chants, shouts and threats. In this case, a repetition of the ambition of "Judenrein" - no more Jews. Period. 

Where are the designated leaders of the nations of the world? Where are their mouths? Where is their moral spine? Where are they? Nowhere to be found. Certainly not with any words or deeds of morality and truth. Their words are saturated with cowardice and a softening of spines. Accompanied with a reluctance to acknowledge truths and responsibilities.  

These leaders hide behind and beneath lies and cower beneath civilian infrastructure, shivering in dank tunnels, with hostages as their shields, even as they sacrifice their own people. Or they are living in the lap of luxury as they shelter in other lands far away from the combat and blood. These are not leaders who will take their people to a true peace.

Golda Meir spoke the truth when asked to evaluate the situation. If Israel would lay down its arms they would be slaughtered. If the Arabs lay down their arms, there would be peace. That is what Israel desires above all. Peace - to thrive, to prosper, to raise their children. No more to have to defend themselves in hostile lands. For the world to recognize historical imperative. To recognize and acknowledge the eternal right of the Jewish nation to the land of Israel. As long as this is denied, there will be no peace.

Israel is the haven of the Jewish people. All they wish is to live in peace, to thrive and prosper, to contribute to the world, to advance medicine, technology, to contribute to the creative arts. And so it has been, and so will it continue if the world will finally stand tall in service of the truth. If the world will resist the base needs and urges of JewHatred.  Why, dear G-d, why, must there always be in each generation those who would destroy us? It is just so damn tiring. This can no longer be allowed to be the status quo.

  We Jews have resilience. That offends people. They call us demons for daring to survive all that has been thrown at us. They resent our refusal to follow the faded empires of the world. To become weak, to give in to evil. Quite offensive to other people, especially as they lack understanding of that resistance and defiance, the determination to outlive their enemies.  The reality of our survival and existence. Humanity tends to villainize that which they do not understand; hence, they strive to destroy and here we are. 

76 years ago, a battered, traumatized nation was    allowed to return home. A home long denied its truth as the eternal, never abandoned homeland of the Jewish nation. If this homeland had been acknowledged sooner, six million plus people would not have been destroyed, slaughtered. If the truth had been acknowledged that the Kingdom of Jordan had been set up to be the land of the Palestinians ...well, if only. Those two words again. 

But the world turned to lies. The world turned to the old, tired, brutal antisemitism. Worse. we allowed it to infiltrate and pervert our educational and philanthropic institutions and organizations, to wallow in the filth of hate and to grow their own 5th column, to inspire their own quislings. Hate   filled people have been allowed to spew their hate and even been praised for it. Outside activists have invaded campuses. The results are clear.

The truth of October 7 is overlooked, twisted and turned into something that never was and that never should be. Israel was accused of perpetrating this horror upon their own people. Israel was accused of setting fire to homes, to people, of brutal sexual attacks, to kidnapping and slaughter of their own. The animals of Hamas were excused as if never there even as their own videos betrayed their lies as they boasted proudly of their prowess at slaughtering civilians. At taking away grandparents, defying fierce infants and little boys and girls. Butchering their parents. How? Why? When?  - did the world begin to think this was OK. How, when, why did the horror, the truth of October 7 be turned on its head and the victims   deemed the wrongdoers?  

 There are many unknowns to be made known. There are many questions to be answered. How did Israel not see this coming? Why did the world allow this? Why did they turn so quickly on Israel, stabbing them in the back? Then holding them back as they fought a war foisted upon them, a war of survival. Will we ever get the answers? Not all for sure. Or the truth will be buried. Deep.

 October 7 must never be forgotten and must never be allowed to be repeated, though might be desired by many. It's aftermath, October 8th, must be recognized. It is the acknowledgement, the truth of the reality that vicious viral antisemitism, over the top JewHatred will never go away. It is the awakening of the Jewish people of all nations, particularly in the West, that same West in which we thought we were finally safe. Sure. Able to ignore the minor signs of antisemitism. To claim it could never happen here. Well, it certainly can. There are certainly advocates of it out there shouting, chanting, threatening, screaming.

