What’s wrong with us? Why don’t we ever learn?
Finally returning home to Israel has been both tremendously uplifting and infuriating. Uplifting because to be home, in the greatest city in the world, Yerushalayim, with incredible weather, great food, loads of friends, and most significantly the profound sense of ruchniyut (spirituality) and mashmaut (purpose) that pervades everything you do and experience. I say this without exaggeration, because you experience it all, without even trying.
But also infuriating, not just because my neighbor’s son stole my parking spot (he doesn’t even live in the building, and his mother who does, doesn’t drive!), but because we Jews, whether here in Israel or in chutz la’Aretz never seem to learn anything.
It doesn’t matter if it’s on a personal, political, religious or societal level. We keep doing the same foolish, self-destructive and frankly, dumb things, we’ve done repeatedly for centuries. Whenever I’ve confronted this, I’ve quoted this Torah pasuk to myself: “Ha’laShem tigmelu zot, am naval v’lo chacham (Is it to Hashem that you do this, O’ vile and unwise people)?”
This pasuk is found (not coincidentally, nothing is coincidence) in this week’s parsha, Ha’azinu, on Shabbat Shuva. At the end of the previous parsha, Vayelech, Moshe says to the people, gather all your elders, your leaders and let me tell them and you, what is going to befall you b’Acharit Ha’yamim (at the End of Days) because you are a rebellious and stiff-necked people who will sin against G-d.
What follows is the enigmatic, deeply terrifying but ultimately comforting and morally instructive final “Song” of Moshe Rabenu we know as Parshat Ha’azinu.
Moshe is talking to his generation and all future generations. He is talking about us!
Despite all of the foolish things we’ve done, despite our acting as an “unwise people,” Hashem is accelerating the kibbutz galiyot (ingathering of the exiles) with more Jews returning to Israel from other lands, whether due to antisemitism and fear in their current countries or because of their newly awakened love of Torah, Zionism and Eretz Yisrael.
Meanwhile, some of us continue to act unwisely.
• • •
When I see Jews with long beards and kapotas debasing themselves and the Jewish people in the Eichler’s bookstore in Boro Park (their “Yerushalayim”) to greet the vile Jew-hater Zorhan Mamdani, the mayor who facilitates actual violence and even the murder of Jews.
It’s bad enough when ignorant, leftist Jews act in this way. But these are purported Torah observant Jews who obsequiously invited this rasha, this Haman-dani, and smilingly offer him a drink of kosher (Mehadrin of course) apple cider in a silver becher.
Aren’t they aware of the Gemara in masechet Megillah that discusses the horrible sin and failure of the leaders of the Persian Empire’s Jewish community who came to Achashverush’s year long banquet? They of course were provided with “glatt kosher” food (mehadrin min ha mehadrin) and sat fressing and drinking away from the keilim (the vessels of the destroyed Beit Hamikdash).
Babylonia had destroyed and ransacked the Bayit, but then the Persians defeated Bavel and acquired all these holy silver and golden keilim. Achashverush inherited them and provided them at the banquet. Despite Mordechai’s admonition, these Jewish leaders, went and drank from these vessels. Chazal tell us this sin almost led to the complete destruction of the Jewish people.
• • •
I thought of this bizayon, this obscenity, this chilul Hashem, when I saw the Jews in Boro Park offering the silver becher to Mamdani, a becher that could be used for such holy purposes as a Shabbos or Yuntif kiddush, but is now profaned beyond repair.
The only hero of this tragic affair is the modern day Devorah Stephanie Ben Shimol, who challenged him and shamed the entire group.
And we in Israel are unfortunately not immune from this behavior. Whether it’s the way many on the left attack the right or the religious, or how some charedi characterize non-religious Israelis or even religious soldiers (calling them kofrim, non-believers). This is vile loshon ha’ra, without question the behavior Moshe cautioned us about.
It is clear this is acharit hayamim; we are on the threshold of the geulah.
Imagine we are playing baseball and we are the home team, and it’s the bottom of the ninth. We are leading by three runs. All we need to do is get three outs and we win! We can’t afford any forced errors. Hashem has given us all the tools and guidance we need, all the pitching, defensive outfield and infield we need. We don’t even have to go to bat. Protect our lead. Three up, three down. Then we can all come home carrying Moshiach on our shoulders.
It’s Shabbat Shuva. Let’s do it!
Shabbat Shalom. G’mar Chatima Tovah.
Dr. Alan A. Mazurek is a Great Neck native who now lives in Jerusalem and Florida.
