PEACE BE UNTO YOU

  I would venture to say, be bold enough to say, that most of us are a bunch of mealy-mouthed superficial talkers who never think things through. Never to grasp and understand the truth of what is being said and/or demanded. If this is the status quo, to shake hands and then wipe them against one's pants to eliminate the touch of the enemy; to  mouth the words of peace and wishes for peace, all the while knowing that the fighting will recommence as soon as all are back in their redoubts, well, what the hell! Why are we wasting all our time in spewing forth words of falsehood and lies which serve to disguise our true intentions and the actions forthcoming, for just that little bit longer. All to give our armies, all our forces that edge which might mean the difference between victory or defeat.

 Too many of us deny or ignore, the fact that there is, there are, no winners in war. The loss on and to both sides, the time, energy, and people all represent misspent minds and funds. The excruciating and forever wounds remain, echo down through history, twisted and turned to serve the needs of nations, even of groups within those entities. In reality, there are no winners in a war, and to think otherwise is to lie to oneself. 

 If one cannot fathom that in reality, who persist in recalling victories of importance in the annals of mankind, think again. The ever roiling of the world with cries urging slaughter; the shouts of ironic claims of victory, even as their land lies about them in huge piles of rubble, and the loss of humanity blatant in the empty streets and at family tables. These are facts hammering down upon us for decades or longer after the supposed peace treaty is signed to end it. 

It is at that point that our foresight disappears. All we see before us are the opportunities to wreak revenge upon our foes. To "get” them for all that they have brought upon us with their belligerency and their refusal to compromise - as we see it, not as they see it, nor as we all should see it. 

  For the truth of that, for the true realities of end of war, all one must do is hark back to England at the end of World War Two. At the end of the war, much of the world lay crumbled and England was among the worst. The hardships which remained after World War One, the "war to end all wars" - not so as one could actually point to the success and truth of that mantra, remained. The hardships and rationing and loss of people, of infrastructure were increased and compounded by the consequences of being a 'winner' in WWII. For many, many years, during, in between and after, even in some cases, until today, England was permanently changed and suffered hardships as if defeated, rather than as one of the nations claiming victory and the rewards of that victory. 

Winners and losers confused in reality, and alliances constantly shifting. Certainly not a new phenomenon in the history of humanity and certainly something we have never been able to internalize and understand and rebuild our priorities accordingly.

We all are the losers in a war. We see only our anger and our desire for revenge. At times, many times, that revenge, that intense desire to 'get' someone, something, eats away at us, for so barbaric have been our enemies, so evil, that justice demands their punishment be deep and lasting.  We forget that we must leave room for those doves carrying the olive branches to enter, freshen the air and cleanse our minds of all that is negative, all that will only serve to lead to the next war and the next and the next and the next. 

 Somehow, somewhere we must be able to look within ourselves, within our nations, and find the true peace makers, the true thinkers who know how to balance the needs of the victors along with the needs of the defeated if we are to avoid further war. Further defeat for us all. 

If we had understood that principle at the ends of so many wars, we could have avoided the horrors and consequences of those wars we need not have allowed to grow into ugly clouds, darkening the entire world for so many years. Over and over again. Then only to refight those same wars with bits and pieces of change meaning nothing. Only increased bloodletting, more anger and acidity among the nations of the world, and intensifying the negatives of humanity and its greed, always trying to one up the other. Understand how we could have avoided World War Two if we had ended World War One the way it should have been and if we would have avoided compounding the consequences by allowing incompetent statesmen to usher us further into a war which then had nowhere to go, other than having to be fought. Think of the world we could be living in at present if we had averted the horrors, the incomprehensible horrors, of World War Two. 

I am neither a peacenik nor a warmonger. In the Bible in the Old Testament we have been instructed to understand the difference between wars which must be fought, no other choice, or those fought only to accumulate wealth, and might There were different rules and different consequences. I understand that; I know that wars must be fought against those who would wreak havoc. Massacre all before them, in the most barbaric manners, and   we might be forced to do so again and again and again, never to end. But I also feel that if we stuff up our ears and close our eyes to the entire reality, we will never dig our way out from the deep abyss and chaos of war.

In the Bible in  Genesis 23:43 "And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them."

  And in the Book of Judges 19:20  "And the old man said, Peace be with thee; howsoever let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street."     

 we learn of the impetus to peace. Willing it, to gift it, to those we meet. Peace be unto you. We say Shalom.  Salaam. Why we continue to say those words and to profess belief in them when all the while we are fingering the weapons behind us, at the ready o wound and slash? Why and wherefore can we not find people capable of understanding, capable of engendering a world where war is not the first, last and always road to follow, to venture into and upon, always with terrible consequences. Even the New Testament, in Luke 24:36 "And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you". reminds us, calls upon us, to know that peace be unto you is what we need to profess and to uphold.

I honor all our brave soldiers, our people who have set aside their own personal needs, left their families and defend their nation. I honor all who knew we had reached the point of no return, no other possibility other than to do what must be done and who then did it at great cost to themselves and to the world. But the necessity was such that it had to be fought.

Would only that we could have avoided that necessity in fair and justified manner. Would that we had devoted those energies, those minds, those funds that drive, to the wishes of peace be unto you. To me and mine as well.

One day we will learn. One day, perhaps, we will study history and wonder what had gone wrong. Why did humanity perpetually choose the wrong fork in the road, fallen off the proper pathways through life? Why have we almost continuously taken the wrong fork, the many wrong forks and   roads? Where was the understanding that we humans are indeed capable of using and implementing?  

It was certainly not there yesterday.

Not really here today as well.

As for tomorrow, we can only hope and strive.

May the good Lord bless us with that wisdom and strength, that innate knowledge that we can improve and indeed must improve.

When all the people of the world will wish each other - 

Peace be unto you.

SPLIT PERSONALITIES

 I have the answer. Or at least part of it. Last night I was part of a wonderful study session regarding two of the foremothers, Rachel and Leah and some of what they represented, as we looked back and look forward into our history. It actually explains some of that which has kept us from going forward in orderly manner and at the same time, explains why, despite all the barricades and snafus along the road- We. Are. Here. and here we will remain until time immemorial when the good Lord Above decides that enough is enough and it is time for the 'be'at Hamoshiach', the coming of the Messiah. Whatever the time, whatever the circumstances, it will have been more than enough time.

According to some commentators, who, (and via my own take on this matter), throughout the centuries, intensely studied the Bible, the Old Testament and Prophets, believed the world was kind of left broken and changed for all time via the transgression of Adam, the first man on Earth. Instead of glorying in his goodness and cleanliness, having never defied the Lord, he (and his wife) took the wrong fork in the road. This misstep of his was a misstep for the generations to come. Instead of one whole entire blessedly clean soul, humanity, for the most part, then became burdened via a dichotomy. We can call it good and evil or the high road and the low road, even temptation and resistance. But whatever it is called. it left humans weaker, imperfect, facing a more challenging status, standing, and positive achievement in the world.

It appears to me that the Soul, the pure and the tainted, did usher in a new and changed world. It is the world where the one segment can be in combat, behave in oppositional manner with the other segment. Battling for power and influence, for domination, intensely at times and less intensely at other times. It is only when we understand that the two segments must be reunited, must be made to mesh together, work cooperatively with each other, that the best of the Lord's creation, the best lives we can lead, will appear before us in all of its possibilities and blessings. When will that be? I have no answer to that. Quite frankly, I do not believe the Lord has one either, so complicated, confusing, irritating and contradictory are the beings which followed Adam and Eve.

