World Anti-Semitism Will Never Die

 

There is an underlying distaste of the Biblical definition of the Israelites as the Chosen People. This has been taken by the non-Jewish world to mean that the Jews find themselves to be better than everyone else. It never occurs to them that what being the Chosen People was that the Israelites were, or at least Abraham, Isaack and Jacob were the first people who followed Hashem and were to live by the laws Hashem would impart to Moses at Mount Sinai during the Exodus. The Jews are not to believe they are any better than anyone else, they are to hold themselves to a higher standard through the six-hundred-thirteen commandments in Torah and the other laws and admonitions which would be imparted through the Oral Law. Jews were expected to try harder to be the best society they could possibly accomplish. The truth be told, the Jews were actually set up for continued failure as the standard set for them was to become beyond their societal ability to reach and maintain. Sustaining the egalitarian love of all and acceptance of equality of humankind all while living a structured life which kept to the strict thin line guided by Torah and the Oral Law was difficult. The rules Hashem had given at Mount Sinai were an addition to the former code which Hashem gave Noah as the basis for civilized society known as the Noahic Code which contained seven rules (see image below). These were the initial laws which predated the Ten Commandments which were in addition to the Noahic Code and even restated some of the Noahic Code. The Ten Commandments were just the initial installment at Mount Sinai and were followed by Torah which is a combination of history book and code for life and the means for governance when the Israelites entered the Promised Land. The one thing which becomes obvious to one reading Torah is that the Israelites, the modern Jews, were expected to live exemplary lives which would allow them to be granted the grace of Hashem which would also lead to their not suffering from want. The successes they would receive for following the laws set forth in the Torah and explained and fleshed out by the Oral Law would make others desire to live similar lives and also be thusly rewarded. The success was not supposed to make the Jews appear better than anyone else, they were supposed to be an example which others would desire to live a similar life and also be rewarded. Unfortunately, this was not how things were interpreted by much of the outside world.

 

Noahic Codes

 

What occurred instead was that some decided that they would simply conquer the Israelite lands and take their wealth. Most of the civilizations who attempted this met with destruction while the Israelites were observant of the Commandments given them by Hashem. But eventually the Israelites turned from the narrow path and this led to their being conquered by foreign powers. The first time this happened was when the Babylonians under Nebakanezzer conquered the Israelites. This still left two tribes from the Twelve Tribes unconquered, the Tribes of Judah and the far smaller tribe of Benjamin. These former Israelites were referred to as Judeans and they would also fall to the Babylonians some years later. The first ten tribes of the Israelites had assimilated by the time the Judeans fell and were considered lost and dispersed becoming the Ten Lost Tribes. When Judah finally fell, the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the First Temple. The Judeans went into captivity and this was referred to as the first exile which was described to Abraham by Hashem. The Prophet Ezekiel prophesized the Jews were to be punished for 430 years because they had turned away from Hashem. The Persians under Cyrus the Great defeated the Babylonians and freed their Jewish captives about 70 years after Judah lost independence to Babylon. This left 360 years which the Jews would require a second exile to fulfill as one must pay Hashem when one strays. We will have more about this when it becomes pertinent. Meanwhile, the Jews, some of them, not all as Hashem had commanded, returned and began rebuilding the Temple. Cyrus the Great was aware of the history of the Israelites and did not desire enslaving them as doing so could bring the wrath of Hashem onto the Persians, something which did eventually happen when the Persians attempted to kill the Jews within their kingdom many years later (the story of Queen Esther and the story around Purim in the Megillah of Esther). The real problem was that the Jews who remained residing in the Persian Empire rather than returning to the Promised Land and live as Hashem commands became assimilated and began worshiping the Persian idols and gods. This and the eventual straying by the Jews eventually spread also to the Judeans who had returned to the Promised Land who were again conquered this time by the Hellenist Greeks. This was followed by the Romans, which was when the name Judean proved too burdensome for the lazy Romans who simplified it shortening the name simply to Jew.

