I am reminded, amid calls for ceasefire, and with the recent experience of the "pause" in mind, of something former Israeli ambassador to the UN Dorn Gold said, many years ago.
Namely: the UN has caused more suffering than it has prevented, partly because instead of letting wars play out, and letting one side win, it has frozen conflicts in time, allowing them to continue.
In Gaza, the right thing to do -- from a humanitarian perspective -- is to let Israel win, despite the immediate humanitarian cost. Stopping the fight now would just ensure future wars in Gaza.
I felt that the experience of the "pause" was actually traumatic for Israelis and Jews, despite the joy of bringing hostages home. People felt powerless; they felt manipulated and abused by Hamas.
The U.S., for now, is letting Israel continue. My friend Caroline Glick says that Biden is the biggest obstacle to Israeli victory. Perhaps. But in a broader sense, the opponent is time. Israel's task is urgent.
I'm hoping and praying that Israel is able to liberate more of the hostages through military action. It would change the equation in a fundamental way. Maybe soon. Maybe today, God willing.
This week’s portion launches the great story of Abraham, who is told to leave everything of his life behind — except his immediate family — and to leave for “the Land that I shall show you.”
There’s something interesting in the fact that Abraham is told to leave his father’s house, as if breaking away from his father’s life — but his father, in fact, began the journey, moving from Ur to Haran (in last week’s portion). His father set a positive example — why should Abraham leave him?
Some obvious answers suggest themselves — adulthood, needing to make one’s own choices, his father not going far enough, etc.
But I think there is another answer. Abraham (known for the moment as Abram) needs to establish his own household. This is not just about making one’s own choice, but really about choosing one’s own starting point. It’s starting over.
Sometimes we start over in fundamental ways even if much that surrounds us remains the same. Sometimes the journey we have to ...
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