Abraham and Lot, his nephew, going separate ways, underlying principles and motivations not coinciding. Isaac and Yishmael, Jacob and Esau. Even Isaac and his beloved wife, Rivka, who chose different sons. Abraham and Sarah with depth and intensity and belief varying at times. The 12 sons of Jacob and their brotherly strife advancing to the point of selling a brother into slavery. Finally, we come to Rachel and Leah, the one representing ever forward movement, ever seeking more, how to move the nation forward, how to be better, stronger in our faith. The other, emphasizing and understanding and acceptance of the current, whatever the current situation is. and build within it. Know the importance and the strength of unity and cohesion.

However, it is only when these competing segments of Soul discover, manufacture, the keys which will open the locks and the doors separating them, that the nation of the Lord and the population of the world, for all creations are of His hands, in the Lord  find peace. We will claim the purity of soul which we were meant to be endowed with, from the very beginning of time.

We were supposed to learn to mesh the permanent power of the sun and the ever-changing appearance of the moon, cooperating rather than competing, working together rather than driving nails to separate. It is when we understand the importance of the Torah, the Bible and value the wisdom of our Prophets sent to us to help us, to guide us, along with the insights of our commentators. When we open ourselves up to all the light and all the glory of Hashem, then and only then, can we even begin to approach the elevated standards and achievements of the Biblical figures. 

Only then will we understand the mercy of the Lord Above who knows His human creations can go astray, must understand their violations, but  He is also our Father on high,  a Father who understands that it is easier and better to convince with love and soft touch rather than with a hammer on the head, and bring those who stray from the fold back. Welcomed with open arms. Even the best among us commits an offense in our lifetime, but it is to the credit of those who have indeed gone astray to understand and acknowledge what they have done and take proper steps to ameliorate the harm.

At times the name we have been given or earned as Am Kishei Oref, a nation, basically, of stubborn stiff-necked people has carried us through with that combination. Varying at times, as needed, with the steady, ever seeking, segment of soul and the steadiness of our people in their faith in the Torah,  in their celebrations and commemorations, combined with the agility and defiance, the ability to change into the personality that is needed at that time. This meshing of the two has kept us together, made it known and recognized that we are in fact and deed, one nation, Am Echad, and one Fate. And of course, there was always, along with us, that helping Hand from above. So much so that even in the moments where the Upstairs Neighbor was not paying as much attention as he should have been doing, we were able to call upon our own strengths and fill the gap until such time as Heaven came knocking on our door.

Look around now at our people and I wonder. Will we ever learn that lesson? Will we ever understand what we are doing wrong and take all steps necessary to correct our gait? Learn how to walk together? Learn how to face our enemies together, both of within and without, and roundly and soundly defeat them? Have we scorched the land behind us? So much so that there is no possibility of such a thing happening? Have we so 'enemitized and alienated' ourselves, each from the other, so that we truly cannot see clearly through those obscuring mists? 

Or is there another hint here, both frightening and elating at the same time? It frightens me, but its promise of finality holds out such hope of forgiveness and defeat of enemy, that we skim over the tough part and peer only into the future time, one of grace, unity, joy and a worldwide recognition and acceptance of Hashem as the one and true G-d. 

For all.

Our errors will be made clear to us and forgiven at the same time and there will be a union of the two separated segments of our soul, never to be apart and/or in conflict again.

First to arrive will be Mashiach ben Yosef, the Messiah from the House of Yosef, Joseph. He will lead the battle against Gog and Magog, horrific enemies of the Jewish people, and will be victorious. When that is done, then will come Mashiah from the House of David, the true Messiah for which we have been waiting, ever since Adam led us astray, to lose our perfection, now to unite us, with brotherhood and peace, love and justice and we will be whole once again.   Whole and healed for always. One people of the world worshipping he true God.

It was true yesterday, true into our todays, and G-d willing, well into the permanence of our tomorrows.

THE CONFUSION OF LIFE

  Why is that life can be great and down in the dumps at one and the same time? Life can be like the best carry-on, with the most advanced wheels gliding over the biggest curbs, the roughest cobblestones, yet meets its waterloo at a tiny, almost invisible minor crack in an otherwise smooth pavement. 

This is apparently the first cousin of the high and low points of life where you can be flying on a high and smack right dab straight into a steel pole.  Instead of remaining in that high moment, that moment of triumph, of joy, a satisfaction of self-pride, you find yourself down in the dumps. Upset with yourself, at yourself and with the world at large. You have no idea how  or why this happened. All you can do is try to regain some kind of even plane and be able to move on with life. Not always so easy to do and in fact, not always successful. 

I find that the best things to do at that moment in time is to sit oneself down and take a piece of paper or boot up the computer, use your phone and make a list. Compare the importance, the intensity, and the consequences good and bad and wind it all down. Condense it all. Be honest in approach. Generally, one will find a manageable issue emerging, controllable, where once you had thought the sky was indeed falling and your life was over.

People will advise you to avoid the moments that upset you or punctures the balloon attached to you, the one which kept you flying high and in forward movement. However, one cannot live life that way, for attempting to put oneself in a bubble, shielded from all negativity and concern, will, inevitably flatten and deflate and take the flavor out of those high moments of success and achievement. There must be a comparison and contrast if one is to be able to distinguish between these moments and the emotions connected. Without that, one would be living in a flat, gray, gloomy world void of all that is life, of all that makes us humans rather than automatons or serfs forbidden to have or act upon personal needs, to fulfill goals and meet challenges particular to oneself.  

My life at present is fulfilling. At this time I cannot find the words to fully transmit the joy, the pride, and the confusion in which I find myself at present. Put aside any and all health issues, thankful for medical advances and wonderful doctors, which have enabled me to carry on and live a full life. I find most amazing is that at this point in time when life can, would, and even should slow down a bit, more than a bit, I find myself a jet setter, balancing life in two very different countries and cultures. Two very different social circles and contrasting prioritizations. Yet, at the same time I am fulfilling a dream. Literally a lifetime dream once almost fulfilled but shut down by life circumstances of the time, only to be fulfilled unexpectedly and, I must admit, with great trepidation.

How would it be possible to mesh these lives How can I explain to people who questioned this change in life? That at this point in time it was doable. It is doable and hopefully it remains doable long into the future. That is, if my strength, physically, emotionally, along with my financial strength, allows for it. Most important of all is that we do this as a team, for after 58 years of marriage, to 120 shared years, I cannot see doing  it any other way. Frankly, I would rather it were possible to remain in one country, but that is impossible. There are powerful ties binding us to both and for as long as possible those tethers will remain intact and attached, giving us both joy and agita, overlapping, meshing and competing.

In one world I live in my birth nation, a nation which once filled me with pride, patriotism and a sense of belonging. I felt I had a home and security, a certainty for a good life, a future for our descendants. I trusted the government and its players though now with a bit more cynicism as I grew older and wiser in the ways of the world. But still, I was able to hang on to many pollyannish, idealistic, hopes and dreams and views even as my disappointments became more numerous and slowly more serious in consequence. Until ...

Until at times I feel that I must scrape the bottom of the dish. Squeeze it in order to get any discernible sense of belonging, of welcome, of optimism. Slowly, then at ever faster pace and fever, the base of life weakened. It began to seep, to ooze, out holes, cracks, ever wider and longer of concerning consequences. That wall of security and certainty that had once encompassed me and my mine, me and my people- Jewish Americans, American Jews - wherever one placed the stress was now almost out of existence or promise. In fact, it has grown to not matter at all, for at present, the strident voices of JewHatred have grown in tempo and viciousness.  Calling for the death, the extermination of all that is Jewish or related to that  term and its adherents, including Israel and our constant dream thru the millennia   to return, to join with those already, always, there, to live within its borders,  to fulfill our forever practice of Zionism, an integral part of our religion, a return to our indigenous ancestral land. Zion. Tziyon.  