It is time we wake up and smell that ugly black coffee. No sweeteners, no moderation of its bitterness. It is how we understand that the only defense we have is ourselves. Others cannot be trusted, cannot be relied upon. And so, we will do as we have always done. Meet the challenge.  Overcome it. And so, we are here and not going anywhere either.

 No more will we concede to all terms to shed our dignity, to shed our nationhood, to shed our right to exist.

No more. 

We are resilient. We have survived unbearable conditions meant to eliminate us. But we survived.   We found ways to prosper. to succeed in the face of hate. Hatred so putrid that many refused to acknowledge it even within their own selves. New terms for antisemitism were coined. But the truth was always there. JewHatred is JewHatred. The only thing that changes are the weapons used to wage that JewHatred. Again. No. More.  

 No more acquiescence by Jews to their own slaughter. No more acquiescence to denial. This is a different Jewish nation, a different world Jewry.  We now have to acknowledge that JewHatred is eternal. Here, the devil wins. But here the devil will also be defeated. We are not the Jews battered by centuries of hate in Europe, brutalized within the old nations of Europe. We are the proud Jews of the West. We will stand high and tall and defend ourselves. Those Jews who think they can hide and deny who they are must guess again. There are plenty people out there who will remind you who you are, who you always have been and who you always will be. Take the truth and run with it. Take the truth and be proud with it. Flaunt it.

The grief of October 7 must never be repeated. It will always be a reminder of what is possible, of the deep ugliness to be found within people. People who rejoice in violence and bloodshed, who wallow in it, who seek praise for doing that. \

 No more. Never again.  

 Tears ran down my face yesterday. They will never stop, never dry. 

May the slaughtered rest in peace.

May the hostages finally come home.

May we be allowed to live in peace.

AS CLEAR AS GLASS, AS OLD AS TIME

  One can say as easily as the title that it is the same old, same old. Or one could testify to the truth of that awful adage that when it is bad for the Jews, it is good for the Jews and vice versa. We are living in such a time. Any movement in any direction seems fraught with danger. 

It is clear as glass when looking backwards, growing ever clearer in the present, even to Deniers, and unfortunately the clarity of those growing glass panels and mirrors of the future is clear to anyone who will not deny the evidence of the eyes. Seen in the glass are the tropes of old redressed in very thin new clothing and the monsters of the unknown await, champions of what should have long ago been trashed, discarded for all time.

A growing number of opinion pieces, written and spoken are merging in concern and topic. That in itself is a miracle as we Jews love the art of arguing, gets the brain working, does it not!! Yet in our time there is a merging of concern, from right to left and back again. That concern is now penetrating the thickest skulls around.

The Year American Jews Woke Up

In a Post-October 7 World, American Jews Face a Crisis of Confidence

As clear as glass, as obvious as the nose on one's face. The stinking choking odor of the sulphureous fires of Hell permeates the air in growing intensity. One article is written by a classic moderate/ conservative and the other is written by a long-time member of the liberal crowd. Both are proud Jews, yet always there was a distinct difference in their concerns and responses to issues of life. 

Not now. No longer.

“To have been born a Jew is the single most fortunate thing that ever happened to me. It is a priceless moral, spiritual, intellectual and emotional inheritance from my ancestors, some of whom were slaughtered for it. It a precious bequest to my children. ... To be a Jew obliges us to many things particularly our duty to be our brother's and sister's keeper. That means never to forsake one another, much less to join in the vilification of our own people. It means to participate in the long struggle for our survival not only against enemies who mean us harm, but also against those who excuse those enemies or those whose moral apathy speeds their way. And it means to embrace often as a thoughtful critic, but never as a hateful scold - the great, complicated, essential project of a Jewish state. To imagine we can do without it is to forget how close we came to extinction before it was born. 

October 7 shook our illusions and reawakened us to where we stand as a diasporic community. Now we must reckon with who we are and what we must do."

