A Reminder to Boost the Jewish Spirit

Purim and Adar are behind us now, for us to begin a new monthly countdown. We transition from Adar, a month of miracles camouflaged in natural events for the Jewish People, to Nissan, a month of miracles for the Jewish People in a revealed manner.

But because there's some gloom in the atmosphere today, I want to remind you all that we are inside of a new era, as The Rebbe had declared back in 1991. This was emphasized some 4 years ago when a major turnaround happened in world events. That event was a stark reminder, and we need reminders if only to confirm our otherwise absurd beliefs, that indeed we Jews, as well as the world at large, is inside of the new and final Era of Redemption.

The new viral phenomenon these days, instead of spelling gloom, ought to be understood as the new panorama wherein the whole world begins to gel into one communicable complex.**

The new technology of recent years, with the internet, computers and mobile gadgets, came into being so today the whole world can be embraced at one time. This viral episode, as yet another phase, serves much as a testing phase, if you will, in further preparing the world audience to become instantly in touch. The virus, like God, is invisible, the tiniest organism known to mankind, one that fits the bill perfectly.

The goal, of course, is that any day now we will - all - experience a most significant time of our lives, which will indeed draw wordwide focus on Moshiach himself.

The turnaround that happened in 2016 ought to have opened our eyes real wide. Until Trump's election, the prospects for the Jewish People, as well as the whole world, looked horrible. At the helm of the most powerful and influential country in the world was a serpent of hate and moral degradation. In his stead, the mainstream media had their polls predicting a major win for yet another monster, whose ever-present right-hand advisor was an Arab woman with ties to terror and Arab influence. Clinton was believed to have had a 90% chance of taking over. Anti-semitism was breathing heavily down the necks of Jewry and Israel, and corrupt oligarchies were threatening to impoverish and subdue the the world.

Then, suddenly, in a matter of hours, rather than days, the miraculous turnaround happened. Just as when Haman had been close to annihilating world Jewry, the turnaround happened in a matter of days after Esther had walked into the king's palatial quarters without being summoned. Suddenly the head of the treacherous Haman was hung by a noose and the Jewish people were given instant relief.

On election day in 2016, a similar "Purim miracle" happened. Instead of an Arab lady being held in esteem inside the White House, suddenly a lovely Jewish girl was sitting in her place.

We had gone from this ... :







... to this:











And, just in case people hadn't yet figured it out, or didn't take the change to heart, Trump had become Israel's great friend, had returned Yerushalayim to its age-old status, had sanctioned retaking historical Jewish territory, had inspired the world's peoples to believe in God, and had given us believers a welcome infusion of confidence that our dreams are not for naught.

Today is Rosh Codesh Nissan. Its the timely month of Spring. We know Torah is truth. We know that the Moshe Rabbeinu of our generation spoke truth. We trust in Hashem, despite unbelievable events that make no constructive sense to us. Still, any day soon will yet come the greatest miracle of all, when the Ultimate Era of Redemption will shake the world to its core with new light and blessings we cannot even yet imagine.

------------------

** I write this with a sad heart because close friends passed away during this so-called pandemic. But I surrender to my madness of thought because it's not for us to understand how this is all for the good.

Israeli Expansion towards the Geulah

What a pleasant Purim surprise we got today from President Trump!

Today, Purim 5779, I read in Arutz 7 news that this good man announced his support for Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights. He did, in the U.S., what some Israeli government should long ago have suggested or done, in Israel.

For this Mr. Trump deserves a huge thank you. Of course he's not operating in a vacuum so the thanks also goes to his whole family and affiliates.

Today, the 14th of Adar-B, the Israelis have been provided sanction for all to see to call their own territory their own (As the first Rashi in Torah implores us to do vis-s-vis Israel naysayers!). The Rebbe, King Moshiach, however he wants to elude his believers physically, is behind all these telling moments as more and more of the imminent Era of Ultimate Redemption unfolds before our very eyes towards the tail end of the current 6th millennium of world history.

The Golan is but a small part of the territory promised Avraham Avinu, but it's the first step to the long mile.

And because this apparent small step occurred on such an auspicious occasion, arguably the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, for Yom Kippur only resembles the holiness of Purim but doesn't come close to it, as the Hebrew word itself suggests ("Ki-ppur"), it's a significant step.

HAPPY PURIM !!!


UPDATE: Nov. 20, 2019

On CHOF MARCHESHVAN, 5780, was the birthday of the "Rebbe Rashab", the 5th Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom DovBer of Lubavitch. It happened that on this day Mr. Trump announced that (the international court notwithstanding) USA policy no longer considers the Jordan Valley illegally occupied by Israel. This would encourage its annexation and due recognition as part of Eretz Yisroel, in effect. Another giant step to Geulah taken on another commemorative chassidic day.

From HaModia: On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reversed a policy that had been proclaimed by the State Department decades ago, saying that the U.S. would no longer view Jewish towns in Yehudah and Shomron as illegal. “Calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law has not advanced the cause of peace,” Pompeo said. “The hard truth is that there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict, and arguments about who is right and who is wrong as a matter of international law will not bring peace. The establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not, per se, inconsistent with international law.”

Unless you're attuned to a Chabad Moshiach-times perspective, you might miss the footprints the Rebbe leaves behind, at opportune chassidic moments, leaving you in the dark even while all around you erupts a new dawn of supernal light.

Redemption Unfolding in 5777

Just before "Yishmael" rose to ultimate prominence, a day or two before he could get into highest office and start World War III, God sent a messenger to depose him.

The Muslims gained tremendous power with their huge wealth hard at work for a good 30 years. This power wound all the way up to effect, no less, the commander-in-chief of the United States Forces. Muslim countries "invested" in America's political, educational and judicial infrastructure to seed devastation and propaganda as the preamble and fertile soil for Islamizing the West. They finally got what they wanted -- the Democratic establishment's leadership as their puppet. With money they could operate by remote control. If it's upheaval they wanted, upheaval they almost got. They had groomed Hillary as their surrogate.