Growing ever more frightened, seeing a diminishing return on our patriotism, our weakening hopes for a future for all, we remembered our dream and it grew ever stronger and seemingly possible. To make Aliyah, to go up to that land, our forever dream now faded, suddenly with a glowing color.  Now not a dream but a necessity, for security, for knowing I am welcomed and wanted. A place where it will be my privilege to keep certain commandments unavailable to me when outside the Land.

A dream became a reality and one day we found ourselves walking off a plane and almost immediately given citizenship papers, with a government and a people who welcomed us, immigrants welcomed, with privileges and a huge cohort of people able and willing and directed to smooth out the wrinkles and bumps of change and adjustment.  

In one nation I retain my native and, my always, or supposed to be, country of birth and acceptance and welcome. That welcome is freezing over; it's warmth diminishing day by day. JewHatred has become normalized, even encouraged, borders of propriety seriously, already, endangered.   Yet, I remain a citizen hopeful that it will return to what is supposed to be, which once tried to be. But a nation at present in the throes of dissolution, JewHaters in top echelons of government, growing in number. A President most manifestly in his personal throes of dementia who, until now, has been good for Israel but who is also notoriously known for his quick veers and changes of policy - what now. wither goes hope. 

He is at present also a definite threat to the ethos of America as a democracy, as a strong leader of the free world, as a nation of immigrants, each group contributing to the whole. His government is riddled with corruption and the sourness of it is palpable. The government is replete with people of incompetence, with people who care not for the people they are supposed to serve. They are in positions of power and grow this tumor upon our nation, with no end in sight. It makes lies of my past, the heroism of my grandparents, and the lives and values of my parents, along with the hope she gave me for a future, for my children and their children and their children as well. These are the ties and the hopes for which we keep our citizenship, not giving up on this country. We return to our extended families down to the great-grandchildren and meet up with old friends. To reconnect to an America as it once was.  

Israel is a nation of special people, where people must be tough, have to survive in hostile environments. But at the same time they are soft, gentle and caring. What other country takes in their enemies if they are ill. It is a nation held to double standards unfair and impossible to attain and maintain. It is a nation claimed to practice apartheid even as they absorb refugees from all countries of the world: from Burma, from India, from Ethiopia, from Europe, from America, from parts of Asia, from the Arab lands expelled, brutalized. It matters not, for this is the home and haven of and for all Jews.  

Where else can one find a people always in a hurry, always running late, but will stop to gently lift, then gently land, a person who needs help getting on or off a bus or a train or a curb. A nation with strangers who will stop to ask if you need help walking up or down the stairs, carrying bundles that appeared to be too heavy and too many. I know that for a fact as I have personally been the beneficiary of such kind deeds.  Where the children grow up strong and confident, patriotic, with love for their land, and sure of their lives even as their parents, siblings go to war, for they know they are safe in those hands, encircled by their love.  

We were welcomed into a most wonderful community, young and vibrant with some of the most brilliant people I have ever met. It is a place where the voices of children playing outside ring out happy, free, unafraid.  It is a community where doors are open to new friends as are the arms of the adults and the children living within. 

 It is a nation of One People. Do they argue amongst themselves? For sure. Jews argue. Fact. But they are a family. One. Fact. It is a nation plagued by violent and vicious barbaric enemies. It is a nation held to double standards unachievable. And even if achieved, unmaintainable. It is a nation held out as a chosen target of the entire world. So it has been through the millennia, from the past to the present, and most probably well into the future. 

But we do not succumb to our enemies. We defeat, we outlive those empires so strong and mighty who wished to destroy us. We are family, no matter how far we are separated, how far we are scattered over the globe. We are confident in our survival. So often challenged in that belief with the reality of its ugliness. But we know that our Lord is with us. Through thick and thin, always to return to our aid in the darkest moments of our history.

 Israel is a nation ruled by a corrupt government as is America. They both are plagued by incompetent, uncaring, selfish 'leaders' who mock that title. Two nations which must mend the rents within the fabric of Nationhood.  I am confident that Israel will do exactly that, though not without aggravation and family disagreements.  However, when push comes to shove, they all believe and know the necessity of this state and set aside in the name of unity and survival. At present it is probably one of the worst times for this nation, but I am confident that it will come to its senses. Remember this nation's importance. A life necessity for us and all the people of our blood. 

The United States is a bit more complicated. There is no one family there any longer. Xenophobia, anti-immigrant fever has been ramped up to the highest level. We have forgotten our history. We have forgotten that but for the Lord and our brave ancestors we would be elsewhere or not be at all. It is a nation that has lost its spine. It is a nation that is no longer connected. We have become tribes in warfare. We are disremembering that we are, at least supposed to be, the United States of America.

Both nations need a hero and a true leader. The ranks of our government are now overflowing with crap. Unless we do so and quickly the future grows dimmer.

Both nations must return to what they were and to what they aspired to be. If we lose that motivation and understanding, we will be lost ourselves.

These are my people. These are my nations, good and bad, both troubled at present.

My dream. My nightmare.

Highs and lows.

Life.

So it has been, so it is, and so it will most likely be.

Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.

For as long as G-d gives me and the world strength to do so.  

WHAT TO WRITE?

  Most mornings I have a pretty good idea as to what should be the goal or aim of the new posting. Generally, it derives from the day before events or thoughts or even what I pick up in the time before I write. Other times it simply is there, in my head, awaiting a good time to expand upon, and then I just roll with it. What amazes me at times is how often I intend to write about topic x and end up way off on a tangent which emerges as my writing progresses.

 However, coming as a shock to me and quite a number of other people I appear to be having a hopefully minor spat of a variety of writer's block.  Maybe that is not the correct term for I can write, but the question is, what is the topic to be? What is uppermost in my mind? And utmost in importance, most demanding of attention. Unfortunately, the answer is that there are so many topics which demand addressing. So many topics of concern but to paraphrase, "these are the times that try my soul”. There is so much wrong in this world, so much so that even when one tries one's darndest to remain optimistic, the light rather than the dark, the clear outlines rather than shadows, are just nigh on to impossible to visualize in the current reality. So overwhelming is the negative. So bleak is the outlook. So distant is the time and place wherein one can realistically believe, think, hope that redemption is at hand. The human race will improve rather than deconstruct. And life will go on as hopefully G-d meant it to be. Or did He?

The question arises here as to what exactly was in G-d's mind when He created humanity. Humankind. Were they meant to be a race of creatures who would always seek the positive, to advance in truly progressive manner not the subversion which that word has taken on at present? Were they to be a creature more than an animal walking on two legs, a creation that could walk ever higher? Leading straight to the Lord and His idea of the perfect representation of His best goals in mind at that time of creation?

But exactly how was that new creature of higher level to know all this? Was it to be etched in his mind and his soul? How deep would the etching be? How intensively would it be stressed and practiced? Would it be the same in each and every representation of humanity? Could the approach be the same in and to all or would it demand individualization? I believe that until we actually bumble our way to the answer's humanity will never be able to penetrate through to the higher levels, the ultimate goals. What would be the methods by which we would be motivated to struggle hard to make our way past blockades and pain and be able to find the good, the light, within the dark? 