"For American Jews, the past year exposed the persistence of Jew-hatred constantly bubbling under the surface of Western societies that we thought was mostly suppressed. It is not that we were oblivious to the still-existing hostility. We remember the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre well. We vividly recall the "Jews will not replace us" chants from Charlottesville. But in terms of our daily routines, most of us related to Jew-hatred as we relate to our own mortality: We know it is inevitable, but we convince ourselves that, somehow, it will not happen to me. ... 

One of the saddest developments since October 7 is the shock experienced by American Jews, who, for the first time in their lives, are encountering pervasive antisemitism. The realization that age-old hatreds are still alive and kicking, even in America, thrust American Jews into a crisis of confidence. We are beginning to hear eerie echoes of Europe, the haunting howls of hatred that brought our ancestors to these shores in the first place."

Both Bret Stephens and Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch agree re the harm and a fear now felt and experienced by American Jews and the necessity, the permanence of Israel in our lives. I thank them   for their words and wisdom and am thankful for the opportunity to present them to you. It is well worth your while to seek their entire pieces and then share them with as many as you can. Their titles are in the blog. 

Obviously, while I might differ with some statements they do make, here or elsewhere, the crux of the matter is beyond debate. 

  "But American Jews will not debate whether the Jewish state, of all the countries of the world, has a right to exist. We will not debate whether we have a right to national dignity and self-determination. If we cannot persuade you to leave us alone, we will defend ourselves. What other choice is there? We have already tried everything else. The days of prostrating before marauding murderers are over.

Wherever individual Jews decide to live, Israel is the last stop for the Jewish people. There is nowhere else to go. We are open to all discussions related to coexistence. We will not debate with you national suicide."

Israel the state and Israel the people will survive. 

 Period.

 End of discussion.

May the Lord remember us, watch over us and keep us safe.

May we all find our way to peace.

Quickly.

In our time.

Amen. Selah.

TODAY AND TOMORROW AND TOMORROW AND YESTERDAY

  365. For 365 days the Jewish nation has been counting down. One October 7th to the next October 7th and all that has come in between. All that continues in a putrid overflow of hate; all that   is turning our tomorrows into our todays as they, in turn, throw us violently, unwillingly into our yesterdays. All, that for a member of the Jewish people, is always here, a presence, a darkness lurking, biding its time. And STRIKE it does. 

These 365 days of in-between, have been as Sir Simon Schama states "a punch to the soul".  Succinct. Bitter. Defiant. A deep sadness. Once again, a “drop into a sort of sinkhole”.    From deep down we hear the echoes of raucous bloodthirsty voices calling for our demise. We hear the sound of broken glass. New boundaries limiting us. Denying us membership in the human race. Canceling us and our productivity. Worst of all, is a denial of a future for our young.  

Immured within that deep pit a rotten odor permeates the air. We become aware of a drip, of multiple drops, a growing accumulation of nasty polluted waters of a fetid swamp. Deeper. Drowning us.  Ever widening ripples. No footholds. No handholds. And so once again the people of Israel must fight, despite overwhelming odds. Yet again. Ever again.  Today or tomorrow or yesterday - apparently it makes no difference. 

Once again, we are reminded that we are not the overlord of our lives. Other people, other events, and an eternal hatred all share in the blame and causality. We too are a contributing factor as we allowed ourselves to grow smug in our acceptance into society, in the successful lives we have built.    Thus, that punch was perfectly positioned to smack us in the heart, to delve deep within our souls. We took down the steel walls we had built for our safety, and we were ripe for the taking.  

October 7, 2023. A drowsy nation coming to life on a sleepy holiday morning. Or gathered in anticipation of the sunrise, at a dance festival. Families looking forward to their visitors of the day. Walking their dogs or enjoying the weather. Certainly not expecting multiple flying machines with armed men. Overwhelmed. Masses of motorcycles carrying men shooting guns in the air, shooting at people. Screaming with crazed harsh voices, calling for blood, blood of the Yahud, blood of the Jews. Size, age, gender -no matter. Anxious to call parents and boast of their body count.        Uniformed.  Nonuniformed. Tractors, cars. Murderous hearts. Beastly souls. And the slaughter began. Men, women, children, infants - it mattered not. All were considered fair targets, all to heighten the pain. It will never, ever truly heal. The scab constantly picked and torn. And so, we bled - great   buckets of blood. And so, our children were stolen. Our elderly in danger. Our women brutally violated. Raped. By beasts in human form.

