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The Disease of Media-Induced Hypocritical Fandom

15/2/2023

 
Please remember the presently war-torn Donbas region of modern Ukraine was never actually Ukrainian.

The Ukrainian people never stood as the majority in Donbas. NEVER.

That border came about when Kruschev sketched the boundary that way for administrative purposes.

Yet Zelensky has reeled in millions of people around the world to rally around Ukrainians fighting to keep hold of what was always a predominantly Russian area.

The Ukraine — a hopeless mess of alcoholism, poverty, and corruption long before this war started — simply will not be able to recover. 

With homes, livelihoods, and lives destroyed, a terrible refugee crisis, and tens of thousands dead, the media continues to brainwash people into supporting the Ukrainian side along with its egomaniacal leader (who tried to drag Israel into the whole horrid mess, which could have meant the end of Israel — but egomaniacal psychopaths never care about things like genocide and destruction).

According to Israel's (but certainly not my!) Bennett, the conflict never needed to reach this point; peace could have been negotiated. 

But Western politicians pushed hard for the war to weaken Russia (because these politicians care nothing about destroying the Ukrainians in the process). They kept instructing Ukraine's sleazy meglomaniac leader (please stop referring to him as a Jew; he shows absolutely no pintele Yid whatsoever) not to negotiate with Russian under any circumstances. 

Zelensky married a non-Jewish woman, baptized his non-Jewish children, blatantly celebrates a traditional holiday marking Christianity as the official religion of Kievan Rus,  condemned Israel for its "occupation" (included Israel's so-called "occupation" of Jerusalem), and in Ukrainian-language interviews, Zelensky praises Ukrainian Nazi and Holocaust collaborator Stefan Bandera.

In his days as a stand-up comic, Zelensky derided Israel and Jews.

In fact, a frum friend of mine said she tried to research Zelensky's maternal line, but can't find out anything regarding whether his mother is Jewish; we only ever hear about his father.

For me, his insistence on little war-torn terrorism-torn Israel actively siding with him and arming him against Russia when Russia is so militarily powerful, vast...and very close to the Israeli-Syrian border — this immediately proved what a Jew-hater he is. 

He cares nothing about the repercussions (had Israel armed and actively sided with the Ukraine) for either the Jews within Russia or the millions of Jews within Israel.

Nonetheless, Israel still suffers because the war increased Ukrainian non-Jewish immigration to Israel, bringing with them all the aspects of Ukrainian society that made it so unsuccessful and so anti-Jewish in the Ukraine. 

I've noticed that some Jewish media is finally starting to speak out against this meshumad, this moiser, this Erev Rav freak. Good for them. We must stop this hypocrisy of Zelensky-Ukraine fandom.

And I really hope Mashiach comes b'rachamim and SOON.
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"What Happened in Hadera?"

11/8/2022

 
Recently, our 25-year-old son told us what happened to a good friend of his in Hadera this past April 2022.

As our son's friend (let's call him David) walked down the street with his brother and their aunt, the boys saw a couple of men wearing large white knitted kippahs with beards and acting strangely.

"Hey, look over there. Who are those weird Breslovers?" one brother said to the other.

Only the weirdoes weren't Breslovers.

Religious Muslim men also wear beards and large white knitted head-coverings.

To the untrained eye, the appearances seem similar.

Suddenly, David found himself face-to-face with one of the "Breslovers," who also looked right at David while shooting a barrage of bullets from a fully automatic machine gun.

David just stared in shock while being shot at from close range, then passed out.

Later, he discovered his brother also passed out. And while their aunt did not pass out, she went into shock and lay on the pavement catatonic except for her uncontrolled shaking.

When the rescue services arrived, they saw David & his brother lying unconscious on the ground, so the brothers were among the first swept into the ambulances and taken to the hospital (along with the aunt).

David drifted in and out of shocked consciousness until his arrival at the hospital.

With everything happening so fast (including the rescue services, baruch Hashem), no one knew what had actually happened.

Seeing David awake with all these injured & shocked people coming in, the ER staff asked him, "What's going on?! What happened in Hadera?!"

"I don't know!" David gasped. "These Breslovers just started shooting at us in a terror attack!"

Then he passed out again.

​Later, everyone found out what really happened.

David still suffers PTSD and takes prescription medication to sleep at night.

3 Points to Take Away from This Incident

(1) These are the silent victims of terror.

They received no physical injury and saw no gore or trauma on others.

​We don't hear much about them or from them.

But just finding themselves face to face with an armed terrorist and seeing bullets flying out in their direction is traumatic enough, as anyone can understand.

(2) First reports aren't automatically reliable.

​A lot of people think first reports of an incident stand as the most accurate, but the above demonstrates the problem with that assumption.

It all depends.

Mistaken perceptions combined with shock and trauma don't make the best witnesses.

(3) Let's not overlook the open miracles Hashem gifts us, even along with the trauma.

Finally, the open miracle occurring here must be publicized.

David, his brother, their aunt, and several others were mere feet away from the rampaging terrorists, with at least one terrorist shooting directly at them.

In addition, David, his brother, and their aunt stood as unmoving targets.

How did every single bullet completely miss them?

Chasdei Hashem, yishtabach Shemo.

​And so...

May all those injured and/or traumatized merit a complete refuah.

​May Hashem avenge the blood of our brothers & sisters.

​And may Hashem please bring Mashiach soon b'rachamim.
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The Authentic Torah View & Response to Jew-Hatred (based on the teachings of Rav Avigdor Miller)

30/3/2022

 
Rav Avigdor Miller often spoke about the real reasons behind Jew-hatred.

It doesn't mean that the perpetrators are guilt-free. Not at all. They are evil. And they're going to pay for every vile thing they do.

But as long as Jews keep attacking the stick that hits them rather than looking at the prime cause (i.e., our own attitudes & deeds), this will not solve the problem.

​Even worse, as we've seen many times throughout history (including current events), the Jew-hatred keeps going and even intensifies as long as Jews focus on the agent rather than the underlying cause.

Because this approach rams against every other kind of reasoning, many often see this approach as cruel, unjust, and blaming the victim.

But it's not.

Like so much else in Judaism, it forces us out of black-and-white thinking.

Jew-hatred provides messages for us to improve...at the same time, we are absolutely allowed to defend ourselves and the evil perpetrators will not escape ultimate justice. 

We are also allowed to hate the perpetrators—no problem.

But as the Rambam explains, attributing suffering purely to natural causes is CRUEL.

THAT is cruel.

Why?

Because focusing solely on natural causes ensures the continuation of the suffering.

Sure, some suffering may continue due to the needs of a particular soul-tikkun.

But any suffering that can be remedied via adjustments in our minds, hearts, and deeds?

Then it is cruel to ignore that.

At the same time, a person still may struggle emotionally with this concept. That is totally normal.

But a minimal intellectual acceptance leads to clearer thinking, which enables us to improve whatever we need to improve.

Below, you'll see Rav Avigdor Miller's Torah-based insights on Jew-hatred (particularly terrorism in Eretz Yisrael).

As he passed away in 2001, these explanations are from years ago. But they remain just as applicable today. (Unfortunately, the situation hasn't changed much.)

He is not making up anything. His is the traditional Torah view.

At the same time, please keep in mind how much Rav Miller's writings & lectures brim with ideas on how to serve Hashem with joy and how to work on ourselves via humor & baby steps.

So here's Rav Avigdor Miller on the fundamental way to view and respond to terror against Jews in Eretz Yisrael today:
Could we think Hakodosh Boruch Hu will be silent when He sees that the reshaim are trying to wipe out the Torah in the Eretz Yisroel?

The answer is, He’s not silent.  That’s why there are terrorists. 

It’s a big mistake to read the newspapers and think that it’s the result of them not wanting the peace treaty or because they want to have the Jews out of Eretz Yisroel. 

No. 

The terrorists are sent by Hakodosh Boruch Hu as a puraniyos on the Labor Party, on the apikorsim, on those who are trying to teach Jewish children immorality and atheism in the Israeli public schools.


https://torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-when-hashem-is-not-silent/


And:
But I have to tell you something. People don’t realize this, but why did this uprising happen right now?

Just before this uprising began, Barak came out with a statement and it was in all the headlines.

He said that he’s going to do everything in his power to change Eretz Yisroel into a secular medinah. What it was up till now, I don’t know.

But he said that he wants to make it, that religion should have no connection to the Medinah at all.

Do you hear this statement from the Prime Minister of the State of Israel?!

He wants that the Am Yisroel in Eretz Yisroel should be a completely secular nation – a nation without any Torah at all.

And he said this openly.

It was all the headlines. And the New York Times was very happy about it. They wrote these headlines with excitement.

But our people were very disturbed.

People protested against such a thing. People wrote letters. I sent him a letter.

And then, just now, immediately after Barak announces his plans, the Intafada erupts.

That’s why they’re suffering through this now. Because they made a public declaration that they’re going to rebel against Hakodosh Boruch Hu and that the Torah will play no role at all in our nation.

