The difference between Auschwitz and Jerusalem

“More than 40 world leaders gathered in Jerusalem to honor the victims of Nazi extermination, on the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.”

Question: What is the most important part of this title?

Answer: “in Jerusalem“

Why? The world’s leaders converged in Jerusalem, in what was the largest diplomatic event in the history of the State of Israel. But some leaders were not there. I do not mean the leaders of Iran or the Arab countries. I mean Poland. The Polish government wanted the commemoration of the Liberation of Auschwitz- where 1.1 million Jews were killed- to take place in Auschwitz. Auschwitz is located in the district of Oświęcim, which is Polish territory. In Oświęcim there are many monuments as well as a very significant place: the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, where according to the Polish government the ceremony should have been held.

What is the difference between celebrating the liberation of Auschwitz in Auschwitz or in Yad Vashem, Jerusalem?

The ceremony at the Auschwitz museum would have been a great honor towards the dead. Visitors could have watched and felt the very horror of the death trains. Seen the infamous piles of thousands and thousands of suitcases in which the prisoners brought their valuable possessions; of which they were immediately stripped. The burned pieces of the Tora scrolls, which some Jews, risking their lives, had carried with them to the camp. In Auschwitz, the main world leaders could have seen and felt everything the Nazis did to murder the Jews and destroy their legacy.

In Jerusalem, these VIP visitors saw something very different. They saw the children and grandchildren of the survivors of Auschwitz and the Shoa “live” in Israel.

They saw that the descendants of the survivors built in Jerusalem a very modern light train that crosses the vibrant city from one end to another. The honorable visitors saw the thousands of passengers who daily take those trains to their jobs, their errands or their homes.

In Jerusalem they also saw that there are blonde Jews, brunette Jews, white Jews, and Jews of color. And that they speak French, Spanish, Russian, Ethiopian and Hebrew. They saw that millions of Jewish immigrants arrived with their suitcases to stay in the land of their ancestors, and that they are not planing to leave.

Visitors also saw that in Jerusalem the Tora is not in pieces, or burned, or in a museum. The Tora is alive. It is heard through all of the streets, corners and markets. It guides the steps, actions and thoughts of millions of citizens of Israel. And its voice resonates not in Latin but in its original Hebrew. Stronger than ever.

Commemorating the liberation of Auschwitz in Yerushalayim is a powerful message. The people of Israel are not in a museum. The Jewish nation rose from the ashes of Auschwitz and live now in the warm land that God had destined for His people.

Rabbi Yosef Bitton

THE TRAIN TO AUSCHWITZ

THE LIGHT TRAIN IN JERUSALEM

How to pray?

In the Talmudic tractate of Ta’anit page 23, the Gemara tells us about Abba Hilqiya, an extremely honest man, who worked hard to make a living, and lived a life of poverty. His daily meal consisted of a piece of bread, which he shared with his wife, his two children, and any poor and needy who came to his house to ask for a morsel of that piece of bread. Abba Hilqiya was also known for possessing a very special “gift”: his prayers (like those of his grandfather Honi haMe’aggel) were reputed to be answered.

The Gemara tells us that, during a particular year of a severe drought, the Sages of Israel sent a delegation of two Rabbis to see Abba Hilqiya to ask him to pray for rain. Before even talking to the sages, Abba Hilqiya had already called his wife and, very discreetly, without saying anything to the Sages, went up with her to the rooftop, and began to pray, together: each at a different corner. Incidentally, this beautiful imagery, that of a husband and a wife praying together in different corners, appears as a theme also in other places: this is the way a Jewish couple prays together for the same thing. Separated but united. In this week’s Perasha, Toledot, the Tora (and the Midrash) describes very similarly how Yitzhaq and his wife Ribqa prayed for a child (לנוכח אשתו).

Returning to Abba Hilqiya, soon after his wife and he started to pray, a cloud appeared in the sky bringing the desired rain. The Gemara notes that this cloud did not come from the side of the rooftop where Abba Hilqiya was praying. The cloud arrived from the side where his wife prayed, hinting that the rain had come mainly because of her merit.

Abba Hilqiya came down from the roof, without being seen by the Sages, and claimed: “Well, I presume you came to ask me to pray for rain. If so, you can go home now, because, as you see, it already started raining on its own.” This beautiful story continues describing the dialogue that took place between the Rabbis — who knew that Abba Hilqiya had actually prayed– and Abba Hilqiya (the full story can be seen here).

Several important lessons are learned from this episode of Abba Hilqiya that can teach us how we should pray.

Let’s start with the most obvious.

1. As the Gemara itself cares to show, personal virtues that a person has are correlated with such person’s prayers being answered: honesty, integrity and assisting people in need, seem to be at the top of this list.