For perhaps five nanoseconds the world spoke words of sympathy. 5 seconds after that the emptiness of those words was glaringly clear.  “horrifying” and “unforgivable” that before any Israeli troops had even entered Gaza, “the victims were being blamed for the catastrophe and people just started screaming ‘genocide’ at us”. So it began; so it continues. However, there was a difference as for once there was a unity among the nations of the world - virulent, toxic, antisemitism morphed very quickly into a rabid JewHatred. Paid activists sent by Iran, along with dupes and fellow murderous haters, university students and fifth column professors engaged in a war with Jews on their campus, to war with Jews of the world and a war with Israel to demand its cancelation, accusing it of genocide. The nation of those who had actually undergone an attempted genocide almost perfect in its attempt to reach its goal.

The authorities of the campus world, of nations, of the world. were impotent. Most probably purposely so. Egregious hate speech was excused, claimed as   free speech. I wonder what would have happened if the blood being called for had been that of any other group. Would the world have stood still for that? Many doubts on that. In fact, no doubts for that never would have been. Those words would have been shut off. This spigot broken.  

However, we were not broken. The laws and rules of Judaism showed us the way. The Bible spoke of war with very strict guidelines and those guidelines were followed. Yes, there was collateral damage of “civilians”. However, the enemy is where that enemy is and one must fight that enemy where it is. When that enemy specifically places its civilians in a place of danger as a weapon of war, then so be it. Responsibility for that is upon them, not the one waging a defensive war foisted upon them. We Jews have learned well the lessons and truths of history, that in every generation there will arise one who desires our extermination. Our responsibility, our duty, is to defeat them. Iran. Hamas, Hezbollah, Houti. All their supporters, all who joined them in bloodlust, one and the same. Yet it is Israel who is condemned. 

We are not down and out. No way. No how. Never. Never again will we allow others to decide our fate. We need to exercise our rights as an entitled nation - entitled to defend itself, entitled to wage war when it is forced upon them. Entitled to fight the enemy where the enemy is. Blame for collateral damage of civilians belongs on the shoulders of those who use civilians as a weapon of war.

Nor have the Jews of the diaspora given up. Anti Zionism is Anti Semitism is JewHatred. The idea of Zion, our homeland, our eternal wish to return from Diaspora, from Exile, to our home, is woven into our very DNA. It cannot be denied, and it cannot be forgotten. We have longed for, prayed for, fought for - a constant. Never denied. Woven deep within our very souls.  Never discarded. Weak Jews who collaborate with the enemy are of no account in this matter.  

Millennia of persecution and murder have not won the day. We are here. We are here and here we remain. Millenia of persecution and murder have not won the day. The cost is dear, but we will continue to pay it. We paid for it in the ghettos. We paid for it in the concentration camps We paid for it in the mounds of dead in the ravines. But we will not be wiped off the face of this earth. And we will not concede the disappearance of the state of Israel, nor our right to be there. We will defy any and all who think or attempt otherwise.

October 7. 2023. Continuing every day, every single day. Our hostages are dying, our people are dying but our nation continues on, forever. We are one and there are over 400 events in America, joined by events in Canada, joined by a mass march in South Korea in support of Israel, joined by protests and gatherings worldwide, - No, we Jews will not remain silent. We will not go down silently. We will not cooperate that way and we will do and say what we must do and say.

 Am Yisrael Chai.  The people of Israel live.

Lanetzach - Forever. 

Amen Selah.

AND SO ITCAME TO PASS ...

 We interrupt the series of postings of the good, the bad and the ugly for in the light of day this morning, I am not seeing very much good around. Yes, there are glints of good here and there. Within    family and friends. The miracle of our nation, Israel. However, within the world, dear God in Heaven, where are we to look for more, in our desperate need for more. Tonight and for the next three days, the two days of Rosh Hashanah and the day of Shabbat, the people of Israel, Your people, will be calling out to You. They will be praising You and where will You be?