I am not sure about that because is there a benefit if someone has to struggle, to be hurt, to have loved ones be killed or die before that time? Is this truly what is needed in order to push someone to a higher level? Is that how one is supposed to exist in order to prove one's recognition of the ultimate goals and motivations of our creation? I don't know. I can't really assimilate that into my understanding, for as a parent of three children, as a grandparent, as a great grandparent, I cannot see the point in inflicting harm, laying trouble or danger upon any of them in order to teach a lesson. Whatever that means.

Well, I guess I have a topic upon which I have touched before, but it still rings bells in my mind and pulls the rope for moments of doubt and questioning. But is not that what we are supposed to do as people, as humans fraught with inner innate flaws, ever so prone to erroneous steps? Is that not how we prove our worthiness? Is our understanding the point of our creation or at least our attempts to reach that understanding? Actually, honestly, to me, the idea of 100 percent achievement of that goal is nigh unto to impossible. I believe that perhaps a handful of truly blessed saintly people can fully assimilate that into their core and accept and understand the challenge and carry through. Most of us though, simply cannot get there, even with or despite intense heartfelt labor in that direction. Perhaps a crisis of such level and intensity, would perforce push us willingly or unwillingly onto that level - is not a welcome thought.

So how do we prove our worthiness to the Lord G-d Above, our Master, our King our Father, our Creator? I guess we need to simply try to be the best we can, and then some. To take the higher path, rather than the low. To account for benefits in the most unselfish manner and hence achieve and attain higher levels, ever nearer to the ideal. But even then “we are only human" and can only do the best we can but actually, how do we know what the best we can actually is? For that I have no answer. I don't even have a clue as to what steps to take, what keys to find to open the door, even a window for entry.

 Is it a hopeless task with which we have been unfairly burdened? No matter how hard we strive. No matter how intense our efforts. Again, no clue. There are times I feel optimistic. There are good signs, good vibes, emanating from at least a decent portion of humanity. But there are times, oh, so many, too many times where all we see is evidence of the rot within, of the greed and selfishness, of the lack of self-control. These negatives are too often possessive of a human being, and in turn dispossess them of all or most of that which is right. Along with all incentive to veer to the right and light.

Why is it that for millennia we have not progressed any further than the present? Why is it that we still have to expend countless dollars, time and power of mind to the creation of new, more deadly weapons? Why have we not yet learned as the Borg would say to the members of the Enterprise, "resistance is futile" and understand that the only true way to a better life for all is righteous, justified, justifiable, compromise. We all give a little and take a little. That would engender a Golden Age for mankind, as near as we can get. A true Golden Age rather than the limited Renaissances of Earth where there were vast gaps in the gold plating. Not so much for the Jews, was it? Not so much for the peasants, was it? Not with so much for those who were and are independent with deeper thoughts upsetting the status quo.

Instead of where we should be, we remain on the rather hideous level of discrimination, of xenophobia, of self-loathing, of careless thought and even more careless actions. We waste time on falsehood and fakery rather than on eternal truths and benefits for all. I guess that would be a utopia, which has so far proven to be impossible to achieve, at least on this plane of existence. But “wouldn't it be loverly” if we could and would strive to attain those goals, to get closer to it than we have come before. But leave out the hurt, the harm, the hate, the hostility mistakenly applied in the quest for higher levels.

At this moment in time, I am not optimistic about such achievements. Not when there are nations on this planet who think the only way to progress is to steal from others, to be aggressive in application of dangerous goals and motivations, the constant upgrade in the installation of hate and fear amongst those we oppose for whatever reason we think of. Simply create a victimhood for one group and for sure there will be enthusiastic believers and practitioners. 

When people starve while others engage in gluttony. When people decide that the other group does not deserve to live, for else can there be an elite group? How could one feel superior? When one group engages in barbaric manner and wreaks havoc and pain upon others. When we encourage excess while there is huge lacking in this world. When we discourage the idealistic and encourage and praise monetary accumulation achieved at    great cost to others and to oneself, as our souls and hearts harden. Is this truly the reality we wish to strengthen, even intensify, and make permanent? If so, we are doing a great job. Much to our shame.

Can we, you and I, improve ourselves? Can we show decisively to the Lord Above that we are deserving of His love as a Father more than we deserve his castigations as Master and Ruler? Can we highlight our progress, downplay our regression, and actually put an end to it? These are questions we all need to be asking ourselves. There are times needful of long moments of critical contemplation, understanding and implementation. 

We must choose which side to champion? That of the Dark Angels who rebelled against the Lord or those of the Good Angels, the ones who appeal to the best within us. Even Jacob wrestled with the Angels. Can we hope to do no more or no less? Can we truly wrestle and choose between the two angels within? At this point in time, it is more of an individual's choice, rather than a choice en-masse or of large groups. Even those who might have begun with altruistic motivations in mind too often tend to go astray and take the wrong fork in the road and find it impossible to retrace steps and redo that which never should have been done in the first place.

I believe at this point only with the cooperation of the ones who have gone before us, now sitting there, relaxing on the sofas of Heaven, chatting away, fretting as they look down upon their descendants, wondering how they can contribute to their improvement, to clear their foggy thinking and thoughts, only then can we have a hope of positive movement. Our grandparents, our great-grandparents, down the line, surely, they have advice to give. Those who went before their time, as my grandson, Yitzy, taken, too pure for this world, surely, he and those like him can beseech the Lord, who deemed it necessary for them to return to Him, to do better for those who remain on Earth.

I believe it is only with the conjunction of the two, the understanding what good can do, that we can find that which will impel us into a truly important comprehension of when and where and how and why we were and are led astray. When the willpower from Above and Below, here on Earth, conjoin, perhaps we can take strides in the right direction. Perhaps some will say too little, too late but we have to start somewhere. 

Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.

 All contained kernels of hope, bright and optimistic, just as they also contained black, dark and rotted kernels boding no good for any of us, individually or together. We must amass the former and lose the latter. Then we will be able to look back on yesterday, live today, and plan for a beneficial positive, enlightened lit up golden tomorrow.

A gal can dream, can she not?!

DROR

 Dror is home, returned to his family, his nation and will receive proper burial and honors. A man slaughtered in the vicious massacre perpetrated by Hamas upon Israel, his wife killed and he, his body, (a bizarre and barbaric form of currency for Hamas) and two of his children, 14 and 17, were taken hostage into Gaza. He has been held until now, while his two children were released in an earlier hostage blackmail event.  All this time waiting to know if they were orphans, as the fate of Dror was not known.  Now they know.

The world mouths platitudes calling for the hostages to be released- that is, if they remember that there were hostages remaining. Dead and alive, dying. However, most of the calls were for Israel to put down their swords, give up their positions and slink back as if defeated across the border into Israel. There to await what? 

Well, we all know the ultimate goals of the killers of the terrorist groups, even the governments and the people of numerous Arab and Muslim countries. For the Jews to have been allowed to return to their indigenous and ancestral homeland, and to be wildly successful in every which way, manner and form was, and is, and most probably will always be, anathema straight to the very core of their being.

All those chanting beasts calling for "Liberation” of a Palestine which never existed until so declared by the UN in 1947, have missed the boat. The foes they have targeted, the Israeli army, all Israelis and by willful extension all Jews round the world, have been calling for freedom only for themselves. This is easily seen in their own countries where sect and manner of observance are costly to the freedom of the "inhabitants within".  

Much to the contrary are the calls for Dror, for Freedom, as called for within our own books. Here are a few places wherein we can find our references to the establishment of freedom within our world, a world where freedom is a universal concept and right, of value, worthy of effort to earn its keep.  