 

Do you remember the 360 years which the Jews still would be required to serve in exile we talked of earlier? Well, now we will explain their importance along with some very unbelievable truths from history. In Leviticus 26:18, Leviticus 26:21, Leviticus 26:24 and Leviticus 26:28 the Torah spells things out quite clearly, should the Jews not fully repent their sins they would be punished increased by a factor of seven. As we have already established, the Israelites, by then having become Judeans and who would soon become Jews, strayed leading to their being conquered and sent again into exile. Their required time left to serve was 360 years but was prophesized in Leviticus to be increased seven fold, meant that their exile would last 2,520 years. Yes, this was going to be a very long and unprecedented exile and if the Judean, Jews, were to actually survive and ever return to the Promised Land, it would be an undeniable miracle. On the original lunar Jewish calendar, this actually translates to 2,484 years. The exile, according to historical records, began in 536 BCE. If one takes 536 BCE and moves forward 2,484 years it required taking the 2,484 years of exile and subtract the 536 years before the start of the modern calendar and you get a result of 1948 AD, the exact year of the founding of the modern Jewish State of Israel. Another prophesy comes from Isaiah 66:7-8 where it states, “Before she goes into labor, she gives birth; before the pains come upon her, she delivers a son. Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children.” Israel did come into being in a single day declared a nation holding her Biblical borders from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, some parts of which were lost in her initial war against six invading Arab armies on the day she was founded on May 15, 1948, yet she has survived every attempt to dislodge the Jewish People to this day. The modern state of Israel has been a miracle in every sense of the word and the founding exactly as numerous prophecies had predicted to her survival despite all the efforts to destroy her. The continued survival of the Jews through all the challenges of history is another source of anti-Semitism. There are those who believe that the Jews were an ancient people whose existence today has to be an aberration against nature and as such, they believe the Jews are an affront before all they worship and believe.

 

Some anti-Semitism has religious basis in that they believe that the Jews and Judaism have been replaced by their faith. This is the basis of replacement theology which was prevalent throughout Catholicism, all of Christianity and throughout Islam. There have been some attempts at moderating the resultant hatreds spawned by replacement theology and the belief that because these religions which have presumed to have replaced the Jews as the chosen of Hashem, the Jews became under the control of the devil and now worship and do the bidding of the devil. The Jews have thus been relegated to hell and because of their being an aberration of Hashem and damned by Hashem are thus less than human and as such to be spurned. Further, as they have become damned, they are the first to be suspected of being responsible for any calamity which befalls a community. This has led to many historic pogroms where the Jews were blamed for crop failures, diseases, financial failings and untold other calamities and even simple restlessness leading to violence such as resulting from uncommon heatwaves or prolonged frigid times or any uncommon or distressed natural event. These are easily explained events just as when during the Crusades when the leaders of the forces would know that waiting until battle in the Middle East to have their men take life for the first time would lead to many hesitating resulting in their death at the hands of their enemies. Instead, often the commanders would find a Jewish town and have their men turn on the Jews killing many in the town until the rest fled into the surrounding forests becoming too dispersed and thus would take too long to hunt down. Some commanders would repeat these drills in successive Jewish towns which eventually led to the Jews in the path of Crusaders to flee their villages until they had long passed. These types of anti-Semitism have mostly ended in modern life but anti-Semitism continues leading some to ask why and seek explanations.

 

Modern anti-Semitism has a number of reasons, some remaining from ancient periods such as the remaining remnants existing from replacement theology. Some anti-Semitism comes from preexisting anti-Semitism where parents share their feelings so frequently within the home and between friends who share their bigotries among which include anti-Semitism. But there exists one heinous source for modern anti-Semitism which is all but impossible to stamp out because the sources itself are some Jews. There are those who watch the Jews in their lives closely seeking to find them failing to act honorably and being irreligious. They revel in finding Jews who fall short morally and that leads them to believe that all Jews are failed people. This eventually leads to suspicions that Jews are operating nefariously while using false religious observance to hide behind. They begin to claim that all Jews fake their faith and are really using their faith as a cover allowing them to gain wealth or power or success at the cost of others. Those who hold these feelings will blame their failures on these cheating Jews and this drives their anti-Semitism. They then spread their belief that the Jews are cheating everybody in order to gain their wealth, power and take over the society, steal and bankrupt their nations or other acts of bad faith spread to cover all Jews. They find one bad apple and damn the entire barrel. This form of anti-Semitism has proven to be very contagious, easily spreading throughout a civilization like a wildfire. The reality is that all it takes is one bad actor who was born a Jew to start the suspicions. Soon such suspicion begins to become the object to blame any Jew who has more success, more fame, more anything and the claim will fall back to that Jew they know gained through illicit acts and his guilt is passed on to every Jew who has success which a jealous person cannot explain. They will ignore the Jew working longer hours or having a better education or whatever might be a more accurate explanation and instead simply go to the more comforting idea that their gains were ill gotten. It is easier to explain away one’s lack of success and another’s faster rise to their cheating rather than their hard work. Thus, any Jew who succeeds gives cause for feelings of anti-Semitism. All because one Jew fell short in honesty or righteousness or whatever shortcoming they were caught committing. This should be sufficient for every Jew to exercise greater care in their actions and the way they live their lives.