J'accuse! J'accuse! with tear filled eyes and pleading voice, and fear filled trembling heart, I call out as Emile Zola cried out to the people of France at the debacle of the Dreyfus Affair.  And so I call out to You. WHERE ARE YOU? 

How many times? How many more times are we to undergo this horror? Metula, Kiryat Shemona, Tel Aviv, the ravaged South, and what is next - Jerusalem, Your city, the city whose name incorporates Peace? Rockets by the thousands rained down from the skies. Bullets and knives are wielded at ground level. Is there an end to this? Can we even see, imagine, a positive end?   

 And where are the outcries? Where are the calls for Hezbollah to stop? Where are the forces of the nations of the world roaring in outrage as Khomeini proudly announces that he ordered the  attacks? Either we are inundated with thunderous silence, or worse, with vocal approval. Along with  that is the almost outrage that when the dust cleared and continues to clear again and again that we have survived and refuse to capitulate. Why is the world   not shouting against the horrific attack, its ever-ongoing existence and the animosity propelling it? The goal - the extermination of Israel, all Jews, the successful culmination of Hitlerian ambition.      

Alan Paton wrote Cry the Beloved Country. I borrow his title. Today I weep. I weep for Israel, my beloved country. Once I had. once I had another beloved country, the U. S. A. But that country has spurned my love. What else is one to think when a judge can reinstate permission for a group of those calling for death of Israel and for all Jews, who stand to pour salt into the wounds of October 7 as they call for a repetition, who absolutely deny the loss of life on October 7th within villages, small communities, and a dance festival!! And so I weep.

 Even as I weep for the endangered and slaughtered of my people, I weep also for those fools who enable, support, and stand with those who call for their own death. When they have been drained dry, of no more use, their fellow chanters will throw them, kick them, to the walls. Gleefully. This has been a certainty through the millennia, for those who collaborate with the enemy against their own, are at the end, Ipso facto, part and parcel of their own people and suffer the same fate. The train is coming for you as well.  

From the depths, Oh Lord, I, we call You. Once again, Your people feel the agony of being designated target. Of a determined attempt to exterminate us. Your people. Your people. 24/7 constant checking on the continued existence of the state of Israel. The one tiny little Jewish nation state. Its existence so irritating to others. So much so as to induce implicit and complicit cooperation and sharing in the open and oft stated goals of terrorist groups and nations. How and why are You unaware or unfeeling of all the woes besetting us?  

When the BBC Head of News can say the following with straight face and aggrieved tone, proclaiming her innocence, the innocence of her news staff, denying the over 1500 breaches of biased reporting, what is left to say?

“But BBC News does not and cannot reflect any single world view. In this war, we cannot be a place where any side feels that their perspective prevails. Our job is to report fairly and impartially, to report without fear or favour. Our duty to public service journalism means we will always hear from a range of perspectives“          

And then continues to spew forth bias.                     

 Last night in Israel an entire nation was locked down, under red alert, all in bomb shelters. Nobody knew what was, is, to follow. This morning more of the same. Those nations and heads of nations who have been speaking mealy mouthed for a year, encouraging the outrages against Israel are now facing their own red alert. It is a case of 'fer or agin'. Nothing more, nothing less. It must be acknowledged now in the face of all of the failures, that if Israel had been allowed to fight the war, as it should have been, that this entire year of horror would have been truncated, lives saved and our hostages home and safe with us. The tragedy of the stupidity and the hypocrisy of the nations of the world is astounding. 

We, the people of Israel, know well that history   repeats itself replete with lessons unlearned and unheeded. We know that when the time is ripe, those who sought to destroy us will themselves be destroyed. Beasts receive their well-deserved consequences. In the relativity of time, through the millennia, a time of woe might be worth less than the blink of an eye. However, for those living through it, dying because of it, it is an agony of centuries. Even armed with the knowledge. that the wrath of G-d will finally appear, we will always continue to raise voices and demand answers as to why and why and why again.  