2. There is another element that, although less explicit, also is clear. The modesty of Abba Hilqiya, who did all what he could in order not to take credit for the rain.

3. The point I want to stress most is one that is more subtle: If Abba Hilqiya was so poor, and he knew that his prayers were heard by God, why did he not simply pray for his own material well-being? Honestly, I don’t know the answer (please, email me if you have read any commentary about this point). But I can think of two possibilities. a) That Abba Hilqiya cared so little about materialism that one piece of bread a day was enough for him, and he did not consider it necessary to pray for more than what he needed to live. And perhaps, this extreme simplicity was yet another merit that made him and his wife deserving of God’s attention. b) That HaShem listens to our prayer especially when we pray for others. That is, when we pray for the welfare or good health of another person, or for the success of Am Israel in general, as Abba Hilqiya did at the time all Israel was suffering for the lack of rain.

On a more personal note, our family had the merit of knowing a woman whose behavior was very similar to that of Abba Hilqiya and his wife: that was ORO BAT ESTER z ”l, my wife’s mother.

√ During the numberless derashot that took place these days in her honor in Ashdod, Israel, it was heard, for example, that she always asked her daughters to bring with them some nice perfumes when returning from traveling abroad. But she never used any perfume. They eventually came to find out that, when she learned of any bride without financial means, she would very discreetly hand her an envelope with money along with a perfume with a nice bow that she had made herself. She was always doing good things for others, and in total discretion.

√ One of her grandchildren said that he once got up in the middle of the night and found “Abuela Nori” z “l in a corner of her humble apartment doing Tefila and crying. When he asked her what was wrong, she replied that she was crying because the Chayalim, the young soldiers of the Israeli army, were exposed to too much danger those days, and she was begging HaShem with all her heart to protect them.

√ In our family, we all used to share with her all our challenges and problems, big and small, because we knew that she would pray for us. She was the one in our family with all the merits to be heard by Bore Olam! And it was a very poorly-kept secret that, if HaShem listened to our Tefilot, and our problem was somehow solved, we all knew that “the cloud of rain” must have had arrived from Abuela Nori’s side of the rooftop.

How to live?

Every so often I wonder: as a Jew, to what kind of life should I aspire to live? How can I improve my connection with God? And once and again I reach the same conclusion: the secret lies in a verse from the book of Tehillim (Psalm 16): שויתי ה ‘לנגדי תמיד. With this verse, King David claimed: “I have set God in front of me, always”, with emphasis on the word “always”.

FEARING GOD

Having God in front of us means having God in mind. It means to visualize (without visualizing God, ח”ו) that He is seeing me. Think for a moment of an employee that works at an important company. He handles money, solves conflicts and deals with customers. If the employee knows that his boss, the company’s owner, is constantly watching his every movement through the security cameras, this employee will hardly fall into the temptation to behave dishonestly with money that does not belong to him; or fighting with another employee; or disrespecting a customer. With time, the good behavior of this employee, which began as a reaction to being watched by the security cameras, would become his habitual behavior. As the saying goes in Hebrew: what begins as a habit becomes a second nature (הרגל נעשה טבע).

Now we can better understand what King David said in Tehillim: if I am convinced that God sees what I do, hears what I say and knows what I think, I will be naturally inclined to do only what is right in the eyes of God. And as long as I don’t stop noticing that I am “being observed by God” I am surely immune from acting in ways I know are not proper.

DOING HIS WILL

Knowing that God observes me not only protects me from being tempted to do what is wrong in His eyes, even when I am alone and nobody else sees me. When I become aware that God is following me closely, I must assume that God is not indifferent to my life and to what I do with it. And this in itself is a very empowering idea: If He is noticing me, it is because I matter to Him. And since He knows my full potential, He also knows the great things I can achieve. If I reach the level of feeling that God is watching me, and I don’t lose sight of this feeling, then I also have the greatest motivation to try and reach for what I can potentially become. And when, beyond believing in God’s existence, I become aware of His constant presence, then I will surely decide to make my will be His will: to spontaneously wishing to do whatever it is that He wishes me to do.