 

The sources of anti-Semitism are numerous, some ancient, some contemporary. Many are impossible for the Jews to prevent. Some are religious in their origins. Some are pure jealousy. The reasons are impossible to quantify and all too many have so many various origins that they defy definition. The main means of fighting anti-Semitism would be for all Jews to live a Torah observant life and be an exemplary individual in their community and in all areas where they meet others. Jews need be above reproach in all acts and treat every person fairly and with great love of all humanity. But even if every Jew were to live up to the expectations of Torah, follow even all of the Oral Law and treat everyone as they desire to be treated, there would still be those who would find some reason to blame the Jews with cheating everyone to get ahead. Anti-Semitism will never be stamped out until the coming of the Messiah and the Messianic Age. Until then the Jews will be singled out for special hatreds and suffer for unmet expectations. So, we await the Messiah and must assist every Jew to live a more proper Torah observant life and incorporating the teachings of the Oral Law within their lives treating all people with respect and fairness. It will not end anti-Semitism, but it might lessen the number of people suffering this societal disgrace.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Why Demand Palestinians recognize Jewish State?

 

The first definition which we need to understand is that under the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States defines the exact requirements which when met in sufficient qualitative and quantitative manner is considered to be a viable state and that is all that is required for a nation to be considered a state. Once a nation qualifies as a state it then has the right to define itself as it pleases. Israel easily qualifies as a nation, a state and thus has the right of a state to define herself. Israel decided at her founding what the definition of the State of Israel was, it is the Jewish State, the nation state where any Jew choosing so is welcome as a citizen, period. There is no question and this recognition as the Jewish State requires no recognition of any other nation, organization or group, fini. I hear some of you now asking, then why do so many Israeli politicians and statespeople demand that the Arab Palestinian leadership recognize Israel as the Jewish State as a requirement for peace if Israel does not require their recognition to be the Jewish State? There is the crux of the argument and it is vital to understand. The Arab recognition, be it the Palestinians, Saudi Arabians, Egyptians, or any Arab or Muslim nation being demanded to recognize Israel as the Jewish State is so as to establish their acceptance of the chosen definition taken by Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish People and end the constant attempts to flood Israel with Arab refugees from anywhere and everywhere in the Arab world changing the demographics and ending Israel as the Jewish State. Once they recognize Israel as the Jewish State the Arab and Muslim worlds will necessarily need to then treat their refugee problems internally or anywhere outside of Israel. That is the importance and not the actual definition of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish People.

 

Another false concept is that defining Israel as the Nation State of the Jews is not a religious definition such as the Islamic State of Iran, the Saudi Arabian definition that Islam is the sole recognized religion permitted to actively practice within its borders or any of the other states declaring their religious base is Islamic. The declaration that Israel is the nation state of the Jews means the Jewish People as a peoples, a racial distinction and not necessarily a religious one, though the citizen permitted in for having Jewish roots though having these Jews as a people also practicing Judaism would be a huge plus, but it is not a requirement for citizenship. Do not worry if this confuses you as there are many Israelis who resent many of those allowed in because they have the correct maternal ancestral lines who are atheist and this drives them right up the wall. That does not change the fact that one whose maternal line can be traced to a maternal matron who was a Jew is sufficient for their entry into Israel as a Jew whether they practice or not. Those who are driven almost out of their tree over these non-practicing Jews who they place one step further removed from Judaism than the reform Jews in the United States or Europe should calm themselves and try to arrange marriages between marginally or newly returned to Judaism Jews, or even religious Jews, in relations with the non-practicing Jewish people whose parents may even feel extreme animosity towards the religious and were raised that religion is, as described by Karl Marx in his analysis and critique of religion and is perhaps one of the most famous and most quoted writings where he chimed that, “religion is the opiate of the masses.” We need remember that love conquers all and if a particularly religious person and one who never lived a religious life become close, more often than not the advantages of the religious life will likely win over the irreligious person if for no other reason than curiosity, especially if the religious person appears to be happier and seem to know some secret that their other has no knowledge over. Given some number of generations and one will find that Israelis will grow closer and more observant and religiously Jewish and believing in Judaism and not merely being a Jew by the religious links of their grandmother, great-grandmother or even more remote but maternally unbroken links.