 From the depths of despair hear the echoes of history and the agonies of Your people. What is the purpose of the seemingly eternal animosity towards the Jewish people? Is it because we believe in You? Because they too believe in You but wish to deny it? From nomads of the desert under Abraham to the family woes of Jacob and Isaac, to the jealousy of the brothers, and the painful sounds of the cries of Joseph, betrayed by his brothers and as he awaits his fate. Through slavery in Egypt. Exodus and return to the homeland. Destructive wrangling in the family. Loss of their nation. Millennia long Diaspora. Always with the longing to return to Zion. And finally, a return. The land of Israel, the state of Israel, proud, feisty, determined.

There was always one constant throughout the history of the Jewish people. Always the sound of voices of suffering, of torment beyond human comprehension. Always the calls to G-d to hear, to come, to rescue, to revenge. Always, eventually, an answer but too often so overlong in coming. Why is that the case, Lord? Why must it ever be so? Why do You not listen harder, better?    

The next 10 days are days of atonement. 10 days during which Your people shed tears, hold their cracking hearts together, tremble in fear and grief and call out to You to hear and aid. We wonder and we question and question again. Why do we have the haunting picture of two adorable redheaded little boys, victims of hate. Why yet more families awaiting news of kidnaped loved ones?  Perhaps never to return. A nation always under siege. Why?  

 Where the hell are You, G-d? We hear the echoes of the dead calling from beyond the grave. Zechor. Zechor. Remember the horror. Remember, avenge let our deaths, our bloodshed, not be in vain. If we, with our human ears, can hear their voices, why can you not? Where is the fulfillment of Your promise that You will avenge Your people, their spilled blood soaking the earth. You promised.       We call out to you, Avinu Malkenu, Our Father, Our King. Our Master. Do what You promised. Keep Your word.

We promise to do better this year, to not repeat transgressions of the year past. We ask, we plead, we pray, we dare to demand- You do the same. We know there is much room for improvement within us, in our thoughts and  deeds, but please, You do some thinking as well.

We promise to do better. We know that there are bills to be paid and we will pay, but payment implies service in return. We need that service now. 

Dear Lord, You have been neglecting us. I don't know where the hell You are now, but You certainly are not here, with us. Not in full mode. Yes, Your hands sheltered many, but God in Heaven, wake up. See the full picture. Ignore the deniers. See the truth. See with Your all-knowing and seeing eyes and ears and minds. Deal harshly with Your powerful hands with all the enemies of your people. Reward the Righteous who stand with us. 

Allow us to all shelter beneath the wide span of Your shield. 

For the next three days there will be no new postings. On Sunday I will return, G-d willing, with another posting. Hopefully there will be a mairacle by then and the war will cease. Fairly, rightfully.       I hope and I pray that our voices will break through and the Lord God will hear it. Full volume. and return back to us through His promises to us. Take us in hand and develop one walloping permanent punch to those who wish to destroy His people. We so do wish to call out praise, to say we never should have doubted you. But Hashem, Hashem Elokeinu, Our God, how much longer? We are humans. We are weak. We cannot withstand what You can. Lend us Your strength. Be with us. We are with You, always and know that from the depths when we call you, when we plead aneinu, answer us. A great voice, reassuring in its power and magnificence: I am here for you". And once again we will be able to say with full conviction.  'And so it came to pass. Yad Hashem, the Hand of the Lord in all its grace and glory."

May we all share a new year of peace and health, of love and kindness, with understanding and tolerance.         

 Shana Tova Umetuka. A good and sweet year. Amen. V'amen. Ken yehi ratzon, May He so desire.  

 

MORE OFTHE UGLY AND AT LEAST SOME OF THE GOOD

In today's world it is far easier to find the bad and the ugly than to find the good. However, there is always some good, even if in miniscule portions. Laughter, the ability to find humor in dire situations is of great importance, crucial for survival. However, before we get to the good and the laughter, we first must traverse the remaining landscapes of bad and ugly, even of evil. It must also be kept in mind that sometimes the disconnects ae muted and the three states are tangled inseparably.       

