In my last column I discussed the Jewish crisis enveloping us. Make no mistake – most of the haters who insist they are “only” anti-Israel are also anti-Semites. To them the words Israel and Jews are synonymous – and they are right.
Our Sages teach that Torah, Am Yisrael, and Eretz Yisrael are all one; indivisible and inseparable. And we would do well to remember the passage in the Torah that says of the Jews, “they are a people destined to dwell alone and will not be reckoned among the nations” (Bamidbar 23:9).
Time and again throughout our painful history we have seen the tragic fulfillment of this prophecy. Yes, we have always been a nation that has dwelled alone. When it came to our safety – our very existence as a people – it was obvious that our survival was solely dependent on Hashem.
Throughout the generations we have been attacked and oppressed, but the response of the world has invariably been that of screaming silence.
Despite it all, we live our lives with blinders and shut out reality. Today we again hear the bells of Jew-hatred tolling. And with the flip of a hand we dismiss it, telling ourselves that those who take it seriously are suffering from a paranoia born from centuries of persecution.
We place our trust in 21st-century civilization and lull ourselves into believing that education and culture can eradicate the monstrous hatred that festers in the hearts of anti-Semites. Such a belief, we know, is demonstrably false. As cases in point I cited in my previous column the highly developed Deutche kultur – German culture –from which Nazism sprung as well as the awesome French ideals of “liberte, egalite, fratrnite” that are crumbling in the face of Islamic terrorism.
What do we know about these Muslim terrorists? In Genesis 16 the angel of G-d addresses Hagar: “Behold you will conceive and give birth to a son – you shall name him Yishmael…and he shall be a wild donkey of a man with his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him. And over all his brethren he shall dwell.”
We have witnessed the tragic realization of this prophecy. The bloody hand of Yishmael has reached near and far and his presence is seen and felt throughout the world.
In Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer, an early midrashic work, it is written that before the coming of Messiah we will have to contend with terror that will come from Ishmael, who today is widely identified with radical Islamist terrorism (even if is politically incorrect to say so). It is written that Ishmael will inflict terrible suffering upon the world and especially on our people. The methods of torture and murder will be so horrific that they will leave the civilized world astounded and repulsed.
We are the generation that has been destined to see this unfold before our very eyes. Think of the brutal decapitations of hostages; the horrific burning alive of human beings; the barbaric mutilation of bodies. And then consider the children and adults who are invited to watch these unspeakably gory scenes. And then realize the impression this leaves on their minds and hearts.
And take a good look at the situation of our people in Israel. On every side they are surrounded by those whose clarion call is “Death to Israel” – and remember, that cry is meant to include all Jews, not just Israelis.
With the spread of ISIS and other fanatical Islamist groups, large numbers of non-Jews (Arabs among them) are also being terrorized. But with few exceptions, the world has stood by as the terrorists have gobbled up territory and left bloody devastation in their wake.
How can the so-called civilized nations passively watch as uncountable numbers of Christians and Muslims are tortured, decapitated, burned alive, and sliced to pieces?
ISIS and its cohorts are laughing at us. We see their savage videos posted on social media. We see the executioners cloaked in monstrous black, standing over their pitiful victims who are on their knees helplessly awaiting the gruesome death they know is only seconds away.
Incredibly, these murderous creatures have up to now been allowed to go on with their barbaric slaughter. Yes, there have been condemnations, but condemnations are a joke to these killers.
Jordan’s King Abdullah is now aggressively responding to the ghoulish video of a Jordanian pilot being burned alive, and is vowing to destroy ISIS. But the big, powerful nations have for the most part stood by, reluctant even to identify the enemy as Islamic terrorism. If you cannot identify your enemy, how can you ever hope to defeat him?
Why all the paralysis and uncertainty among world leaders? Monsters who delight in maiming and killing innocent people cannot be bargained with or appeased. Monsters must be degraded and defeated. They must be killed before they kill all of us.
How on earth is it that nations and their leaders can be oblivious to this simple law? How can we allow lethal weapons to remain in the hands of ruthless killers? Who can understand extending a hand to those who will bite it?
Besides identifying the enemy, we must also know how the enemy recruits volunteers to the cause. Again and again we have seen terrorists harness social media to draw in emotionally unstable individuals who crave fame and notoriety. Is there anything at all we can do about that?
For one thing, we can work to block their access to social media and identify them for what they are. Just as we do whatever we can to block those who solicit children and young people for pornography and prostitution, so we must do our utmost to block those who recruit killers and terrorists.
I realize that blocking social media to terrorists is no easy matter. But the U.S. and other Western countries are blessed with great scientific and technological know-how. If only we would fully recognize the urgency of our predicament, we would rise to the occasion and do what we have to.
And how are we Jews to defend ourselves?
As I always remind my readers and listeners, our answers are in the Torah. Let us turn to the first place where we suffered torture and bondage and see how our forefathers survived and triumphed.
The day after the recent murderous attack on the kosher market in Paris, we began reading parshas Va’eira, where we discover why our people were redeemed from Egypt. It is a two-fold formula that is as applicable today as it was then. One, the Jewish people cried out in prayer to Hashem; and two, they reached out to one another with chesed – loving-kindness.
Now, thousands of years later, we too have to learn how to pray. We too have to learn how to reach out to one another in loving-kindness.
Our father Jacob on his deathbed (Genesis 48:22) told us he won his battles through his sword and bow. Meaning that our sword, our prayers, must be powerful enough to pierce all the barriers between ourselves and G-d.
The bow represents prayer aimed with such precision and intensity that it reaches its target. That is the power of sincere, genuine prayer. It has the capacity to reach the very Throne of G-d and forever change our lives.
Tragically, however, we of the enlightened 21st century have given up our weapons and allowed those who are bent on destroying us to seize them.
As I’ve noted in previous columns, Muslims pray five times a day. We Jews are commanded to pray three times a day. But how many of us do even that? Painfully and shamefully we must confess that the vast majority of our people do not pray at all.
It seems prayer has become the possession of the observant minority. Somewhere we lost the gift of prayer bequeathed to us by G-d. Many may protest, “Of course we pray, but in our own way, not the Orthodox way.” But our Torah does not recognize such delineations.
We have one set of commandments, not three or four. Yes, we may have different traditions, customs, and ceremonies but the principal aspects of Jewish law are the inheritance – and obligation – of every Jew. Shabbos is Shabbos; kosher is kosher; Yom Tov is Yom Tov. And prayer is prayer.
Let us learn the teaching and the legacy that our father Jacob imparted to us and make our prayers so powerful, so beautiful, and so sincere that they will reach all the way to Hashem’s Throne.
Let us put an end to the rancor, resentment, pettiness, jealousies, and, yes, hatreds that divide us. If Hashem will see us reaching out to one another with love, He will reach out to us with love.
It is so simple and yet so hard. It is so near and yet so far. But if we only will it, we can bring Redemption to our people and the world.