That’s what he said, that the Torah will play no role in the life of our nation. We are a secular nation and the Toras Hashem will play no role.

So Hakodosh Boruch Hu said, “I’m going to give you a lesson about my role.”

And now people are crying out to Hashem. “Please help us Hashem.”

And even some choifshim are beginning to think, “Maybe we should also cry out to Hashem.”

​And this is midah ki’neged midah.


https://torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-terror-in-eretz-yisroel/


And:
Everything that’s taking place in Eretz Yisroel, you should know, is done by Hakodosh Boruch Hu – not by Arabs. 

Arabs are not killing anybody – Hashem is killing.  No question about that.  


Why is He doing it? 

Because the Jews in Eretz Yisrael are going m’dechi el dechi.  


Here they passed a law decriminalizing homosxuality.  It’s kosher now to be a homosxual in Eretz Yisroel. 

Hakodosh Boruch Hu says, “That’s a toevah.  If that’s what Eretz Yisroel is going to be, I’ll take steps.”
​

They passed a law now that you could import treifeh meat now. 

For the first time since the history of the medina you could import treifeh meat in Eretz Yisroel. 

Hakodosh Boruch Hu says, “I’ll show you.  I’ll show you.”
​

And now Tel Aviv has become a place of hefkeirus.  All kinds of wickedness in Tel Aviv.

Hashem says,  “I made Eretz Yisroel for Tel Aviv?!” 

The Israelis, some of them, are so terrible, they’re even worse than goyim in some places.  
​

Why are women in the Israeli army?  You know why they’re there? 

So a man wrote a book about the IDF, the Israeli Defense Force; not a frumme. He said, “The purpose of women is not for fighting.” 

You hear that? The purpose of women in the Israeli army is not for fighting, not for defense. 

You understand that? You understand what that means?  
​

And this great wickedness happened before America had female soldiers. 

America is now no good either. But Israel led the way with this abomination.
​

And therefore, Hakodosh Boruch Hu says, “Pay attention.  הֲיֹסֵר גּוֹיִם הֲלֹא יוֹכִיחַ – The one who is bringing upon the nations adversity, isn’t He showing something? He’s showing something! הַמְלַמֵּד אָדָם דָּעַת – Isn’t He teaching wisdom (Tehillim 94:10)? 

So it’s up to us to understand that we’re being taught. 

We’re getting messages from Hashem.
​

Of course we have to fight back.  Of course, we have to defend ourselves. 

Of course we have to look for ways and means of stopping the terror. 

And yet, fundamentally we have to understand it’s Hashem and the purpose is to teach us that something is very wrong in Eretz Yisroel today – very wrong!  


​In the schools, they teach atheism.

In the schools in Eretz Yisroel they teach Jewish boys and girls atheism!

Children should be taught there’s a Boirei, a Creator. In every school, even not a religious school.

But no, in all the Israeli schools they’re being taught atheism.  
​

So what does Hakodosh Boruch Hu say? “You’re forgetting about Me? I’ll remind you.”
​

https://torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-investigating-terror-attacks/


And:
Why are many who were killed frum people?

I must explain something here. 

It’s a fundamental principle that Hakodosh Boruch Hu conceals His hand.

He doesn’t want to show that it’s a neis.  


Now suppose only reshaim would be killed; suppose only mechalelei Shabbos and oichlei treifos would be killed.

Then everybody would do teshuva.

Let’s say a man who walked in the street on Shabbos and lit a cigarette, he would fall dead right away; so nobody would smoke on Shabbos. Even the Puerto Ricans would make teshuva. The Mirrer Yeshiva would be filled with Puerto Ricans.
​

So Hakodosh Boruch Hu conceals it. 

In order to leave room for bechira, for free choice, He makes it look camouflaged; so you shouldn’t see His open hand. 

And that’s what it says, כיון שניתן רשות למשחית – when a mashchis has power, שוב אינו מבחין בין צדיק לרשע – he makes no distinction between a tzaddik and a rasha.  
​

Like it says in Mitzrayim; when the malach came to destroy the firstborn in Mitzrayim, אתם לא תצאו איש מפתח ביתו עד בוקר – you shouldn’t walk out in the streets. 

Why not?  We didn’t do anything wrong.  Egyptians oppressed us – why should we be afraid to walk in the streets? 

The answer is no.  Once the mashchis is loose, then he makes no distinction.  

And therefore, Hakodosh Boruch Hu doesn’t make any distinctions. 

People should know that once there’s a tzara, the tzara comes upon the tzaddikim and the reshaim equally – that’s a fundamental principle of how Hashem guides the world in order to leave room for free will; so His hand shouldn’t be so evident.


TAPE # 942 (November 1993)


torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-investigating-terror-attacks/

And:
Look, I’m not saying that the message is that we should therefore walk across the border with outstretched arms to embrace the Arabs and make peace – because most likely they’ll greet us with gunfire.
​

But there is a message from Hashem that we have things to fix inside of Eretz Yisroel. A lot of things. 

Maybe, for instance, we have to start pressing for the observance of Shabbos in the Land of Israel.

The Torah says, “Michalileha mos yumos” – those who profane the Shabbos will be put to death. The Torah says that.

And the Gemara says “Af al pi she’batlu Sanhedrin,” although we do not have a Sanhedrin to execute sinners today, “din arbah misos lo batlu,” the judgement will still be carried out.

So maybe when men fall at the border, or when a hand grenade is thrown into a bus, or when people are gunned down in Tel- Aviv, maybe we should think, maybe we should suspect – and it’s a reasonable suspicion – that maybe Hakodosh Boruch Hu is carrying out what He said He would do.

If buses publicly travel on Shabbos and if the Ministry of Labor is giving out permits to so many factories to allow them to open on Shabbos – so many factories are open in Eretz Yisroel on Shabbos!

A lot of factories, with the explicit permission of the government. In the Land of Israel, it is now accepted to profane the Shabbos!

We should think about this!

* * *
They’re destroying Jewish souls!

So maybe, if you’re destroying Jewish souls, that’s why Jewish bodies are being destroyed.

It’s really not hard, not difficult at all, to look for reasons for why things are happening.

Of course, if you don’t have ears, so you say, “Well, this is nothing. Every new state has troubles. Growing pains. They have battles in the beginning. For the first hundred years they have to battle.”

But the truth is that it’ll never get better.

And it will get worse and worse.

So there are plenty of messages being sent by Hakodosh Boruch Hu that we have to listen to.


https://torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-the-message-from-the-terrorist/

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True Jewish Heroism & Accomplishment: A False Example & a True Example

6/3/2022

 
Last week, I wanted to write a post about how the Prime Minister of the Ukraine revealed his true character, but felt such fury & resentment, I decided to push it off.

(In general, I try not to blog when feeling livid or depressed because it's like emotionally vomiting on the readers. Occasionally, there's a place for blogging while steeped in negative emotion. But usually, it's not such a great idea.)

Also, I decided to add a compelling positive example at the end of this post.

​So here it goes...

Here are Some Facts

In & of itself, it completely lacks integrity to demand that little Israel join the Ukraine against the massive Russian bear.

Israel remains smaller than the American state of New Jersey while Russia is massive.

(The Ukraine is almost as big as the state of Texas. Why do they need our help?)

The number of soldiers and military equipment available within Israel is miniscule compared to Russia.

Furthermore, it is in Israel's best interests (politically, economically, practically, and FOR THE SAKE OF THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF JEWS STILL LIVING IN RUSSIA) to maintain cordial relations with Russia.

​Imagine the impact on Jews across Russia if little Israel openly sided with the Ukraine AND supplied them with weapons to kill & maim Russian soldiers.

Imagine how Russian society and the Russian government would treat Russian Jews if Israel did such a thing.

Imagine how Russia-sympathizers within the Ukraine would treat Ukrainian Jews.

Yet that is exactly what the Ukrainian Prime Minister keeps demanding Israel do!

​Also, in case this "Jewish" Prime Minister hasn't noticed, Israeli already sits surrounded by several enemy/cold peace countries, both large & small, plus suffers fifth-column terror from within.

But hey, sure, keep demanding that Israel offers financial, military, and political support it cannot afford. Right?

Wrong. Dead wrong.

To add flames to the fire, the Ukrainian Prime Minister insists on making Holocaust comparisons — inaccurate & manipulative comparisons.

If he weren't considered Jewish, he would have already been called out on this and criticized for trivializing the Holocaust.

And to emphasize how this conflict is not Evil Russia against Saintly Ukraine: This same Ukrainian Prime Minister recently shut down oppositional TV stations and imprisoned oppositional leaders. (This is somewhat dictatorial, is it not?)

Furthermore, the Ukrainians have problems with themselves.

For example, in 2014, Ukrainians killed each other in the Maidan Uprising to the tune of 130 dead.

And the Ukraine never stopped suffering from government corruption, corruption in the educational system & justice system, an unstable financial system, neo-Nazi resurgence, and so on. 

