IT IS ALL IN THE NUMBERS

     Numbers. From the very first moment that we can count and understand the concept, numbers play a large part in our lives. We can count good things and bad, anticipations and dreads. Numbers can represent anything we want - or do not want. And this morning, the idea of numbers came into my head without any planning, so....here goes.
     From the very beginning, or for as long as I can remember, I have been taught that there is one G-d. That it takes two to fight. That there is a fifth wheel concept. That there were 12 tribes. That there were two tablets and not from Apple! And there are thirteen attributes of G-d, an important thing to remember during this time of year, certainly for those of the Jewish faith.
     But there are other numbers, ones of shame and disgrace, numbers that stand for harm and hatred, for irreparable damage. Those are the numbers with which we are currently deluged, numbers that are so shocking that in order to protect ourselves and our sanity, we have developed a numbness, a layer of protection for our minds.
     Thousands dead in the aftermath of a hurricane and the man claims victimhood because his lacks were a partial cause of these dreadful numbers. He counts only to one. Thousands, in the double digit thousands, of children are held in child incarceration centers, many with guards of hostile and arrogant attitudes who tease the children for crying and who outlaw the touching, the holding of one sibling by another - if  they were lucky enough to have a sibling incarcerated with them! America turned jailer of children! Numbers do not lie. And they continue to tell the truth as dozens upon dozens are sill incarcerated without parents, and the harm we have done to these kids, irreparable harm, is beyond counting, beyond  the reach of numbers.
     And numbers keep on truckin'. How many aides have quit or been fired or forced to resign. How many are under investigation or should be. How long do we ignore  these numbers and begin to remember that old adage - a person is known by the company he keeps. So when one is surrounded by creeps and crooks, by haters and anti Semites - including Junior! -  then do we not know the man?
When the man and his cohorts manage to suck the marrow from the bones of America, how do we count that?
     For the moment, we are overwhelmed by numbers and  the meaning of it all. Yet there is one number that just remains with us, must remain in our minds, for in that number we are all being judged, how did or do we react to it? The number? 5,000+. FIVE THOUSAND PLUS. That is the number of known lies that Trump has told within his term of office, G-d help us!! How do we continue to allow this liar to remain in office, to hold the strings of power and authority, to cause all of us irreparable harm? How? We punish our kids for telling one lie and yet this man lies through his teeth even while brushing them!!
5,000+ . A telling number indeed. What does it tell about us? I wonder - and I know it is nothing good.