Just then the Islamic juggernaut fell over the precipice!

For all it would have taken at this point was a win by Hillary Clinton. Clinton was the puppet remotely controlled for her greed and her disinterest in America’s welfare. To be sure she would toe the Muslim line, Hillary needed a chaperone. Hillary, in full cognizance of the game she was meant to play, in accordance with her greed for money and power, had the Saudi Arabian mole Huma Abedin as her right-hand advisor.

The Muslim Abedin grew up in the Clinton machine. But meanwhile another woman was growing up in the Trump family. She, it turns out, is Jewish. Thus, instead of some Muslim countries gaining choke-hold advantage, the Muslim gambit failed, and failed big -- with the election of Donald Trump.

A Jewish girl took the place of the Arab girl. Evil had almost arrived at its pinnacle. The country would have become 3rd-world. At the last moment Good vanquished the Evil.

By the way, it’s not for nothing God chose Trump for leadership of the USA. Like his father, who donated a significant sum (some 50 years ago) to allow a Jewish school to rise on new ground, Donald too contributed (in 2005 about) to help the Israelis who were kicked out of their homes and land, forced to resettle elsewhere. These Jewish families were tossed out their homes, lands and livelihoods, some after 3 generations, for the sake of their worst enemy, by a foolish government gesture of appeasement. (link - witness)(link - press)(Hebrew blog post)

Just as God told Abraham the first Jew, “and all those who bless you I will bless” (Genesis 12:3), God blessed the Trump family too -- the dad with business success, and the son with that plus the presidency too.

Hillary needed war on a grand scale to keep herself socially afloat, without all her criminality bogging her down. This way she could run a war, sitting high at the helm of some “important” battle, and thus weather the criticism coming from internal policies. This is probably what Putin was thinking when he had to face an effeminate Obama who could get into a frenzy to call upon his dogs to attack, when he said the Democratic party leader (either Obama or Hillary) was likely to start a World War.

Soon is Purim. And real soon is Kislev. Kislev is a time for many miracles. Purim had Esther in the royal palace. This Purim we’ll have an “Esther” of our own. Haman the evil one was destroyed, and thankfully the evil Democrat party and the "establishment" too has been toppled.

By the way, Cheshvan too fits into this one big scheme of miracles transpiring to take Jews into their Torah-true Redemption era. We saw in Cheshvan that Trump’s daughter and son-in-law went to the grave site of the Lubavitcher Rebbe to ask for a brachah. This aspect of the world-in-transformation happened revealed the hidden hand of the one in charge of the fighting the wars for the sake of God and His Jewish People -- the Rebbe (link).

But all aspects of world events fit well in the scheme of the unfolding redemption. The Muslim must fall before the Jew can rise (Ba'al Haturim Genesis 25:18); Damascus must fall before Jerusalem is free of foreign entanglements (link); The Jewish people collectively swing to the right and swing to the belief in the One God and respect the Torah and Jewish tradition (over reformist attempts to dilute the belief); That Jews wherever they are can now practise their religion without governmental interference, without the Jew having to feel like a second-class citizen; That the whole world remains focused on that little plot of land called Israel in the Middle East; That good and evil are being blatantly touted for what they are and people eventually must take one side, the side the Jews are on, or the other; And that the USA will now take, when Trump enters office, the side of Israel (unlike the evil incumbent's).

The United States has a rosy future because it was founded on the belief in God and the freedom to practise your religion. (These traits would have disintegrated had the Democratic party won.) This is a charitable nation and a charitable people, and probably will remain that way until Moshiach.

The distinction between good and evil must be clearly identified so people can take sides and only then, with evil now separated out, can it be wiped away. Evil is being exposed for the whole world to see wherever it is.

For example, Castro just dropped dead. We now find out he demanded Israel withdraw from "the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem." He took the side that foists the false “Palestine” concept. The whole world will realize this ruthless dictator was on the (bad) Muslim side.

The world sees, now on a daily basis, just how brutally Arabs or Muslims behave. This is the War of Gog & Magog -- now ongoing! They watch while Muslims or of their ilk kill each other. Meanwhile, Jews are sitting pretty watching the spectacle without being actively involved, much like spectators (link). Instead of eating up the Jews, Arabs eat each other up.

The world sees too how Germany, Sweden and much of Europe now are in deep turmoil. Jewish blood had drenched European soil. The irony is that Germans now have Arabs as their bedfellows. Arabs, after all, had strongly supported the annihilative attempt of Germany against the Jewish people. Other European countries too now suffer for their "political correctness" they keep trying to impose upon the Jewish country. Like a boomerang effect. Now the world sees that just as God blesses those who bless the Jews, so too God curses the nations that demean the Jews (Genesis 12:3).

The world sees how fires rage across Israel, more than hundreds started, by Arabs living inside Israel. The world thus needs to realize that the internal Arab population is just as ominous as those surrounding the small country. Those empathetic to Israel will recognize Muslims could never have it so good under any other nation’s auspices -- and that the Arabs are ingrates. It is by the grace of God that gave us no deaths, God forbid, from this broad arson-terror attack.

Let's not forget we saw God’s grace getting back our Holy Land 70 years ago. Then with every single war Israel saw tremendous miracles. Israel today thrives, its desert blooms and everything in Israel is on the up and up. This despite the inferno that surrounds it every which way you look.

The biggest miracle, the true and final Era of Redemption for the Jewish People, the one now only seen by connecting the dots of this vast mosaic that lingers in the background, should soon be brought to the foreground for us to see in full glory with our own fleshy eyes, amen.