 

 

A map of Israel should any of the nations of the world actually be honest
and truly be seeking peace which can only be attained should Israel
have the most defensive borders imaginable.

 

 

You might be wondering why we keep referring to the maternal links over that of the paternal side of the family. This is because this is the link which Judaism values such that your father being Jewish would be due to his maternal links to the religion historically. For some reason the maternal link is the important linkage to being a Jew. Yes, this stands in contrast with most other religions where if either parent were of the religion, then the children must be of that religion. Of course that might be a bit conflicting if the mother was say Episcopalian and the father Sunni Muslim, this leaves a child who is both and neither and guaranteed to garner the ire of one group and the acceptance of the other. For Israel, they rely on the ancient preference and definitions of our society from as far back as three-thousand years past as it has been throughout the entirety of the time from them to the modern Jewish State of Israel.

 

Another truth about Israel as the Jewish State, it has existed for the past three-thousand years, for over one thousands of those years as an independent State of the Jewish Peoples. Small segments of time the independence of the Jewish State managed to reestablish itself throwing off the yoke of their occupiers. This was ended when the Roman Empire dispersed the Jewish People to the far reaches and throughout their empire in a concerted effort to destroy the Jews as a people. Torah was the glue which held our people as a people and continued our attachment to our ancient homelands no matter where we resided. There has never been a period in all of history where there has not existed a Jewish presence in the areas which made up Eretz Yisroel. Further, open any Jewish prayer-book and open it to a random page and read those pages and you will see reference after reference to Israel, our home for all times. The end of the Passover Seder, Jews throughout the world read the line, “Next year in Jerusalem.” So, Israel is and always was the home of the Jewish People and is defined as such in all the Jewish writings including prayer books, Torah, Talmud, commentaries and numerous other sources from all the creative arts. Studying the history of the Jews and one cannot help but find their links to the lands between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. The claims that the day will come when we reconnect with our lands titled Israel are finally being realized. This return was prophesied over two-thousand years ago and has been inevitable are proving correct. This return is the culmination of events put into place and predicted by our prophets making centuries back making ours the chosen generation who will witness the handiwork of Hashem’s reestablishment. We truly are the Chosen People who are being blessed to bear witness to the final return of the Jewish People to their land. This return is the placing of the muscles and outer skin upon the dry bones which first were gathered to the land and given sinew to hold together. This generation is witness to the ending of the physical construction being completed leaving only the mind to be renewed and out Jewish faith be reestablished. To witness even the smallest glimpse of this process is enough of a miracle, Dayenu.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Peace, Peace Yet There is no Peace

 

The latest effort in the news is New Zealand who claims they will start an effort which will end the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Their premise that the base of the problem is the formation of a Palestinian State with established borders ignores one very simple problem, the Palestinian do not desire a two state solution, they demand a one state solution with no Israel. Their desire is an Arab Palestine without a single Jew left alive between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. They have gotten bolder of late and freely claimed their desire for that solution completely assured that the media will not report their spokespersons making such statements because it does not fit the world’s narrative which blames Israel for the lack of peace. Look back at every last single attempt to find a solution and show me where the Arabs have been pressed to make any sacrifice or effort towards accepting a solution. I can save you the pain and suffering of going through so many promises by outside powers claiming they only want to solve the problem. Every attempt to solve the problem has one assumption at its base, Israel just has to find the right borders for setting up the Palestinian State and everybody will live happily ever after. There is one huge obstacle to that solution, Abbas has repeatedly said the Arabs will not give up their quest to forcefully fight for all of their beloved nations and the Jews have been driven from its shores. Just in case you are still having difficulties understanding exactly what that means, let me put it the way Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser stated the Arab desire so succinctly and so precisely when he demanded the Arab forces would not stop until they “Would drive the Jews into the Sea.”