Leviticus 25:10 "And you shall proclaim dror (freedom) throughout the land and for all the inhabitants."

Jeremiah 34:8, 15, 17 (2x), Isaiah 61:1 and Ezekiel 46:17. 

Several times mentioned in our books - from the Bible to the prophets, a strong and emphasized point of our history, our religion, our very being, an intricate part of the definition of us as Jews. In the  name and cause of our freedom, we have been forced into the status of unwilling participant in constant wars, waged against us with the goal of removing any idea of freedom from within the Jewish nation.  

However, Dror, is a concept, a reality, a necessity we will not, indeed cannot, deny. We have been unfortunately, too often, the victim of declared loss of freedom for our people. We have been confined in places of residence. We have been denied the freedom to choose the clothing we wear. The careers we wish to pursue. Even the choice when to marry and have children, or worse, to have our children kidnapped, to be killed or raised as members of another religion. 

These are elementary, basic rights of freedom for all. Yet, nobody, at least very few, saw anything wrong in the denial of these basic rights of freedom to those who differed from them in some manner, major or minor, and more so, to the people of the Jewish nation. All the while discounting and disregarding contributions of the Jewish nation to the world. From the very first Jew to the Jews of all generations, and most probably, if able to, into the future. 

The world looks on, sheds a few crocodile tears, and then unleashes their own weapons, literal and figurative, against us. A quest to deny us that Dror, that freedom so important, allowing for us to be true to our religion, it's demands, precepts, the very heart and core, to return to the land of Zion, G-d given and promised, lived in and died for, over the many centuries. Today, the nation states of the world and their 'inhabitants within' perceive Israel to be in the crosshairs of her enemies and happily jump on board, allowing the ugliness of their eternal Hate, their dark forever JewHatred to resurface and do its worst. 

This will not be allowed to continue, to go unchallenged. Been there, done that before, a place, a condition, to which we will never return. No matter how deeply our enemies wish it to be so. If anything has taught us the importance, the merit, the necessity of combating any and all present and future attempts to contradict that solemn oath to ourselves, to Jews round the world, it has been this latest atrocity of Oct7 and its unbearable and profane aftermaths.

No more will we allow the world to force us to restraint, to stand by as our enemies build up their power until they are ready to attack us and where we will be on the defense, in adverse circumstances. Fair is the return of that strategy to the enemies within the world. If one such is on the surface of this earth, or beneath, still breathing and plotting, we will find you, wherever you hide and cower and finish you and your bloody plans for good. Finito.

Dror, returned to his family, and the power of his last name, Or, light, will always be with us, reminding us of the paths we must take if we are to avoid those which are imposed upon us.

We must keep our freedom intact, resist all attempts and wars waged to deprive us of that. We must keep the light shining upon us all, the light sent by the Lord Above to remind us of His presence and eternal promise to His Children.

Always.

Yesterday.

Today.

Tomorrow.

Dror, may you rest in eternal peace under the shelter of our Lord.

May your memory be for a blessing.

DONUTS AND HOLES AND HOPE VS. DESPAIR

  As do most people, I go up and down on the line connecting despair and pessimism to the other end of hope and optimism. I much prefer the latter end of it all; however, life does not always allow for such, in realistic life and manner. One must admit that one cannot live totally in a 100% pollyannish world, where all is good, nothing bad, the birds are trilling, and the roses are blooming. It just isn't that way. It never was. It is not, and it never will be, even in the best of times. In fact, Charles Dickens had it right in his iconic opening to A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." A world composed of battling extremes. 

And as such, particularly in the past two years, appearing unlikely to abate soon, if ever, is today. It could actually be our best of times for these times have allowed for Jews to have a golden expansion of room to breathe, where the children can and will grow up to have careers of their own, families of their own, and G-d will have been good to us.

However, inevitably, we have found ourselves in yet another revolution of the cycles of history. Repetitive in nature it is not unexpected. However, I, and many others, do so wish that the repetition would be of the golden cycles, of the optimistic and positive cycles rather than ones where the clouds crowd around us to the point of almost smothering us for good or signaling an horrific cycle of long duration and intensity arriving at our doorsteps.       

We are back again at a crisis of Anti Semitism emanating from people who must Hate in order to breathe, who live to Hate and thrive in it. They have a laser focus on their traditional target, Jews. The toxin spewing mouths and perverted minds are unfortunately contagious to the nth degree, hence what begins in one country or two countries spreads rapidly with a bloom of poisonous growth spreading to all nations even when there is no Jewish population there at all. Today, it is a strong returning echo on the sonar measuring the risks to and of civilization. The beeps are rising. Hour after hour. Growing in intensity and violence.

So how does one move out of darkness. Not in one great leap, that is for sure. Nor in a totality of change, leaving all the black behind and leaving all the bright ahead. The world is simply not like that.   I highly doubt whether it could even change 100 percent, even in the best of times, which was our time. In addition, as posted yesterday in my blog, humans have built in error magnets and are perforce prone to, or at least likely to, commit some error or another in their lifetime. Sometimes there's a minor consequence and at other times, consequences horrific to contemplate. Most normal people wish to remain somewhere in the middle, being neither too demanding of what they cannot give nor too forgiving of what they should not have done. Most of us are pretty much right there in the center.

It is at that point, where rational, logical, livable compromise with life circumstances comes into play. It is when the hole in the doughnut, that emptiness, shrinks to a manageable size and the doughnut cake around remains soft, tasty and ever so delicious. That period of time is a blessing to humanity. It certainly is a blessing to the people of the Jewish nation and most certainly to me, to all my people round the world, and to the blessed State of Israel. 

Unfortunately, however, at present, the doughnut hole has expanded so that the surrounding sweet cake of the donut, whatever flavor one chose, has shrunk to a barely there amount. Optimism has gone the way of all living things. We must grasp any and all opportunity now around us, to create more batter for the doughnut, more support from those who understand history, from those who understand righteousness, from those who would turn aside from the Hate, condemn violence, brutal indescribable and seemingly endless. Those who would engage in pushback even if their main motivation was for the benefit of themselves; It matters not, only the results.

I am not sure exactly where on this spectrum I am    as of this moment. I kind of swing back and forth, sometimes more to the left, of despair, sometimes more to the right, of optimism. What I do know for sure is that it is an insecure environment. Those among us who grew up like me with grandparents who came here, young, alone but optimistic,  ready to build a life for their children, my parents, American born, American raised and educated in both the secular and the religious world, and me and my siblings, totally American, totally Jewish in outlook and observances, but also totally American in feeling of patriotism and pride at being an American. Possessing a knowing feeling that perhaps it is the right moment in history for us, and we have surpassed the ugliness which took place just years before my birth.

That certainty is gone. That disappointment is huge and oftentimes cancels out the remaining moments of optimism and hope. What else is one to say when our houses of prayer, our schools and institutions are attacked. When now our people are not only threatened, but are actually struck down, again, here in America, our Goldene Medinah, and round the world. How are we to explain this to our children? Or to our grandchildren who for the most part also lived in that bubble of security which is now leaky, very much so, diminishing the certainty of goodness, of right to live, of a future, in our nation.

Our nation has become all nations of the world. Mamdani, a vicious JewHater as mayor to be in the most Jewish city and environment outside of Israel. England once again a bastion of fierce JewHatred,  the time wheel of history reverting to a time when hundreds of Jews were burned in the Tower of York. When Edward II exiled them for many a century. When Ireland engages in the most blasphemous in your face, anti Semitism, poking into places where they clearly do not belong. The Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, the list is endless. It seems the more nations that join, the more other nations are tempted to hop onto the same bandwagon and enjoy their 'fun'.  