The Essence of Anti-Semitism

How to Confront Anti-Semitism

If We Don't Grasp the Underlying Cause, We Can't Form a Healthy Response

By: Rabbi YY Jacobson

The Uniqueness of Jew-Hatred

Hatred of the Jew has been universal, permanent and deep (1). Death for the Jews has been desired and plotted by the tyrants of every age. Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Caesar, the Turks, the Christians, the Muslims, Stalin, Hitler and almost every great power that ever lived and flourished, defined the Jew as a target for abuse or complete annihilation. Jews have been expelled from nearly every country in which they resided—England, France, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Italy, Greece, Lithuania, Spain, Portugal, Bohemia, Moravia, Russia, Poland and the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, and of course, from their ancient homeland, Eretz Israel.

Throughout the centuries, many millions of Jews were murdered, including millions of infants and children. The Babylonians and Romans killed three million Jews. The Christians and the Muslims in their Crusades, inquisitions, conversion decrees, blood libels and general religious fervor over a span of 15 centuries slaughtered millions of Jews, often wiping out entire communities. Chmelnitzky and his bandits beheaded 300,000 Polish Jews during 1648-49, while Hitler put to death a third of our people, including one-and-a-half million children. In nearly every country, Jews have, at some time, been subjected to beatings, torture and murder, solely because they were Jewish.

And though many of us thought that the evil of anti-Semitism perished in a post-Auschwitz world, we have been rudely awakened during the last few years as it once again rears its ugly face, particularly among Arab nations and in Europe.

Why such hatred and fear of a people who never constituted more than a small minority? Why did almost every great culture and civilization see us as their ultimate enemy? Are we really such an evil people as to threaten the wellbeing of virtually every civilization for the past 4,000 years? Why is it that otherwise sophisticated and educated men and women of academia are filled with irrational hatred toward Israel for this or that wrong behavior, while ignoring the horrors perpetrated en masse by its Arab neighbors?

Most scholars and historians, including many Jews themselves, choose to view this ongoing obsession not as something uniquely connected to Jews or Judaism, but rather as a multitude of isolated events erupting as a result of distinct circumstances.

For example, why do millions of Arabs hate Jews today? Why are thousands of them inspired to burn Jewish babies alive? Because — the common explanation goes — we are occupiers occupying their country and they yearn for liberation. If Israel would only grant the Arabs independence and hope, the venom would dissipate.

But why did they kill us before the "occupation" of 1967? Why did six Arab countries try to destroy Israel at a time when there were no settlements or settlers? Because, during the War of Independence in 1948 between the newly created State of Israel and its Arab neighbors, hundreds of thousands of Arabs fled their homes and ended up in refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza. The Arabs were seeking to return to their homes inside pre-1967 Israel.

But why did the Arabs initiate this war against Israel in 1948 and thus create, through their own error, the refugee problem? Why did they not accept the United Nations' partition of Palestine and accept the reality of Jewish existence in the Jews' ancient homeland? And why were scores of Jews murdered during the 1920’s and 30’s? For this we must search for another explanation.

The attempt removes the notion of anti-Semitism from anything distinctly Jewish. The Germans, we are told, hated the Jews because they were scapegoats for a depressed economy, and so many Christians wanted the Jews dead because they claimed we killed their god. Stalin murdered Jews because he believed they were capitalists, while Europeans of the Middle Ages were repulsed by the Jew because of his economic success, and on and on.

Yet this approach is unconvincing. To deny that there is a single ultimate cause for all anti-Semitism, to reject that an underlying reason has sparked the hatred of billions of non-Jews for four millennia, contradicts both common sense and history.

Anti-Semitism has existed too long and in too many disparate cultures to tolerate a claim that each culture hated the Jews because of some distinct factor disconnected from being Jewish. To believe that Jew hatred is just another form of racial or religious bigotry, lunacy, ethnic hatred, lack of tolerance, xenophobia, resentment of affluence and professional success, is to turn a blind eye to the core cause of this unique loathing. Of course, various factors may exacerbate anti-Semitism and cause it to erupt at a given time, but these factors do not explain the origin and genesis of this hatred. In “Why the Jews?” Authors Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin put it well: Economic depressions do not account for gas chambers (2).

Haman's Attempt

The famous Purim story, recorded in the biblical Book of Esther and read during the upcoming Purim festival, relates one more attempt made some 2,400 years ago to reduce the Jewish people to a pile of ashes, this time by a Persian minister named Haman.

Haman approached the then-king of Persia, Achashverosh, and offered him a tremendous sum of money in exchange for permission to arrange a "Final Solution." He desired that every member of the Jewish nation, men, women and children, be put to death. The king responded (3): "The money is given to you (Haman), and the nation (of Israel) is yours to do with, as you see fit."

This interaction seems quite understandable to me. Achashverosh, a no less miserable anti-Semite than Haman, happily embraces the idea of a world devoid of Jews. Yet the Talmud apparently feels it necessary to illustrate the situation by means of a parable.

A Mound and a Ditch

Here is the Talmud's parable (4):

"Achashverosh and Haman are compared to two people, one of whom had a mound of dirt in his field, and another one who had a ditch in his field. The owner of the ditch said to himself, 'How I wish the owner of the mound would give me his mound in exchange for money, so that I can fill my ditch.' And the owner of the mound said to himself, 'How I wish the owner of the ditch would sell me the use of his ditch, so that I can remove the mound of dirt from my field and dump it into his ditch.'

"After some time," relates the Talmud, "these two men encountered one another. The owner of the ditch said to the owner of the mound, 'Sell to me your mound!' The owner of the mound responded: 'Please, take it for free.'"

The Talmudic illustration is clear. Achashverosh is compared to the owner of the mound—the mound being a metaphor for the Jewish people who lived under his rule. He desperately seeks to get rid of it. Haman is seen as the owner of the ditch, eagerly attempting to obtain the mound. When Haman offers to purchase the "mound" for money, Achashverosh gladly gives it to him for no payment at all, enthusiastically consenting to the annihilation of the Jews.

But here is the question: Parables quoted in Talmudic literature are never meant as entertainment, but rather as tools to clarify and crystallize an abstract or complex concept. But what is so difficult to understand about a story of two people who despise the Jews with similar intensity and eagerly cooperate to destroy them? Why do we need a parable about a mound and a ditch to clarify the situation between Haman and Achashverosh (5)?