LOVING GOD

Finally, if God watches me, it is because I am a person of interest to Him. His interest in me cannot be a function of God’s benefit or any other earthly thing like that… what could I possible give Him or benefitting Him? Thus, His interest in me is totally disinterested. And we, as humans, call this disinterested interest “love.” God cares about me because he loves me. As the Tora says, God loves us as a father loves his children. Is any feeling more powerful than knowing that you are loved? And God’s love, when one genuinely feels it, engenders a natural reciprocity. Those who, like King David, are able to feel that God loves them, in good times and in bad times, end up loving God back. And this begins a self-propagating cycle of being loved, and loving. Realizing even more tangibly how much one is loved, and then loving even more, etc. Just like a bride and groom, who cannot stop thinking about each other. In that state, when I realize that God watching me translates into His love for me, and for which I love Him back, my mind gets fixated on Him, the object of my love, and all material distractions vanish from the brain. This is how and when we reach King David’s spiritual level: שויתי ה ‘לנגדי תמיד

THE WORST ENEMY OF THE TRUE FAITH

What we just described is David HaMelekh’s formula for our spiritual growth, or, dare I say, a brief summary of the purpose of the life of a Jewish individual. Living under God’s eyes. An knowing it. Fearing disobeying him for fearing to disappoint Him. Naturally wishing to act as He wills. Feeling loved by Him and loving Him to the point of not being able to stop thinking about Him…

There is only one problem. All what I wrote is relatively easy to explain with words. But it is very difficult to do. More precisely, it is incredibly difficult to act in this way with any sort of consistency. It is doable to “live under God’s eyes” for a few moments: while praying, while studying Tora (and sometimes even in those moments is difficult to focus). The greater challenge is the “always” Kind David was telling us about. Living aware of His presence “constantly”… How many people, apart from King David, can reach this level of a permanent awareness of God, without succumbing to the enemy number one of Emuna: being distracted from God’s Presence?

THE EXCEPTION

To be inspired to write this, I had only to think of my dear mother-in-law, ORO BAT ESTER z”l. She embodied King David’s motto: שויתי ה‘ לנגדי תמיד. Without studying Gemara or Jewish philosophy, she articulated this facet of EMUNA, beyond words, with her permanent devotion to HaShem. Aware of God’s will that the needy be helped, she volunteered to be that vehicle for God’s will and assisted those who were truly needy people, those whom no one knows are poor, because they feel too embarrassed to ask.
She understood God tends to those who need help, and so that is what she did: taking care of the sick, comforting the mourners, helping the widows, protecting the orphans or helping the brides to be.

I will never forget the immense gratitude and joy that she always showed for all that God gave her, which–for that uncommon humility that only those who are very close to HaShem feel–she never felt she deserved.

Knowing that God was watching her, and over her, she always acted with total and explicit acceptance of many and great difficulties she suffered, for which she never complained.

My dear mother-in-law lived permanently in the presence of God. And what is more (and uncommon): her behavior and her actions made others too notice His presence.…

Her life was dedicated to respect and love HaShem and His people; to love and care for her beloved husband Ribbi David Carciente z”l , and for their expansive and beloved family.

Today marks the seventh day following her departure from this earth.

May she be the inspiration for my children and grandchildren and for all those who wonder how to live in God’s presence.

37 Years Without a Grave

In 1982, during the first Lebanon War, the young sergeant Zachary Baumel z”l, fell together with his brothers in arms who operated the same tank, in the battle of Sultan Yaaqov. For years it was presumed that Baumel was no longer alive, but his body did not appear. Last week, soldiers from the Russian army stationed in Syrian territory, exhumed Baumel’s remains and took them to Moscow, where they were positively identified by Israeli pathologists. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was urgently called to Moscow where, on Thursday, April 4, Russian Army General Valery Gerasimov led the ceremony in honor of Baumel, being the first time in Russian history that the highest command of the army carries out a service of this level to honor a foreign soldier. The remains of Baumel, along with his talit qatan, were taken from Moscow to Israel and buried with all the honors in the Har Hertzel military cemetery.

This Shabbat I was thinking about the Baumel family and what it meant for them to have been able to bury their son.

To understand a little better the great relief they will have felt, I had to remind myself what I experienced in 1994. I was the rabbi of Agudat Dodim, a Syrian community in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I spent almost 10 days in the basement of Ayacucho Street (the Rambam School) with more than 80 families who were waiting to receive news of their missing loved ones. We all sensed the worst, yet there was something inexplicable, an illogical hope, that can only be understood when one lives through these extreme circumstances. The families, almost without exceptions, clung to the illusion that their loved ones were alive, that they had survived the explosion, that somehow they had left the rabbles and were walking around the streets, disoriented, in shock and amnesia, waiting to be found. Everyone embraced this “irrational fantasy”, a deep denial; fruit of the deep love we feel for our loved ones, that refuses to disappear.
Now imagine being in this torturous state of mind, but for 37 years. Imagine Miryam Baumel, Zachary’s mother, and the uncountable times she has clung, awake or in her dreams, to the illusion that her son is alive, in prison, or lost, disorientated, with amnesia or abandoned.
It is impossible to conceive the psychological torture that a a family member, especially a parent, lives in a situation like this. Burying the body of a loved one brings that relief, and allows the true mourning to begin, even 37 years later.

