BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

  Be careful indeed with your wishes.    

“I have a greater task for you, my servant.
    Not only will you restore to greatness
    the people of Israel who have survived,
but I will also make you a light to the nations—
    so that all the world may be saved.”

Such is one  English translation of the words of the prophet Isaiah as he transmits the assurances of G-d to the people of Israel, that one day, no date given, they will be rescued from the misery they have endured and will become a light unto the nations of the world, living testament of the glories of G-d, and that he keeps His promises, albeit too often too late and destruction was already over the top.

All fine and good, though I wonder why there are such long intervals of pain and misery, of awful conditions of life -or refusal of the right to live. When atrocities happen, be it the Inquisition of Spain or the 1508 Opporto, Portugal massacre of 3,000 Jews, or the burning of the Jews of York in a tower in England in the mid 1200s. The unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust preceded by awful pogroms of the 18th and19th centuries.  Never ending and I wonder at this light we were supposed to be. This gift which seemed more of a terrible gag gift than one of reassurance.

This light we were to be was too dimmed down, too low a wattage to see, too low to be able to think, to formulate words powerful enough, meaningful enough, to convey the inconceivable, yet so terrifyingly real. Even today, when the world is rife with shrieking specialty groups who clamor loud and long, there is a haunting silence when it comes to the unspeakable inflicted upon Jews, be they Diaspora Jewry or Israeli Jews. Any and all are considered fair game, and the world is able to maintain strict radio silence without breaking a sweat. Even in America, which once held her own lamp high for those in need, has now dimmed that light to the point of endangered continued existence. 

 Perhaps the nations of the world emulate the feelings of anger and resentment of the brothers of Joseph, his father's favored son, and they turned on him similar to the resentment of the nations of the world that the Jews, those wretched downtrodden slaughtered Jews think, believe, they are indeed favored by G-d, will be rescued by Him from all woes at some vague time, never specific. At that point, amazingly, these same Jews will be raised to be an enlightening light, a lamp unto the peoples of the world. Amazing! Who can believe that? Even Jews have a tough time buying into that, particularly as one looks at their history.

 Not only ancient history, lost in the mists of time, but also of the very much present times. The very bloody present. Families wired together and burned alive. Women abused and violated in an orgy of unspeakable rampage, of bestiality beyond description. Of children kidnapped, of captives brutalized, fates highly uncertain. Beyond the power of words, of language, for nothing can truly convey its depth, its horror, the agony of survivors and victims, of their families left behind, its sheer inhumanity - unthinkable, yet there it is - in full technicolor -perpetrated upon the nation favored to hold a lamp high, to be an example for other nations. Even as the world, once again, always and forever, stands in silence.    

Your lamp is failing, Lord, Your voice fading, holding less power to convince. Reality tells us otherwise. In fact, we might have a viable, quite satisfactory solution, at least temporarily, until such time as You truly remember and carry through on Your promises made to the people of Israel. When You allow them to hold high a proud, bright lamp full power, eternal power.

In the interim, there is another group who has given itself a name, a twisted version of the name of a former, now extinct people, Philistines, who lived over in the Gaza area, a warlike, cruel nation, defeated by King David. They now claim to be the true favored nation. They are claiming the lamp. They know the right path to light, G-d help us. 

  When I read this claim yesterday, I had to laugh. Oh, be very careful what you wish for. Be very careful indeed. By all means, take the right to the lamp along with the fate of the favored nation. Oh yes, could not be more apropos. Life is tough indeed for the favored nation. Been there, done that, still doing it for millennia. Tough life but hey, who are we to deny you the opportunity you so devotedly wish for and claim. Quite unpleasant but you are familiar with that state are you not, only this time you will be on the receiving end, the recipient of all that you once dished out. That is the life of the favored nation. Enjoy. 

Oh, the suffering you will face, oh the empathy and regret you will find when you suffer, undergo the torments you inflicted on others. When your families are endangered. When life is just so tough, too tough to be but there it is. Take it or leave it.      

 After a few millennia or so, we will relieve you of the burden of the lamp and will raise it high. The Lord at that time will remember His vows, and the lamp will shine high and bright, enlightening the world as all people learn to work together, rather than slaughtering each other. When peace and   humanity will be the words of the day, not hate and bloodshed.

Now some of my readers, will find this terrible, so bloody, to wish upon others. Well, sorry, but I am that angry.  I am that fearful. I am that beset when I look at my people in my ancient homeland, when I take a look around my native country. Same old, same nasty old. Tell me otherwise. Tell me how to get the attention of G-d, to cancel His vacation or indifference. To answer questions needing to be asked and answers awaiting, also desperately   needed. 

Why is this happening? 

Why is the world in such turmoil and disarray. 

Why, once again is there a growing Jew hatred?

 Why have you taken one of the brightest lights in our lives, Yitzy?    

Still, I am seeking a lamp of my own to light my way, to stride forward and find the path for me.   One day, maybe.

Hugs and kisses, my sweet boy.

So loved and missed by all.

Love you, always and forever.