Rabbi Tzvi Black
My father-in-law loves to tell the story of the pre-war European Jew who made it big in politics. On a typical day his office was lined with fellow Jews who needed a favor from the Government.
He had a big heart and always tried to help.
One day, his last constituent introduced himself as a poor peddler. All he wanted was for the minister to purchase some of the socks that he was selling. With a twinkle in his eyes he responded: "I need no socks because I have no feet."
In aghast, the peddler responded, "But I see you standing right before my eyes!"
He replied, "You know that I am a politician. I'm sure you also know that politics is riddled with falsehoods and flattery. Our Oral Torah teaches that falsehood has no basis, no feet. So if I have no feet then I don't need your socks."
Parents try to teach their children the difference between right and wrong. When the children grow up a bit, life experience teaches the difference between being right and being correct. Politically correct, that is.
And so, much of the reporting and international reaction to the events in the Middle-East can be summed up very concisely: Israel may be right but the Arabs are correct.
We're suffering again. Are we chosen to be Mankind's punching bag?
We sure must do what we can to defend ourselves, to protect ourselves, to support our fellow Jews, to pray for them. If G-D is trying to use history to tell us something (again) then we must also introspect so that we address the cause and not just the symptom or effect.
You know, a person doesn't have to run for office to be into politics. We fall into all sorts of politics: Family politics, social politics, shul politics, office politics, you name it.
Maybe we need to stop falling.
The Talmud teaches that the next world is a funny place. It's upside-down.
Really!
It records an incident where someone actually died and was later revived. Shortly after he came to, he remarked that he saw people that were lowly when they lived in this world but they had great status in the next. Conversely, people who had great status in this world were not very important in the next.
Perhaps the whole problem with that upside-down world is that it is devoid of politics. Or maybe the problem is here, with this world. Maybe we're upside-down and they're right-side-up?
Today, the man who leads this great United States Of America seems to be breaking the mold and trying as much as he can to do for the State of Israel that which is right, even though it is not always politically correct. Is Judaism itself prone to being politically correct? Is it like so many religions that are subject to redefinition and adjustments that are based solely on the will of people?
Do you see Judaism as something that has evolved to become less demanding and more convenient? Is this correct or is this right?
Besides telling us what we what want to hear, how often does religious leadership also tell us what we need to hear, even when we don't especially want to hear it?
If history is the result of a series of accidents then it can't have meaning. We can only expect to make some sense out of history if we believe that there is an all-powerful and resourceful G-D who actively manages the affairs of Mankind to meet some goal.
This has always been our source of endurance and strength
We've been punched enough. Perhaps we are now ready to listen.
Rabbi Black lives in Lakewood NJ. He directs JewishAmerica.com and authored its Tour of World and Jewish History.