Beyond the deep emotional aspect, the recovery of the remains of Baumel is seen as a victory for the state of Israel. Why? Because in this case Israel did not have to pay any “price” to recover the body of a fallen soldier. For example, Israel freed 1,000 terrorists in exchange for one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. These released terrorists, it has been demonstrated, involve the risk of more terrorism against Israel. And still, at the moment of truth, Israel was willing to pay that price for the life of a soldier. What is less known is that Israel has also released terrorists in exchange for “the bodies” of Israeli soldiers. Simply to bury him in the Holy Land (qeber Israel) and bring some relief to his family. Our enemies know our nobility (which they see as “weakness”) and exploit it infinitely. To this day, Hamas has in its possession the remains of two Israeli soldiers – Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul – which they cynically keep as bargaining chips for “future negotiations”. In the case of Baumel, Israel did not have to release any terrorists for his body. The Russian army gave Israel the remains of Sargent Baumel z”l, without asking for anything in exchange, and with all due respects.

יהי זכרו ברוך

WE, THE RABBIS. Inspired by Mr. Al Gindi’s letter.

Yesterday I got an email from the president of my community, and my good friend, Mr. Albert Laboz. The email had an attachment: a letter written by Mr. Al Gindi, z”l, who passed away a few days ago. Mr. Gindi was famous for his acts of philanthropy, his integrity, and his endeavors to strengthen the religious values of the Syrian community.

The letter was addressed to Mr. Ezra Ashkenazi, a well-known community leader, and benefactor. The subject of the letter was not a personal conversation between these two community giants; instead, the title of the letter was “Hilool HaShem”- the desecration of God’s name- and the letter was directed to the rabbis.

In his letter, Mr. Gindi urges the rabbis of the community to address more directly matters related to morality, business ethics, and justice. In his opinion, we -the rabbis- are too focused on matters related to ritual and ceremony and do not give enough attention to character development. Clarifying that he is not saying, God forbid, that ritual is not important, Mr. Gindi writes that rabbis, must find a balance between teaching about Mitsvottoward God and preaching about Mitsvot relating to interpersonal interactions. Rabbis should dedicate more time and more public speeches to teach the community about integrity, he posits.

And why should we -the rabbis- focus our attention on matters of Jewish ethics? Because the community needs it. In the world of business Mr Gindi a”h witnessed predatory practices, abuse, mistreatment of gentile employees; etc. These bad habits are not just intrinsically wrong. These practices also give a bad name to the Jewish community. And such behavior leads to the worst conceivable sin: the desecration of the name of God or “Hilool haShem”, the sin that occurs when in our daily lives and behavior we Jews “misrepresent” the Tora that we are supposed to faithfully “represent”.

Although his letter is from 2004, the message is loud, clear and still relevant in 2018. In Mr. Gindi’s missive he kindly tried explaining why rabbis are not speaking out about this issue. He said that Rabbis probably are not aware of what their congregants do in their business. That is why they don’t address the issues. We need to let the rabbis know what’s going on, so they can teach us what we should do.

Mr. Gindi’s letter moved me to dedicate today’s Halakha of the Day to his important message.

His worries resonated in my mind like an old echo of the words of Yesha’ayahu, Isaiah the Prophet, the words that we read in the Haftara before Tish’a beab and on the morning of Yom Kippur.

Yesha’ayhu, more than any other prophet, denounced very strongly the moral situation and the social injustices prevalent on his time. He accused the people of Yerushalayim of material greed and lack of integrity

Your silver coins are counterfeits, your wine is watered down.

Your political leaders are corrupt… They sell themselves to the highest bidder, and grab any bribes. They do not stand up for the homeless, and do not stick up for the defenseless.

(Isaiah 1:22)

Very shocking words, indeed. But the most shocking aspect of the words of Yesha’ayahu is that he denounced that in his times many people would use religious rituals like sacrifices, to cover up their bad behavior in business. To use a modern term, Yesha’ayahu accused his contemporaries in Jerusalem of “religious hypocrisy,” showing yourself as pious in the Temple, and behaving like a thief in your business.

The current situation of the community, Baruch HaShem, is obviously very different from what Yesha’ayahu described. The community overall has a very good name and prestige. Community members are known to be honorable, extremely generous, family centered and principle driven. But the words of Yesha’ayahu and the letter of Mr. Gindi should make us realize the potential dangers of not paying enough time and attention to matters of religious integrity.