Sort of like Russia and whole lot of other countries around the world.

In other words...what's the difference?

And not even all Ukrainians are united in this current war. A sizeable number of Russia-sympathizers exist.

Just to be clear: I'm NOT pro-Russian nor pro-Ukraine nor pro-war.

In fact, I think this war is a big tragedy.

Every human being is made in God's Image and must try to live up to that image...all the more so, not kill or hurt anyone in any way.

At the same time, I see no reason why anyone in the world should take sides in this Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Taking sides can even make things worse for everyone (including the people meant to be supported).

In fact, this is not the first time Russia & the Ukraine have battled. They did so in 2016 and the world didn't make a big deal about it. So why now?

If you'd like to read an objective summary of recent Ukrainian history that has not been turned into pro-Ukrainian anti-Russian propaganda (as all information suddenly has), please see here:
www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL33460.html

Also, here's an intelligent article explaining different factions in the Ukraine:
https://hamodia.com/prime/did-anyone-ask-the-ukrainians/
​
Finally, I feel like the world has slipped into a parallel dimension every time I read about the Ukrainians as poor innocent victims.

For most of my life, I heard how the Ukrainians were worse than the Nazis.

And now I keep reading how they're heroic innocent victims in dire need of Jewish support.

And I'm like, Huh??? When did THAT happen?

And yes, I realize righteous gentiles exist in both Russia and the Ukraine.

And yes, I realize that Jews have thrived both as residents and tourists in the Ukraine in recent years. Sure, today's Ukrainians seem a lot nicer than those of our grandparents generation (although even then, righteous gentiles existed).

But this is not our fight. It's not our war.

And for the reasons described both in this post and previous posts, the supposedly "Jewish" Prime Minister of the Ukraine is now mud by me.

(Previous posts: www.myrtlerising.com/blog/keeping-our-heads-straight-by-getting-the-facts-straight & www.myrtlerising.com/blog/why-are-people-especially-jews-taking-sides)

His eagerness to endanger hundreds of thousands (even millions, if you count Jews living in Eretz Yisrael) of Jewish lives & well-being all for the sake of maintaining his position, power, and kavod?

That crosses every line of integrity.

He continues to display a disturbing lack of bushah, chessed, and compassion.

And we know what that means.

And I totally stand against any portrayal of him in any Jewish media as a really cool Jewish guy with really cool accomplishments of whom we can be proud.

He consistently acts according to the traits of a mumar and Erev Rav.

How on earth does that make him "accomplished" or admirable according to authentic Jewish standards?

(And frankly, I'm sick of reading about him proclaiming, "Glory to our defenders! Glory to the Ukraine! Glory to our heroes!" Actually, I only read that twice, but I got sick of it after the first time. What about "Glory to God"?)

A True Jewish Hero

But I promised to end with a positive example...

Miriam Cohen's Behind the Walls, Appendix A, page 331 describes a fortress in southern Belgium, which officially served as a government shelter for the children of parents serving on the battlefront of World War II.

It was like temporary foster care in a group home.

Surreptitiously, this facility also hid 87 Jewish children from the Nazis.

And even more secretly, this facility also hid "enemy" soldiers from the Nazis—mostly non-Jewish.

Yet one Jewish soldier (it doesn't say from what army) fled from a camp (presumably a POW camp) to hide in that fortress too.

Someone informed on the hiding soldiers to the Nazis, which sparked the arrival of German stormtroopers to search the fortress.

They found the Jewish soldier.

Assuming this was all they needed to do, the Nazis prepared to leave with the Jewish soldier.

But before they left, the housemother Sister Marie, managed to make a secret request of the Jewish soldier:

"Please do not try to run away from them again," she said, "for they will always come here to search for you, and then the lives of the Jewish children will be in danger."

This request demanded superhuman self-sacrifice from the Jewish soldier.

Foreign Jewish soldiers in Nazi POW camps were treated cruelly. And this request came during a continent-wide genocide of Jews.

It does not say whether this soldier was religious at all.

Yet one of those 87 hidden children met this same Jewish soldier after the war.

And this Jewish soldier described how he traveled under the guard of an elderly German soldier, from whom the Jewish soldier could have easily escaped.

Yet the Jewish soldier kept hearing the warning of Sister Marie in his head. Even though he knew the torment to which he was returning, he refused to endanger the 87 Jewish children hiding in the fortress.

He refused to escape.

And THIS is the authentic Jewish attitude toward our fellow Jews.

It's this behavior we should admire, emulate, and see as "accomplished" and really cool.

(And it's mind-boggling and awe-inspiring how he actually managed to restrain himself on their behalf. I do not know how much he suffered by returning to the camp.)

After all, all 87 Jewish children survived—and this Jewish soldier deserves credit for his part in their survival by endangering his own life so as not to endanger theirs. 

How different is this lone unnamed Jewish soldier from the current man who attempts to endanger hundreds of thousands of Jews with his demands and the resultant acts of Jew-hatred that could be unleashed on the Jewish world (chas v'shalom) if Israel or the Jewish community would acquiesce to his callous demands.

The above shows why it's so important to live up to Torah standards and not the vacillating standards of media presentations.
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Please daven for our brothers & sisters, including those named in this post:
www.myrtlerising.com/blog/please-daven-for-these-jews-running-for-their-lives
​

Please donate to the well-being of our brothers & sisters in danger:
Ukraine Relief Fund - Agudath Israel of America
​
https://agudah.org/ukraine-relief-fund/
Evacuations using hundreds of buses have already have been & continue to be carried out.


Keeping Our Heads Straight by Getting the Facts Straight

1/3/2022

 
Just wanted to say some words about the Prime Minister of the Ukraine & what's going on...

(As usual in our times, well-meaning people get excited about the wrong things, and getting the facts straight straightens out our hashkafot too).

First of all:
​
  • The guy lacks any meaningful connection with Judaism.

He's not interested.

Yes, he himself blames that on his Communist-influenced secular upbringing.

But free choice exists.

So many Russian Jews with his same upbringing (or even worse!) made the choice to learn more & commit more to their Jewish soul-needs.

In fact, I personally know Ukrainian Jews who became frum.

​(One Ukrainian Jewish woman credited the Ukrainian summer camps run by Karliner chassidim for her decision to become frum. Did you know Karlin chassidus was active in Soviet kiruv? I did not. Like most everyone else, I thought only Chabad was doing everything there. But it's nice to know about the Karliners too. Yashar koach to them & their fantastic summer camps for Ukrainian Jewish children!)

In other words, the options existed and Zelensky never took advantage.

Which brings us to our next issue...

  • The guy is married to a non-Jew.

There are other rumors about the extent of his meshumadness, but I couldn't find verifiable information except about his wife not being Jewish.

Many Jews today, including frum Jews, hold an open mind regarding intermarried Jews. It's so common and so understandable (heck, I'd have married a non-Jew myself had I not turned to Torah)...so nobody wants to condemn an intermarried Jew.

And certainly, we should not be mean to people or insult them over transgressions, especially people who've no inkling of the magnitude of sin they've unwittingly committed.

Warmth, encouragement, patience, education...this is the way to deal with most Jewish transgressors (whether they're frum or not).

On the other hand, the sin of intermarriage is particularly horrible and damaging, whether the intermarried Jew perceives it or not.

And personal observation proves that an intermarried Jew RARELY divorces the non-Jewish spouse to do teshuvah.

In a tiny minority of cases, the non-Jewish spouse converts, but only the truly special ones perform a sincere conversion.

You see by their refusal to conform to even the basic halacha after the conversion, that these conversions deriving from convenience or pressure lack sincerity (including those performed by the type of Orthodox rabbi who, wittingly or unwittingly, is lax himself in holding up the non-Jewish spouse to the correct standards).

In the vast majority of cases, intermarried Jews really are lost to the Jewish people.

You don't always see that right away, but especially with the men and their non-Jewish children...it's all over.

It's one of the big tragedies of our times.

​And this is exactly the case with Zelensky.

According to Rav Avigdor Miller, both his lack of shemirat Shabbat and his non-Jewish spouse prevent him from being considered our brother (according to the Gemara, which states "a brother in mitzvot").
  • https://torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-the-poor-apikores/
  • https://torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-loving-those-hashem-loves/

A Jewish Prime Minister of the Ukraine is One of the Worst Possibilities for Jews

Apparently, the Chief Rabbi of Dnipier in the Ukraine expressed fear that the election of a Jewish Prime Minister would result in terrible Jew-hatred once Zelensky's popularity dropped (as often happens with politicians).

Even a perceived mistake or plan-gone-wrong could ignite the embers of Ukrainian Jew-hatred—that was my fear too ever since I heard about his election.

Furthermore, it could also ignite Jew-hatred on the Russian side.

However things play out, Jew-hatred can fan out on one side or the other (God forbid!)  simply because one of the main players is a Jew.

Basically, it's a no-win situation as far as Jew-hatred goes and I'm upset Zelensky insisted on going for the position of Prime Minister in the first place.