And even if there is some difficulty in understanding what transpired between Haman and Achashverosh, how is it explained by means of this seemingly simple and superficial parable of a mound and a ditch?

What is more, the parable doesn't even fit the story it is attempting to illustrate. In the parable, the owner of the mound is seeking to dispose of his mound while the owner of the ditch craves to obtain the mound and fill his ditch with it. In the actual story, however, both the owner of the "mound," Achashverosh, as well as the owner of the "ditch," Haman, wish to dispose of the "mound" — the Jewish people — and get rid of it completely. You can't fill a ditch with a mound that you crave to annihilate (6)!

Two Layers of Anti-Semitism

What the Talmud is really attempting to convey via this parable is an answer to the question we raised at the onset of this essay: Why, nearly always and nearly everywhere, have Jews been hated? Why did Haman crave to kill every single Jew, down to an infant? Why would King Achashverosh be so eager to purge his country from all Jews? What have the Jews really done to attract such profound universal animosity?

It is this question — perhaps one of the great questions of history — that the Talmud is attempting to confront in this little passage.

Anti-Semitism, the Talmud is telling us, is multilayered; it contains a "body" and a "soul." The "body," or the outer, external layer of anti-Semitism personified by Achashverosh, sees Jews as a "mound." The inner, deeper and more complex layer of anti-Semitism personified by Haman views the Jew as the cause of a universal "ditch."

The external layer of anti-Semitism, harbored by many non-Jews throughout history, sees the Jew as a stranger in world history, a foreign creep, a "mound" that obstructs one’s free movement and enjoyment in his orchard. The Jew somehow “irks” him—and he is not even sure why. This Jew hater feels uncomfortable with the presence of the Jew. The Jew is a mount which does not belong here. The Jew may attempt to do everything possible to assuage the annoyance the anti-Semite feels toward him; he may sell himself, his soul, his people and his values, but it is usually to no avail: As long as the Jew is alive, he will remain, in many a non-Jewish eye, an irritable, cumbersome "mound." (6*)

But why? Why can’t they just see us as another ethnic group doing its own thing? This crude outer shell, or "body," of anti-Semitism, is born of a deeper and subtler space within the non-Jewish consciousness. Jewish existence opened a "ditch," a vacuum, in the heart of the human race, and every non-Jew, in one way or another, is aware of this inner void, causing him to look at the Jew either with admiration and affection, or with hate and repulsion, or with a mixture of the two.

Confronting a Ballad of Eternity

"What is the meaning," asks the Talmud, "of the term Mount Sinai? Sinai, in Hebrew, means hatred. Sinai is the mountain that gave birth to Jew-hatred." (Talmud Tractate Shabbat (7)).

Some 3,400 years ago, at the foot of a lone mountain, the Jewish people received a gift that transformed their life and destiny for eternity. No matter whether religious, secular or assimilated, that moment imbued Jewish life with a unique richness and nobility. The gift of Torah inculcated Jewish life with tremendous moral and spiritual responsibility, but it simultaneously granted the Jewish mind, the Jewish family and the Jewish community — rich and poor alike — a taste of heaven. The day to day life of the Jew became imbued with a depth of meaning and sense of purpose born of an appreciation of the Divine present in the heart of life, love, family, pain, values and money.

When the non-Jew encounters the Jew, he is, consciously or subconsciously, struck by a grandeur of spirit, a depth of living, a resonance of eternity and an echo of the Divine that is not easily described but very palpable. There is something about the Jew and Judaism that is larger than life and the non-Jew feels it, sometimes more acutely than the Jew.

The Jewish presence, challenging the world with a call from the infinite living moral G-d, opened a hole, a "ditch," a mental and emotional void, in the heart of humanity, craving the fullness and richness of life that the Torah has given the Jew. The Jewish people opened a profound wound in the civilization, causing it to wonder if the focus on the physical aspect of life was ultimately meaningless.

The non-Jewish response to this "ditch" exposed by the Jewish presence came—and still comes—in two different forms.

Many non-Jews, from various religions and cultures, responded by elevating their lifestyles to a higher plateau. They saw the Jew and his Jewishness as a model which they can, in their own way, emulate. They assuaged the feelings of emptiness by creating a life and value system grounded on the Torah's weltanschauung. The American nation is a great example of that. Founded on the Judaic ethic of respecting the liberty and individuality of every human being formed in the image of G-d, most of the Founding Fathers and so many of its citizens were and are authentic philo-Semites, cherishing and celebrating the Jew and his Jewishness.

John Adams wrote, "I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize man than any other nation." He wrote as a Christian, but added that even if he were an atheist and believed in chance, "I should believe that chance had ordered the Jews to preserve and propagate to all mankind the doctrine of a supreme, intelligent, wise, almighty sovereign of the universe, which I believe to be the great essential principle of all morality, and consequently of all civilization (8)."

Leo Tolstoy wrote: "The Jew is that sacred being who has brought down from heaven the everlasting fire, and has illuminated with it the entire world. The Jew is the religious source, spring and fountain out of which all the rest of the peoples have drawn their beliefs and their religions."(8*)

This path, though, requires extraordinary discipline and sacrifice. Living with the G-d of the Torah is a tremendous burden. It demands that one challenge his or her ego, laziness and selfishness on a daily basis; it requires one to surrender many instincts, cravings, lusts and natural dispositions. It is rewarding and fulfilling, but not easy.

Sadly, most non-Jewish cultures and civilizations in the past opted for an easier and more instinctive method through which to "fill" their mental and psychological "ditch": Rid the world of the Jew, they said, and the void will be gone.

This is the "soul," or the deeper, spiritual layer, of anti-Semitism, engendered by the very existence of the Jew—it is a resentment and hostility directed toward the cause of a profound emptiness in life. Adolf Hitler once remarked that his mission in life was to "destroy the tyrannical G-d of the Jews" and His "life-denying Ten Commandments (9)."