Much is already being done. Multitudes come to Tora classes. And virtually all community members attend Synagogue regularly. This “act of presence” alone helps people to feel a better and stronger connection with HaShem. And at the end of the day, a solid connection with God is what makes people behave with honesty and act with integrity. Mr Gindi z”l, his family and many, many other successful Jewish businessmen are a great example of how the Tora we learn in the Synagogue stays with us, and guides us when we leave the walls of the Synagogue.

But what Mr. Gindi z’l is saying in his letter that we the rabbis should aspire to do more…. We need to speak more explicitly and directly about integrity. In in addition to inspire our congregants to have a lasting sense of awareness of God’s Presence outside Synagogue, we should also aim to equipe them with more detail and examples of what the Tora expects our behavior to be in our business, workplace and mundane affairs.

I will try to do my share.

Who is behind Trump, Putin, Cyrus?

ובשנת אחת לכורש מלך פרס לכלות דבר ה’ בפי ירמיה העיר ה’ את רוח כורש

VICTORY DAY

May 9, 1945 Nazi Germany capitulates and signs its surrender to the Allied forces, ending officially the Second World War. For the Soviet Union this day was so special that declares May 9 as Victory Day. It is no wonder that Russia celebrates so enthusiastically May 9th since of all the countries that participated in this horrible war, Russia is the one that suffered the most material and human losses. It is estimated that there were more than 20,000,000 soviet victims. Timothy C. Dowling estimates that in the 1,417 days of war, the Soviet Union lost 800 lives per minute. The greatest losses were at the beginning of the German attacks in 1941 and in the heroic defense of Leningrad, where more than a million soldiers and a million civilians were killed defending the city.

MAY 8th and 9th , 2018

Today, May 9, in the morning, Moscow celebrated the 73rd anniversary of the victory of the Allies over the Nazis. It was celebrated with a military parade, where Rusia presented its new and powerful weapons and aircraft, as it does every year. But this year there was something special in Moscow: the presence of the Prime Minister of the State of Israel, Binyamin Netanyahu. If I am not mistaken, this is the first time that a prime minister of Israel is invited to this ceremony. The symbolism is very powerful: Jews and Soviets suffered the evilness of the same monster. Although of course, in the case of our dead, all were civilians (see correction below*). And they did not die defending their land or on the battlefield: they were systematically assassinated in the worst ethnic deliberate genocide known to mankind.

In this very symbolic ceremony you could see the moment in which Putin, together with Netanyahu and Serbian president Alexander Vujcic, honor the memory of unknown soldiers, millions of young fighters who sacrificed their lives for stop the bloodthirsty Nazi machinery. The most emotional part of the ceremony, for me, was listening to the music of HATIKVA, Israel’s anthem in the Red Square (minute 1.43).

Russia: Putin, Netanyahu and Vucic pay tribute at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

All this happens within 24 hours that President Donald Trump declared the nullity of the pact of the USA with Iran. This has been seen in Israel as an unprecedented act of friendship and loyalty on the part of the U.S. towards its ally: Israel. Trumps courageous decision to sop the Iran deal means for Israel, I believe, even more than his extraordinary decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem. And although it is well known that “whatever is good for Israel is also good for America”, I feel that we should be very grateful to president Trump for his remarkable continuos support for Israel.

PRAYING TO ASK OR PRAYING TO THANK?

Although it is extraordinary that also Russia, Iran’s main ally, is seemingly in such good terms with Israel, I know that we cannot be overly optimistic. Today, the mood in Israel is tense. Very tense. No one knows how or when Iran will react. The citizens of northern Israel were called to prepare their miqlatim, the shelters, and the army reserves were called. At this moment, instinctively, the first thing that comes to our mind is to pray to HaShem and ask Him to protect us and help us in our struggle against those who seek our destruction. But there is something we must not forget: This morning, when in the Amidah (individual prayer that is said standing and silent) I read the text of Shomea’ Tefilá, where we introduce our “special requests to God” I could not help but think that we should also, or first, thank HaShem for inspiring the hearts of the leaders of the world, and opening their eyes. We Jews believe this is one of the ways that HaShem performs His miracles to us, like Shelomo haMelekh said: לב מלך ביד ה’ על כל אשר יחפץ יטנו (The heart of the Kings is in the hands of HaShem, and He moves their heart at His will). This happened with King Cyrus (Koresh) of Persia 2,500 years ago. The prophet Yirmiyahu had assured that HaShem would make us return to Israel after the destruction of the Bet haMiqdash. And HaShem did it, by inspiring the spirit of King Cyrus. As the last words of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) say, indicating one of the greatest (and best documented) miracles of our incredible story:

“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a House for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.’ ”

May HaShem inspire the hearts of men and women of good faith

and open their eyes to see the just cause of our people

*CORRECTION: Not all Jews who perished in WWII were civilians. About 1.5 million Jews fought in Allied armies, including 500,000 in the Red Army, 550,000 in the American army, 100,000 in the Polish army and 30,000 in the British army, according to Israel’s Holocaust museum Yad Vashem.