I did like, however, this piece I came across from one of the sites that I patronize. Read it and hopefully you will like it as well. If so, perhaps it will give you a little perk, a bit of a boost to climb from the cellar and do your best to reach the ceiling or at least near it in approach.

Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow,

We must make them better. There is no other choice.

Hope in a Hopeless World

A psychologist friend and I concluded that the world must be either hell or a mental institution. We found that there is too much beauty and goodness in the world for it to be hell, so we determined that it must be a mental institution.  

What else could possibly explain the fact that people and nations repeat the same grievous mistakes with catastrophic consequences for centuries? Vanity, glory-seeking, jealousy, hatred, violence, selfishness – did any of this make anybody better off in the long term? It certainly did not make the world a better place.

The only rational response to this sad history must be to become a cynical recluse and turn one’s back on the world. The problem is: What about all of that beauty and goodness? Good family and friends, humor, love … OK, so cynical recluse may not be a good response after all.

Maybe, then, enjoy all those wonderful, uplifting experiences and forget about all the horrors of the world. But it’s so difficult to ignore what is in the news, spreading its venom in social media, issues discussed everywhere by virtually everyone. Hot topics that impose themselves on you, fracture social relationships and invade the mind like an assault on your nervous system. Stop the world; I want to get off.

How do you navigate these choppy waters? How to be hopeful in a hopeless world? How to be happy and fulfilled and at ease, recognizing the good and acknowledging the bad?

Philosophers, theologians, psychologists throughout history have proposed innumerable formulae, thoughts and remedies with no discernable effect. Religion has its ideals, rules and laws, admonishments, prophets and sages. So, how’s that worked out? There have been many good people inspired and uplifted by those lofty ideals and even some bad people changed. But the world, dear reader, this minuscule planet in an infinitely vast universe remains tragically imperfect.

Wait. Perhaps it is possible to state that there has been change for the better, no matter how small. Ancient history consisted of tribes and clans and perpetual clashes and wars. That state of affairs started at the beginning of recorded time and persists today, but much less so. It doesn’t seem that way in dark times when countries fracture internally and again turn on each other, but overall, there is much more awareness of the damage of war and internal division. That may not be enough, and it needs to be learned and relearned, but it is a difference from the past.

Is it enough to instil hope in the future? That depends on the individual. It comes down to a choice. Some see the donut; some see the hole. The worldwide surging of antisemitism gives serious pause to thoughts of a world moving toward moral progress. “Blame the Jews and all will be well” is a tragic sign of the world in distress. A strong Israel reborn and dedicated to survival is a heartening reality after 2,000 years of impotence. America and China playing a dangerous game of chicken is deeply worrisome and a sabre-rattling wannabe tsar in Russia is a true threat to world stability, but Europe is united and dedicated to surviving intact. 

For every encouraging thought and for every negative one, there is a “yes, but…” That means that the matter is not settled. 

Anthropologist Margaret Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a thigh bone that had been broken and then healed. In the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal. A broken femur that is healed means that someone stayed with the one who fell and tended to the person. Helping someone else through difficulty, she said, is when civilization starts.

Margaret Mead’s insight into what constitutes civilization is reflected in Jewish thinking. The Lubavitcher Rebbe wrote: “If you see what needs to be repaired and how to repair it, then you have found a piece of the world that God has left you to complete. But if you only see what is wrong and ugly in the world, then it is you yourself that needs repair.” The Rebbe understood that the world’s humanity is not global, but local, and each person has the power and the duty to contribute in his or her own way.

The world may seem like a mental institution or simply overwhelmingly disturbing, but discerning people need to accept the fact that life requires the ability to sustain contradictions: Yes, there is much evil, but there is much good. Yes, the mob is destructive and many leaders incompetent, corrupt or worse, but the individual has responsibility and agency. Each person is a world. There is much to bemoan and much to celebrate. The key is to live honorably, inspire others and not lose faith. Each act of reaching out to help or comfort another, each kindness tendered, each act of generosity is a life-enhancing, redemptive act. 

Life is not a balance sheet; it is a balancing act.

---

Dr. Paul Socken is Distinguished Professor Emeritus and founder of the Jewish Studies program at the University of Waterloo

AND SO IT GOES

  On and on and on. Sometimes I will look up to the heavens and send my questions up there, as far as they can go. It is a one-word question asked repeatedly, and I have never yet gotten a complete or satisfactory answer. In fact, the whole matter is so complex and confusing, so unnecessary, that one answer to one why question will simply not suffice. Why again? Why seemingly forever? Why do we appear to be the perennial target of choice? Why do You allow this? Can you please note, Lord Above, I do not want to hear that it is not You who is allowing this, for You have given free choice to humankind and permit them to run with it, wherever it goes. Not enough, a glib answer which dogs the underlying aggravation, grief and dismay.

Nor is there an acceptable answer in Your response that, as we have chosen poor leaders for so many roles, we are reaping the consequences of such thoughtless choices. However, be that as it may, many of us are struggling with the conflicts and difficulties of modern-day life exacerbated by the dangerously moronic actions and words of these pathetic hapless leaders. Even worse are leaders with criminal activity and goals of their twisted minds, and we have no energy left to combat the status quo. Merely trying hard to keep body and soul together, trying to create a better future for the kids, is so difficult, so draining, that there is little left to even think, let alone organize and bring to reality a functioning and successful opposition. Nor can it be forgotten that oftentimes these poor imitations of good leadership are chosen or elected to office or usurped that office via chicanery and force, not via the voice of the people.

You violated Your own words. We are told not to place hazards in the path of a blind person but are You, G-d, not guilty of doing such? You sent us down here with faulty processes of the mind and heart; thus, when we err, are held to standards difficult to attain and definitely impossible to keep, are You not the one with a bright red G for Guilty on Your clothing, for all to see? Do we blame the defects of a product upon the product? No, more justifiably, these errors of creation fall at the feet of the manufacturer. Can we not demand that corrections be made in order to ensure that new creations will be better, approaching faultless and well capable of building the roads to take us to the better tomorrows? And bring along with them the creations with faulty mechanism?

Why do we feel Your anger rain down upon us when we inevitably fail? That failure is built in within us. Why not praise us when we choose the right over the wrong, rather than allow Your fearsome wrath to pour down upon us for doing what we cannot help but do? It makes no sense, yet there it is. Time, and time again. Through the millennia. Biblical history to modern times.

Furthermore, it seems to me that You ask a great deal more from us than of other nations of the world. In fact, I could stand and argue the issue as to whether the misdeeds of Your children are equal or greater or lesser than those who wish to grant us only pain, violence, oppression, and bloodshed. Do we not deserve Your protection? Have we not tried through the millennia to do the best we can? Sure, we fell off the straight and narrow at times, but again, who incorporated that inclination within we hapless creations who had no say in what was used or planned or inserted within at the time of our creation. Having been given the choice, at least most of us would have chosen pathways of the righteous, Mesilat Yesharim.

Woulda', coulda', shoulda', but reality tops it all. I ask You; I challenge You, to find satisfactory answers as to why we have been once again shoved into the muck of Hate, JewHatred, with a violence and bloodlust challenging any that came before. Furthermore, with modern day tools available to hype this Hate, frankly I see black clouds in the sky as far as the eye can see. The horizon invisible, as all seems to meld into one frightening reality. 