This, parenthetically, means that anti-Semitism is not only a "Jewish problem," it is a disaster for every moral and decent non-Jew as well. "Watch how a nation, religion, a political movement treats Jews, and you have an early and deadly accurate picture of that group's intention toward others. Anti-Semites wish to destroy the perceived embodiment of that higher call to the good, the Jews. But they do not hate the Jews alone. They hate whatever and whoever represents a higher value, a moral challenge (2)." Anti-Semites begin with the Jews, but they never end with the Jews alone.

Haman's Rage

Not all anti-Semites were aware of the "soul" of their hatred. Some, like Achashverosh, were only cognizant of the "body" component of their Jew hatred, seeing the Jew as a "mound" that disturbs and obstructs. They were unaware of the underlying drives behind their hatred.

Haman, on the other hand, was aware of this truth. He understood that he despised the Jews because they generated a "ditch" in the depth of his heart. That is why when the entire Persian elite bowed to Haman daily, with the exclusion of one Jewish rabbi, Mordechai, the Bible tells us (10) that Haman "was filled with rage."

Why? Imagine thousands of people prostrating themselves before you on a daily basis, except one old ultra-religious man with a white beard. Big deal! Why was Haman so perturbed by the sight of one obstinate Jew not falling on his knees to worship him?

Because Haman, in a very deep place, knew that Mordechai had it right. Mordechai's behavior resonated in Haman's inner heart. It exposed the truth that Haman was not a demi-god.

He thus approached Achashverosh and said: I have a ditch in my heart, which I cannot bear anymore. I must rid the world from its Jewish presence. Achashverosh, a far less intelligent and complex person, responded: Great! The Jews, for some reason or another, always irked me regardless. I'd be more than happy if you can remove this cursed mound from my presence.

The Conclusions

One of the many conclusions of the aforementioned idea is this. Appeasing and trying to bend over backwards to those who hate us will not supplant their hate with love. The animosity stems from too deep a place for it to be transformed through money or appeasement. It may be hard for us to accept, but the real Jew hater is driven by forces that are deeply powerful, as for him the Jew disturbs the core of his existence.

We can bend over backwards, but it will not change a thing. We can shorten our noses, we can assimilate, we can compromise—yet as long as we are alive, the anti-Semite will remain restless. There is nothing we can do or not do to change the anti-Semite. It is the anti-Semite who must change himself. It is he who must learn that as long as he lives with hate, he will deprive himself and his loved ones from a life of true happiness and nobility.

The proper method of dealing with Jew-hatred in all of its manifestations is not to attempt to eclipse or deny one's Jewishness and the unique role of the Jewish people in history. The gentile, instinctively and accurately, feels the "otherness" of the Jew; the non-Jew innately senses the holiness embedded within the Jewish soul. When the Jew denies this holiness, when the Jew, embarrassed by his Judaism, tells the world, "I am just like you," the non-Jew senses a lie, a secret conspiracy, and he despises the Jew even more. The world will forever dislike Jews who dislike themselves.

What can we do about anti-Semitism? We can and must stand guard against it. We must protect ourselves in every possible way. We must fight the hatred with unwavering determination, resolve, dignity and purpose. We must never duck or show weakness, which only intoxicates our haters into thinking they might prevail. We must never be ashamed with who we are and what stand for, as it is not our evil triggering the animosity; it is our goodness and holiness which drives our haters mad.

Most importantly, our primary and eternal hope remains in our relationship with G-d, the sole Master of the universe. As long as we are connected with the core of all reality, our existence is guaranteed.

That is why, when Mordechei and queen Esther learnt of Haman's decree, the first thing they did was engage in fasting, prayer, repentance and good deeds. Only after three days of fasting and introspection, did Esther use her position as the beautiful wife of the king and attempt to influence him, in the midst of a drinking party, to obliterate the decree against the Jews. Now, if Esther wished to impress her husband, she should have gone to a beauty-parlor not fast for three days!

The answer is, that Esther knew, as every Jew knows deep down in his heart, that salvation will not come from a man who sees the Jews as an eternal "mound." Salvation will come from G-d. Therefore, the first and foremost objective is to strengthen her relationship with G-d. Only afterward, are we called to follow the course of nature and attempt to influence world leaders to help secure the survival of the Jewish people.

Once we have secured our relationship with G-d, through the Torah and its Mitzvos, can we hope that G-d will manipulate the hearts of the Jew-haters to assist rather than destroy the Jews.

When the non-Jew encounters a Jew who is proud of his otherness, who cherishes and embraces his Jewishness and its unique role in history, more often than not the non-Jew is overtaken by sense of admiration and respect; he can begin to appreciate the Jew, learn from him and adore him. (11).

1) For a comprehensive discussion of this subject, the history and dynamics of antisemitism, as well as a convincing refutation of many of the popular reasons given for antisemitism, see Why The Jews? (Prager and Telushkin, Simon and Schuster, 1983.)
2) Ibid. p. 21.
3) Esther 3:11
4) Megilah 14a.
5) See Benayahoo to Talmud Megilah ibid. and Chasam Sofer - Toras Moshe L'Purim for their symbolic explanations of this parable.
6) Of course, one may answer that the parable is an imperfect one and it is just here to illustrate the point that the owner of the mound is willing to dispose of his mound without receiving payment. Yet anyone familiar with the Talmudic literature is aware of its extraordinary profundity and meticulousness. It is thus clear, that the comparison between Haman and an owner of a ditch seeking to fill it is precise and meaningful. Yet in the actual story, Haman's role is reversed, seeking to dispose of the mound and not have it remain in his territory?
6*) Perhaps we can add: The Mound represents significance & the dignity that Judaism confers upon all peoples; and that is why as a dictator who wanted to subjugate his populace he couldn't stand the Judaic disciple which affords such tremendous rights to all peoples.
7) Shabbas 89a. See Eyon Yaakov to Ein Yaakov ibid. -- The explanation for anti-Semitism that fallows has been articulated by Maimonidies in Igeres Taiman chapter 1.
8) For an elaborate discussion on this theme, See On Two Wings: Humble Faith and Common Sense at the American Founding, (Michael Novak, 2001).
8*) Quoted in Radican Then, Radical Now (Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, London 2000) p. 3 with reference noted there.
9) Quoted in Why The Jews? p. 30, see reference there. Cf Faith After the Holocaust (Eliezer Berkowitz, Ktav, 1973) pp. 114-127, where this point is brilliantly demonstrated.
10) Esther 3:5.
11) This essay is based on a talk by the Lubavitcher Rebbe presented on Purim 1965. (Sichos Kodesh 5725 pp. 444-454.)