Approximately 500,000 Jews fought in the Red Army against the Germans and many were killed and wounded. The State of Israel recognized these Russian Jewish heros and a museum about them is planned in the near future. (thanks to Jordan B. Cherrick from St. Louis, MO for helping me to correct my involuntary mistake).

A Kippa and a Belt in the Streets of Berlin (Part 2 of 2)

In our last note (see THIS ) we talked about the case of a 21-year-old man, Adam Armush, who was walking through the streets of Berlin wearing a Kippa, and was brutally attacked with a belt by a 19-year-old Syrian refugee.

There are some interesting elements in this special case:

√ The young man who was attacked, Adam Armush, is not Jewish. Adam is Arab (it was not clear to me if he is a Muslim Arab or a Christian Arab) born in Israel. And according to his own statements (see HERE) Adam was wearing a Kippa to show a (Jewish?) friend in Israel that it was not dangerous to wear a Kippa in Berlin

√The attack, and the aggressor, were filmed by Adam while he was attacked. The video was uploaded to Youtube (search for “Adam Arbush”).

√ The aggressor is Syrian and Sunni. At this moment the only country that is helping the Syrian Sunnis in their terrible fight against the bloodthirsty Assad Shiite regime is Israel. So far this war, 6-7 years, Assad has already killed more than half a million Syrians, mostly Sunnis. Israel, apart from having attacked Assad’s positions, has already treated more than 5,000 Sunni Syrian wounded (see this fascinating article about the renewed popularity of Israel among Sunni Syrians) .

BERLIN and THE GOOD SAMARITANS

In my opinion, the most worrying of this attack is that, according to the victim, while he was attacked in a affluent neighborhood in Berlin, there were about 50 people around, and with the exception of a woman who threatened to call the police, no one reacted or dared to intervene or to do something to defend the young man with Kippa.

The spontaneous reaction of the most important political leader of the Jewish community in Germany, Josef Shusster, was to recommend that the Jews NOT wear the Kippa in public places.

This attack, and the inopportune recommendation of Shusster, provoked the indignation of many people who on this past Wednesday organized in Berlin a march of solidarity attended by more than 2,500 individuals: Jews, Christians and Muslims, all wearing Kippa. This gesture, of course, is very encouraging, but I’m not sure it’s enough.

RADICAL ISLAM

The new European anti-Semitism is not the anti-Semitism of the extreme right: nationalist anti-Semitism. This new anti-Semitism is entirely religious. As it happened for centuries with Christianity during the Middle Ages, eliminating Jews was the best (or the only way) to eliminate the “mother religion” that resisted being replaced in a nice way, i.e., (conversion). Today, in the 21st century, radical Islam feels that it needs to prove that it is superior to Judaism. Islam is the youngest Biblical religion and therefore the most fragile , and defensive, in theological terms. The foundational idea that Muhammad was greater than Moses and that is Islam came to replace Judaism, can only be fully justified if Judaism disappears or if the Jews, until they disappear or convert, live as dhimmis, that is, subjected politically to Islam, as happened for centuries. But the stubborn Jews insist on surviving! Additionally, they have the chutzpah to resist submission (“Islam” means submission) and they even dare to have their own state!

In my opinion, this is the root not only of radical Islam’s anti-Semitism but also of the Arab countries are reluctance to accept a Jewish State.

THE END OF THE JEWISH REFUGEES

Going back to Berlin, the present situation of the Yehudim, Barukh HaShem, has changed radically. Unlike 1940-1945, when the Jews were “stateless” and had to run from city to city seeking refuge and compassion, as of 1948, a Jew who does not live in Israel is no longer a refugee: he is a voluntary exilée. EVER SINCE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MEDINAT ISRAEL, THERE ARE NO MORE JEWISH REFUGEES. WE HAVE OWN OUR STATE AND WE ARE CITIZENS OF FACTO OF ISRAEL, ALTHOUGH WE DO NOT LIVE THERE, JUST FOR BEING JEWISH (btw, this is because we are a NATION, not a RELIGION)

If I am right, and this new Muslim anti-Semitism has its origins in religious radicalization, attacks and incidents of this nature are not going to end when the last European Jew removes his Kippa or moves to Netanya. When that happens, Phase 2 will begin in Europe. Radicals will begin to get rid of the other European infidels, Christians, with belts, bombs or with a “pacific” demographic explosion. Maybe, then, some Europeans will try to seek refuge in the only country in the world that has the guts to fight successfully radical Islam: the State of Israel.

