We shouldn’t despair over disappointments
I have written about this subject before; unfortunately it is time to revisit it again.
It was about two months ago, on Shvii Shel Pesach (the seventh and, in Israel, final yom tov of Pesach). We had been living through constant attacks from Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon, periodic clashes with Hamas in Gaza, and occasional salvos from the Houthis in Yemen. However, with the onset of the American Operation Epic Fury, working in concert with Israel’s Roaring Lion campaign, it appeared the evil Iranian ayatollah regime — the bankroller and mastermind behind these proxy terrorist threats — was nearing its end.
President Donald Trump had issued an ultimatum to Iran: open the Straits of Hormuz and capitulate or face total annihilation. At 1:15 am, we were awakened by sirens and a particularly violent interception of incoming Iranian missiles that shook the windows and sent us scrambling to the miklat.
There, I learned from my son-in-law that Trump had agreed to a two-week ceasefire to allow Iran to comply. The overwhelming feeling of disappointment that descended upon us in Israel, and among supporters of Israel around the world, was beyond measure.
At the time, I wrote about how the Hebrew word for disappointment, meuchsav, comes from the same root as kozev, liar. It is a word we had been reciting daily during Pesach in Hallel, from David HaMelech’s words in Tehillim 116:11: “Ani amarti b’chafzi kol ha’adam kozev (I said in my haste, all men are liars).”
The connection is clear — both involve expecting one thing and receiving another. If we expect truth and receive a lie, we are disappointed. If we expect a beneficial outcome and receive a harmful one, we begin to suspect everything is false and everyone is a liar.
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At the time, I wrestled with whether I thought the president was a liar. As a longtime Trump supporter, grateful for his unparalleled support of the Jewish state, I concluded that he was not. Bombastic? Certainly. Prone to hyperbole? Absolutely. But as a friend of Israel and the Jewish people, he had surpassed every American president and perhaps any foreign leader in history.
I believed he would quickly recognize whether a proposed deal with Iran was legitimate and act accordingly.
Now, more than three months later, I am less certain.
There are two kinds of liars: those who lie to others and those who lie to themselves.
Trump appears to believe what he says. Yet he has repeatedly stated that one cannot negotiate with terrorists, that the Iranian regime cannot be trusted, and that he would never accept a nuclear Iran. I believe he meant those statements when he made them. Yet his recent words and actions appear to contradict them.
That is the essence of cognitive dissonance — holding two conflicting ideas at the same time.
For an example, we need only look to this week’s parasha, Shelach. The nesi’im (leaders of the shevatim), with the exception of Yehoshua and Calev, convinced themselves that they could not conquer the Land of Israel.
This was despite witnessing the Exodus from Egypt, the mightiest empire of its day. Despite the plagues, the splitting of the sea, the defeat of Amalek, the daily provision of water and man, and even the revelation at Har Sinai, where Hashem spoke directly to the nation.
Yet they could not believe.
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Yes, they acknowledged the land was beautiful, flowing with milk and honey. But they focused instead on giants, fortified cities and powerful enemies. They convinced themselves that victory was impossible.
They lied to themselves, and in doing so demoralized everyone else.
After 3,000 years of Jewish history, we should not be surprised.
Indeed, Dovid HaMelech already warned us in Tehillim 146:3: “Al tivtechu binedivim, b’ven adam she’ein lo teshuah (Put not your trust in nobles, nor in human beings, in whom there is no salvation).”
Our faith can rest only in Hashem.
We must emulate Calev and Yehoshua, who declared: “Aloh na’aleh v’yarashnu otah, ki yachol nuchal lah (We shall surely ascend and possess it, for we can surely do it)” (13:30).
And again: “Tovah ha’aretz me’od me’od (The land is very, very good” (14:7).
We must not, and dare not, despair.
We should continue urging our leaders — whether Trump, Netanyahu or others — to remove the evil that has brought suffering and death not only to Jews and Israelis, but to Americans, Iranians and many others as well.
Finish the job. Now.
Shabbat shalom.
Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
