UPDATE 25/8/21: Please also note this heart-warming video of frum children saying Tehillim & Slichot for the recovery of Bar-El Achiya ben Nitza, courtesy of Yaakov Yeranen:
https://www.kikar.co.il/399721.html
https://www.kikar.co.il/399721.html
Recently, I was struck by certain events in Eretz Yisrael.
First of all, there was the horrifying near-fatal shooting of the soldier Bar-El Achiya ben Nitza (may Hashem please grant him a complete & speedy refuah).
Then, there were the events that followed that shooting...
First of all, there was the horrifying near-fatal shooting of the soldier Bar-El Achiya ben Nitza (may Hashem please grant him a complete & speedy refuah).
Then, there were the events that followed that shooting...
The Show Must NOT Go On—We Need to Say Tehillim!
One of Israeli society's most popular singers, Omer Adam, made a special break in his recent concert to invite his audience of thousands of fans to say Tehillim with him for Bar-El's complete recovery.
Omer Adam's insistence on prioritizing aspects of Torah above his celebrity status were discussed here:
http://www.myrtlerising.com/blog/is-the-revolution-in-the-israeli-entertainment-industry-a-sign-of-something-deeper-better-churning-within-the-people
I do not know the secular media's response to his most recent public expression of religious feeling, but they've been critical of him in the past for prioritizing Shabbat above the most coveted goals of popstar fame.
He knows he can take a public tongue/pen-lashing for doing things like this.
Yet he continues to follow his soul yearnings to do what's right.
And people love him for it.
(Hopefully, he will soon reach the point where he is fully devoted to all aspects of Jewish Law—and I wish the same for all of us!)
Omer Adam's insistence on prioritizing aspects of Torah above his celebrity status were discussed here:
http://www.myrtlerising.com/blog/is-the-revolution-in-the-israeli-entertainment-industry-a-sign-of-something-deeper-better-churning-within-the-people
I do not know the secular media's response to his most recent public expression of religious feeling, but they've been critical of him in the past for prioritizing Shabbat above the most coveted goals of popstar fame.
He knows he can take a public tongue/pen-lashing for doing things like this.
Yet he continues to follow his soul yearnings to do what's right.
And people love him for it.
(Hopefully, he will soon reach the point where he is fully devoted to all aspects of Jewish Law—and I wish the same for all of us!)
Spontaneous Slichot
Likewise, masses of Jews came together outside the hospital in which Bar-El lies to recite Slichot with great enthusiasm in Bar-El's merit.
Slichot consists of praising Hashem combined with repeating, "We have sinned before You—please have mercy on us!"
Only Jews do this kind of thing.
Slichot consists of praising Hashem combined with repeating, "We have sinned before You—please have mercy on us!"
Only Jews do this kind of thing.
In Comparison...
Due to their Leftist secular (or Buddhist) celebrity focus, it is impossible to imagine any mainstream pop star in any of the Anglo countries stopping a performance to recite a Psalm from Tanach for the recovery of one of their nation's soldiers.
(Certainly, they would not give up a coveted performance for the sake of a religious value, as Omer Adam did for Shabbat—and he did so more than once.)
And certainly, no one gathers outside a hospital en masse to do teshuvah in the merit of a mortally wounded fellow.
Yes, societies hold candlelight vigils and leave slogans, teddy bears, and flowers at trauma sites and in honor of someone they care about.
But they don't sing teshuvah with great gusto en masse for another person.
When did the our modern-day Edomite societies see mass gatherings to promote their values?
Well, let's see...
A couple years back, Europe marched to protest the killings at the Charlie Hebdo magazine office.
Charlie Hebdo published magazines filled with extremely coarse mockery (including of Judaism) & particularly vulgar graphics.
Yet the impingement on the free speech to be a vulgar immature leitz brought Europe together in a march with cries of "I am Charlie Hebdo!"—very different & considerably less impressive than a large crowd of Jews shouting a prayer of teshuvah with gusto or Omer Adam's audience singing, "I lift my eyes to the mountains—from where comes my help? My help is from Hashem, who makes the Heavens and Earth."
Je suis Charlie Hebdo falls flat in comparison—to say the least.
In America, citizens came together to pretend that only white cops shoot black suspects—and even actively seek to do so—and that this is a routine occurrence.