A Kippa and a belt in Berlin (Part 1 of 2)

WHY DO WE COVER OUR HEADS?

Jewish tradition indicates that we should cover our heads as a demonstration of humility and obedience to God. Having our heads covered represents that there is Someone above us, whose authority we unconditionally accept. The head-covered represents something similar to the expression: “We answer to a higher authority”, that is: HaShem, our God. Technically speaking, a Jewish man is obligated to cover his head particularly inside a Synagogue, while studying Tora or while performing a religious act. Having the head uncovered would represent a gesture of periqat ol, willingness to free oneself from God’s authority.

There is no particular element or object with which we Jews cover our heads: in ancient times Jews would wear turbans; qafias (similar to what many Arabs wear today), a tarbush (a Turkish red hat), a shtreimel (a fur hat), a Borsalino hat, etc.

HEAD COVERING AND MANNERS

Contrary to Jewish tradition, in Western culture, it used to be considered disrespectful to have the head covered indoors, especially in a public place like a restaurant, a Post office, or as you can see in this funny The Three Stooges video , in a court of justice. Take off your hat

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It was normal to wear a hat outdoors because of cold, heat or style. But once indoors, one had to take his hat off …. Perhaps this gesture has to do, directly or indirectly, with religion. Catholic Bishops and Cardinals cover their heads with a “skullcap” (in Italian “zucchetto”). But the meaning and function of this skullcap is different (perhaps “opposite”) to its meaning in Jewish tradition. Bishops take off their skullcap when they greet the Pope, and when performing the most important religious acts. In Spanish the skullcap is known as “Solideo” which means, “only before God”: meaning, I discover my head only before God (or the Pope), out of respect. For a Jew it is the opposite: we cover our head, especially in front of God (that is, in religious acts), to indicate my submission to His authority.

THE KIPPA

Today, most observant Jews cover their heads with a “Kippa,” small hat or cap, usually made of cloth or knitted. I do not know the history of the evolution of the Kippa, that is, how was it that the Kippa replaced other ways of covering the head … but today it is in fact the most common way to cover the head.

Rabbi Obadia Yosef wrote that in our day the Kippa has an additional representation. Among Jews, the permanent use of the Kippa, particularly in Israel, identifies the observant Jew. Among non-Jews, however, the Kippa does not symbolize “observance”; the Kippa indicates “Jewishness”. For the non-Jew the Kippa is the unmistakable indication that someone is Jewish.

A KIPPA in BERLIN, GERMANY

A week ago, 21-year-old Adam Armush, was violently attacked on the streets of Berlin by a 19-year-old Syrian immigrant. These attacks are unfortunately not uncommon in Europe. In the last year more than 1,000 anti-Semitic incidents have been reported, just in Berlin.

But there are 3 things that make this attack different from all previous incidents.

1. That the reaction of some community leaders has been to discourage members of the Jewish community to wear a Kippa on the streets of Germany. This was expressed publicly by Josef Schuster, the political leader of the German Jewish community.

2. The attacker and much of the attack, a brutal beating with a belt, were filmed and recorded by the victim, and the video was uploaded to YouTube.

3. The victim, Adam Armush, is a young Israeli-born Arab living in Berlin, who wanted to demonstrate his 24-year-old Jewish friend that it was safe to wear a Kippa (= to identify as a Jew) in Germany of 2018.

To be continued…

Adam Armush attacked for wearing a kippa in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, around 8 pm on Tuesday

The Verdict , by Judge Ezra Goldstein

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Stephen Hawking and the Enemies of Israel

אתם עדי, נאום השם

Last Wednesday, Stephen Hawking, one of the most famous scientists in the world, passed away. His contributions to science have greatly impacted the world which we live in now, and his courage with which he faced his disease became an inspiration to so many. I truly admire his perseverance!

Hawking, on the other hand, had an ambivalent relationship with the State of Israel. He visited Israel many times, he participated with the Israeli scientific community and had a cordial relationship with the Hebrew State. But in the last 10-15 years years, this has changed. Hawking was no longer a great friend of Israel, but rather a participant in the BDS movement, an “anti-Semitic” organization that promotes not only the boycott of the State of Israel but also, albeit surreptitiously, its disappearance.

In 2013, for example, Hawking decided to boycott a conference held in Jerusalem in honor of the 90th anniversary of Shimon Peres, the former Israeli president. This attitude of Hawking provoked indignation in Israel and much of the Jewish world. The organizers of the conference wrote, “The academic boycott is, in our opinion, scandalous and improper, certainly for someone [like Hawking] for whom the spirit of freedom is based on his human and academic mission. Israel is a democracy in which all individuals are free to express their opinions, whatever they may be.The imposition of a boycott is incompatible with an open and democratic dialogue “.