 

“Drive the Jews into the Sea.” That was the cry of the Mufti of Jerusalem in 1948 as his forces backed by the armies representing seven Arab nations, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and additional militias and troops from Yemen, Turkey, Sudan, and Libya which all came together along with military advisors volunteering their expertise and with no other war grabbing their attentions from Britain, Germany, France and Austria, yes, you read that correctly, Nazi officers and British officers working together to assist the Arab armies to destroy the nascent state of Israel. To put things right, the Israelis were fighting with whatever they could scrap together and on the kindness and extreme efforts of some helpful nations who sent military equipment with little promise they would ever receive payment as the Jews look like they were facing some severe odds, yet still Czechoslovakia sent artillery and armored vehicles along with rifles, machineguns and ammunition. An American Jew in the United States went and bought up all the leftover military hardware which was available in the United States and as he owned a company which made the huge transformers for electrical substations and that some manufacturers require, he attempted to send the outer shells of a transformer with the insides removed and filled instead with military equipment even to include a couple of tanks, armored transport vehicles, Jeeps, Rifles and ammunition until the unit weighed the same as if it had housed the real transformers and shipped them off to Israel from his home city of Baltimore. He knew the dock hands who loaded the ships and they challenged him that he had been shipping an awful lot of transformers to Israel and it is reputed that his answer was that the transformer were filled with military equipment and laughed and then told them Israel was replacing their entire electrical system and needed the transformers. This was his explanation he gave despite knowing quite well that the very same items he was shipping were against the United States government emplaced arms embargo on Israel immediately which was ordered after recognizing her as a nation thanks to the State Department. There were rumored shipments from France which probably had some validity considering that Baron Rothschild was once again back home in France. Somehow the Jewish forces of the Haganah, Irgun, Sternists and other paramilitary and forces considered to be terrorists under British rule and now were a part of the Israeli military preparing to take on an assault they were never supposed to win. In all fairness, there were a number of Arabs communities and extended families who fought alongside the Jews to preserve Israel and these were amongst the Arabs who were gladly accepted as citizens of the Jewish state immediately after the 1948-9 war which Israeli refer to as a war for independence.

 

In reality the initial war to destroy Israel was in some ways identical to every war as they are all fought for survival because every war Israel endures there is one potential outcome every Israeli must face, if Israel loses they will, in all probability, be killed as the forces sweep through the broken shell which had been protected by the IDF and lost allowing communities to be left unguarded as if Israel lost; they had fought to the last available person. Facing the guaranteed wholesale genocidal slaughter of the population should Israel ever be defeated on the battlefield is the motivation and realization as the consequence of failure for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) upon entering any battle. This is part of the reason that Israel having secure borders weighs so heavily when negotiating with the Arabs who demand their own nation cut from the nation promised for Israel and the Jews at San Remo and again unanimously voted into law by the League of Nations as a part of the Mandate Plans. The British Mandate lands had already been split with seventy-eight percent, the area between the Jordan River and the border established for Iraq while the small piece of land westward from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, the very sea the Arab armies of 1948-9 desired to push the Jews into as they cleansed the lands, all of that land was set aside for the Jewish State and not for two states living side by side with one side still trying to annihilate the other side as so many push for today.

 

That brings us back to the European Union imposing a ban on all goods coming from the reputed contested areas. In cases where a manufacturer might be employing banned items in his parts list or recipes, they too will face being boycotted thus, just to be on the safe side, they assure they employ only approved parts. Of course Israel can simply avoid such inconvenience by closing the factories beyond the Green Line and only build items inside the areas the Europeans feel comfortable with, at least for now. There would soon be raging Europeans demanding to know why all the Arabs employed at the factories lost their jobs when the factory was relocated within the Green Line and then demanding that the factory reemploy their former employees from the Arab areas and have then, at each factory’s expense, these former employees provided transportation to and from the new location. Then the Europeans would refuse to buy the products as the price would have become prohibitive due to the added costs of moving and providing rides and everything else.