And I find it bizarre that anyone is taking sides because Russia and the Ukraine are mostly just two sides of the same coin.

Does it really matter whether corrupt Ukrainian officials or corrupt Russian officials are running the Ukraine?

And while Ukrainians have generally been pretty cool about religious Jewish & Israeli tourism, that's no indication of how they really feel because, hey, money talks! They're making tons off of Jewish & Israeli tourism.

Jewish blood soaks the pages of both Ukrainian and Russian history.

Having a Jewish Prime Minister in this battle is probably going to turn out very, very badly (Hashem yerachem).

Can We Please Stop Pretending that Non-Jews are Jews with Regard to Soviet Immigration? When Will This Willful Ignorance Finally Stop?

While I very much daven for all the authentic Jews to come and settle safely in Eretz Yisrael, all these numbers proclaimed as representing Ukrainian Jewry are false.

A percentage are not Jewish at all. What percentage? N̶o̶t̶ ̶s̶u̶r̶e̶.

(Update: Only 25%. See here: https://hamodia.com/2022/02/14/israel-has-secret-plan-to-rescue-ukrainian-jews-in-event-of-invasion/—H/T Yaak.)

There are so many non-Jewish spouses and non-Jewish children in the Ukraine. The Jerusalem Pest once did an article on Ukrainian Jews wanting to immigrate and for some reason, the Pest interviewed the non-Jewish wife of a Jew for her thoughts. She said she very much wanted to come to Eretz Yisrael with her non-Jewish children and, oddly, she gave the impression that she deserved to—like it's her right and Israel owes her & her children or something.

And people like her will come and grant more power to Lieberman and his minions.

They will damage & fragment Israeli society even more—not because they're bad people (although some certainly are), but they will simply wish to live their secular or Christian gentile lives in this country without respect or consideration of Jewish Law.

But I'm definitely very concerned about the actual Jews in the Ukraine, especially the elderly Holocaust survivors and the children. I know the Holocaust survivors are especially terrorized by what's going on right now...and that hurts.

Erev Rav Attitude

As stated above, Zelensky's decisions prevent him from being considered & treated like a brother by his fellow Jews.

And it's hard to believe he doesn't realize the potential fallout his rule could eventually have on his fellow Jews in the Ukraine. Or in Russia, depending on how the tide turns.

I think he doesn't care about the consequences. Or maybe it's a form of overconfidence, like "That won't happen to ME!".

Another aspect that misleads Jews regarding Zelensky is his seeming pro-Israel stance, his visit to the Kotel, and his telephone call to the rabbi of Kiev to pray for them.

First of all, like a lot of other mumar Jews, he likes the SECULAR aspects of Medinat Yisrael and he likes knowing the Medinah is there for him as a glorified bug-out location.

Secondly, a classic aspect of Erev Rav is using Jewish ritual as a lucky charm.

This post explains the idea in detail:
Why the Erev Rav CAN'T Change Themselves
http://www.myrtlerising.com/blog/the-kli-yakar-parshat-masei
:
But the Erev Rav, whose source derives from Egypt, didn’t go out according to the word of Hashem, but according the opinion of Moshe.

See that? From the get-go, the Erev Rav were dependent on a person.

They ignored Hashem and Hashem's Power (and also the fact that Moshe Rabbeinu could not bring them without Hashem allowing it!).

But they never really wanted to join Am Yisrael.

They were always looking back, yearning for their impure origins:
​And it’s said about the Erev Rav: “And these are their journeys to their origins”--because they always had a desire and a will to return to Egypt, to their source.

Or this from the Kli Yakar on Parshat Ki Tisa (Shemot 32:1):
The Erev Rav feared that if Moshe won't come, then Hashem will command them to be driven out from the community...

Therefore, they thought up a scheme to request another leader in place of Moshe..."We did not know what he had, for surely he had the image of some star, and he was a leader and performed miracles with its power."

[The Erev Rav speaking to Aharon HaKohen]: "And you, his brother, know without a doubt what that item was. Therefore, we want that you shall make for us some image that will be an intermediary between us and between the stars..."

The Kli Yakar also quotes Sanhedrin 63a:
"They lusted after many gods."

So you can see how confused and contradictory they are while being incredibly smug & confident at the same time.

In a nutshell, they don't disregard the power of Judaism or the existence of God.


They simply do not consider it the only gig in town.

As the Kli Yakar explains, they considered Elokai Yisrael the biggest bully on the block and ran after Moshe Rabbeinu...while looking back toward Egypt the entire time.

Following the biggest bully on the block (in their eyes).

Seeking the most effective "lucky charm." (Initially, they were convinced Moshe Rabbeinu used some kind of star image to accomplish all the miracles; they could not conceive such powerful miracles from holiness and, well...GOD.)

Shifting loyalties.

No real grasp of Who is in charge.

No ability to cultivate an emunah attitude.

They relate to Judaism that way because that is how they honestly perceive even the deepest & most powerful aspects of Torah Judaism: shallow, superficial, a kinda cool yet fake "show," full of more-effective-than-usual lucky charms & superstitions...


​I saw this in real-time with a BT psychopath.

I could never understand why the person became frum until I saw that: 

(1) This person was not frum on the inside at all. This person did a lot of forbidden stuff with no feelings of contradiction. It's not hard to go through the motions externally when people are looking. (Or to lie to people when spotted.)

(2) Despite lots of lashon hara (and some bad experiences) to the contrary, most frum people are nicer, more readily give you the benefit of the doubt, are more generous, and more forgiving than any other group. Psychopaths can find that pretty comfortable as long as they're willing to wear a frum disguise themselves.

(3) This person believed in Judaism in a superstitious-lucky-charm manner. Tehillim, for example, was more of a lucky charm rather than a way to connect with Hashem or elevate oneself. But when it didn't "work," the person dropped it completely.

It really came to fore when this person experienced a difficulty and responded by calling all friends & acquaintances to insist they forgive this person if they ever imagined this person had wronged them.

Yes. "Imagined."

And this person attributed the difficulty to people holding grudges (for no good reason, of course), which is why this person insisted people offer their forgiveness.

Just like that.

It was so incredibly superficial and superstitious—not at all like how spiritual physics really work.


One person tried to call the psychopath's bluff by saying "What's this 'if' stuff? You KNOW you hurt people."

But the psychopath responded by explaining the yetzer hara is playing tricks and causing one to "imagine" the psychopath had ever done anything wrong.


(This came after this psychopath had knowingly caused widespread financial and emotional damage to many people over the course of several years. "Imagined," eh?)

And then the psychopath continued to pressure the person to "forgive."

I found it bizarre.

I found it bizarre until I realized the psychopath had no concept of these fundamental Jewish concepts & merely viewed Judaism as a "lucky" rabbit's foot.

It's like how squabbling frum children will say, "If you won't be my friend, then you have an aveira! All I need to do is tell you slicha three times, and then the aveira's on you! Slicha, slicha, slicha—still don't forgive me? Aveira's on you! So there!"

Obviously, each request for forgiveness must be sincere and, when necessary, accompanied by appeasement. And the 3 times should be spread out to allow the hurt person time to heal.

But the psychopath simply craved a quick end to the difficulty.

So when the rabbi said to seek out and make amends with people who may have been hurt, the psychopath/Erev Rav could not do so in a real way, but only in the way an immature, petty, ignorant child would.

So an assimilated mumar Jew calling a rabbi for prayers or visiting the Kotel does NOT automatically mean he feels any connection to Judaism or even respects Judaism.

Sure, it COULD mean that. It could be a pinteleh Yid.

But it doesn't HAVE to mean that.

And here, I really don't see any indication that it does mean anything more than that.

Final Points

To sum up:

  • I think there is a very disturbing situation going on between Russia and Ukraine—and I think the potential for some very bad fallout is very real.
 
  • I think we need to keep our minds clear and focus on our real values (rather than getting caught up in various narratives—including those by some frum websites and articles).
 
  • If you're Jewish, Russia is not your buddy.
 
  • If you're Jewish, the Ukraine is not your buddy.
 
  • We need to focus on helping REAL Jews.
 
  • We need to focus on our own personal unique self-improvement.
 
  • We need to daven.

To donate to help Ukrainian Jews:
Ukraine Relief Fund - Agudath Israel of America
https://agudah.org/ukraine-relief-fund/


Please say Tehillim 130, 142 and 121.
https://hamodia.com/2022/02/28/moetzes-gedolei-hatorah-releases-kol-korei-on-the-situation-in-ukraine/

Please read this article:
https://aish.com/zhidovka-a-jew-in-ukraine/

Please watch this 10-minute talk by Rabbi Daniel Travis:
Rav Moshe Sternbuch Speaks on The Russian Invasion
www.torahanytime.com/#/lectures?v=178998


Follow-Up Post:

www.myrtlerising.com/blog/why-are-people-especially-jews-taking-sides
www.myrtlerising.com/blog/true-jewish-heroism-accomplishment-a-false-example-a-true-example
​

www.myrtlerising.com/blog/some-cold-hard-facts-to-push-against-the-popular-yet-false-narrative-promoted-in-the-mainstream-media-which-unfortunately-influenced-the-frum-media-too
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Why You Need to Acknowledge the Sincerity behind Personality Disorders & the Erev Rav

6/2/2022

 
Because of the short-cut language we use when speaking about consistently dysfunctional people, whether we identify them as personality disordered or Erev Rav, the terminology implies an awareness on their part, which doesn't usually exist (or doesn't exist to that extreme).