To protest this perceived danger & discrimination against the black community, many gleeful radicals destroyed property in black neighborhoods & looted stores owned by their fellow black people—whom they claim to very much want to protect them from the extremely rare incidence of being shot by a white cop.
(Fact: Black people are more likely to be shot by a black cop—in fact, anyone is more likely to be shot by a black cop...3 times more likely, to be exact. See here:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/2330443X.2015.1129918. But even that happens only rarely. Criminal shooting deaths are 28 times more likely than a cop shooting death. Seriously.)
Okay...
We could all go on with examples of people joining together to act like foolish or wild quacks, but let's go back to people doing things RIGHT.
(Certainly, they would not give up a coveted performance for the sake of a religious value, as Omer Adam did for Shabbat—and he did so more than once.)
And certainly, no one gathers outside a hospital en masse to do teshuvah in the merit of a mortally wounded fellow.
Yes, societies hold candlelight vigils and leave slogans, teddy bears, and flowers at trauma sites and in honor of someone they care about.
But they don't sing teshuvah with great gusto en masse for another person.
When did the our modern-day Edomite societies see mass gatherings to promote their values?
Well, let's see...
A couple years back, Europe marched to protest the killings at the Charlie Hebdo magazine office.
Charlie Hebdo published magazines filled with extremely coarse mockery (including of Judaism) & particularly vulgar graphics.
Yet the impingement on the free speech to be a vulgar immature leitz brought Europe together in a march with cries of "I am Charlie Hebdo!"—very different & considerably less impressive than a large crowd of Jews shouting a prayer of teshuvah with gusto or Omer Adam's audience singing, "I lift my eyes to the mountains—from where comes my help? My help is from Hashem, who makes the Heavens and Earth."
Je suis Charlie Hebdo falls flat in comparison—to say the least.
In America, citizens came together to pretend that only white cops shoot black suspects—and even actively seek to do so—and that this is a routine occurrence.
To protest this perceived danger & discrimination against the black community, many gleeful radicals destroyed property in black neighborhoods & looted stores owned by their fellow black people—whom they claim to very much want to protect them from the extremely rare incidence of being shot by a white cop.
(Fact: Black people are more likely to be shot by a black cop—in fact, anyone is more likely to be shot by a black cop...3 times more likely, to be exact. See here:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/2330443X.2015.1129918. But even that happens only rarely. Criminal shooting deaths are 28 times more likely than a cop shooting death. Seriously.)
Okay...
We could all go on with examples of people joining together to act like foolish or wild quacks, but let's go back to people doing things RIGHT.
The Real You—An Authentic Jew
We Jews are at our best when we act like US—ourselves!
The more authentic we are, the better we are, and the better things go for both us & the entire world.
We don't need to look at what all the nations are doing. We don't need to imitate them or join with them in their wonky values & bursts of self-expression.
We have everything we need within our souls, within our Torah.
And we need to express that authentically, based on our individual circumstances.
For example, if I got up to lead a mixed-gender audience in singing Tehillim, it would be a chilul Hashem.
When Omer Adam did it, it was great.
If I started dancing around outside a hospital & singing Slichot with crowds of men, it would not sweeten din...it would worsen din.
It would be terrible if I did such things.
So each person as they should, according to their individual circumstances and their current level.
Let's get in touch with our own Torah-based authenticity without caring what others think (including if those "others" are apparent fellow Jews with anti-Torah values who rule the airwaves, the newspapers, and the Internet).
The more authentic we are, the better we are, and the better things go for both us & the entire world.
We don't need to look at what all the nations are doing. We don't need to imitate them or join with them in their wonky values & bursts of self-expression.
We have everything we need within our souls, within our Torah.
And we need to express that authentically, based on our individual circumstances.
For example, if I got up to lead a mixed-gender audience in singing Tehillim, it would be a chilul Hashem.
When Omer Adam did it, it was great.
If I started dancing around outside a hospital & singing Slichot with crowds of men, it would not sweeten din...it would worsen din.
It would be terrible if I did such things.
So each person as they should, according to their individual circumstances and their current level.
Let's get in touch with our own Torah-based authenticity without caring what others think (including if those "others" are apparent fellow Jews with anti-Torah values who rule the airwaves, the newspapers, and the Internet).
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