Prior to the war, I thought peace was around the corner. (Again, as I did in 1999). In the opening days of the war, given the reemergence of anti-Israel sentiment in the Arab world, I wondered how Israel could manage to survive.
Then the Abraham Accords held, and I realized that the opposition was largely sustained by Iran, and by the example of the Islamic Revolution of 1979, which will only be defeated when it fails internally (though outside pressure will help).
But the hatred of Israel that had taken root in the West gave me new cause to worry. Anti-Israel hatred and antisemitism have become fixtures, even in the U.S., thanks to immigration and radicalism. And the West lacks faith in itself.
Then I considered that Israel had emerged during an era in which the West was hardly at its best - indeed, it emerged despite the self-destruction of the West in two world wars, in communism, and in the post-modernism that followed.
Moreover, a thought expressed by Mark Cuban has echoed through my mind in recent weeks: we may not be able to control how much people hate us, but we can control how much we love ourselves, and how much we love one another.
The secret to Israel's survival is not its strength relative to its enemies, nor its resilience relative to its allies -- though all of that helps. The secret to Israel's survival is love --a love of land, love of people, love of God, love of life.
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!