Psychopaths generally mean to do what they do.

But most other people don't.

For example, a narcissist doesn't think, "Oh-ho, I will now engage in my beloved activity of triangulation!"

No, they simply feel victimized in some way, and naturally turn to others in a way that plays one person against the other.

They seek to feel supported & protected.

The fact that an innocent person gets badly hurt along the way doesn't register with them.

After all, the narcissist considers himself the victim and, in the narcissist mind, the person getting hurt either deserves it (if the narcissist feels victimized by that person) or is simply an unavoidable casualty (which again, is not the narcissist's fault in the narcissistic mind because he views it as an unavoidable casualty—and "Hey, what did you expect, that I would sacrifice myself to avoid harming such an insignificant person? Anyway, if you really cared about me, you wouldn't mind sacrificing in yourself for me.").

I used the example of a narcissist, but it applies to any personality disorder.

Same thing when a personality-disordered person slanders another.

Again, they felt victimized in some way.

They believe they are simply protecting themselves, perhaps even protecting others by warning them, or they justify their slander as emanating from irrepressible pain that must find a release.

If they genuinely mean to take you down via slander, it still emanates from the perception of themselves as victim and you as persecutor. So once again, they believe you deserve it; they see it as the best & most effective way to defend themselves.

They believe their slander to be true...or close enough to the truth to be true ("That's how I feel"), or they believe the lies & exaggerations popping out of their mouth because those justifications sound & feel so good...so they must be true, right?

​Or, even if they know they twisted the truth, they feel it advances an important agenda, so the ends justifies the means...and that's also a kind of "truth" (to the disordered mind).

Those are just a couple of examples.

And the above is why a PD (personality disorder) can be so shocked, hurt, outraged, and vengeful when confronted with the truth of their motivations, beliefs, and actions—and also how badly they've hurt others, plus the destruction that results from their behaviors.

Most experts addressing personality disorders speak as if the PD knows and plots every step of their behavior.

(I speak/write like this too sometimes. It's a short-cut to describe the behaviors. But really, I think it's a bit misleading, so I'm trying to be more careful. On the other hand, some people really do believe PDs are wholly aware of every step they take. But that's not true.)

For example, they say:
​"This narcissist can't handle being wrong, so she engages in twisty arguments to manipulate the discussion."

But the narcissist probably thinks she's right!

​And she doesn't consider her arguments twisty nor does she consider her methods manipulative; she thinks she's being clever and self-protective. She believes what she's saying and genuinely thinks YOU are being mean.

Having said that, sometimes they do knowingly engage in hurtful argumentative tactics. And again, they do that because they think YOU deserve it.

They consider you pathetic, bad, or stupid and feel justified in playing mind games during a discussion.

They consider themselves cute, clever, or funny.

So if you get angry or hurt, they consider you oversensitive. (Or manipulative.)

Why?

Because you were the whole problem in the first place! Why are you bothering them by being pathetic, bad or stupid?

YOU are pathetic, bad, or stupid. THEY are cute, clever, funny...and the real victim here.

So why are YOU getting upset?

You have no right!

That's how they honestly see things.

And as long as you don't realize how sincere they are in their disordered thinking, it's hard to deal with them and also to identify them. You can also be used by them to hurt others when they rope you into "helping" them in their pain (which feels very real to them).

So to sum up:

  • The knowingly evil Voldemorts tend to be psychopaths.
 
  • The other dysfunctional people tend to be sincere in their disordered, dysfunctional, unhealthy way of thinking.

​And the same is also true for the Erev Rav.

Erev Rav Sincerity

Note: All quotes from Rav Itamar Schwartz are from here:
​https://bilvavi.net/files/Bilvavi.Erev.Rav.Talks.pdf

Since their inception, the Erev Rav lacked a conscious intent to destroy Am Yisrael.

They simply wanted the best of both worlds.

And THAT leads to destruction because, at their intrinsic root, the holy world and the profane world remain at odds with each other.
​
(The group with the conscious intent to destroy Am Yisrael both physically and at its soul-root is Amalek. And yes, Amalekite Erev Rav exist.)

To oversimplify, the Erev Rav followed Am Yisrael out of Egypt because they viewed Hashem as the biggest bully on the block, and they felt more secure aligning themselves with the most powerful entity.

Yet they were always looking back to see whether maybe the Egyptians would be the winners.

And despite all the palpable pure spirituality around, they constantly longed for their impure spirituality and materialism.

All the damage they committed (like the Golden Calf) resulted from a desire to protect their own interests.

They genuinely felt fear or anxiety or distress. Their motivation wasn't manipulation; that's how they honestly felt.

In other words, they believed in what they were doing.

And real Jews got swept up with them...because of the Erev Rav sincerity.

And it happens nowadays too.

​Here's Rav Itamar Schwartz (page 40):
In fact, those people [who are pushing for the draft] might not even be aware that the ‘Sitra Achara’ is controlling them, and they might even be earnest in their intentions.

Some of them actually are earnest, and they aren’t trying to be wicked.

​They simply don’t understand what they are doing to us.

But this is only concerning a certain amount of them.

The rest of them simply have wicked intentions.

And even those in the government who have earnest intentions to help us are accomplishing the same purpose as the totally wicked members, in spite of the fact that they don’t realize what they are doing: they are coming to uproot all of the Torah!!

And why are they trying to uproot the Torah?

Because they honestly view it as holding themselves and others back.

But WHY do they feel that way?

The Torah contains such amazing inspiration, guidance, and is the only way for a human being to achieve truly great heights of holiness & morality.

​Why is the Erev Rav view SO distorted?

Erev Rav Lack the Ability to Understand. Understand This Well!

Here's the answer on page 35:
They do not understand, and they can never understand, what Torah is.

They cannot understand what mitzvos are.

​They cannot understand the nature of the true bond that is between the Jewish people and Hashem.

This is why, by the way, the charedi rabbanim responded with such uncompromising opposition to the Erev Rav when they first invented & utilized the Zionist movement.

To regular Jews, the rabbanim DID explain their positions.

But when dealing with the secular Leftist anti-Torah Communist Erev Rav leaders, the rabbanim went just BAM! Full-speed opposition ahead.

Even nowadays, you can see there's no talking to them or explaining to them why this-and-such is important.

They CANNOT understand. It's simply impossible.

And that's sincere on their part!

They have NO ability to comprehend or relate to:
  • the essence of Torah
  • the essence of mitzvot
  • the bond between Hashem and Am Yisrael

The potential simply is NOT there.

Here's an analogy:

​Try and describe countries and their political systems to a toddler.

He can't see it!

What's a country? What's a political party? What's a budget? What's debt?

Yet would you allow the one-year-old to make policies?

If the toddler is screaming for his toy and his lollipop, would you say, "If you stop screaming, I'll let you decide the boundary of France! And you can also decide the fiscal policy for the coming year! Wouldn't you like that, shaifeleh?"

Or would you just ignore the screaming toddler (maybe just stick a lollipop in his mouth) and continue running the country to the best of your ability?

The Erev Rav Leaders of Today

Here's more explanation from Rav Itamar Schwartz (page 34):
The Vilna Gaon writes that in the final generations, the Erev Rav are the “heads of the Jewish people, who are the ‘leaders’, and they have control over the “sons of Leah and Rachel.”

They are also called ‘sapachas’ by Chazal – a kind of leprosy that forms over the skin, embedded into the skin and atop it, but not a part of it.

They came with us when we left Egypt and added themselves onto our nation, but they are not a part of our nation; thus they are called a sapachas\leprosy - a layer added onto the skin, which is not an actual part of the skin.

In the later generations, and especially in our current generation, the Erev Rav are wicked souls who lead the Jewish people towards evil.

Their agenda is to lead the Jewish people astray from Torah, from all holiness, from emunah, and from mitzvos.

It doesn’t matter if he [a member of Erev Rav] wears a kippah or if he doesn’t have a kippah; whether he has a beard or whether he doesn’t have a beard.

This is the exile we are in.

The exile we are currently in is the exile of the Erev Rav - who exercise ‘control’ over the Jewish people.

The ‘heads of the Erev Rav’ are the souls of Amalek; Chazal say that the Erev Rav is made up of five kinds of people, and at the head of all of them is Amalek.

This has been true about our current exile ever since it has begun, but it has particular relevance to today’s times.

We must understand the situation that we are found in.

​The exile we are in today is being headed by people who look like Jews - and they look like they are a part of the Jewish people.