How are we to combat this toxic poison of the soul and the heart intensified by the physical power and sharp-edged words of the Haters? Barely a soul around has the inclination and the courage to speak out. To oppose the ramped-up violence and Hatred rampant and triumphant in this entire mad world. Even if the inclination to oppose was present, it is not an easy choice to wade into a mob crazed with madness, insane with Hate, eagerly wielding weapons as they spew their filth, chanting maniacally for all those who do not agree with  their insane desires, to kill, threaten, at the very least, and limit the confidence and security of once upon a time welcomed and valued citizens of nations which now allow and enhance the perpetration of violence and oppression upon Your people. Why do You allow that? If the punishment is to fit the crime, might we not be justified in asking for re-evaluation and amelioration, rational, yet merciful, a learning experience which does not kill the student, the one being chastised.  

Perhaps in Your eyes we have violated far more than we feel we have; hence the disagreement between us. But You left us, even unto the level of abandonment, so many years ago, allowed the cups of our violators to overflow in constant and perpetual motion. Even the moments of forward movement have been infused with instances of terror of various duration and intensity. 

Why is it, Lord, that You cannot see Your way through to a more tolerant understanding and a love of a Father for His children, one of unconditional love and patience, ready to teach, but not to kill. Arms always open to welcome back, to entice wayward children to return, to forsake their mistaken pathways of life, with no fear of awful punishment before the love is evidenced.

 Unfortunately, at times Your love is hidden behind thunderous towering clouds of wrath, of anger and disappointment. Even those clearly anxious to return, to repent and to walk with You once again, have turned aside. Too frightened to imagine any positive result. So exhausted from the battles of their lives that there is no energy, no irresistible force impelling them to take that bold step into those black clouds. 

Too disheartened at what has been happening over the millennia to even contemplate that behind those clouds resides the merciful, forgiving ever constant in his guardianship of us, the G-d who will dispense love rather than wound us more than we have already suffered. 

This is what we have known, what our history has taught us, what has happened throughout the millennia and apparently is on a perpetual track. A cycle ever to be repeated, ever to smite us down, with hope for redemption ever so distant, despite all our prayers, despite all our faith and trust in You.  Despite the goodness that remains inherent in most of us. 

Can we not find within You that which is conducive to a flowering of hope and encouragement, to return, to strive to meet Your difficult expectations? Is it not time yet? Lord, we have suffered enough. Must we look forward into the tomorrows of our children and see only reflections and stains from the bloody yesterdays along with the ever-increasing hopelessness of our todays? Can You not find within You even the tiniest molecule of forgiveness? Do Your arms not ache to hold within them Your children once again, and keep them there with You, instruct them, teach them, remind them of all that is there for them. Renew their hopes and strengthen the ties which bind us together.

Forever.

Hear us, Lord. Hear the voice of so many of Your children. Do not remain blind to the tears of Your children, nor remain deaf to, and unfeeling of their cries. Soften your heart once again and remind us once again that we are all better than this.

 Remind us. even as we vow to do better, to oppose the nefarious goals of our enemies. Forget not Oh Lord, that our enemies are Yours as well, and while we promise to do our best, it is upon You as well to do Your best for Your children, for the world You created, for Your glory to rise and outshine all else and be acknowledged by all.

Forever, Lord.

Forever.

Amen.  Selah.

OH NO! I AM AN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL!

    Well, that was a rude awakening for me. I have just found out via the convenience of reading it at my own home, at my own leisure, that I am an international criminal. Maybe I shouldn't be publicizing this, but I guess there was a point to be made and I am going to make it - hopefully, so please read on.

First up is the understanding of why I am a criminal, international. no less. I have had the utter gall to know the time has come, long past come actually, to understand that as good as one nation appears to be, as welcoming as one nation appears to be, to people of Jewish origin, when one scratches beneath the surface, not even so deep within the surface, one will find that those situations, those realities, are ephemeral in nature. They are and will not ever remain or be meant to remain in permanent condition. The necessity for other acts rises to the surface.

Time and time again in history we have been rudely made aware of that fact: no matter how successful the Jewish people are as a whole, no matter how high they manage to climb, to find a place for themselves, our ideas, to contribute to the society of that nation, it matters not at all. It was all not to count for very much nor for very much time. When the haters of the world united and decided that it was time once again to bring back, to revive, to strengthen the viciousness, the agony, the viral, toxic JewHatred once again, there was a warm welcome in every nation of the world.  

What is JewHatred? Why do I prefer to use that, rather than the rather milder antisemitism? It is because I understand reality. Like it or not, we all, you and me together, we all have some anti-something feelings inside our heads, inside our hearts, mistaken, most probably, but there it is. These anti-feelings can be controlled, can be ameliorated via intense effort to combat these feelings. Taking actions against the reinforcement of these feelings, possibly to the point of reversal. Sometimes. Too many times, not. But Anti feelings, certainly in initial stages and not fed more garbage upon which to grow, enables life to continue, even with some rough spots. But nevertheless, a good life, for one who works hard can achieve that. Even as it is anathema to the soul and makes for a difficult environment at the very least.

However, JewHatred, any Hate with that capital H, is inimical to any kind of a life. It is a hate vicious and contagious, immune to most proposals to ameliorate it, to negate it, even to disappear it. It is something that is both inbred and ingested, the one method strengthening the other, reinforcing it until there is no way to crack open that hard shell around what is supposed to be the inherent humanity within the hearts and souls of mankind. Too often we find that it has dissipated under the pressure and the ugliness, amid the liberation of a Hate that has gotten so powerful, so border free, that it is seemingly impossible, not even worthy of an attempt, to do so.  

So, to get back to the title. Why am I a criminal? Well, first and foremost, because I am Jewish. I will not hide that fact. In fact, I am proud of that fact. I am proud of our long history. I am proud of the contributions of Jewish people to myriad nations of the world, even unto those nations who were the most vicious and vile in their practice of JewHatred to the point of being desirous of the extermination of the Jewish people. As  an American Jew, or as a Jewish American, wherever you wish to place your nouns and adjectives, it has always been my right to live as all other law-abiding citizens of this nation. It has also been my privilege to have another nation open for me, providing a haven, a defense which, for so many years of the millennia was not available? It was openly, actively, denied to us despite the fact of its need so blatantly present.

What is that other nation? That is the nation of Israel, Eretz Yisroel, the land given in promise to our forefathers. The land which the Israelites fought for time and time again, even as time and time again enemies came and overpowered their defenses and attempted to kill the spirit and the reality of the Jewish people. But they were never successful. Israel remained, the Jews remained, frustrating all plans against them. 

Time and time again.

However, history being such that it repeats itself, much of the time for the worse, it does repeat itself for the good as well. Always in their prayers, in their hearts, deeply within every atom  of their being,  was and is, the permanent hope and knowledge that one day all the Jews of the world will be reunited in their ancient ancestral G-d given Promised Land. A homeland where they can walk freely, not fearing of any outward symbol which reveals their origin. Unfortunately, that is the growing case today. We will not stand for it any longer. We have already learned with dismay the truth of repetition of history The ugliness of its renewal of growth and viciousness. We know that “My yesterdays walk with me. They keep step. They are gray faces that peer over my shoulder.” (William Golding, Free Fall) 

 We Jews have become the experts at feeling those gray faces, knowing they are always with us but also knowing that these days we have a choice. In 1947 the U. N voted to partition the current Palestine Mandate, The British Mandate, into a Palestinian state and a Jewish state. That Jewish state was immensely truncated, given almost no possibility of survival. But those representing the future Jewish government of Israel agreed to it knowing that it was that or nothing at all and the little was better than nothing. Those who were to be the citizens of the area to be designated to be Palestine, and their backers, the myriad nations of the world, Arab and Muslim, in particular those   bordering Israel, refused. Their demand was for the entire area to be theirs. 

