Growing up we learn a certain lesson from our Sages that we take with a bit of skepticism but later come to life.
For instance, we are taught that the people of Sodom delighted in the most horrific atrocities committed against strangers in town. Hard to imagine. Then we saw just that take place with ISIS who inflicted unimaginable torture to their own brethren who were not exactly like them. They marched hoisting their banner of death through the Middle East as they killed with impunity.
One of those teachings is in the second verse in the Torah portion of Beshalach (Exodus 13:18). The Torah uses the term vachamushim to describe the fact that the Israelites left Egypt armed, not without physical protection. Rashi in his second explanation of the term refers to the Medrash that understands chamushim based on the root chomesh, a fifth. Only one-fifth of the Jews left Egypt. The rest chose to stay in Egypt being assimilated to its culture, but were sadly consumed with their host Egyptians in the plague of darkness.
I remember when I first came upon this Rashi, I was stunned. One-fifth! Only one-fifth left Egypt while four-fifths of our ancestors chose to remain with the Egyptians who enslaved them?! Makes no sense. How could this be?
We find as well (Sanhedrin 102b) that Rav Ashi could not understand how the Israelite King Menashe could be guilty of the worst forms of idol worship, which is the ultimate anathema for a Jew. Then Menashe appeared to Rav Ashi in a dream and told him, "had you been living during my time you would have picked up your cloak to run faster towards the idols”. Such was the draw to this self-destructive practice. Like a moth to a bright bulb. So hard for us to imagine.
Yet this is what is happening to us today. Most of the Jews have chosen Liberalism as their new culture, their new religion. Even at the point of being self-destructive. Gone are the tenets of the Bible. In are the codes of universal brotherhood and fraternity. Gone is the care for Israel. In is care for immigrants. All immigrants - even our enemies.
Gone is any appreciation for clearly the best president Israel and the Jews have ever known. More important to these Jews is his position on illegal immigration. On abortion. On women’s rights. On health care. On Muslims. On the LGBT agenda. His manner of speech.
It’s one thing to differ strongly with the President. But why the vitriol? Why the deep-seated hatred of a man who changed the whole way administrations before him were treating Israel and made it very clear he will stand tall with our beloved and beleaguered Jewish State. All presidents going back to Reagan promised they would move the American Embassy to Jerusalem. President Trump actually did it. What does he get for it from the Jewish Left? Aggravation.
Trump took on the UN, appointed Ambassador Nikki Haley, appointed Orthodox Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, as he did Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, a great friend of Israel. Trump has refused to allow the murderous PA to go on unchallenged. He extradited a Nazi War criminal right here in Queens. He freed Rubashkin, etc., etc. All this means nothing??
For crying out loud, you are Jews! Think like one. Feel like one. Yes, I know our attitude towards the less-fortunate defines us as a compassionate People. But what about compassion for our own? There is a reason why in Israel Trump enjoys an 88% approval rate. They know what he's done for them. But here we spit at him.
Then things came to a culmination. Eleven Jews were killed by a Jew-hater born to a Jew-hater while at synagogue in Pittsburgh. The President was forceful in his promise to eradicate anti-Semitism. He and his wife showed up to the funerals with a real sense of sympathy and empathy. Yet, what greets him? “President Trump, you are not welcome to Pittsburgh!” As though anti-Semitism started with Donald Trump.
Does anybody recall the shooting of four people in an Overland Park, Kansas Jewish center during the Obama Administration? Did anybody link it to his anti-Israel, anti-Netanyahu, anti-settler, and pro-Palestinian stance that maybe drummed up hatred for Jews? No one blamed him, and no one should have blamed him. Hatred of Jews is as old as mankind.
So the President who stuck it to Israel and the Jews time and time again is adored by them. The one who heaps love and concern for the Jews is scorned by them. Lunacy.
It reached a point when a major Orthodox organization had the decency to publicly thank the President for his care and support during the Pittsburgh tragedy at the end of their press release.
They got hammered! Led by Shmully Yankelewitz of the Open Orthodox movement, dozens, maybe hundreds of Jews signed on to excoriate the organization for the audacity of expressing long overdue gratitude. I hope Rabbi Avi Weiss, the once-ardent Zionist is proud of what he's created. Ostensibly, the reason for their objection was that now was not the time to express thanks to Mr. Trump. Now is the time to express grief only. Of course, they had no problem muddying the waters just after the tragedy with their unrelenting campaign of hate against the President.
But I would like to ask. If this took place during the Obama presidency and the organization would have thanked him for his “compassion”, would the same petitioners sign on? Would they object to the “poor timing”? You know the answer as well as I.
Well, surveys are showing that fully 75% of Jews do not consider Israel or Jewish issues on the top of their priority list when it comes to decision-making for their vote. That coincides with their insipid teaching of our Jewish religion. Which means that Satmar cares about Israel and fellow Jews a lot more than most Jews. How ironic!
So I wonder. Are they crazy or are we? Maybe I represent the lunatic fringe that thinks like only 25% of our people.
Sadly, I have seen that some Orthodox rabbis here and near here have joined the bash-Trump-at-all-cost campaign. Israel and Jewish issues have been traded in for some feel-good passions of the moment. Most rabbinic and lay organizations have been silent on the topic. That hurts. Big time. Because we need the rabbis to lead the way in keeping to the time-honored Jewish tradition of showing appreciation to the malchus, the reigning administration. This is true of a non-friendly ruler. How much more so to the most benevolent one to Jews in American history? And I have it on good authority that Mr. Trump and his family are totally miffed by the Jewish reaction and the silence of the Orthodox whom he thought of as friends.
Recently, someone showed me a posted question: How many liberals does it take to screw in a light-bulb? Answer: None. They'd rather sit in the dark and blame Trump. No joke.
This whole situation is a tragic turn of events. Jews have declared war on themselves and being pro-Israel no longer matters to gain Jewish votes. The Democrats have figured that out already. We as lay- and rabbinic leaders must be outspoken on this issue. We cannot be timid. The future of Eretz Yisrael and Am Yisrael is quite literally in the balance. This isn't politics as usual my friends. It’s survival.
Yes, it looks like we 25-percenters are the fringe lunatics. But this is one situation where the lunatics must take back the asylum.