So we see from here the actual main leaders of the Erev Rav are the Amalek Erev Rav who actively plot to destroy the Torah and Am Yisrael.

But the other types of Erev Rav (Nefilim, Gibburim, Refaim, Anakim) cause extreme damage because they can NEVER relate to Torah or the relationship between Hashem & His People.

It doesn't mean anything to them; they cannot wrap their head around it.

They have their own agendas & it genuinely bothers them when the Torah interferes.

So what do WE do?

Focus on 2 Aspects

We need to do 2 things:
  • Sur m'ra—Turn from evil
  • Aseh tov—Do good.

Learing halacha and mussar help so much with turning from evil and doing good.

How else can you know what is good or bad unless you learn it?

Learning the halachot of how to treat people (giving the benefit of the doubt, acting with compassion, guarding one's tongue, etc.) provide you with the tools to avoid acting like a dysfunctional person.

Learning halacha and mussar also helps you to differentiate between the truly dysfunctional people and others who are basically good but flawed and struggling, so you know who to avoid and who to embrace.

Also, there is no need to water down Torah truths.

Darchei noam—ways of pleasantness? 

Yes! By all means!

Be pleasant! Try to avoid fights with others! Focus on the Torah's beauty!

But please also realize that if you're dealing with an Erev Rav, he or she CANNOT see the beauty no matter how much you point it out or water it down.

So there's no point.

They're utterly sincere in their attitudes, beliefs, and agendas.

And that sincerity often knocks real Jews off balance.

That's why it's important to know their sincerity makes them neither redeemable nor changeable...and not convincible either.

​And so...

Just YOU be strong within yourself.

Part of doing good is davening.

Davening for Erev Rav to do teshuvah (from the Komarna Rebbe) elevates the sparks, getting rid of the Erev Rav.

Davening protects you & others. Davening also enhances the growth of you & others.

Connect to Hashem in a deep & meaningful way for even only 1 minute a day...

May Hashem please bring the Geula swiftly with rachamim.

For more insights into the the workings of the Erev Rav mind & soul, plus the Amalekite influence:
  • http://question.bilvavi.net/what-to-do-about-the-erev-rav/
  • www.bilvavi.net/english/erev-rav-005-amalek-exposed
  • www.myrtlerising.com/blog/the-ultimate-way-to-do-teshuvah-wipe-out-amalek
  • how-to-identify-overcome-the-amalekite-conspiracy.html
  • www.myrtlerising.com/blog/whats-the-message-of-the-erev-rav-for-us-on-17-tammuz
  • www.myrtlerising.com/blog/the-erev-rav-strategy-following-the-biggest-bully
  • www.myrtlerising.com/blog/the-kli-yakar-parshat-masei: Why the Erev Rav CAN'T Change Themselves
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English translation from https://www.sefaria.org.il/Sanhedrin.97a?lang=bi

Insights into Jew-Hatred from Rav Wasserman's Epoch of the Mashiach & Ideas for How to Respond Practically

1/12/2021

 
The following explanation for Jew-hatred is taken from Epoch of the Messiah, a collection of essays written throughout the 1930s by the greatly loved & esteemed Torah Sage (and close disciple of the Chafetz Chaim) Rav Elchanan Bunim Wasserman.

He wrote this during the Holocaust, fully aware of everything happening & everything about to happen—no denial, no rose-colored glasses, no "that can't happen here"—just crystal-clear vision.

He & his yeshivah were murdered by Lithuanian Nazis in 1941.

So here is an excerpt of Epoch of the Mashiach, pages 28-29 (any boldface or underline are my own addition), written in Europe in the 1930s:
​The Holy Scriptures record only those prophecies which apply to all generations.

There is no record of such prophecies which were merely of temporary significance (Megillah 4).

Hence all that is recorded in Scriptures is of an eternal nature and has a bearing upon all times, including even our own.

Let us examine then the statement, "The Lord has commanded that Jacob be surrounded by enemies."

Periodic persecution and hostile treatment of Jacob are a necessary evil in the Divine scheme of things.

Whenever, in the course of history, the Jew loses consciousness of his heritage and mission in life, it becomes necessary that his enemies rouse him and restore him to the possession of his faculties.

The magnitude of his enemies and the severity of the methods they employ in awakening the Jew depend entirely on the intensity of the latter's lethargy.


An analogy may be found in the case of a man who is asleep in a burning house.

If he sleeps lightly a gentle nudge may suffice to make him aware of the danger.

However. if he has sunk into an extremely sound and deep slumber, it may be necessary to strike him hard in order to save his life.

Similarly, when the Jewish people are, on the whole, conscious of their Jewishness, anti-Semitism expresses itself in minor annoyances which suffice to prevent the Jew from his forgetting his destiny.

However, when the Jew completely ignores the covenant which G-d made with his ancestors and desires to live like other peoples of the earth, then hordes of beastly anti-Semites swoop down upon him with terrific force and fury, as is the case in our own day.


***
​
[Isaiah 42:24] This verse in Isaiah makes mention of two classes of sinners:

a) those who sin involuntarily, and
b) those who voluntarily rebel against the Lord -- "They would not walk in His ways."

Both of these classes are to be found among Jews today.

A great many of us are misguided by those wearing the mantle of leadership, and they sin through sheer ignorance.

Many others declare arrogantly to G-d, "Away! We will have nothing of Thee and Thy ways!"

This latter group organizes schools for the dissemination of the denial of Torah, where Jewish children are trained to declare, "We have no portion in the G-d of Israel."

It is this class that is referred to in the verse in Deuteronomy: "And G-d saw this and He was angry because of the provocations of His sons and daughters."

They are the true cause of all that besets us today.

The above stands as just one example of the classic Torah attitude toward Jew-hatred.

Rav Wasserman didn't make this up; it's found throughout Torah scholarship and, as noted above, the Prophets spoke of it with that attitude.

Having said that, a Jew certainly has the right to self-defense.

A Jew may also utilize the laws of the country & the ears of authorities to carry out derech-hateva efforts to curb violent Jew-hatred or acts of discrimination against Jews.

But to completely ignore the underlying reason for Jew-hatred?

Nope.

Ignoring the real reason only makes things worse.

So what should our response be?

Ideas for the Ideal Response

Basically, it's about falling in love with Judaism—falling in love all over again.

It's there within your neshamah.

If you feel pulled toward & energized by grand gestures, then that's well & good.

But what if you don't? Or what if you're already feeling swamped (whether practically or emotionally) or totally lethargic?

So as always, please PLEASE remember that BABY STEPS COUNT.

BABY STEPS MATTER.

Rav Avigdor Miller often provided ideas for baby steps.

(You can search on the Toras Avigdor website for his ideas.)

Say why you're doing it (to revive your commitment to Torah, your devotion to Hashem, etc.) and do whatever you'd like. 

​Here are some suggestions: 

  • You can bring Shabbat in a few minutes earlier or take it out a few minutes later.
​
  • You can write down or say 10 aspects of Judaism for which you are grateful.
​
  • You can take 1 moment on Shabbat to feel happy about the gift of Shabbat.
​
  • You can take 30 seconds to close your eyes & find an inner happiness of being a Jew.
 
  • Read one paragraph (or even just a sentence) from a book of mussar or Chassidus.
 
  • Learn one halacha of a subject like shemirat halashon, tsniyut, Shabbat, etc.

But let's say you're feeling emotionally dry...

It happens to the best of us. Literally. Rav Levi Yitzchak Bender spoke of times when talking to Hashem feels totally dry & devoid of any meaning. (He advised to keep doing it until the feeling came back, even if it takes days or weeks, because it's a rough patch, and not a negative reflection on you.)

You can make or buy an extra salad or dessert l'khvod Shabbat, and say, "Hashem, I'm just not feeling it, but I wanted to do something to let you know that despite everything, I really do care."

And yes, you can say this in a totally blah manner. It's still considered an effort in the right direction.

Also, you can just read this out loud with whatever emotion you can muster (and even if you can't muster any):
www.myrtlerising.com/blog/a-60-second-exercise-to-fulfill-your-main-purpose-in-life

Rav Dessler explains this at length in Michtav M'Eliyahu/Strive for Truth. Even if we don't achieve a high level in this lifetime, the bare fact of starting out on that path sets off an eternal chain reaction that continues to bring us to that level in the Next World.

Here's a summary of that process:
www.myrtlerising.com/blog/how-the-baby-steps-in-this-world-create-your-future-world-of-beautiful-pulsating-light

And here are more ideas on the topic:
  • how-1-little-baby-step-outside-yourself-can-make-all-the-difference.html
  • more-guidance-to-connect-with-hashem-including-baby-steps-that-start-with-30-seconds-a-day.html​​
  • a-60-second-exercise-to-fulfill-your-main-purpose-in-life.html
  • read-this-if-even-the-regular-baby-steps-are-still-too-much-for-you.html​  
  • www.myrtlerising.com/blog/how-to-save-the-world-one-step-at-a-time

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Modern Sefardim, Shabbat in Morocco, and the Possible Messages of the Current Attacks on Jews

23/11/2021

 
​In the Morocco of my mother-in-law's days (1940s-1960s), shemirat Shabbat stood as the rule, not the exception.