 

New Zealand has claimed that they will see if they can find the route to restarting the peace process. They will likely try to find what the Israelis can provide Abbas and the Arabs in order to sit at a table and be insulted and demands made for Israel’s eventual destruction and then when nobody is able to convince the Israelis to sign onto a peace treaty which stipulated that the desires and needs of the Palestinian Arab people must remain sacred with all parties fully understanding that such a phrase guaranteed the continued terror attacks upon the Israelis despite the treaty and then the world will decide that maybe if Israel surrenders all of Jerusalem and all of the Negev then the Arab Palestinians will be satisfied. We all know that such would only lead to increased terrorist attacks and an eventual new peace process and a further retreat of the Jews and so on and so on until the Israelis really are living in rafts floating in the Mediterranean which is when the Arabs will demands that the Jews floating in their internationally recognized rights to the Sea be removed. The world will rush to grant them their darkest desires and the Jews will have their rafts towed to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and then left to drift only to be eventually towed again to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and yet they will still produce more than the Arabs living on the whole of what was Israel are capable of creating. One will have to wonder what reason the European Union and member nations will find to boycott anything made on half of the rafts as they too should be granted to the Arab Palestinians. This sounds ridiculous but is the end result if the world continues to leave the Arab Palestinians blameless for the lack of peace yet they are the party never satisfied which is why the world has literally run out of sacrifices Israel can give to be permitted to sit and be insulted and the end of the talks the Arabs will walk out or force Israel’s hand to refuse some ludicrous demand with the Arabs knowing full well that this final insane demand will be the first offering in order to lure them to the next round of who can demand the most out of Israel, the world or the Arabs.

 

That is the feeling in Israel as we know and you know and we each are aware of the other’s knowledge that the peace process is nothing more than an international effort to destroy Israel removing this Jewish entity that the world finds so repulsive an idea that it must be eradicated by any means possible. Much of the world sees the existence of the reestablishing of Ancient Israel and the return of Jewish sovereignty as the home of the Jews as an anathema as it contradicts every accepted norm of the world’s greatest defilement and racism, the helpless Jews always just that one step into the perilous direction and the immediate reflex has always been to blame the Jew, even if no Jews resided where the calamity was experienced, then it is the fault of the Jews for not coming to repair the world. Never mind that Israel is often the first on the scene of every disaster no matter where such occurs, Israel may be the only nation which has entire troops trained and ready at a moment’s notice to transport them and their necessary equipment across the globe to assist the stricken. Israel had the first working hospital fully stocked and equipment which the nation of Haiti after they suffered a devastating earthquake. They had delivered their first baby in the maternity ward which was across the field from triage area directing those victimized by nature in order to provide them the assistance necessary. Israel also had search teams trained for exactly this kind of emergency who brought equipment and dogs trained to find victims trapped in the rubble. The Israelis made a number of harrowing and dangerous rescues and even took a dancer, who had lost one leg, back to Israel in order to provide him with a top of the line prosthetic device and he returned to his career dancing like he never had dreamed was possible during the aftermath of the earthquake when he realized he was to lose one leg as it was beyond saving. George was in for a surprise, and we reported on George Exantus, a great dancer and dance performer, amongst a few other discussions which we spoke of in Why Doesn’t Israel Refute the Propaganda Against Her? which has a link to see a video of George performing with his new leg and except for his putting on his prosthesis one could not tell he was not fully functioned with never having lost one leg. If only the world would get to know Israel and her actual spirit and desires to aid all we are able and not have to suffer a disaster, earthquake in Haiti and others around the globe where Israel has been, tsunami, reactor failure as in Japan, and Israel was there as well, hurricane as in New Orleans or of any other calamity where Israel, it turns out, are amongst the first to arrive and provide assistance and often the last to leave making sure all are restored as best as can be expected and medical personnel have been trained to carry on the therapies. We could continue to a disaster in the Philippines where one team of Israelis went to aid a remote village only to find out they were the first aid workers or anyone else to visit their hamlet, let alone come to assist. Here too a child was named Israel in recognition of the generosity and actual caring assistance. Is it really necessary for the entire world to have faced an emergency and actually witnessed the caring heart of Israel extended to assist before understanding our desire to be the chosen to assist others and the chosen to be a light unto the nations during even the darkest of times?

 

Beyond the Cusp