Purim Revisited

All that happens in the world, especially on a high-profile political scale, where many can tune in, projects itself onto life for the sake of the Jewish people. When heads of governments, especially those with immense military might, broadcast their politics across the world, Jews should take notice to the extent they register the incident, and act in Torah ways with complete confidence in Hashem that this way will redeem the Jew and bring the world one step closer to Redemption.

The "King of Aram" (ref. here), a Muslim mole in the White House, characterizes King Achasverosh of ancient Persia. He hated Jews even more than his deputy, Haman,  so he needed no persuasion to kill all Jews of his large Empire that comprised 127 countries.

The current Iranian aristocracy, headed by some "Khameini", characterizes Haman, in that here too they seek a "final solution" to exterminate all Jews. In fact, it is no coincidence, is it, that Khameini (with a guttural pronunciation of Kh) and "Hamani" sound similar, and neither is it coincidence this seed of evil derives in Iran - Persia!

So what we have during these Adar days are inside-closet meetings of two "leaders/governments", one from פרס and the other from "ארם", quietly and in private secrecy plotting to expedite the "Jewish problem".

Much as Haman wanted, and Achashverosh let happen, the Jews, because they streamed back to Hashem in total self-sacrifice and in regret for not having listened to the "Leader of the Generation" 10 years earlier, when Mordechai warned them NOT TO ATTEND the Achashverosh feast at the Shushan Party, now got their salvation from Hashem. Things suddenly took a sharp turnabout and Jews became

"ליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה וששון ויקר"

- as we too will during these great days of Adar -

"כן תהיה לנו"

Dov Hikind's Masquerading as a Black Man

Here's a quote from a news site 3 days ago concerning NY Assemblyman Dov Hikind's Purim mask: "Assemblyman Karim Camara of the state Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus had called Hikind's actions at the party 'callous and repugnant'."

Karim Camara (KC) heaped derision on Dov Hikind (DH) for masquerading at a Purim festivity as a black man. Said KC, "It brings back the memories of African-Americans being reduced to buffoonery just to gain access to the entertainment industry".

KC's taking offense and denouncement of DH's capricious costume reveals a hidden truth in the offended one's psychology. It shows KC secretly believes being black is an inferiority, as if being black, of itself, is demeaning! No proud black man would have taken offense any more than would a Jew take offense of a black man masquerading as a Jew or chassid on Halloween.

Had a black man dressed up as a Nazi - a most offensive and provocative sight for a Jew to behold, the Jew would have good reason to protest. Similarly, had DH masqueraded as a Ku Klux Klan member, KC would have had good reason to be offended.

But for a white Jew to dress up as a black man - so what! At worst, KC should have been amused. At best, he could have been elated.

That KC took offense that DH dressed up as a black man tells much more about KC's psychology that meets the superficial eye. It definitely says something about the protester who "doth protest too much". Probably KC dislikes Jews and itches to pick a fight where he can - taking an opportunity to cut down a Jew from his high place.

If I'm wrong, I challenge KC (or, for that matter, any member of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus) to show where he really stands on this issue. If he could meet the challenge, KC would regain respect from his own circle of society as well as show he holds no malice to the Jewish element. Let him stand up for a Jew in distress so all can see. Just one small favor that could go a long way - one that will buy him fame for life, from Jews and righteous Gentiles alike; Let him go to Obama and seek reprieve for Jonathan Pollard. Or, if that's asking too much, let him just visit the man who sits in prison now for nearly 3 decades.

A small gesture of rapprochement with the Jewish people, whom he insulted by digging up some fault to initiate a new campaign of hate over some harmless whim by a well-intentioned Jew will, like nothing else, boost his feelings of self-worth too. If he fails to follow through such a simple test, and instead persists with the baseless repugnant attack, we'll know who masquerades on Purim - and who masquerades every day of his life.

Purim 5773 - Where Did It Leave Us?

Living in exile is no easy feat. We progress every day nearer to the Era of Redemption, but, as night approaches daybreak, the night only appears darker and darker. Unfortunately, unlike roosters, we cannot yet see the pending daybreak behind the darkest moment of darkness.

The holiest day of the year just passed us by. Where have we advanced therefrom? It seems we got nowhere, as if nothing changed from the day before. Still today, after almost two thousand years without the Temple and without the monarch of the House of David to connect us to Hashem, for that is his sole purpose - to facilitate our devotion to Hashem, we seem to have gained not even one step forward from where we stood before Purim.

We know in our minds we did advance, but it pains the heart to feel bereft of evidence, to soothe us as we pine for Redemption. The Jewish people today, even though they suffer nothing like their parents or grandparents suffered through the iniquities of WWII, and come nowhere near knowing the horror their forebears had to suffer, suffer nonetheless simply by seeing that nothing real seems to have changed to at least make it superficially apparent we progress to the final and ultimate Era of Redemption.

Purim, after all, is not just another holiday. In fact, even Yom Kippur only RESEMBLES Purim and cannot get close to its sanctity. The ostensibly holiest day of the year, wherein Jews cannot eat, drink or transgress Sabbath laws, have Purim to celebrate almost in any way they please WITHOUT restrictions - because this day is so holy, so over and above the holiness of Yom Kippur - that restrictions cannot even touch it or relate to it. The day, far and beyond Yom Kippur, reverberates with utter holiness.