And Moroccan Jews kept Shabbat happily. It held enjoyment & meaning for them.

Living within a traditional Muslim society also meant belief in one God stood as the norm.

Religious customs, regular sessions of prayer times throughout the day, modest dress & behavior for both men & women, hospitality...this gave the Moroccan Galut a platform to embrace the fundamentals of Jewish tradition.

The moderate climate also enabled abundant harvests of a wide variety of fruits, legumes, and vegetables, which thus enabled a tremendous amount of generosity in feeding the poor.

Even when the secularizing French influence infiltrated both the Jewish & non-Jewish societies of Morocco, it lacked Eastern Europe's rabid craze for the destruction of everything religious. 

Making Room for Religion

Even today, you see how less-religious Sefardim tend to give way to the more religious.

For example, during the blessing said during a bris milah, you'll see very secular-looking Sephardi women suddenly cover their hair out of respect for the blessings.

When attending religious weddings—including the not-terribly-religious weddings, even the most secular women make some attempt at tsniyut, whether it's being technically covered up with long pants & long sleeves, or a longer-than-usual skirt.

Normally bare-headed men don a kippah.

In fact, in a wedding with a lot of bare-headed guests, kippahs get passed out to anyone who needs, and everyone dons one. No considers it religious coercion.

​In fact, I recently attending a wedding on my husband's side in which the bride's gown showed an appalling lack of tsniyut (as did most of the female guests)...but the initial dancing hosted by the secular-looking DJs featured a mechitzah smack in the middle of the dance floor!

And everyone respected the mechitzah (for as long as it lasted).

BTW, the mechitzah (pleasantly) shocked me because when I first came to Eretz Yisrael around 30 years ago, the solid dati-leumi committed to weddings with separate dancing, but no mechitzah.

So all the more so with this family, a very tepid dati-leumi, I felt sure there would be mixed dancing all the way.

But much to their credit, the first part of the wedding not only featured separate dancing, but also a mechitzah on the dance floor. 

When I expressed my joyful shock, one of my older kids told me this has become the norm; most weddings among this crowd feature a mechitzah on the dance floor.

And frum pop songs blared out from the speakers, including chassidish ones.

And everyone loved it, singing along & raising their hands prayerfully to shout, "Hashem Melech, Hashem malach, Hashem yimloch l'olam va'ed!" (Hashem is King, Hashem has always been King, Hashem will remain King forever & ever.)

As another example of mixing: In the slideshow of the new couple projected onto the walls, posed next to his really nice yet extremely immodest kallah stood the chatan...wearing long thick tzitzit. 

​And a kippah, of course.

(In case you're wondering how the chuppah ceremony is conducted with such a revealing kallah at these secular-religious Sefardi weddings, the kallah usually wears some kind of covering under the chuppah only. Or her veil remains long enough to cover—even if it's a see-thru veil. And the rav acting as mesader kiddushin takes tactful care not to face her.)

Wait a Minute...WHO was Throwing Rocks Again?

At the same time, today's Sefardi communities developed a reputation for patience & acceptance of those seemingly less religious.

I wondered how it all went together back in Morocco's religiously devoted days of yore.

​So I very nicely & sensitively asked my mother-in-law whether there were Jews who transgressed Shabbat in Morocco when she lived there.

"Yes," she said. "A few. But only inside their home. Never publicly."

​"So there was never public desecration of Shabbat in Moroccan?"

"No," she said firmly.

​She also indicated that the minority of Shabbat transgressors didn't want to take their Shabbat transgression to the street. 

In other words, they weren't unhappy living amid a shomer Shabbat society, even if they did not believe it for themselves.

Intrigued by this complete (and correct) reversal of today's norm, I said, "What would have happened if they'd violated Shabbat on the street?"

"They'd throw rocks at them."

Oho, I thought. So it's not just those "fanatic charedim"...or so I assumed.

"Really?" I said. "In Morocco, the Jews threw rocks at Sabbath violators?"

My mother-in-law's eyes widened & she went speechless as did a double-take. "No!" she said when she'd recovered from the apparently shocking insinuation. She managed to stammer, "Not the Jews—the Arabs."

Now it was my turn for a double-take. "What—the Arabs?"

"Yeah," she said. 

"Wait, let me get this straight," I said. "In Morocco, if a Jew would have violated Shabbat publicly, the ARABS would throw rocks at them?"

"Yeah," she said.

"Why?"

​"Because they knew the Jews shouldn't be doing that."

If a Jew in Morocco walked out of his house smoking a cigarette or getting into a car on Shabbat, his NON-Jewish society would stone him on the spot.

The connection between obvious transgression & negative consequence back then & there was obvious to all.

In fact, even if you don't personally approve of it, it's hard to label that as Jew-hatred or antisemitism because the goyim in that situation were davka making sure Jews observed Judaism...as opposed to so many other times throughout history when the goyim tried to force Jews to violate Judaism.

And in addition to the basic respect these Shabbat-transgressors had for their Jewish society, the threat of stones zooming their way also kept their desecrations from crossing into the public sphere (a dynamic that ultimately weakens everyone & brings harsher judgement on a populace).

What Might These Nasty, Sometimes Lethal Hits be Hinting?

For millennia, our Neviim & Sages have been telling us that Jew-hatred is merely the stick used to keep us in line with our unique, holy, and unparalleled role in rectifying the world & achieving personal greatness in the This World & the World to Come.

The surrounding nations are a type of polishing-sifting mechanism for Am Yisrael.

Only rarely do the surrounding societies remind us to return to the framework of halacha in such an obviously pro-Torah manner, as the Moroccan Muslims did when they attacked Jews who publicly desecrated their own religion of Judaism.

Usually, it's much less targeted & much more anti-Torah than that.

(For example, throwing rocks at Jews for doing things like living in Eretz Yisrael or going to daven at the Kotel.)

It doesn't mean we cannot defend ourselves.

It doesn't mean the haters are blameless. They're wicked & will face harsh consequences for their Jew-hating actions.

But it does mean we should also look beyond the stick (even as we struggle to dodge or fend off the stick).

As we find ourselves hit once again by a wave of attacks by Yishmael, we can look at what might be going on beneath the surface.

Once again, the attacks come as hits from behind or from the side—unexpected, short & to-the-point, yet lethal (or almost lethal, depending).

One thing that comes to mind is the nasty little barbs people sometimes shoot at others.

​While the offender usually minimizes the nasty barb as "cute," "clever," "funny," or "S/He deserved it," the victim often feels slapped in the face, gutted, humiliated, enraged, etc.

With comment sections & social media, nasty little comments have reached an all-time high, spreading faster & farther than ever—before an audience of hundreds, thousands, or even millions—and staying there theoretically forever.

Another message might be about all the seemingly "little" breaches people make in halacha.

The skirts that are just a bit too short, the shirt that's just a tad too tight. (Men shouldn't wear tight pants either: https://dinonline.org/2016/02/26/tight-clothes-for-men/.)

The hair-covering that's not completely appropriate (because, hey, the main thing is covering the hair).

The one little look at something online not completely appropriate or even absolutely forbidden.

How many men glance at something online when they could be glancing at something in limud?

And as sincere & heartfelt as one's simple love of Hashem may be, all the "little" breaches mentioned in the weddings above are as appalling as the sincerely observed mitzvot in those same venues are meritorious.

(Probably, there are also other ideas I'm not thinking of.)

In so many situations, the Yetzer Hara comes through the back door, sneaking up from behind or to the side of a person looking the other way.

Then the Yetzer delivers that stab, that bullet.

Needless to say, I'm talking to myself as much as anyone else. I also struggle with all sorts of stuff.

Of course, as far as practical protection goes, normal security methods should be implemented & strengthened.

But throughout Jewish history, our greatest Sages have always emphasized the need to invest in good soul-searching & teshuvah when faced with Jew-hatred.

The Beautiful Rose Garden that is You

Whenever we speak of self-scrutiny (cheshbon hanefesh), we must emphasize the importance of doing this with love & compassion.

We should feel GOOD about seeking out what we need to strengthen.

And taking baby steps in the right direction is absolutely fabulous. Generally, you don't need to make grand gestures unless you really feel willing & able to do so.

It shouldn't be depressing or "Oh no, not this AGAIN..."

It should be like weeding a beautiful rose garden.

You are the rose garden in all your glorious beauty—and you just need to do your lovely gloriousness a favor by pulling out a few pesky weeds.

If even that's too much (and for some people, based on their personality & traumatic experiences, it really might be too much), people are also free to dance & sing songs of praise to Hashem as a response.

Simply davening or saying Tehillim are also wonderful responses.