As a relevant aside, please know that there was at that point no Palestinian nation. At all. Most of the Arab population who lived in the British Mandate came from other Arab countries, voluntarily or sent by their overseers, their overlords. Palestine was a name derived from a perversion of Philistine, an ancient enemy of Israel, which had been soundly defeated long ago.  But the world bought into the lie almost immediately, and the campaign, never ending, to reinforce a decision to invalidate the yearning, the righteousness of a homeland, an eternal homeland, an ancestral homeland, an indigenous homeland, for the Jewish people. Almost immediately upon gaining statehood no less than six Arab nations attacked that tiny state, far   more in population and weapons than Israel. Far more vicious in Hate, intending to destroy even that tiny piece of a State for the Jews

But they were trounced and had to pull back with the remnants of their forces. However, it took decades more for any kind of a fragile treaty to come into existence between Israel and an Arab nation and those decades were filled with wars and spilled blood. Even unto the point where Israel's survival was questioned and questionable. An all-enveloping Hatred of Israel became the food fed to the citizens and children of Arab nations. It became a holy cause to terrorize Israel.  

As powerful as the JewHatred was amongst the Arab and Muslim nations, it was far more than the anti-Zionism they claimed they opposed. That was and is not so. It is not Zionism that they are fighting. It is not Israel that they are fighting. That would be only the beginning. What can be seen clearly now, even by those who are willfully blind to the true aim of the constant warfare and terrorism waged against Israel. It is the spread of that same anger or that same Hatred all meant to destroy the Jewish people. To exterminate them. To destroy any memory of them wherever they are upon the face of this earth. Whether they accept their Jewish origin, or not. Whether they stand tall and proud. Or try to hide within the clamoring mobs calling for the death of all Jews, claiming to be better Jews with and by their embracing openly the voices and the ugliness and the poison of those who chant against them, calling for their death as well. Apparently, some people do not recognize those gray faces of the past and think they can deny repetition of history that cannot be done.  

And so, once again as in other times of history, Jews turned to the East, to the ancient land of Israel where their kings once reigned and the Israelite army was powerful, blessed and backed by the Lord Himself. Through our own stupidity and the ugliness of humanity, too often we lost a firm grip upon that land. But no more, no longer. And that, my friends, is why I am declared an international criminal by that poor excuse of a human being Mamdani who wishes to revive the worst Jew Hatred which locks Jews into place, no escape, no out. No life worth living. No hope. No future.

What is my criminality? Over two decades ago I changed my place of residence, moving in retirement from NYC to Florida.  A citizen of Florida and the United States with all privileges and responsibilities of those citizenships. Always retaining our attachment and ties to the Land of Israel, the State of Israel, an innate part of our souls and very being as Jews. Always knowing that we had two nations to call our own.

 However, those gray faces once again, made their presence known. Now, evidently, according to Mamdani, I and mine are not welcome, not equal, in the place known as New York City. The seat of the largest population of Jews outside Israel. But I am also forbidden to move from there and by extension, anywhere from within the United States to Israel, to be a dual citizen of both nations. Keeping them within me, keeping alive the flame of hope  that America will come to its senses again and reject Hate. That Israel will remain strong and defiant against all those who wish to see her dead.

Evidently, we are all criminals, all Jewish people,   most of us, for we endorse the defense actions taken by Israel against those who would see us gone forever.  Our presence there, our moving there, is, according to that pig and his adherents, a "misuse of sacred space" and he endorses global intifada, no matter how he tries to deny his own past, as the grey faces crowd around him. As his terrible views of today rise to the surface. 

 October 7, 2023, evidently, according to our haters was at our own instigation. We wished to kill our own people - in order to do what? We were to ignore the fact that it was the civilian rabble running alongside the terrorist beasts of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, any and all who wished death upon Israel, and jeered and threatened and molested the helpless hostages, kidnapped from life to wither, to become skeletons. To live in despair. To live and die in dank dark, inhospitable tunnels. Always with threats and blows raining down upon them.

There was no starvation in Gaza, clearly been proven to be so with any shortages due to Hamas hijacking the shipments for themselves, for their beasts, or to be sold at exorbitant black market prices.  They all were reaping a crop they had planted and fertilized with their Hate. They were and are the killers of our civilians, our babies, in the land of Israel and round the world as well. Our defense, our attempts to put paid to these ugly recurring attacks, to kill us, were deemed illegal, guilty of genocide, a most ridiculous attempt to deny the truth - the initial instigation and the resultant consequences were upon Hamas and Hezbollah, upon Iran and the Houthi, not upon Israel. 

 We had to fight a war where the enemy was, and if they hid among their own, their people and misused community beneficial infrastructure to hide within, the blame must be laid where it belongs. At times some innocents were hurt, but not at the insistence of Israel. Only at the insistence of their own masters did this occur. Any evil arose from the attackers, the beasts laden with bloodlust, thirsty for Jewish blood and not from the actions of Israel. We were attempting to once and for all, stop this constant repetitious attack upon Israel.    

  I think James Fenimore Cooper, in The Last of the Mohegans, speaks to this issue. "Is it justice to make evil? (As the terrorists of Gaza and of Hezbollah and of Iran, did) and then punish for it, (punish the nation which fought against it, knowing its survival was at stake, clearly to be seen, clearly to be acknowledged, denied as it would be by far too many)? 

Was there, is there even a possibility to do as was suggested in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde wherein was stated, “I incline to Cain's heresy ... I let my brother go to the devil in his own way.” (Robert Louis Stevenson). The people of Israel, the state of Israel, are tired of ever returning war and false peace of a very temporary cessation of war, to return to it again and again. Would that it were indeed possible for the animals of two legs to destroy themselves, but unfortunately, it is impossible under present circumstances and certainly into the near future at the very least. Would that we could let them go to hell themselves. Themselves and all those who follow them, down into Gehinnom, the home of all wrongdoers. Those who oppose and oppress the nation of Israel, the people of the Jewish nation.

So am I a criminal? I don't think so. Nor do most of the sane people of the world, even though their numbers seem to diminish daily. What do we wish? We wish to be the living embodiment of the statement made by Robert Louis Stevenson in  "Requiem“. "Home is the sailor, home from the sea, and the hunter home from the hill."   A home long denied to Jews, denied their right and determination to live as equal to all other nations and all other people of this planet, of this universe.

No, it is not I, nor my people, nor our supporters who are criminals. We are entitled to our lives and rights as are all people of this besieged planet.

Will we ever live to see that day arrive? Honestly, to quote, Mayer Rothschild, I would like to see this in my own lifetime though I fear that is a hope     mired in vicious tracks laid in our yesterdays, by the poison of the revival and reinforcement of these tracks in our todays and in and with the fears for our tomorrows to come.

We are not the criminals. We have the right to live where we wish, to be citizens of the nation where we live, to be as free as all are entitled to be free, to be treated with dignity and respect and that our designation to be permanent targets for those who have nothing better to do with the evil within their souls or the hate that bubbles in their blood.

No. For criminals, please look elsewhere. Certainly they live with us, on this planet, and are clearly to be seen if only we would open our eyes. To know they must be opposed and denied, fought with a vigor never ending and to remove their threats from all of us forever. Never to return.

And yet, and yet, and yet ...