But as long as the Jewish people remain in exile, no matter what holiness this day attains, in reality, in experiential terms, it seems, God forbid, as if nothing had been gained.

May we Jews finally and forever reach the point where all these Jewish abstractions of holiness need no longer apply and that we palpably touch and feel the reality of the Era of Redemption and that the exile finally be rendered behind us like a bad dream we are thankful to have been done with.

Jewish Demise from Unsuspecting Quarters

"In every generation," the Passover Hagadah tells us, "people rise to destroy us, and Hashem saves us from their plots".

Those who wish evil upon the Jewish people fall into one of two categories; Either they want to extinguish the Jew's spiritual bond to Hashem; Or they wish to destroy the physicality of Jewish presence.

The Greek king Antiochus tried to extinguish Jewish spirituality. He instituted harsh decrees to force Jews to forget their Torah and break their faith in Hashem.

Haman, on the other hand, chief viceroy to the Persian king Achashverosh, tried to exterminate the Jews scattered throughout the 127 countries of the empire by killing every Jewish man, woman and child.

In recent history we can point to two such notorious villains as well, Stalin and Hitler.

Stalin successfully destroyed millions of Jews - spiritually. He forced Jews to break with Torah and faith in Hashem, by destroying synagogues and yeshivas and banning religious observances. Hitler, on the other hand, in his attempt to engineer "the final solution", murdered some six million Jewish people throughout Europe, from infants to the elderly.

It's not known that Jews helped Haman, but it is known Jews helped Antiochus. It's not known that Jews helped Hitler, but it is known Jews helped Stalin.

Besides these two sorts of Jewish destruction, yet another form of destruction arose from the Jewish quarter, probably unwittingly, in recent Jewish history. These unsuspecting destroyers of Jewry comprise the secular leftists, the "reform" Jews (whatever brand their reform takes), or the ignoramuses. These three groups, in effect, also render nothing short of a Jewish holocaust. They first suffer a spiritual suicide, because they, their children and grandchildren abandon Torah observance and tradition, and then these assimilated offspring intermarry and drop out of the Jewish gene pool, which effectively translates into a passive, physical genocide. After all, Jewish men who marry Gentile women break their branch of genetic Jewish continuity. What Hitler or Stalin would have done to them, these do for Hitler and Stalin in abstentia!

This present generation's counterpart of Haman or Hitler is the Iranian regime, among others.

Apropos of the group of Gentile haters who seek to destroy Jews spiritually, a present menace looms large. This hostile bunch seeks the demise of Jews - on the sly. They are the Catholic missionaries funded by America's Southern Baptists who by stealth work to "convert" Jews. By stealth - like the pig who flaunts his split hooves to onlookers and says, "Look, I'm kosher!" (when, in fact, it lacks the internal physical sign for being kosher). Obviously the Jews they bait are the ignorant ones, those weak on Torah knowledge. They have well over 300 million dollars budgeted for this cause. You already find them peddling their piddling spirituality in every large city of Israel, under some "Messianic" rubric [A theme they steal from authentic Judaism]. In the U.S. they have succeeded in persuading some 300,000 Jews to regard their human idol as a god. They succeed because these baited Jews hunger spiritually and cannot find or cannot meet Jewish representatives to satisfy their hunger. One of several missionary agencies for this duping purpose is called "Jews for Jesus" (יש''ו).

In the end, of course, the outcome will be "... and Hashem saves us from their plots". But meanwhile, because all Jews constitute one family - one big collective body - if the left arm hurts, the right arm wants to help. The best way to fight these destroyers is to teach the truth of Torah to these Jews "roaming in the dark". Torah is the glue that binds Jews to Judaism. This blog, for example, might just serve one day to attract the hungry soul of one lone Jew in some far flung corner of this world who, upon learning the truth, returns to Hashem; And by saving that one soul - I will have saved an entire world.

PURIM & DEMOCRACY

Taken from a Chabad journal (הקריאה והקדושה) distributed by the Previous Rebbe, written in 1941. Though written 70 years ago, its lesson rings true and loud today too!

PURIM and DEMOCRACY

The importance of associating Purim with democracy is, unfortunately, not well enough known among Jews. If all of us realized the importance of this great association, things might have been different for us and we would not be in such difficulties as we are in today!

A well-known Jewish idiom has it, that Purim is no holiday and fever is no sickness. Wise men know that this is true. Fever by itself is no sickness, it is merely a forewarning of a disease that is about to appear. Likewise, Purim alone is no holiday, but a reminder of Jewish troubles that may come, and the riddance of which will call for a day of rejoicing!

Purim was given us, as our Purim-scroll relates, to immortalize the causes which led to the "fast-and-prayer" miserable days that the Jews had to go through, during the time of Mordechai and Esther, and to serve as a warning to avoid similar miseries in the future.

Perhaps this too, is the reason why "Hallel" is not said during prayer-time on Purim as it is upon all other holidays which commemorate miraculous escapes for us; Purim is a warning, not only the celebration of a miracle! A warning not to bring down the curse of another "Haman" and another planned massacre upon us, heaven forbid.

At this point, we come to the relationship between Purim and democracy; the cause that brought on the Haman of old was the overdone Jewish love for world democracy, overdone because it took the place of religion.

For the first time in world history, king Ahasuaerus introduced something new in the world. He realized that he had more to gain from his 127 conquered countries by permitting them to go scot free, granting them complete autonomy and demanding nothing but tribute in exchange for all this than by oppressing them, thus making it necessary for him to suppress all sorts of revolutions. Until this king's time conquerors usually laid waste to a good portion of the lands that they captured. The majority of the populations of these countries were forced to migrate to distant lands in order that they should not rise in revolt as they might have had the courage to if permitted to remain at home. Only the weak, the poor and the ignorant ones were allowed to remain, to till the soil and work in the vineyards. Later on, prisoners of other conquered nations were moved in, just as Nebuchadnezzar did in our hold land.