And although many musicians and artists have previously refused to visit Israel, Hawking was the first scientist of his stature to openly support the boycott movement towards Israel. Many accused him of absolute anti-Semitism and others of cynicism, since the computer system through which Hawking could communicate worked on a chip designed by the Israeli team of Intel.

Why did Hawking become such an enemy of Israel?

Some newspapers write that this new negative attitude towards the Jewish state was due to the influence of Noam Chomsky, a very important scientist, founder of modern linguistics. Chomsky is a Jew, but an atheist activist, and infamous for his visceral antagonism and opposition to Israel.

This might be a valid reason…

In the next lines, however, I would like to contribute a personal idea about another possible reason for Hawking’s new anti-Israelism.

I had the opportunity to read many of Hawking’s works when I wrote my book “Awesome Creation”, where I deal with the biblical narrative of Creation vs. the Big Bang and other cosmological theories. In the first chapter, in a footnote I quote one of Hawking’s most famous expressions, in his “Brief History of Time” (1988) where he says that when modern scientists would be able to formulate the unified theory of physics, then we would be able to ” know the mind of God.” With that note I point out the arrogance of this statement and I compare it to what Bil’am (Balaam) declared. Balaam was the only man in the Bible who attributed himself to knowing the Divine Mind (although the Tora shows that Bil’am was not even able to understand the mind of his donkey …).

Now, although what Hawking said about God was arrogant, it was clear that Hawking DID believe in God (or at least he was an agnostic). But his belief changed over the years, perhaps due to his personal tragic disease. Hawking became a very influential voice for atheism when he published his book “The Great Design” (2010), which states that it is not necessary to invoke God to justify the existence of the universe. “There is no God”, he said, since “the laws of gravity may have created the universe without God’s intervention.” Now, explaining the origin of the laws of physics, is obviously as difficult as explaining the origin of the universe. Hawking’s statement, which Rabbi Jonathan Sacks categorized as an intellectual “fallacy”, would sound childish and almost silly, since it assumes that physical laws, gravity etc., pre-existed the appearance of the universe, and were not created , designed, calibrated, etc. But because Stephen Hawking was saying so, these superficial ideas that denied God’s intervention in the act of Creation gained some credibility…

Anyways, what I would like to analyze is another point. The relationship between “not believing in God” and the “opposition to the existence of the State of Israel,” particularly in modern Western society.

The Tora and especially King David in his Psalms, identified the enemies of Israel with the enemy of God. The existence of Israel, our miraculous departure from Egypt, the incredible journey of three million people through the desert, the providential conquest of the promised land, and especially the inexplicable survival of Israel in a hyper-hostile diaspora for almost two thousand years, can only be explained as a miracle or a series of miracles. If Israel exists, it is because God exists. But if Israel disappears, one could doubt His existence (ח”ו) .This concept was beautifully formulated by the prophet Yesha’ayahu who said (43:10): אתם עדי, “You – the Jewish people – are the witnesses, the living testimony of My existence. “

And what was true for 1900 years, became infinitely more true since 1948, when miraculously the same people who were systematically “exterminated” only three years before, were now establishing their own state in their original homeland. Something absolutely unprecedented !! Their children returned from all the countries of the world, fulfilling literally the oldest prophecies of the Bible. Israel fought against countless enemies, ALL her neighbors, in a ratio of 0.5 against 100 ! The countries that are antagonistic to the existence of Israel are rich, have the largest oil reserves in the world, and enjoy the support of 99% of the countries of the world. Israel is currently the only country on the planet whose existence is explicitly threatened, the only country permanently condemned and demonized by the United Nations…and despite all this, far from being a country in a state of emergency, corruption or desperation, Israel is a military, cultural, economic and technological “superpower”. Far from being a country where its inhabitants live in a permanent state of fear, tension and depression due to the dangers that they face, Israel is according to the new 208 statistics the 11th happiest country in the world! (USA ranked 18th)

THERE IS NO WAY to explain or justify the existence, survival, prosperity and happiness of Israel in a non supernatural manner, intelligent and informed people know it. And I think that this is why many people who do not believe in God, who are intelligent and well informed, resort to the last line of psychological defense that helps them sustain their atheism; demonizing Israel and directly or even indirectly, seeking its destruction.

When Hawking, Chomsky, Soros and many other atheist activists become the “irrational” enemies of Israel, they confirm once more the words of Yesha’ayahu: that our existence is a miracle. And that the people and the state of Israel, are the irrefutable testimony of the existence of God.