​And that's it.
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A Charedi-Secular Debate in Real Time, Plus Another Little Social Experiment

3/11/2021

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While at work, a 15-year-old secular girl approached my charedi-looking son to challenge him about the uselessness & harm of charedim on society.

Having just finished a school project on the topic, she felt very sure of her position.

May I just interject here to say how harassing this is? If you're charedi, you often encounter this behavior when you leave your home/enclave.

I've started to dread family simchos because of this. My husband even encountered this when he went to be menachem avel his cousins at their mother's shiva, after he bussed himself all the way there in extremely hot weather & missed work & kollel for it.

I personally try to be very considerate & non-judgmental toward others outside my group.

But it doesn't help much because you can never be nice enough. Even if they like you, they're angry at you for being part of a community they view as the bane of humanity. Also, they hold you responsible for the bad behavior of your community's baddies.

(They, of course, do not consider themselves responsible for any corruption & dysfunction in their own communities. Only charedim are held accountable for theirs.)

But can you imagine if I would just go up to a Reform Jew at a wedding and start challenging him on how awful & hypocritical the Reform movement is, and how their intermarriage & fake conversions have caused a spiritual genocide?

Or if a charedi person would confront a secular co-worker about how truly awful his lack of Shabbat observance was, and all the damage that causes his soul & to Am Yisrael?

What if, at a family simcha, I made snide comments to my cousins about their intermarriages and, in the case of my male cousin, his 100% non-Jewish children?

I don't do that. And I wouldn't do that.

The thing is...when charedim do engage in such behavior (or maybe they didn't, but others imagine they did—that also happened to me), the charedim get dragged across the coals, badmouthed behind their backs & on Internet forums & social media.

But for everyone else, engaging in this harassment is perfectly acceptable.

It's incited by the media, which loves to report on anything perceived negative in the charedi community. (Even some charedi media does this.) Some of it may be true, some true but greatly exaggerated & distorted, and some not true.

But even when the same dysfunction occurs in their own communities, they either refuse to address it or they address it without all the vitriol & venemous condemnation they reserve for their criticism of charedim. In other words, it's only bad when charedim do it.

To end this diatribe on a positive note, secular Jews now also approach charedim with friendliness more than they ever used to.

But back to the original topic...


My son debated with himself whether to ignore her or attack back, but then decided to use plain 'n' simple arguments in a calm manner.

The Debate Begins...

She brought up the classic army service complaint (most charedim don't serve).

He explained how many enlisted soldiers don't do anything militarily useful anyway (this is well-known in Israeli society, but it's taboo to ever mention it) because the IDF is so bloated with people considered unfit for militarily useful position (like combat or military intelligence, etc.).

Then he asked her, "How many kids are in your family?"

"Two," she said.

"How many are planning to do army service?"

"Well," she said, "I'm planning to enlist, but my brother will do sherut le'umi."

(Talk about gender switcheroo! In the dati community, for example, boys do army & girls do sherut le'umi—national service. Also, for the vast majority of females in the IDF, their "service" is useless. But look at the social brainwashing among these secular youth...)

"Okay," said my son. "In your family, one sibling does army service. In my family also, one brother did army service. So why is your family superior to mine with regard to army service? Anyway, tons of charedim do army service. Probably there's at least one from every building in my neighborhood."

​So then she countered with complaints about charedim not paying taxes or contributing their fair share the economy.

"Is your home rented or bought?" he asked.

"We rent our apartment."

"Well, my parents bought ours, which means my charedi parents need to pay property taxes & other taxes that your non-charedi parents don't."

"But charedim don't work..."

My son (dressed in a white shirt, black pants, and a black kippah with his tzitziyot out) laughed. "Oh, really? I'm standing here working, and you say to my face that charedim don't work? Anyway, lots of charedim work. In most charedi couples, at least one spouse works—if not both."

​Then he said, "Have you heard of Yad Sarah?" (Founded by Rabbi Uri Lupolianski in 1974, Yad Sarah provides free medical equipment & services to all sectors of Israeli society regardless of religion or ethnicity—and including tourists.)

"Sure," she said. "My grandmother's wheelchair comes from Yad Sarah."

"Really," said my son. "Well, the founder of Yad Sarah is charedi."

"I don't believe you," she said.

"Google it," he said.

​She did. 

Then my son mentioned the charedi-staffed Zaka & Hatzalah.

"How much do you want to bet that if you got into an accident, Hatzalah would be first on the scene?"

"My cousin got into a motorcycle accident recently," she said.

"Call him right now and ask him who showed up to treat him," said my son.

So she called her cousin & asked him, and he replied, "Oh, a couple of really sweet charedi guys showed up, treated me at the scene, then took me to the hospital."

"Was it Hatzalah?" she asked.

"Maybe," he said. "I don't remember what was written on their equipment. But they were real charedim—and real professionals."​

The End

I don't remember the rest of their conversation, but it ended with her eyes teary & red as she sank into silence.

And after all her investment in researching her school project...

The truth is, she's not at fault. 

She's surrounded by a certain narrative with no encouragement to access anything outside that narrative.

Also, it's appalling that a school in a "Jewish" country enables such a hate-filled project and that her teacher accepted it without challenging its bias & lack of facts.

(Probably the teacher agreed with it.)

Actually, if I was into TV (which I'm not), I would think my son should have his own reality show.

Most reality shows are faked on some level. 

But he seems to be really good at the these spontaneous challenges, like the elevator challenge with Mustafa (an-informal-social-experiment-indicates-israeli-society-discriminates-against-charedim-more-than-against-arabs-and-why-that-happens.html) or getting the girl to call her cousin regarding who arrived first to the scene of his accident.

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1 Example of How Jew-Hatred Helps Keeps a Jew Jewish

2/11/2021

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On the topic of anti-Jewish bigotry being a way to keep Jews in Judaism...

I was speaking with a young man from a charedi family who no longer looks frum, but insists on keeping certain mitzvot.

And despite his lack of kippah or tzitzit, he also gets offended if anyone labels him as secular. (The truth is, he'll voluntarily don a kippah for religious ceremonies & it seems he mostly keeps Shabbat—though I don't know how much.)

Anyway, he related a conversation between him & a middle-aged secular Israeli Leftist.

The Leftist tried to convince the young man that showing the Arabs tons of good will ("good" defined as whatever Leftists think Arabs want & would want for themselves) would bring peace to the nation.

As with many Leftists, this Leftist ignored the fact that quite a few Arabs in Israel refuse to vote (not even for Arab or Leftist parties)...or, if they can or would vote, they vote for more right-wing parties.

Some Arabs even vote for the Sephardi or Ashkenazi charedi parties.

So the young man asked the Leftist if he was in favor of same-gender marriage.

"Yes!" said the Leftist.

"Do you believe your daughters have the right to dress and behave however they want? Including all sorts of hanky-panky before marriage?" 

"Yes!"

"Do you believe in abortion?"

"Yes!"

"Do you believe in freedom of religion? Like, do you think people have a right to be atheists?"

​"Sure!"

"Well, guess what?" said the young man. "The Arabs are against all that. Even the more secular Muslims don't go for any of that."

The Leftist looked surprised.

"They'll never support you," said the young man. "You stand against everything they believe in. They have no respect for secular liberal values. That's why Leftism is doomed in Israel. The Arabs do not want what you want. Because I hold by traditional values, I hold more in common with them and am more respected by them than you—despite my right-wing politics."

At that point, the young man said to me, "A while back, I realized all the conflict with the Arabs is all about religion. It's a religious war. And you cannot fight that war without religion."

Secularism Cannot Win a War of Religion 

That was a very astute summary of the situation.

BTW, this same young man gets along well with Arab co-workers, both Christian & Muslim. 

And I couldn't helping wondering if that contributes to what keeps him with at least one foot in firmly on the side of Torah.

​Since the inception of Am Yisrael, persecution has always been seen as a Heavenly hint for us to cling more deeply to Torah.

Historically, the worst persecutions often follow the worst assimilation.

Most Jews either don't know or ignore the timeless attitude of our Sages toward Jew-hatred.

Most Jews either believe we all need to assimilate MORE & prove ourselves to be good little Jews ("good" as however defined by the current society or era) or many Jews believe in uncompromising physical defense.

Certainly, Jews must behave well in any society as dictated by halachah—but NOT in any way that includes assimilation.

Likewise, we Jews have the right to defend ourselves, whether verbally or physically. 

But the overreliance on fighting prowess or eloquent arguments has never been the prime weapon in the battle against Jew-hatred.

Sure, history has shown Am Yisrael to be awesome warriors, orators, and writers.

But even just a glance into Tanach and millennia of Torah scholarship shows having our hearts in the right place ends up being our most powerful protection.

And maybe the example of the young man above isn't the best example because he's not actually so religious.

And his view of the conflict as a religious one is determined more by the Muslim insistence of the religious aspect rather than the Torah view of the religious aspect.

But the point stands: He insists on believing in God & refuses to completely assimilate into secular culture—and a major motivation for his stance stems from his accurate perception of the conflict as based on religious views...and not cultural or political views.

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