Ahasuaerus introduced a revolutionary idea. He called a meeting of the leaders of all the conquered lands, proclaimed the law that each country shall enjoy complete autonomy, speak its own language, worship its own idols, and revere its own customs - democracy in the full sense of the word for the entire empire with its 127 countries. All that these countries had to do to enjoy this was to contribute toward the upkeep of this empire - pay taxes to the apex of this structure, Persia.

In those days this was a sensational event, a most unusual, revolutionary idea. It meant an end to all wars, to all destruction; a united mankind, a united states of Asia without wars, destruction and the necessity for each country to arm itself. People would pay taxes and be assured of a happy life. Even paying to their idols for national protection would no longer be necessary.

To all outer appearances, the other countries rejoiced with this. Inwardly, however, they cherished the hope that at some future, opportune time, they would cast off the Persian yoke. Only the Jews rejoiced more than anyone else. They were convinced that the world was progressing and that it was becoming so highly civilized that there was no longer any need for their religion; it was time to forget about the Torah entirely and become like all other nations, for under a democratic system there is no longer any need for the Godly protection. In all events, Jews would benefit from all the freedoms and would have no reason to fear anyone.

The appearance of Haman upon the scene has demonstrated, however, that what was good for all the 127 countries was no good for Jews. In spite of all the democracy a pogrom was quickly prepared, to massacre all Jews, men women and children and all the 127 countries agreed to it wholeheartedly.

In order to avoid in the future a repetition of any great love on the part of the Jews for any world-salvation, which might even be good for all others, the festival of Purim was proclaimed. It simply means, that Jews must not rejoice too much with any new orders which might be introduced as the other nations do, with any new economic systems, or with any new political innovations. These may be good for all others, but not for Jews without Torah. You may be sure that somewhere a Haman will arise who will see to it that the Jews don't benefit from these new world-gains, and the end will be that conditions for them will become even worse under this system for world-betterment. They will eventually realize that without the Torah, without their own Jewish salvation, and without their own kosher Jewish foods, everything must go against them. They may defile their souls by eating forbidden foods at strangers' tables without any benefit for their bodies and the only end possible is - new Jewish delicacies with which to celebrate the miracle by which they escaped a new, bloody massacre!

Purim serves to remind us, therefore, of the bad aftertaste left in our mouths as a result of the first democratic order introduced into the world, an aftertaste from which our modern, present-day Jews refuse to learn the necessary lesson. The American democracy just like the one of old, has caused many a Jewish soul to become defiled by the eating of non-kosher foods; Jews have permitted themselves to be led astray by the same foolish idea that in a democratic country there is no longer any need for fearing God, heaven forbid, and that it is time to regard the Torah as something which has outlived its usefulness. The result of this is already visible. Here, too, there are 127 nations, immigrants from countries all over the globe and here too, hatred is preached against no group except the Jewish one. Anti-semitism in America is on the upgrade. The government has already realized this and is continually warning the population against the spreading of race-hatred, which all know means anti-semitism, the modern form of "Hamanism". Only the Jews who possess the thousands year old warning not to bring upon themselves a new Haman by defiling their souls with forbidden edibles and the adoption of foreign ideologies, refuse to face the truth, and stop to think what results such actions can bring, heaven forbid!

No one can deny that democracy in any land is a good blessed thing. It is also good for the Jews because under it they are freer to practice their own religion than in any of the cruel totalitarian countries. Democracy in all countries of the world, as the free allied countries are trying to establish by the sacrifice of so much blood, certainly is a step in the right direction for all mankind in general, but it will avail the Jews nothing if they will regard this as a substitute for their Godly Torah and religion! This was the great mistake which the Jews made during the reign of Ahasuaerus. They were overjoyed with the new democracy and stopped thinking seriously about their Torah and religion. Later, they paid dearly for the forbidden food that they ate by living through a terrifying period, waiting for the massacre which was prepared for them. This is why we were given the Purim festival, to serve as a warning to us, never to repeat the same mistake, and if it fails in its purpose, then the reason for celebrating that past miracle becomes a hollow one instead of a holy one, and only proves that we remained the same frivolous fools as then.

Still more tragic and painful is the light-heartedness with which the Torah is regarded today, when the champions of world-democracy have just begun their fight to establish that system in the world and while they themselves are still not sure whether they will win that war or not, and because just now the worst "Haman" of all is raging against us, and for the very reason that we have celebrated so many Purims by rejoicing too frivolously with world democracy!

Let the Purim sober us up from our "democracy versus religion idea", let's remember that democracy without Judaism is even worse than Judaism without democracy because the former brings new "fast and prayer" days, for life, heaven forbid! One day after the triumph for world-democracy, some newly freed countries will not be ashamed to proclaim openly that democracy was not meant for the Jews any more than they were ashamed to announce it in the time of Ahasuaerus.

Without strict adherence to the Torah and commandments the fate of the Jews is a lamentable one even in time of democracy, and this is what the Purim teaches us.

If the struggle for democracy all over should be won, it would mean that each nation could remain as it formerly was, speak its own language, and live its own life. Surely it can not mean just the reverse for the Jewish nation, that they should be led to assimilate and to become that which they are not and must not be!

Democracy or no democracy, here or everywhere Jews must primarily remain Jews and never abandon their Torah. On the contrary, those who have strayed from the camp must return at once, unless they want to celebrate a new Purim, which means that the anticipated new democracy will first have brought them a new miracle to get rid of a newly planned massacre for them, heaven forbid!

The connection between Purim and democracy is, therefore, very strong and it is imperative that every Jew fully realize it before it becomes too late!

Democracy must be fought for by the Jews, as by all freedom-loving peoples, but it must not take the place of our loyalty to God, to the Torah and to our ancestral tradition!