Such is the current situation. Jews worldwide rejoice in the deaths of our prominent enemies, those who seek our death to the last Jew. Along with that comes the waiting - revenge attacks, but not knowing the when. Unnerving. Nor do these deaths bring about critical needs and goals as the release of all living hostages and the return of the bodies of those brutally slaughtered during captivity. Nor does the war or wars cease. What we do accumulate is more martyrs, more Jewish blood and more enmity or apathy from the world. 

If we look back over the millennia of Jewish history there is always the tragic, mixed with the joyful. Weddings and babies and pogroms and violence. Holidays and death. Always the twain shall meet. Moments of joy always with an overlay of tears. Always. the blood stains, always air suffused with the aroma of copper. We question why this duality? Perhaps it gave the Jews   unusually strong spines and determination that no one other than the Creator can wipe us out.    Actually, I am wrong, for we, the Jewish people, have the power to do that to ourselves. If we refuse to understand the very core of that belief within our national and religious ethos then we are doomed,  

There is a rather ironic semiserious statement. It runs like this: when it's good for the Jews, it's bad for the Jews; when it's bad for the Jews, it's good for the Jews. Paradoxical statement. How can one and the same thing be? Absolutely diametrically opposed meanings. When life is good for the Jews, when they are accepted, when they thrive and prosper, when they become as one with the general population, they lose the separate and distinct which makes them different, able to identify and survive. Times of seeming ease of assimilation diminish the identification and interests which are part and parcel of being Jewish. That is bad for the Jews because we forget who we are, where we have come from and what is always there awaiting us, just around the corner, across the street, round the bend. Always there. Just beneath the surface. Always popping up here or there, raising an ugly   frightening presence. Never ever gone. Its reappearance is even more startling when the assimilation is strong.   

On the other hand, when it is bad for the Jews, when the hatred is open, blatant, vicious and violent, intent on its purpose of delineating the other, of their separation and dehumanizing, that it is good for the Jews They are forced to remember who they are. They are forced to remember their roots in their history. They are forced to remember that they have strength within, fallow until necessary to be plowed and reaped, the crop being the returned and reinvigorated racial, genetic, memories -   pride and courage and determination and identification as a Jew.  To be part and parcel of something bigger than oneself.  A recognition and a reunion of souls. Stronger in knowing who we are   and where we came from what makes us - us.

 It is at those times. that we mostly turn to one of two paths as we struggle for survival not only of body but of soul as well. Physical and spiritual and cultural defiance. We refuse to go away silently and paradoxically our identity flourishes. So, it is good for the Jew, as a nation, as a people, as a proud integral part of the history and future of mankind. 

It makes me angry, and people will not be pleased with me for saying this, but so be. Anger and fear at the conspicuous blatant consumption so prevalent in many Jewish neighborhoods. What must those entering these neighborhoods think? Ancient tropes of hate come to the fore.  Justified or not. Wrong or right. The facts of reality are there. At some point it all catches up to us. The hate of millennia logical or not, arise and emotions rule the day. Take a look around. Feel chills yet? There is nothing wrong with living comfortably. Far from it. But I believe over the top is dangerous.

Also agitating and leaving behind a bad taste is the recent trend of articles and books of know it alls  who have lived a life barely cognizant or connected. to a Jewish life. They have lived as suburban Jews of the Friday night football games, or as children of sophisticated urban Jews.   future. One such book was written by a Millennial Jew who predicted an inevitable fading away of Jews and Jewish life here in America. No cataclysmic event. Merely an inevitable total assimilation into the population at large. 

Many of these pontificators have never actually lived a life with deep Jewish roots. They know not what they speak, for they have not lived it, not experienced it. I have. And so have many others. For 6 American generations we have not lost the connection nor diminished its importance and relevancy to us. There is no reason why it will not continue into the future. 

