Rabbi Eli Hecht
Rabbi Eli HechtCourtesy

Things are really upside-down and I wonder when and how they will be corrected. Let me qualify my case with the following observation.

Our government leadership says one thing and the next day they have a complete reversal. We really do not have a united medical policy on how to deal with the destructive Corona virus. Each state has issued statements on how their citizens should act and in each state there are people in the leadership positions that contradict the government’s policy.

No one really knows anythinng, and there are no corona experts, but every self-styled medical expert is interviewed or makes a video clip and cites the research studies that back him up, ignoring the ones that don't.

Come to think of it, we find this happening all around the world. There is no united world medical policy on how to deal with the dying and severely ill. Europe is going back to lockdowns, Israel is coming slowly out of lockdown. The virus is here to stay and we need to deal with it.

Reflecting on the problem we find an interesting phenomenon.

Due to the heavy death rate, Israel and the United States of America seem to have similar problems. The only difference is that they are completely different countries and it is dangerous to imitate one another. Let’s take a look at the medical and political policies and how they are being handled.

Our President says that we will be ok. Just hang in there and vote for me. “Look at me and my attitude and you can see that I’m healthy and alright so I must be right!” It’s like telling someone in the daytime to just close your eyes and believe it’s nighttime. It's a good thing voting for Trump is not based on that.

In Israel the Prime Minister, Binyomin Netanyahu, says stay home, pray and hope and don’t gather in crowds. What do the people do? They protest and thousands of people expose themselves to the Corona virus causing a medical situation of tragic proportions. There are those who say that the Prime Minister is buying time and deflecting the real problems, which they claim have to do with his indictments. Special interests and ministers vie with one another all over the media - each wants open his specific part of the economy, parents want the children back in school but are afraid to send them.

In Israel Parliament – the Democratic Jewish Party say vote for Trump, he is the great hope for the country. But don’t vote for Netanyahu for Prime Minister. In America the Democratic Jewish leadership say vote for Binyomin Netanyahu but not for Trump as Trump is corrupt! Can you make any sense of this mix-up? Yes, we have things upside-down. The pyramid is standing on its head and may fall the wrong way.

It used to be that the Republican Party had all the money and the Democratic Party was poor. Now it’s just the opposite. The Democratic leadership is better off than ever, while the Republicans are scraping the barrels for funds!

I was told the following story that I believe can help us with all this.

A man was once walking through a forest and lost his way. Hour after hour he wandered amongst the trees. He was lost for three days. Suddenly a man appeared before him. The lost man said “I am so delighted to have found you. How wonderful it is that we have met. You can lead me out of the forest.”

“You say that you have been lost for three days in the forest. I have been lost for ten years and I am unable to find my way out of the maze. But there is hope. From my experience of being lost in the forest for ten years I can teach you one thing of great value. I will show you the path that will not lead you out of the forest.”

Hopefully we will redeem ourselves by learning from our confusion. We will learn what not to do. We should not be selfish or arrogant. We must be united and keep strong. Express our concerns for our fellow citizens. United we will all get through this happily. When? Keep strong and may G-d bless us all