Looking for answers in the Bible may not be politically correct and may not have media pizzazz, but as we all know, "God talks to us through the Torah." If we are serious about being Jews, we have to ask, "What did God tell us to do?" Even if we think Mitchell, Tenet, and Peres are smarter than God, their plans have proven to be disastrous failures. Shouldn't we consider God's plan? Here is what God has told us about obtaining peace.
In Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 18, verses 26 through 28, God warns us that if we fail to safeguard his "decrees and judgments", then the Land will "disgorge you for having contaminated it, as it disgorged the nation that was before you." The nation (the Canaanites) that was before us was to be disgorged through military conquest. God is telling us in these verses that if we do not safeguard his commandments, if we, instead, pursue practices that are detestable to God, we will also be conquered militarily and driven off the land. On the other hand, in Chapter 25, verse 18, God tells us that if we keep God's commandments, then we "shall dwell securely on the land." Not only will we have security and peace, but we will have no fear of terrorists. God tells us in Chapter 26, verses 3 through 6, that "If you follow My decrees and observe My commandments", then God "will provide peace in the land, and you will lie down with none to frighten you."
In Bamidbar (Numbers), Chapter 33, verses 51 through 55, however, God gives us an urgent warning. We must drive our enemies off the land. They cannot stay if we want to live God's commandments, if we are to have peace. "If you do not," God warns us, "those of them whom you leave shall be pins in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they will harass you upon the Land in which you dwell." Just substitute nails and shrapnel for pins and thorns in the quoted passage, and you can see how timeless and urgent God's warning is.
In the final book of the Chumash, Devarim (Deuteronomy), Moshe (Moses) describes what we will receive if we implement God's plan. Moshe tells us, in Chapter 28, verses 1 through 10, that if we listen to what God is telling us and keep his commandments, we will be respected by the entire world. That is what God promises us if we implement his peace plan. Not only will our enemies be "struck down" before us, but "all the peoples of the earth will see that the Name of Hashem is proclaimed over you, and they will revere you."
This may not be politically correct, but it is what God told us. This is straight from the Torah scroll that every Jewish denomination reads every week. God has unequivocally promised us that if we focus on living as a nation in the way that God has commanded us, then we will have peace, security, and the respect of the entire world. Shouldn't we try God's plan?
--------------------------------------------------------
Andrew Gross is a tax lawyer/estate planner who lives in Hollywood, Florida, USA. He prepares wills and trusts on the Internet at his web site www.AndrewGross.com.
In Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 18, verses 26 through 28, God warns us that if we fail to safeguard his "decrees and judgments", then the Land will "disgorge you for having contaminated it, as it disgorged the nation that was before you." The nation (the Canaanites) that was before us was to be disgorged through military conquest. God is telling us in these verses that if we do not safeguard his commandments, if we, instead, pursue practices that are detestable to God, we will also be conquered militarily and driven off the land. On the other hand, in Chapter 25, verse 18, God tells us that if we keep God's commandments, then we "shall dwell securely on the land." Not only will we have security and peace, but we will have no fear of terrorists. God tells us in Chapter 26, verses 3 through 6, that "If you follow My decrees and observe My commandments", then God "will provide peace in the land, and you will lie down with none to frighten you."
In Bamidbar (Numbers), Chapter 33, verses 51 through 55, however, God gives us an urgent warning. We must drive our enemies off the land. They cannot stay if we want to live God's commandments, if we are to have peace. "If you do not," God warns us, "those of them whom you leave shall be pins in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they will harass you upon the Land in which you dwell." Just substitute nails and shrapnel for pins and thorns in the quoted passage, and you can see how timeless and urgent God's warning is.
In the final book of the Chumash, Devarim (Deuteronomy), Moshe (Moses) describes what we will receive if we implement God's plan. Moshe tells us, in Chapter 28, verses 1 through 10, that if we listen to what God is telling us and keep his commandments, we will be respected by the entire world. That is what God promises us if we implement his peace plan. Not only will our enemies be "struck down" before us, but "all the peoples of the earth will see that the Name of Hashem is proclaimed over you, and they will revere you."
This may not be politically correct, but it is what God told us. This is straight from the Torah scroll that every Jewish denomination reads every week. God has unequivocally promised us that if we focus on living as a nation in the way that God has commanded us, then we will have peace, security, and the respect of the entire world. Shouldn't we try God's plan?
--------------------------------------------------------
Andrew Gross is a tax lawyer/estate planner who lives in Hollywood, Florida, USA. He prepares wills and trusts on the Internet at his web site www.AndrewGross.com.