We are Americans. We are Jews. There is no contradiction. Only from those who hate us.  Inevitably, people turn in the face of this growing unstable society to one of two paths: that of hiding, and that of proud defiance, keeping openly Jewish lives and openly American lives at one and the same time. The choice is an individual choice. Some will switch back and forth. But it is clearly. not right, in fact it is very wrong to predict an inevitable end of Jews by the end this century. Hell. The world might not exist by that time. 

The time to finish this posting has run out. Time to get moving to catch this ungodly early flight. However, it will be completed with one or two more posts and definitely speak of the good, the bad, the ugly and even the funny.  Be assured that we do not exempt general life in America as it is today, for the material is rich indeed.  

Stay tuned. 

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

 I can hear the iconic tune now as I think of the title and its painfully exquisite match to current times. Should I look for the younger handsome Clint Eastwood to appear as well?  Quite doubtful, but there is no doubt that when this movie was released awaiting it was a different America. That nation, though always abounding with different outlooks and thoughts, was ONE. 

Basic goals, basic truths and reliance on a Supreme Court free of taint, and ugly stinking partisanship and corrupt ethics which sanctioned bribery, on a political system with creaks and squeals, but eminently working well, and a national spine strong enough to tolerate extreme differences and discuss other, saner differences without constant explosions of rage and various accusations.  Our Constitution was not subjected to jeers and insults, nor suggested to be discarded. 

America was a 'united states' at that time, glaringly differing from today, Present day presents a plethora of very loosely connected groups of states rather than that coalition of closely 'united states' forming the political entity known, true to title as The United States of America. Left behind - a growing gap, many gaps which negatively highlight the vast spread of opinions in today's very shaky nation. Extremes now dominate, crushing means and medians of moderation and a growing population of those fearing for our survival as America, the reality and the dream. Now it is endangered and besieged by its own population.

The truth is that we have enabled our own destruction. We have allowed the mentally unbalanced, severely challenged intellectually deficient to grab a stranglehold on the reins of national control. The traitor at the head of it all and the wimps who blindly or shortsightedly follow as automatons incapable of independent thought, mouth platitudes rife with lies and outrageous accusations more applicable to themselves than their ostensible targets. Violence, hate, oh so righteous indignation and a nation gone to Hell, in several handbaskets of deep, inescapable depth.  

That is the bad, and now to the ugly tainted with an overlay of the bad - the state of the world as represented by World vs. Israel.   When a vicious patron of hate and violence, of bloody murder, of rape and bestialities, is taken out in as surgical an attack as possible, where is the support for those who have eliminated a scourge of humanity? Cowards who hide beneath the shelter of civilians, albeit complicit civilians, that term used loosely, who use their own children as shields, they are unbelievably touted as saviors of humanity, as blessed with a religious passion, and martyrs to a cause blessed by a rather perverse Allah. Definitely ugly, in never ending ugliness. The worst of it all is the ugliness these creatures bring to the table, sit clampy by as they campaign for more evil, more bloodshed, more deaths and use of the hostages and their tormented families as pawns in a deadly game of chess with no good outcome possible. That is the sad bad and ugly truth.

There is so much ugliness in this world, so much that is evil, needlessly, as it is so easy to avoid with just a bit of willpower. But we humans tend to the wrong side of the track do we not. Tomorrow, albeit a tad later in the day as it is travel time again, more of the ugly and the good and even some of the rather funny. 

In the meanwhile, safe travel for all and a Happy, Healthy New Year of Peace and Happiness, Prosperity and Humanity. We are short of those commodities right now so let us seek to replenish them properly and productively. 

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Yitzy, we hope and pray that you are now in a perpetual beautiful world with only goodness and shared joy. Remember us down here, for we are in need of those things. Desperately so.   Meanwhile, Shana Tova, my sweet little boy, A blessed privilege to have you as my grandson, though way too short in this world. So much better to hug our real boy than merely remember only - that grin, that goodness, that joy and purity.  

Once, there was a Yitzy, real, physical, and now-now, the tears still well up, and your matzevah, the monument, reminds us of what we have lost.

Once, there was a Yitzy, real, loved and beloved.

Once.

Deep within our very souls -

Always and forever. Always and forever.